BTC Tumbles Below $44K, Bitcoin Miners Drop 10% Boosting ETF ‘Sell the News’ Calls

Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to near $43,000 Friday, a fall of 6% in day-over-day trading, while some bitcoin mining stocks tumbled over 10% extending yesterday’s decline after Thursday’s highly-anticipated spot bitcoin ETF debut.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell to as low as $43,200 during the U.S. trading session, down from around $46,000 earlier today and 11% lower than Thursday’s two-year peak of $49,000, CoinDesk data shows.

Cryptocurrency-adjacent stocks also endured significant pullback, with miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Hut 8 (HUT) both recording more than 10% declines. Riot Platforms (RIOT), another BTC miner, sank 8%. Coinbase, the crypto exchange that plays a key role in multiple spot bitcoin ETFs, also saw its stock price drop 6%.

The decline happened a day after spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) launched, marking a significant milestone for the industry. Bitcoin ETFs are traditional financial vehicles that may let retail investors more easily gain exposure to bitcoin’s price.

Friday’s price declines may not be a surprise; research firm CryptoQuant predicted last month that bitcoin would fall to as low as $32,000 in the next month after an ETF approval, being a “sell the news” event.

Notably, previous landmark events such as Coinbase’s stock market listing in April 2021 and ProShares’ futures-based bitcoin ETF (BITO) debut in October 2021 happened near a significant peak in crypto prices, possibly foreshadowing cooling prices ahead.