Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $26,000 As SEC Pushes Back On 7 Spot ETF Filings

On August 29, flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin soared to as high as $28,000 following Grayscale’s victory. However, it has now lost these gains as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chose to delay its decisions on seven Spot ETF applications. 

Bitcoin dropped by over 4% to $26,000 as the SEC extended the timeline to decide on the ETF applications of BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity, Valkyrie, VanEck, and Bitwise.

This price action contrasts with when the cryptocurrency had reacted positively to the news of Grayscale’s victory, with the US Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the asset manager against the Commission. 

Many had looked forward to the SEC’s decision in these ETF applications following Grayscale’s victory, hoping that the legal loss would have softened the regulator into approving these applications. 

However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas had stated earlier that he would not be “surprised” if the SEC delayed these applications. According to him, these timelines may not matter as much as the SEC is still likely to “give in” at some point, and we will eventually see the approval of these applications. 

Following this extension, the SEC will have another 45 days to review these applications and choose whether to approve, deny, or delay its decision. The regulator also has a maximum of 240 days to decide whether or not to approve or disapprove these applications. However, it has several key deadlines in between.

Many have projected the approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF as one of the key events that could spark a significant surge in Bitcoin’s price (as we saw how the market reacted following Grayscale’s victory). However, the SEC’s decision to delay these applications shows that it is not ready to back down just yet, and there could be continued resistance to approving a Spot Bitcoin ETF.

While the approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF remains uncertain, Bitcoin may be hanging in the red throughout this month. According to historical data, September has always been known to be bearish for Bitcoin’s price as the digital asset has closed in the red most times at the end of September. 

Meanwhile, October seems more promising as there are major days to watch as Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart noted that the SEC’s next deadline for these ETF applications is in October. Ethereum Futures ETFs are also expected to launch in October, which could be a major boost for the market.

Despite this, analysts aren’t hopeful of Bitcoin hitting any new highs this year, as one predicts that Bitcoin could consolidate between $25,000 and $32,000 for the remainder of this year.

I won’t be surprised to see #Bitcoin consolidate between $25,000 – $32,000 for the remainder of 2023. pic.twitter.com/2BihBPZaCJ

— Crypto Rover (@rovercrc) August 31, 2023