Bitcoin
Steady at $61K amid Mt. Gox, inflation jitters By Investing.com
Investing.com — The price of Bitcoin showed little movement on Friday, posting sharp losses last month as expectations of a large distribution by defunct exchange Mt Gox kept investors nervous about the possibility of further price weakness.
Sentiment towards the broader crypto markets was also tense ahead of a key US inflation reading due on Friday, which is likely to influence the outlook for interest rates.
rose 1.2% in the last 24 hours to $61,515.2 at 01:39 ET (05:39 GMT).
Mt Gox Liquidation Fears Persist, Bitcoin Heads for Losses in June
Distributions of tokens stolen from the Mt Gox exchange in 2014 remained the biggest point of concern for Bitcoin. The exchange’s liquidators said distributions will begin in early July and will see stolen Bitcoins and tokens returned to customers.
Given that the tokens will have a substantially higher value than when they were stolen, traders speculated that the recipients would likely sell their tokens, representing a massive sell-off event for Bitcoin, which could substantially reduce prices.
This notion weighed heavily on Bitcoin prices throughout the week and put the world’s largest cryptocurrency on track for a nearly 9% drop in June.
Crypto Price Today: Ether Sees Some ETF Hopes Offerings
Broader cryptocurrency prices rose but were still suffering losses as of June.
The world’s No. 2 token rose about 1%, boosted by reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission may approve an Ether exchange-traded fund as early as next week.
But the token also fell nearly 9% in June.
and rose between 1.4% and 6%, and was also nursing losses until June. Trading volumes in altcoins were also limited.
Among meme tokens, they rose more than 2% each on Friday.
The strength of the dollar, which hit a two-month high, pressured cryptocurrency prices as traders turned to the greenback ahead of data due on Friday.
The reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and will likely be related to the interest rate outlook.
The prospect of high interest rates over longer periods was a key drag on cryptocurrency prices through June, as the sector typically thrives in a low-rate and highly speculative environment.