Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies fell on Friday, a poor start to what is historically the worst month for tokens after the Securities and Exchange Commission tapped the brakes on the decision process for crypto exchange-traded funds.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen 4% over the past 24 hours to $26,000, having traded around $27,500 before news Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had delayed decisions on spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. The largest digital asset had rallied earlier in the week up to $28,000 following a court ruling that had looked to pave the way for the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, long heralded as a critical catalyst for crypto markets.
Optimism over crypto ETFs has been a key source of buoyancy for the market after BlackRock (ticker: BLK) and a number of other traditional financial stalwarts applied for their own such funds this summer. But the SEC is putting those hopes on pause for now, detailing in filings on Thursday that it pushed back rulings on a handful of funds, including the proposed offerings from BlackRock and Invesco, until mid-October.
“Bitcoin ended August down 11% at $26,000, its worst performance since last November,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro. Bitcoin’s fall in November 2022 came after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, a catastrophic development for token markets that only a tough August 2023 was able to compete against.
History suggests it gets worse. September is typically the worst month of the year for Bitcoin, just as it is for the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
in the stock market. Bitcoin has fallen in each of the past six Septembers, and has averaged a decline of 6% in each September on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
“Bitcoin’s 200-day average is now acting as a resistance … a drop to $24,700 looks like an impressive short-term target for the bears,” said Kuptsikevich.
The first day of September trading has underwhelmed despite what could have been a market-moving catalyst in the form of the U.S. jobs report for August. Bitcoin remains highly sensitive to the macroeconomic backdrop and especially the outlook for interest rates, which impact demand for risk-sensitive assets like stocks and cryptos.
Prices were little moved after nonfarm payrolls data revealed the U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in August, more than the 170,000 expected. The hotter-than-estimated figure could support another interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve later this month, though there were other signs of moderation in the jobs report.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest token—lost 4% to below $1,650. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were also weak, with
Cardano
crumbling 3% and
Polygon
plunging 6%. Memecoins were unspared, with
Dogecoin
down 4% and
Shiba Inu
shedding 2%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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