Bitcoin Downward Spiral Continues Unabated Despite Grayscale Ruling

The price of Bitcoin experienced a notable increase after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit determined Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was mistaken in rejecting Grayscale’s request to transform its prominent BTC trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

In response to the ruling, Bitcoin’s value surged by more than 7% to reach $27,852, leading to a broader upswing in the cryptocurrency market and crypto-related stocks.

However, the top crypto has since faced challenges in recovering its position, even following a unanimous 3-0 decision in favor of Grayscale vs. the SEC, that seemed to open the path for a US-based exchange-traded fund focused on the cryptocurrency.

Grayscale presently possesses 3.4% of the outstanding bitcoin, a value estimated at multiple tens of billions of dollars, as stated in the filing.

Despite making initial gains after the ruling, its momentum waned, leading to a monthly decline of approximately 10% for the leading cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Down For Second Straight Month

Whether attributed to seasonal patterns, waning enthusiasm, or traders taking breaks, BTC is concluding its second consecutive month on a negative trajectory. This comes despite the presence of one of the most potentially favorable developments for the cryptocurrency sector in recent times.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was in red in all time frames, losing its grip on the key $26k handle and sliding to $25,955. The leading crypto in terms of market cap has lost 4.65% of its value in the last 24 hours, data from crypto market tracker CoinMarketCap shows.

BTCUSD price action in the last week. Source: CoinMarketCap

Grayscale’s legal action against the SEC has been closely monitored by investors and others in the industry as a significant event that could bring change to a market suffering from minimal volatility and liquidity.

In recent weeks, the coin’s trading volatility hit its lowest level in over four years, primarily because investors were hesitating, waiting for more regulatory clarity regarding crypto activities. This clarity could potentially come from either new legislative measures from Congress or the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Bitcoin reached a market cap of $506 billion today. Chart: TradingView.com

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said:

“The Grayscale news has provided a short-term boost but with regulators still keen to tame the wild west of the financial world, this narrative could be more drawn out.” 

The recent judgement has the potential to positively impact the likelihood of the SEC awarding permission to several crypto ETF applications. This includes applications submitted by prominent financial institutions like BlackRock, WisdomTree, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco, and other interested parties.

The enactment of a bitcoin ETF in the United States would establish a means for investors to access bitcoin without the need to possess the cryptocurrency directly. This development has the potential to attract participation from retail and institutional investors, as well as wealth managers, thereby expanding the market.

The first half of the year saw a significant 80% increase in Bitcoin’s value, while July and August have seen a decrease of around 13%. Bitcoin lost around 64% of its value in the past year, and is now see-sawing in the $25-$26 levels, or slightly less than half of its all-time high of roughly $69,000 reached in the latter part of 2021.

This decline in Bitcoin’s value coincides with rising global yields, driven by robust economic data that questions the assumption of central banks reaching peak interest rates. Elevated interest rates tend to diminish the attractiveness of alternative investments like cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, proponents of cryptocurrencies remain undeterred.

Featured image from News18