The original cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) experienced sudden, massive and sharp outflows on the 15th anniversary of its ‘genesis’ day, erasing most of its gains over the past 30 days.
Bitcoin tumbled below $42,000 on Jan. 3, losing at least $3,000 of value in just two hours, according to data from CoinGecko. On CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin dropped to as low as $40,700 from its intraday high of $45,600 recorded at the time of writing.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $42,608, down nearly 6% over the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows. The cryptocurrency is also down 1.5% over the past 14 days, seeing almost no gains over the past 30 days.
The sharp drop in BTC’s price came as digital financial services platform Matrixport retracted its recent forecast that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission would potentially approve the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January 2024.
Matrixport took to X (formerly Twitter) on Jan. 1 to express confidence that Bitcoin would surge to $50,000, driven by factors like an “imminent Bitcoin spot ETF approval.” The firm also stated that a potential spot Bitcoin ETF approval could be announced even ahead of most traders’ expectations for approval on Jan. 8, 9 or 10.
Just a day after issuing a forecast on possible approvals in 2024, Matrixport made a U-turn on its prediction, updating its forecast on Jan. 2 to claim that the SEC will reject all Bitcoin spot ETFs in January and that spot Bitcoin ETF approvals won’t come before Q2 of this year.
Related: Peter Schiff says spot Bitcoin ETF could crash BTC price
The community reacted quickly to Matrixport’s controversial forecasts, with many accusing the firm of manipulating Bitcoin’s price.
Bitcoin investor Alistair Milne noticed that Matrixport was founded by Jihan Wu, a Chinese billionaire crypto entrepreneur and co-founder of the crypto mining firm Bitmain. Industry analyst James Van Straten noted that Wu is a prominent supporter of Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork of Bitcoin created in 2017.
“If anyone believes anything that Matrixport publishes, I have a bridge to sell to you,” the analyst wrote.
A short story in three images...
— hodlonaut 80 IQ Puritan Bitcoiner 13%er ⚡ (@hodlonaut) January 3, 2024
h/t @glennhodl @mtcbtc pic.twitter.com/j3Y1UZFdOT
Some major spot Bitcoin ETF observers have also reacted to the news. “We have heard nothing to indicate anything but approval but I want to give the guy benefit of doubt so I’m asking if he has any sources or if he just speculating,” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X.
"To be clear tho: not saying rejection outright impossible,” Balchunas later stated, adding, “But we’ve heard nothing to indicate that.”