According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency markets experienced a downturn on Monday, with altcoins seeing sharp declines. The situation worsened in the afternoon after a fake corporate registration for the iShares XRP Trust was revealed. XRP's value briefly spiked by 10% when a document resembling a Delaware corporation registry for the iShares XRP Trust was made public. This document was similar to legitimate filings by BlackRock for spot bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, a BlackRock spokesperson denied any connection to the filing, and XRP's gains were subsequently erased, with the cryptocurrency trading down 1.8% over the past 24 hours.
The fake news further impacted an already struggling crypto market. SOL, which had led the altcoin rally by more than doubling in price within a month, fell by 8% over the past 24 hours. LINK and AVAX experienced losses of over 10% and 13%, respectively, while Cardano's (ADA), Polkadot's (DOT), and dogecoin (DOGE) each dropped by 5%-7%. BTC also reached a session low, declining by approximately 2% over the day to around $36,500. ETH relinquished earlier gains, remaining flat over the past 24 hours and maintaining a value above the crucial $2,000 level. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), which comprises nearly 200 crypto assets, fell by over 2%. Last week, JPMorgan analysts cautioned that the crypto rally, primarily driven by enthusiasm for spot BTC ETFs, appeared 'overdone' as investors became overly optimistic about new capital entering the digital asset space. Lucas Outumuro, head of research at IntoTheBlock, stated in a Friday report that the market displayed signs of overheating in the short term, but strong on-chain activity indicated that the crypto winter had ended.
