The global financial community watched closely as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved several Bitcoin ETF applications on January 10th, including those from prominent firms such as BlackRock and Fidelity. This long-awaited decision came after a period of speculation that had already impacted Bitcoin’s price.
Bitcoin experienced a moderate increase to $47,600 but maintained a mostly horizontal trend, gaining only 1.3% in the last 24 hours. In contrast, altcoins saw significant gains, suggesting the start of an ‘altcoin season’ as referred to by many investors.
Analysts noted that Bitcoin’s price movement in the previous days, possibly influenced by a fake news report following a hack of the SEC’s social media account, had already factored in the ETF news, making the actual announcement less impactful on Bitcoin’s value.
The market’s reaction was more pronounced among altcoins, with several experiencing double-digit growth. Notable figures in the crypto industry, such as ‘Altcoin Sherpa’ and Dan Gambardello, commented on the stronger performance of altcoins relative to Bitcoin, welcoming newcomers to the volatility of the crypto market.
The total cryptocurrency market cap rose by 3.8% in one day, reaching a 21-month high of $1.85 trillion, largely driven by altcoins. Ethereum, Cardano, Avalanche, Polkadot, Chainlink, and Polygon were among the top gainers, with many altcoins outperforming Bitcoin at the time of reporting.
