Bitcoin Retreats From 2-Year High on First Day of ETF Trading

Bitcoin pared gains after surging past $49,000 for the first time since December 2021 with trading commencing for the first US exchange-traded funds that invest directly in the biggest cryptocurrency.

The token had advanced as much as 6.7% to $49,021, buoyed by the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission after markets closed on Wednesday. It was recently trading at around $46,300. Most smaller tokens, such as Ether, Cardano and Polkadot were higher.

More than $4.6 billion changed hands in the first day of trading for the ETFs. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust saw $2.3 billion ...