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- Bitcoin finished August about 10% lower, its second consecutive losing month.
- Crypto was caught up in a tough sell-off that hit stocks and bonds throughout the month.
- Bitcoin extended losses into September, down more than 2.5% on Friday to trade at $25,660.
Bitcoin just capped off its second-straight losing month, shedding more than 10% over the last four weeks.
The decline happened alongside a sell-off in stocks and bonds, and on Friday the world's largest cryptocurrency traded around $25,800, lower by more than 2.5% to extend losses into the new month.
Even as investors cheered Grayscale's court win over the Securities and Exchange Commission—which many see as helping to pave the way for a spot bitcoin ETF—bitcoin couldn't eke out a gain in August.
Grayscale sued the SEC in 2022 after the agency rejected its application to turn its bitcoin trust into an ETF. Analysts speculate that the ruling out of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals could mean the SEC will ultimately approve the numerous applications for spot bitcoin ETFs currently in limbo.
Bitcoin hasn't been able to find solid footing this summer after soaring about 80% in the first half of the year. Still, even with July and August's losses, the token has gained more the 54% year-to-date.
It wasn't just bitcoin feeling the pain of the August sell-off. Other tokens, including ether, solana, and dogecoin all slumped, with each of the tokens sliding further Friday. The end-of-week dip comes after the SEC announced late Thursday that it would delay deciding on all of its spot bitcoin ETF applications until October. Applicants included BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, and other firms.
Still, with bitcoin's halving event set to happen in April 2024, many executives and strategists remain bullish in their long-term outlook. Joe Kelly, the cofounder of financial services firm Unchained, said the token could breach the six-figure mark a year after halving.
"Taking a conservative view, if bitcoin stays around $30K until the halving, even a 12-month post-halving increase of 250% — which, again, is conservative relative to previous halvings — would price bitcoin at $105K," Kelly wrote in an August note.