Bitcoin
falls to $57K as recovery stalls; Mt Gox fears persist By Investing.com
Investing.com– Bitcoin’s price fell on Thursday as a recent rally was halted by lingering concerns over the token’s rising supply, amid little sign that selling pressure from Mt Gox and the German government had eased.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has suffered a 15% drop in the past month and remained on the brink of a bear market as fears of a surge in token supply roil markets.
fell 2.7% over the past 24 hours to $57,772.4 as of 01:33 ET (05:33 GMT). The token saw limited relief from some bargain buying this week.
Mt Gox, German selloffs and miner capitulation weigh on Bitcoin
Defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox has remained a key point of contention for Bitcoin after the exchange’s administrators said they had begun returning tokens to customers affected by a 2014 hack.
It was not immediately clear how much the distribution would involve. But wallets linked to the exchange were seen mobilizing around $9 billion worth of tokens earlier this year.
Additionally, the German government was also seen offloading confiscated Bitcoins from a piracy website and could potentially hold at least $2 billion worth of tokens.
Sharp drops in Bitcoin’s price have sparked concerns that major Bitcoin miners could start selling off some of their assets to break even, especially after the Bitcoin halving reduced miner rewards earlier this year.
Bargain Buying Helps Limit Bitcoin Losses
Bitcoin still remained above four-month lows hit in early July as recent price drops attracted a flurry of bargain buying of the token.
Capital inflows into Bitcoin investment products, particularly exchange-traded funds, have surged over the past week, helping to inspire some confidence in the currency. This has also kept Bitcoin’s price off recent lows.
Sentiment toward cryptocurrency ETFs is likely to improve in the coming weeks, especially as the Securities and Exchange Commission prepares to make a major decision on spot ETFs for the world’s second-largest token, Ether.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Altcoins Mixed, CPI Data Awaited
Among broader cryptocurrency prices, major altcoins were on the rise but also saw steep losses in recent weeks as Bitcoin sold off.
fell 0.1% to $3,099.20, while adding 1%. rose 2.5%, while sliding over 2%. Among meme tokens, it fell 1.1%.
Improved optimism over U.S. interest rate cuts hurt the , but still provided little support to cryptocurrency prices. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled further progress in reducing inflation, but warned that the central bank still needed more confidence to cut interest rates.
The focus now turns squarely to the headline data, which will be released later on Thursday, for more information on rates.