On December 20, 2024, the crypto market continued to witness significant volatility after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not provide any positive signals regarding interest rate cuts. This was the main reason leading to a wave of sell-offs across the markets.
Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency, attempted to break through the $100,000 threshold but quickly plummeted to a low of around $97,000 and closed below $96,000, equivalent to a 4.8% drop within just 24 hours. Meanwhile, altcoins suffered even heavier losses. The CoinDesk 20 index showed a decline of over 10%. Ethereum (ETH) dropped sharply by 10.8%, falling below $3,500. Other prominent altcoins such as Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Dogecoin (DOGE) also followed the trend, losing between 15% and 20%.
This adjustment is considered reasonable, given the recent rapid growth of cryptocurrencies along with year-end tax strategies by investors.
In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially approved two Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on indices, from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton. Hashdex's ETF will be traded on the Nasdaq, while Franklin Templeton's will be available on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Both ETFs will hold Bitcoin and Ether spot, tracking their respective market indices.
The SEC's approval decision was based on modified applications, similar to the previously approved Bitcoin and Ether (ETP) swap product proposals, fully meeting investor protection standards.
Experts predict that with the SEC's approval, this will be a strong incentive encouraging other asset managers, such as BlackRock, to launch similar cryptocurrency ETFs to meet the demand for diversification in this new asset class.
