Bitcoin Falls Below $61K as Trader Maintains $150K Forecast This Year

• Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies suffered sharp declines during Asian trading, reversing gains made earlier in the week.

• The price drop was attributed in part to concerns about large BTC sales from the now-defunct exchange Mt. Gox, which is set to distribute assets stolen in a 2014 hack later this month.

• One trader continues to predict a BTC price of $150,000 this year despite short-term turbulence.

Bitcoin (BTC) led declines in Asian trading as major tokens erased gains made earlier in the week.

BTC fell to $60,900 from over $62,000 shortly after Tokyo markets opened, with losses of up to 3% in ether {{ETH}}, Solana’s SOL and dogecoin {{DOGE}}. XRP was little changed while Cardano’s ADA pared some gains from a Tuesday rally as its development base published certain indicators to comply with with European regulatory requirements.

The broad base CoinDesk 20 (CD20)a liquid index of the largest tokens, has fallen more than 1.7% in the past 24 hours.

The declines came as U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track bitcoin recorded outflows of 13 million dollarsbreaking a five-day streak of entries.

Concerns that large BTC sales would follow distributions from the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange likely contributed to the bearish sentiment, Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a Telegram broadcast on Tuesday.

“The Mt Gox launch is also scheduled to take place this week,” QCP Capital said. “This overhang of up to 140,000 BTC is likely to continue to weigh on markets, especially as the exact launch schedule is unknown at this time.”

Mt. Gox will begin distributing assets stolen from customers in a 2014 hack in July 2024, after years of delayed deadlines. The refunds will be made in bitcoin and bitcoin cash, and could potentially add selling pressure to both markets, as previously reported.

However, some traders’ bullish long-term outlook remains intact, with expectations of a rally to as high as $150,000 following the completion of the Mt. Gox distribution.

“One of the biggest overhangs will be gone in July, so I think that’s a reason to expect a strong recovery in the second half,” said Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors. said in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. “$150 [thousand] it’s inside …”

Lee first said in February that he expects BTC hit $150,000 by 2024 due to demand from spot ETFs, the reward halving, and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

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