Mt. Gox Bitcoin Redistribution Sparks Major Sell-Off and Market Uncertainty

The cryptocurrency markets, which had been losing value throughout the week, saw a major sell-off on Friday. An interesting detail emerged behind both the massive sell-off and the depreciation of cryptocurrencies.

The crypto market experienced a significant drop when the Mt. Gox exchange transferred 47,229 Bitcoins (worth $2.71 billion) to another wallet, causing Bitcoin to fall below $55,000 and resulting in $665 million in daily liquidations. Bitcoin’s value plunged sharply following the uncertainties that began with the distribution of the stolen assets from the bankrupt Mt. Gox exchange in 2014 to their rightful owners. The leading cryptocurrency tested the level of $53,219, dropping below $54,000 and marking its lowest level since February. Bitcoin ended the week with a 9% loss, bringing its total decline to over 26% since reaching its peak of $73,798 in mid-March.

Analysts indicate that the decline in the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is due to the initiation of the process of distributing the stolen assets from the Mt. Gox exchange to their owners. The now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange is expected to gradually distribute about $10 billion worth of crypto assets to their owners this month, with some of these assets anticipated to be sold. Analysts also note that uncertainties surrounding the U.S. presidential elections have created selling pressure on crypto assets. Concerns have arisen following Joe Biden’s debate performance against his rival candidate Donald Trump, raising the possibility of a less crypto-friendly candidate being elected as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Ethereum, on the other hand, experienced a 15% loss over the past five business days, finding buyers at its lowest level of $2,822. This marked the lowest level for Ethereum in two months. According to Coinglass data, a total of 230,541 traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours. Additionally, starting from early July, Mt. Gox will begin distributing 142,000 Bitcoins, 143,000 Bitcoin Cash, and 69 billion Japanese Yen to its creditors.