Bitcoin ETF price Drops Below $94K
Cryptocurrency markets remained sluggish on Tuesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) approaching its lowest price point in several months.
Bitcoin ETF price traded around $93,600 in early afternoon, reflecting a 2% dip in the last day and a 10% decrease over the week.
The broader cryptocurrency market, measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, fell by 4% in the last 24 hours. Solana (SOL) significantly impacted the index, plunging 16% amid concerns that the memecoin frenzy is ending, potentially fueled by scams and illegal activities like the alleged rugpull involving Argentine President Javier Milei. Solana has now dropped 35% this month, erasing gains made after the Trump election.
$500K still in play
Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick has previously said he expects bitcoin to eclipse $500,000 by the time Donald Trump leaves office.
Despite the lackluster short-term price movements, Kendrick expressed optimism in a Tuesday morning note, citing recent 13F filings that reveal growing institutional ownership of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Kendrick pointed out that Bitcoin buyers are evolving from retail investors to hedge funds, and now to major players like banks and sovereign entities. He highlighted Goldman Sachs’ increased ETF holdings and Abu Dhabi’s initial Bitcoin ETF purchase as examples.
Kendrick stated, “Looking ahead, we anticipate more long-term, buy-and-hold capital flowing into Bitcoin, and expect Abu Dhabi’s investment to signal wider adoption by sovereign wealth funds.”
Solana slump
Tokens associated with the Solana ecosystem also suffered losses. Decentralized exchange tokens like Raydium (RAY) and Jupiter (JUP) experienced double-digit percentage drops today, while liquid staking service Jito (JTO) fell by 7%. All are down over 30% from their Friday peaks.
The Solana ecosystem, a popular hub for memecoin trading and token launches, is facing significant repercussions from the LIBRA scandal. This recent pump-and-dump token launch has implicated key figures in the Solana space and even Argentine President Javier Milei.
LIBRA, launched on Friday, quickly reached a $4 billion market cap following Milei’s X post endorsing it as a project to support Argentine businesses. However, the token collapsed as insiders reportedly cashed out $100 million, and Milei withdrew his support. Milei is now facing potential fraud charges and impeachment, while Ben Chow, co-founder of Solana-based DEX Meteora, resigned amid implications in the token launch.
Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, described the LIBRA affair in a Tuesday note as “the latest sordid episode emanating from Solana’s memecoin complex.” The report also noted that memecoin sentiment has been declining since the TRUMP token incident.
Adding to market uncertainty, a significant SOL token unlock event is approaching, which will increase circulating supply. While estimates vary, one hedge fund analyst predicts roughly 15.725 million SOL, valued at around $2.5 billion at current prices, will be unlocked over the next three months, largely originating from FTX estate holdings.
Tokenomist analysts commented in an X post, “If an unlock of this scale occurs, it could increase the circulating supply of $SOL and potentially impact market dynamics.” They added, “Historically, large token unlocks have frequently led to increased price volatility. However, it’s important to note that the exact size and timing of this unlock have not been officially confirmed.”
