Ether Poised for Largest Daily Decline in Three Months, No US ETF Rebound Reported by Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – The cryptocurrency ether experienced a decline of up to 7% on Thursday, falling victim to a broader market sell-off and failing to benefit from the recent launch of the first U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the currency.

As the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, ether was last down 6% at $3,170, marking its largest daily percentage drop in three months and positioning it squarely in the middle of its recent trading range.

In contrast, bitcoin was down 3% at $63,930.

Despite the launch of U.S. ETFs linked to ether’s price earlier this week, they did not have the same positive impact on ether’s value that spot bitcoin ETFs had on bitcoin earlier this year.

Instead, macroeconomic trends have become more influential. Global stock markets have faced significant declines over the past few weeks, particularly within the technology sector and other "risk assets" that often correlate with cryptocurrencies.

On Wednesday, the Nasdaq saw nearly a 4% drop, marking its steepest one-day decline since 2022, as disappointing earnings reports from major companies like Alphabet and Tesla raised concerns about the already high valuations of key tech stocks.

Shares associated with the cryptocurrency sector also suffered, with miners experiencing drops in premarket trading on Thursday. Coinbase saw a decrease of 2.3%, while Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital declined by 3.4-4%.

European markets also opened lower, falling by 1.4% in early trading on Thursday.