Bitcoin Price Drops to Nearly $65,000 as Mt. Gox Creditors Gain Assets through Kraken
Cryptocurrencies experienced a decline on Tuesday as Kraken initiated the distribution of assets to creditors of the now-defunct exchange Mt. Gox, leading to potential selling pressure impacting the market.
Bitcoin saw a drop to $65,500, marking a nearly 4% decrease over the past 24 hours, while bitcoin cash plummeted by more than 7% during the same period. The broader crypto market, as reflected by the CoinDesk 20 Index, decreased by 3%, with major altcoins like solana (SOL), Ripple’s XRP (XRP), and Cardano’s ADA (ADA) down by 4%-5%.
Ether (ETH) outperformed many assets, trading relatively flat below $3,500, supported by the strong trading volumes of U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) on their debut day.
The recent price movements were triggered by multiple creditors finally receiving their cryptocurrencies after a decade-long wait from Mt. Gox’s estate. Mt. Gox, once a prominent crypto exchange that collapsed in 2014 following a hack, began transferring assets to various crypto exchanges this month, allowing users to reclaim their assets in the coming weeks.
The imminent distribution of nearly $9 billion worth of BTC and BCH has raised concerns among digital asset investors. They are contemplating how much of these assets creditors will sell on the open market to capitalize on the significant price appreciation witnessed over the past decade.
Crypto prices have been reacting negatively to news related to Mt. Gox’s blockchain transfers. Earlier, bitcoin slipped to around $66,000 after Mt. Gox wallets moved $2.8 billion worth of assets, including $130 million in BTC to Bitstamp, indicating forthcoming distribution to creditors.
As the crypto market navigates these developments, investors are closely monitoring the impact of Mt. Gox’s asset distribution on prices and market dynamics.
