After briefly hovering below $39,000 earlier this week, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has recovered to around $41,141 today. However, the crypto bellwether still remains nearly 7% lower so far this year.
Despite early gains today, Ethereum (ETH-USD), Solana (SOL-USD), and Ripple (XRP-USD) also remain nearly 4%, 17%, and 18% lower, respectively, so far this month. With the hype over spot BTC ETFs subsiding, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), too, has cracked by over 30% during this period.
A key cause of concern for spot crypto ETFs could be waning investor interest. According to Bloomberg, net inflows in the newly minted ETFs stood at about $857 million during the first nine days. However, Bitcoin’s role as a haven of safety could once again come to the forefront as the world grapples with rising geopolitical tensions and disrupted supply chains.
Further, investors may find it difficult to generate substantial returns in 2024 following last year’s rally in equities. Consequently, rising crypto could emerge as a way to keep the gains coming this year. For Chinese investors, though, a jump into cryptos could be more of a way to escape the pain from the country’s equity price slump.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back its decision on a spot ETH ETF from BlackRock (NYSE:BLK). Other names vying for an ETH ETF include Invesco, ARK Invest, and VanEck.
According to CoinTelegraph, Chris Burniske, from Venture Capital firm Placeholder, sees BTC dropping to mid-to-high $20,000 levels before the cryptocurrency resumes a journey towards its all-time highs. A recent survey of retail investors by Deutsche Bank pointed to expectations of BTC dropping below the $20,000 mark by the end of 2024 among over a third of participants. Interestingly, 42% of respondents expect BTC to “disappear,” according to CoinDesk.
In the meantime, immediate major resistance for BTC can be expected at around $41,700 levels in case the largest cryptocurrency in the world does not disappear over the next few sessions.
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