Markets
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Drops Below $66K as Mt. Gox Creditors Receive Crypto on Kraken
Cryptocurrencies slid on Tuesday as Kraken began distributing assets to creditors of the defunct Mt. Gox exchange, with potential selling pressure weighing on the market.
Bitcoin (BTC) has plummeted to $65,500, down nearly 4% in the past 24 hours, while bitcoin cash (BCH) has fallen by more than 7% in the same period.
Ether (ETH) outperformed most assets, trading mostly steady below $3,500, supported by U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that saw strong trading volumes on their debut day.
The price action came as several creditors reported receiving their cryptocurrencies after a decade-long wait from the estate of Mt. Gox, a once-giant cryptocurrency exchange that imploded in 2014 after a hack. The estate started this month to transfer assets to several cryptocurrency exchanges, where users will be able to retrieve the assets in the coming weeks.
The upcoming distribution of BTC and BCH worth nearly $9 billion was a main source of concern For digital asset investors, consider how much of these assets lenders will sell on the open market to capitalize on the huge price appreciation of the past decade.
Cryptocurrency prices Often he reacted negatively on news of Mt. Gox-related blockchain transfers recently. Earlier today, bitcoin slipped to nearly $66,000 after Mt. Gox wallets transferred $2.8 billion in assets, including $130 million in BTC to Bitstamp, foreshadowing distribution to creditors.