Bitcoin prices fell to $57,000 late Thursday and hit a low of $53,800 in the early hours of Friday, according to TradingView. The extended correction came after $2.7 billion in bitcoin was moved from a Mt. Gox wallet to a new address yesterday.
On Thursday evening, a wallet controlled by Mt. Gox, a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange, transferred 47,229 BTC, worth about $2.7 billion, to a new hot wallet, according to Arkham.
The latest wallet activity is believed to be part of a plan by Mt. Gox’s trustee to distribute more than $9 billion in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and fiat to creditors starting in July. The trustee publicly disclosed the repayment plan last month.
Bitcoin’s bearish momentum has been exacerbated by recent moves in Mt. Gox. Pressure has increased in recent weeks due to Bitcoin transfers from the German and US governments.
According to CoinShares, Mt. Gox’s debt settlement could trigger panic selling across crypto markets. The worst-case scenario is a 19% daily drop if all BTC is sold at once. But that’s highly unlikely.
As Bitcoin loses momentum, altcoins are bleeding. Ethereum has fallen below $3,000, down 10% in the last day, according to CoinGecko.
Over the past 24 hours, Binance Coin (BNB) and Toncoin (TON) have fallen by 12% and 13%, respectively. Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA) have each suffered a sharp drop of 15%. TRON (TRX) has fallen by 3.5%.
According to Alternative.me, fear has gripped the cryptocurrency market, with the Fear and Greed Index falling to 29.
