Crypto investors lost more than $85 million after information appeared that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had allegedly approved a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). stated Bloomberg agency.
Against the backdrop of unconfirmed SEC news, the price of the cryptocurrency jumped on October 16 by almost 10% to $29,253 by 16:30 Moscow time. Many traders’ bets on a lower price if approved failed, the publication explained.
JonesTrading chief market strategist Michael O’Rourke said that fake news often appears in the crypto industry. The case shows that investors lack basic protection against “rampant speculation” and trading fraud on cryptocurrency exchanges. This is also why the SEC does not agree to expand access to the market, the expert emphasized.
US investors have been waiting for the launch of a Bitcoin ETF for 10 years, but regulators have regularly rejected the initiative. If unconfirmed approval information triggered a nearly 10% rise in the cryptocurrency’s price, true spot approval would cause a much sharper and more sustained increase, Roxanne Islam, deputy director of research at VettaFi, told the news agency.
By 18:15 Moscow time on October 17, the cost of bitcoin was $28,560. The market capitalization of the cryptocurrency increased by 1.42% over the day and reached $557.39 billion.
Bitcoin price last week fell below the $27,000 level for five days in a row. American analysts cited the worsening conflict in the Middle East as the reason for the price decline. They stated that cryptocurrency growth should not be expected in the near future, since traders “tend to retreat” in alarming and unclear conditions.
