Bitcoin
Stable at $68K amid rate fears, MT Gox risk eases By Investing.com
Investing.com – Bitcoin price rose slightly on Wednesday but remained within its recent trading range as caution over U.S. inflation and interest rates kept traders largely averse to risk-oriented assets, like cryptocurrencies.
But the world’s largest cryptocurrency saw some price relief after media reports suggested that crypto exchange Mt Gox clarified that it had no immediate plans to sell its huge Bitcoin holdings, although it was preparing a plan to pay creditors.
rose 1.5% in the last 24 hours to $68,826.3 at 01:00 ET (05:00 GMT). The token has remained within the $60,000 to $70,000 range seen over the past two months.
Mt Gox saw mobilization of Bitcoin holdings, but no sales took place
Bitcoin was spooked by failed cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox, which moved around $9 billion worth of tokens this week, sparking speculation that the exchange was planning to divest the token to repay its creditors and account holders.
But later reports stated that the exchange had no plans to immediately offload any tokens, although it was still preparing to pay its obligations.
Former Mt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles said the Bitcoins moved were likely administrators moving the tokens in preparation for an eventual distribution, and that there was no imminent sale taking place.
Mt Gox has been a key point of contention for Bitcoin traders, given that the now-defunct exchange has a huge pool of tokens that will likely be liquidated to repay creditors. Such a sell-off could represent enormous immediate selling pressure on the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Advance, Fee Fears Cap Gains
Most major altcoins rose slightly on Wednesday, with the world’s No. 2 token rising 0.8% to $3,864.29. The token has remained near two-month highs, retaining much of its recent gains after the Securities and Exchange Commission marked some progress toward approving an exchange-traded fund that directly tracks the token.
Similar spot products have also started trading on UK markets.
Other altcoins rose slightly, although gains were limited amid lingering concerns about higher-for-longer interest rates and sticky inflation.
rose 0.8%, while it added 3.6%. Among meme tokens, it rose nearly 17% while adding 2.6%.
This week’s focus was squarely on the data, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation. The reading is expected on Friday and will likely be factored into the central bank’s plans for interest rates.
The data comes as a number of Fed officials have warned that rates will remain high for longer – a scenario that bodes ill for crypto.