Bitcoin plunges 10 percent as December rout continues to drag down cryptocurrencies

• As of Asia’s afternoon trade, Bitcoin had fallen more than 9.5 percent against the U.S. dollar in 24 hours, according to Coindesk.
It’s been a rough December for the digital token: Its price dropped 8 percent on the first day of the month.
Bitcoin traded at $3,337.32 as of 12:28 p.m. HK/SIN (11:28 p.m. ET on Thursday), falling 9.88 percent over the last 24 hours, according to data from industry site Coindesk.
Meanwhile, prices for the second and third largest cryptocurrencies by market value, XRP and Ether, also saw sharp declines in the 24 hour period. XRP fell by 10.62 percent and Ether dropped 15.90 percent, according to Coindesk.
This calendar year has generally been unkind to cryptocurrency prices, with the industry seeing its entire market cap falling almost 87.09 percent from its highs in January, according to data from Coinmarketcap. 24-hour trading volumes have also plunged about 61.65 percent since then.
In recent industry related news, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) posted an update on Thursday regarding the approval process for a rule change proposal for the allowance of a bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF).
An ETF is a financial product that tctach the price of an asset and is listed on an exchange. It means that investors don’t actually have to purchase the hidden asset. ETF’s are seen as a path for institutional investors to get into crypto currency investing in a safer path than purchasing bitcoin on a crypto-asset exchange.
The ETF in question is the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, created in a team up between money management firm VanEck and blockchain company SolidX. The attempt is VanEck’s third at creating a bitcoin ETF. In the update, the SEC said it was delaying its decision until Feb. 29, 2018.
“The Commission found it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to problem an order confirm or unconfirm the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider this proposed rule change,” Eduardo A. Aleman, assistant secretary in the SEC, said in the release.
The last time the SEC postponed the decision on the VanEck SolidX bitcoin ETF, over $9 billion was wiped off the value of bitcoin.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the U.S. sought to introduce new rules on Thursday for the cryptocurrency industry aimed at protecting consumers and keeping America ahead in the space.