Bitcoin Investors Begin to Ponder What’s Next After ETF Mania Cools
06/30/2024 22:59(Bloomberg) -- As the second-quarter draws to a close, crypto investors are left wondering what’s next for Bitcoin after it retreated from the all-time highs registered during the height of the mania over exchange-traded funds. Most Read from BloombergBiden's Defiance Has Democrats Fearing They'll Lose White HouseBiden Asks Donors to Stick With Him After Disastrous DebateCLOs Have Too Much Money and Are Running Out of Things to BuySingapore Loses Last 18-Hole Public Golf Course to RedevelopmentG
(Bloomberg) -- As the second-quarter draws to a close, crypto investors are left wondering what’s next for Bitcoin after it retreated from the all-time highs registered during the height of the mania over exchange-traded funds.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Biden's Defiance Has Democrats Fearing They'll Lose White House
CLOs Have Too Much Money and Are Running Out of Things to Buy
Singapore Loses Last 18-Hole Public Golf Course to Redevelopment
The original cryptocurrency is down about 13% since March, a sharp contrast from the 67% and 57% surges seen, respectively, in the previous two quarters. Bitcoin, which reached a record $73,798 on March 14, is closing the quarter at around $61,000.
The downturn has raised the question of whether cracks in momentum trades such as Bitcoin point to a tougher outlook for risk appetite as the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates hangs over financial markets.
“A lot of people in the market have questions that are mostly anchored on concerns from a macro perspective,” Austin Reid, global head of revenue and business at FalconX. “So I think there’s just some short-term uncertainty being reflected within the crypto market, as we’re seeing in some other asset classes too.”
One of the best measures of the waning interest may be the slowing of demand for the US ETFs allowed to hold Bitcoin, which were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January.
Investors poured about $2.6 billion into Bitcoin funds in the second quarter, compared with around $13 billion in the first three months of the year, according to data compiled by CoinShares.
“There was a lot of euphoria around the release of the ETFs, and then there was a natural price correction after the rally,” said Matthew O’Neill, co-director of research at Financial Technology Partners.
The ETFs received a flood of interest from professional investors who wanted Bitcoin exposure but were were only looking to buy into the cryptocurrency through institutional means, O’Neill said.
For investors who haven’t bought into the ETFs yet, he said they may be waiting to hop in during the next upward Bitcoin price move.
--With assistance from Muyao Shen.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Japan’s Tiny Kei-Trucks Have a Cult Following in the US, and Some States Are Pushing Back
The FBI’s Star Cooperator May Have Been Running New Scams All Along
RTO Mandates Are Killing the Euphoric Work-Life Balance Some Moms Found
How Glossier Turned a Viral Moment for ‘You’ Perfume Into a Lasting Business
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.