People walk past a neon sign advertising a Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrency exchange in Warsaw, Poland on May 19, 2024.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Bitcoin led the cryptocurrency market lower on Tuesday — the first day of trading for ether ETFs — as Mt. Gox transferred more bitcoin to creditors and investors took profits after crypto’s best week since March.
Bitcoin price most recently fell 3% to $65,891.50 according to Coin Metrics. Etherfell more than 1% to $3,445.10. Investors and analysts said the move was profit-taking after gains of 22.85% and 12.75%, respectively, last week.
Additionally, Bitcoin network activity shows that Mt. Gox moved about 5,000 bitcoins off the exchange, possibly as part of creditor repayment process The exchange, which went bankrupt after a major hack 10 years ago, has until October to return more than 140,000 bitcoins to victims of the event.
The market is expected to absorb this negative impact thanks to long-term optimism about the success of ether ETFs as well as the US presidential election.
“We agree with the market consensus that early adoption here is may be relatively slow and modest compared to bitcoin ETF adoption,” said Devin Ryan, an analyst at JMP Securities. “Part of that is because bitcoin ETF adoption is still in its early stages — a lot of the largest pools of money for that ETF haven’t even been activated yet,” he added.
In the meantime, however, ether could be volatile, according to Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev. He pointed to the launch of a bitcoin ETF in January, when bitcoin surged to a record high before plummeting 20% and then rising to another new high.
“Like bitcoin ETFs, it will take time for inflows into ETH ETFs to create enough of a supply shock to have a significant impact on the market,” said Ben Kurland, CEO of crypto research platform DYOR.
Additionally, he added, the President’s decision Joe Biden ARRIVE fall out of the presidential race causing market volatility.
“The investors [are] waiting for more specific developments on [Vice President Kamala] Harrisher stance on cryptocurrencies and her ability to regain any advantage in the polls,” he said.
Trenchev agrees with that view.
“Bitcoin’s decline from recent highs reflects the sudden emergence of Kamala Harris in the US presidential election, which adds uncertainty to a race that appears to be tilting toward Donald Trump and his new pro-crypto stance“, he said.
