Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) traded down 3.5% on May 24 as a long-awaited institutional milestone failed to boost markets.

Bitcoin, Ether disappoint bulls on ETF confirmation

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action lingering near $67,000, with ETH price at $3,670.

Both had offered a muted reaction to news that United States regulators had approved the launch of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A significant achievement for the crypto industry and a sharp U-turn on policy for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the ETFs were nonetheless not yet ready to trade. Additional preparations, which analysts suggested could take several weeks, pushed back the likely launch date.

Discussing the latest events, James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas, dedicated ETF analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence, entertained the idea of a mid-June go-ahead.

BTC/USD and ETH/USD thus avoided an impulse move higher and even came off local highs into the daily close.

Of more interest to market participants on the day were the dynamics between the two largest cryptocurrencies.

Popular trader Daan Crypto Trades saw the potential for Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market cap to be challenged considerably once the Ethereum ETFs launched.

“With the recent $ETH rally, we've seen #Bitcoin Dominance head back down,” he wrote in part of a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“This has been in an up trend for about 1.5 years and if there's anything that could reverse this trend it would be ETH leading on the back of an ETF being approved. 52% and 48% are the main levels.”

The risk to the uptrend was also noted by other traders in what they considered may be a prelude to a full-blown “altseason.”

Bitcoin dominance hit 57% in mid-April, just before its block subsidy halving — the highest levels in more than two years.

BTC price reaction "key" at $66,000

Examining how low BTC price action might go before buyers stepped in, popular trader Skew noted a zone of interest around $66,000.

Related: Traders say Bitcoin price correction a ‘fake out’ before the next leg up

This, he explained in analysis released on May 23, was home to nearby patches of bid liquidity on largest global exchange Binance.

“Seeing some initial spot demand around $66K - $65K, reaction is key as well to gauge absorption of sellers Spot supply remains around current high $72K - $76K,” he confirmed.

Skew added that the week’s price run had been “driven by spot exchanges,” highlighting both Binance and largest U.S. trading platform Coinbase.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.