Bitcoin price LIVE: Bitcoin ETF decision puts BTC in flux – Crypto crash hits market

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Continued uncertainty over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to approve a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has caused prices to crash.

Bitcoin a huge amount of ground today, dropping 8.72 percent on the day to trade at $6,494.73.

Ethereum crashes down by 11.98 percent to trade at $306.88.

Ripple fell a whopping 17.83 percent to trade at $0.337825, while Litecoin suffers a 14.05 percent loss to sell for $64.07 percent.

Bitcoin prices are unable to rally against a flood of unsure investors waiting to see what happens with the ETF decision, which could ultimately make or break the market. 

Can BTC recover and gain the ground it is predicted to make in 2018?

3.45pm UPDATE: Bitcoin ETF decision poses unanswered question, says eToro analyst

The continued uncertainty over the SEC’s decision to ratify and approve the proposed bitcoin ETF has caused prices to drop and poses a number of unanswered questions among the community, according to Matthew Newton, an analyst at eToro. 

Mr Newton said: “A green light for the bitcoin ETF would fire the starting gun on a race among institutional investors to cash-in on this new product. The market is therefore rightly frustrated by the delay to the decision.

“But there is something bigger at stake. The lingering question mark for the SEC is around bitcoin custody. To approve the decision, they’d need to do so in the knowledge that the ETF was backed by physical bitcoin – either stored by the CBOE or a third party.

“Sooner rather than later, these incumbents will either have to decide whether to develop their own storage capabilities in-house, or place their trust in crypto institutions. We could even start to see consolidation in the market with heavyweight finance houses acquiring crypto companies. Goldman Sachs has already begun deliberations over custody, so watch this space.

“Along with regulatory oversight, this question of custody will determine the next big move in the market.”