Barely 7 Days Since ETF Approval, Over $160 Billion Evaporated from Crypto Market

The crypto market, which gained substantial momentum in the last quarter of 2023, is facing a turbulent start to the New Year, with over $160 billion wiped out in under seven days since the BTC ETF approval.

Despite top digital assets holding close to their December highs, the early weeks of 2024 witnessed intense price corrections, dramatic drops, and heightened volatility.

Meanwhile, a pivotal moment during this period was the license for the inaugural Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. The endorsement came amid uncertainty and a false message regarding earlier approval. 

Following the genuine statement of approval, Bitcoin briefly reached $48,900, another historic price point. However, the celebration was short-lived as Bitcoin corrected on the same day it almost retested the $49k threshold.

Bitcoin has continued a downward spiral since January 11, hovering at $42,760 at the time of reporting. This marks a substantial 8.68% decline over the past week despite reports of institutions accumulating Bitcoin for ETF purposes.

Other prominent cryptocurrencies mirrored the Bitcoin trend, including Cardano (ADA), XRP, and Solana (SOL). In particular, they experienced a notable surge upon the crypto ETF approval, followed by a significant retracement.

Crypto Market Lost $160 Billion.

According to CoinMarketCap data, the global valuation of the crypto asset market clocked $1.84 trillion as of January 11. However, the statistics suggest the overall market is now worth $1.68 trillion at press time.

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Essentially, over $160 billion has evaporated from the market in under seven despite the presence of a crypto ETF directly investing in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin alone accounted for over $122.13 billion of this decline. Specifically, it has tanked from its 2024 peak market cap of $958.67 billion on January 11 to $836.54 billion at press time.

However, Bitcoin’s closest rival, Ethereum (ETH), stood out amid the market fluctuations. The greenish charts have dominated its overall trajectory since the past week. Emphatically, ETH still holds a 10% gain in its one-week trajectory despite the Bitcoin-induced market sell-off.