Bitcoin encountered a significant downturn on the 15th anniversary of its inception, known as Genesis Day.
The cryptocurrency saw its value sharply decrease by approximately $3,000 in a span of just two hours. According to BitDegree data, Bitcoin fell beneath the $42,000 mark from a daily high of $45,425.
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Currently, Bitcoin's trading value stands at $42,601, marking a decline of nearly 7% in the last 24 hours.
This abrupt fall in Bitcoin's price occurred amidst a notable change in market forecasts. Matrixport, a digital financial services platform, had previously anticipated the US Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by January 2024, projecting a surge in Bitcoin's value.
However, this outlook was quickly revised. On January 2nd, Matrixport reversed its prediction, now expecting the SEC to reject all proposals for Bitcoin spot ETFs in January.
The firm also indicated that approvals for such ETFs might not be forthcoming until at least the second quarter of the year.
This sudden pivot in Matrixport's forecast, shared via X (formerly Twitter), may have influenced Bitcoin's sharp price drop, reflecting the cryptocurrency market's sensitivity to changes in expert analyses and regulatory expectations.
It is worth noting that other cryptocurrencies also followed Bitcoin's lead. Ether (ETH) fell to the $2.2K mark, recording almost 8% decline in the last 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Avalanche (AVAX), also saw a decline from 6% to almost 14% on the last day.
