CoinTelegraph reported on July 3rd that the price of Bitcoin fell below the $60,000 mark – Mt. Gox may begin releasing $9 billion worth of BTC.
BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Since June, the price of Bitcoin has been on a downward trend, falling nearly 18% in the second quarter of 2024.
Investors have been eagerly anticipating a breakthrough of the $70,000 mark, paving the way for a new all-time high, but losing the current $60,000 support could mean a longer price adjustment.
Is Mt. Gox starting to repay creditors?
Bitcoin falling below $60,000 could be due to Mt. Gox beginning to repay creditors’ assets in early July.
According to a chart shared by Charles Edwards, founder of the digital asset hedge fund Capriole Investments, showing the volume of Bitcoin transfers from the last 7 to 10 years, the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange may have already started repaying creditors.
Edwards wrote in a July 2nd post:
Bitcoin: Spent Output, Source: Charles Edwards
About 127,000 Mt. Gox creditors are owed more than $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin, and these creditors have been waiting over a decade to recover their funds. This could mean many investors will cash out after 10 years of no profits.
However, the $9 billion from Mt. Gox might be absorbed by institutional funds, flowing into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. According to Dune, these ETFs have accumulated over $52.5 billion worth of Bitcoin since their launch in January this year.
Bitcoin ETF, Net Flow. Source: Dune
Did Bitcoin whales cause Bitcoin to fall below $60,000?
Whales or large Bitcoin holding entities may have caused the price of Bitcoin to break below the critical psychological level.
An unknown whale sold $180 million worth of Bitcoin within three minutes – an exceptionally high amount to be sold at market value in such a short time.
According to a July 3rd post, popular industry observer Zaheer identified this massive sell-off based on the chart below.
BTC/USD, price and total funds chart. Source: Zaheer
According to Lookonchain,
another unknown whale deposited 1,723 Bitcoins worth over $168 million into Binance in the past 24 hours, also contributing to the price drop.
BTC whale transfer to Binance. Source: Lookonchain
The transfer of Bitcoin whales to the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange indicates that the entity is seeking to sell and lock in profits.
