Bitcoin slips below US$60,000 as ETF-related bliss evaporates

Bitcoin slid below US$60,000 as euphoria over the first U.S. crypto ETF dissipated and traders took profits following a record-breaking rally.

Bitcoin slid below US$60,000 as euphoria over the first U.S. crypto ETF dissipated and traders took profits following a record-breaking rally. 

The biggest digital asset by market value fell as much as 6.4 per cent to US$58,132, reaching the lowest intraday price in almost two weeks. It peaked at US$66,976 on Oct. 20. Ether also sank about 7.5 per cent and smaller tokens took a hit as well, with Dogecoin and Solana each tumbling more than 8 per cent. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks some of the largest digital coins, fell 7.5 per cent at one point. 

“I’m not surprised Bitcoin hit a wall at US$67,000, having passed the April high, given the speed of the move from US$30,000 in July,” said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of Nexo, a crypto lender. “Bitcoin needs to cool off before it embarks on its next leg up.”

Many smaller “alt” coins got hit the hardest: Cardano lost 11 per cent over the last 24 hours and Polkadot dropped roughly 9 per cent, according to Coinmarketcap.com. 

“They’ve always been more volatile, so it’s not a big surprise,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “Those cryptos are held in weaker hands. Most people think that a small number of these alt will survive, so they tend to sell them more quickly than Bitcoin or Ethereum.”