Solana, Dogecoin Hit Weekly Lows as Bitcoin Slows Pace

Over the last week, Bitcoin appeared to have kickstarted a fresh bull run: as of yesterday, the market’s leading cryptocurrency was closing in on the $60,000 mark—a high it last hit back in April. 

But today things have slowed down: Bitcoin is down 3.2% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko, and was trading at $55,937 at the time of writing. 

Bitcoin was doing so well, some analysts say, because of an imminent Bitcoin futures ETF approval. The SEC has previously dragged its heels with the approval of a Bitcoin ETF, but now industry experts say one that tracks futures contracts could be approved next week.

The crypto industry has wanted an ETF for years as it would let traditional investors buy shares that track the price of Bitcoin, rather than having to hold the asset themselves. 

Bitcoin’s correction today has of course led to big altcoins taking a hit too—some worse than others. 

Dogecoin, the tenth largest digital asset by market cap, was also doing well last week. But Elon Musk’s favorite coin has taken a beating: it’s down nearly 4% in the past 24 hours and 7.6% in the past week—a big stunt to its progress. The meme coin is now trading for $0.22. 

Ethereum competitor Solana (the seventh biggest crypto) also had a rough day. In the past seven days it is down 9%, today hitting a low of $141. It has since recovered, however, and is currently trading for around $150.

The cryptocurrency has been on a tear this year—it has risen 270% in the past two months alone, largely thanks to growing interest in decentralized finance apps, which provide an alternative to borrowing and lending services and can be built on Solana. NFTs, digital assets that can represent anything from art to music clips and another huge craze in the crypto network, can also be minted and traded via its network and have gained in popularity of late. 

This time last year, Solana was trading for $2.58—that's a 5,791% increase to date. 

Then there is the Dogecoin spin-off, Shibu Inu, which was on a mad run just five days ago when it rose 385% in seven days. The coin, which launched last year as a “Dogecoin killer” and is now the twelfth largest crypto by market cap, is suddenly suffering—it has shed 8% of its value in the past 24 hours, right now trading at $0.00002893. 

Like Dogecoin, people are jumping on Shibu because its price is being pumped online. And again like Dogecoin, an absurd amount of the cryptocurrency has been minted: there is one quadrillion in circulation. It appears that investors are attempting to replicate the gains made through the meteoric rise of Dogecoin and other “meme coins.” 

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It isn’t clear what has caused the sudden dip in prices, though market corrections like the one occurring today typically follow wild bull runs. Dan Morehead, the CEO of Pantera Capital, actually said this week that “after a period of temporary insanity,” the crypto market is healthy again.

Though he did warn that the launch of a long-awaited Bitcoin ETF could make things wobbly.