Sunday’s crypto sell-off accelerated minutes after the SEC announced an unscheduled Monday meeting “to resolve litigation matters.” While the agenda wasn’t crypto-specific, markets reacted sharply:
• Bitcoin dropped 3.5% within 15 minutes of the notice
• SEC-related altcoins suffered worse (XRP -9.1%, SOL -11.4%)
• Crypto-related stocks (COIN, MSTR) fell 5-7% in pre-market
“This reflects trauma from past SEC surprises,” said former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz. “Traders are pricing risk of unexpected enforcement actions against major platforms.”
The sell-off came despite bullish fundamentals:
• Bitcoin network hash rate at all-time high
• Spot ETF inflows had been positive for 15 straight days
• Stablecoin supply actually increased $180M during the drop
