Bitcoin (BTC) is struggling to find any directional momentum as prices remain glued to $29K, according to Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at digital asset firm K33 Research. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization sank to as low as $29,028, the weakest level since August 7 and down about 1.3% from $29,400 a day ago. Ether (ETH) also slumped, changing hands at around $1,820, losing 0.8% over the last 24 hours. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) is lower by 1.7%.
Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors made a wildly bullish prediction on CNBC, saying approval of a spot bitcoin ETF could see the price jump more than five-fold from current levels. I think the demand will be greater than the daily supply of bitcoin, so the clearing price […] is over $150,000, could even be $180,000, Lee said.
Major alternative cryptocurrencies – altcoins – crumbled during the day, vastly underperforming the CMI’s 1.7% decline, as well as BTC and ETH. Ripple’s XRP buckled below 60 cents for the first time since its mid-July court ruling-inspired rally. It’s now lower by 4.7% over the past 24 hours and 19% over the past month.
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at investment manager VanEck, said the current price action is marked by unusually low volatility, low levels of leverage and speculative activity. Falling volatility has been a trend for much of the past year despite the extreme events which led to the bankruptcy of every major crypto lender, Sigel said.