Investing.com - Bitcoin and other digital assets turned bearish on Thursday, taking the total market cap to its lowest value since November 2017.
Bitcoin slumped down 4.32% to an almost one month low of $6,242.80 on the Bitfinex exchange, as of 8:25 AM ET (12:25 GMT).
Cryptocurrencies overall were lower. The coin market cap was at a nine-month low of $224 billion at the time of writing.
Ethereum, the second-biggest alternative currency by market cap fell 4.08% to $354.43 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third-largest virtual currency, decreased 5.63% to $0.33291 while Litecoin was at $60.48, down 9.24%.
The price of digital coins fell on Wednesday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission postponed its decision on a crypto exchange traded fund. The SEC will decide by the end of September if VanEck Associates and Solid Partners can list their Bitcoin-backed ETF, the agency said. The SEC already denied a similar ETF proposal in July and nine other proposals are being considered by the agency.
Digital currencies were boosted earlier in the month amid anticipation that a Bitcoin-backed ETF could get approved this year. Some analysts warn that a digital asset ETF isn’t likely to get approved before 2019.
In other news, blockchain company Tezos Foundation is still being sued in a civil claims lawsuit that alleges the company violated U.S. securities laws. A motion to dismiss the case was blocked by a federal court judge on Wednesday.
Tezos is the first blockchain relted company to be hit with a class-action lawsuits. The companies initial coin offering raised $232 million in July 2017. The defendants argue that the ICO does not fall under the SEC because it was administered by the Switzerland-based company. But the judge ruled that involvement of U.S.-based company Dynamic Ledger Solutions made the two companies interconnected and was not grounds for dismissal.