A trading firm's $27 million sell order for ether could have triggered the decline, one market observer speculated.
A rampant U.S. dollar after a PMI report showed a red-hot U.S. economy may have accelerated the drop.
Cryptocurrency prices took a hit Thursday as market participants waited for a U.S. regulatory decision on spot ether {{ETH}} exchange-traded funds.
Read more: Gensler Says 'Stay Tuned' on U.S. SEC's Decision on ETH ETF
Bitcoin {{BTC}} dropped below $68,000 during the early U.S. trading session from around $70,000 earlier in the day, sliding almost 3% over the past 24 hours.
ETH, which surged to its highest price since mid-March to above $3,900 early Thursday, tumbled to near $3,700, but was still in the green over the past 24 hours.
The sell-off rippled through the broader digital asset market, with the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) declining over 2%. Altcoin majors dogecoin {{DOGE}}, Avalanche's native token {{AVAX}}, shiba inu {{SHIB}} and Chainlink's {{LINK}} all fell more than 4% in less than an hour, CoinDesk data shows.
While the sell-off started earlier, a fresh S&P Purchasing Managers' Index report showed a red-hot U.S economy, with output growing at the fastest pace in two years. That drove a surge in the dollar as traders tamped down interest-rate cut expectations, which might have exacerbated the drop in risk assets. The broad-market equity index S&P 500 fell 0.6% from its opening price.
One observer noted that the crypto decline could have been triggered by a large ETH sell order from trading firm Symbolic Capital Partner. Blockchain data showed the firm sold 6,968 ETH worth $27.4 million within a minute.
ETH’s brief and sudden dip below $3800 was likely driven by MEV trading firm Symbolic Capital Partners. The institution sold 6,968 ETH in one minute, worth $27.38 million, with an average selling price of $3,930, according to @ai_9684xtpa. One of the transactions sold 3,497 ETH…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 23, 2024
