The dollar value of Bitcoin remains extremely volatile. Although there were signs of recovery over the weekend, the value tumbled this morning (Monday) as the Asian markets opened. What is the cause of this dip? Is it due to the expected repayment from Mt. Gox or the Germans offloading their Bitcoin stash? Additionally, the US Feds’ decisions on rate cuts cannot be ignored.
A Bloody Week
Bitcoin peaked at almost $74,000 earlier this year, boosted by the approval of the long-awaited spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. However, due to periodic volatility, the cryptocurrency is trading around $57,500, down by around 23 percent.
In the past week alone, the value of Bitcoin has decreased by about 10 percent.
As always, the reasons behind Bitcoin’s volatility are mixed. However, this time, the bearish sentiments might have been triggered by a few events.
Bitcoin price movement in the past 1 month
A $9 Billion Payout
A prominent trigger might be the upcoming repayment to the creditors of the now-defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox. After ten years of countless delays, the Mt. Gox administrator finally decided to repay the distressed creditors in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
At its peak, Mt. Gox handled 70 percent of all Bitcoin transactions. However, the exchange lost an estimated 740,000 Bitcoin, which led to its closure in 2014.
Recently, Mt. Gox-related Bitcoin wallets moved 47,228 Bitcoins. However, it was unclear if those Bitcoins were moved for the purpose of repayment. The anticipation of such a massive volume of Bitcoin hitting the market might have created selling pressure, resulting in the recent volatility.
The Mt. Gox payout is estimated to be $9 billion. However, experts believe that the $1.1 trillion Bitcoin market has the potential to absorb the pressure from the sell-off by the Mt. Gox creditors.
#Bitcoin This is the MTGOX official announcement. “We ask eligible rehabilitation creditors to wait for a while.” This is similar language to that issued during the decade creditors have waited so far. I can see most people being happy with more delays. Especially non creditors. pic.twitter.com/6sTcbTNaXY
— Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) July 6, 2024
“Mt. Gox moved [a massive amount of] BTC, signalling the start of their repayment process, which has caused some market fear due to the large potential sell-off,” Willy Chuang, COO of crypto exchange WOO X, told crypto-focused publication Coindesk. “However, it’s worth noting that…
