Bitcoin is down $20k since March - here's why
- Most of the bitcoin being repaid by Mt. Gox will be market sold
The price of bitcoin has struggled again as traders fretted over the likely dumping of tokens from defunct Japanese exchange Mt. Gox and further selling by leveraged players.
Bitcoin had a strong start to the year after the launch of exchange-traded funds in the US, propelling it to a record $73,803.25 in mid-March. However, it has since struggled.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, the price of bitcoin stood at around $53,339 - down $20,000 on March. A recovery saw it claw its way back up to $56,540.
![Falling: Bitcoin fell over 8% on Friday as traders fretted over the likely dumping of tokens from defunct Japanese exchange Mt. Gox](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/05/12/86970323-13604041-image-a-20_1720178855680.jpg)
Falling: Bitcoin fell over 8% on Friday as traders fretted over the likely dumping of tokens from defunct Japanese exchange Mt. Gox
The cryptocurrency market had at one point shed more than $170billion in combined market capitalization in the last 24 hours, according to data site CoinGecko.
Analysts suggest bitcoin is on track for a more than 12 per cent weekly decline, which would represent its biggest since early November 2022.
David Morrison, a senior market analyst at Trade Nation, told This is Money: 'Cryptocurrencies are getting smashed again today, with bitcoin leading the decline.
'Bitcoin has fallen around 23 per cent from early June when it was trading north of $72,000 and close to all-time highs.
'But we've experienced some profit-taking since then, which has accelerated to the point where the downside momentum, as measured by the daily MACD technical indicator, has fallen to levels last seen two years ago.
'This has been exacerbated by supply issues as Mt Gox is set to distribute bitcoin stolen in the hack of 2014.
'The latest plunge has also led to forced liquidation by leveraged holders who must come up with additional funds to keep their long positions open or sell.
'Technically, there's very little support at current levels, with the next downside test coming in around $50,000. If it were to break below here significantly, then a return to $40,000 can't be ruled out.'
Rival token ether slid 9 per cent to around $2,841 to more than a two-month low.
On Friday, the trustee for the Mt. Gox bankruptcy estate said it had started making repayments in bitcoin and bitcoin cash to some of the creditors through designated crypto exchanges.
Mt. Gox, previously the world's leading exchange for cryptocurrencies before it collapsed in 2014.
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said: 'The selling pressure is still related to creditor selling from the failed Mt Gox exchange.
'However, the acceleration to the downside suggests the market is trying to get ahead of the creditor flows.'
Analysts have also pointed to concerns over the possibility of Joe Biden being replaced as the Democrats' presidential nominee by someone less pro-crypto after a shaky debate performance with Donald Trump.
Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of Nexo, said: 'What's striking about this slide in bitcoin is it comes as US stocks and global equity indexes rest at or near record highs - the correlation between bitcoin and mainstream equities is fraying.'
The FTSE 100 is up 2.03 points to 8,243.29, while the FTSE 250 index is up 221.21 points to 20,832.55 since mid-March.
Justin D'Anetha, of Keyrock, said: 'With an asset that has been rangebound for quite a while and recently in the lower end of that range, there are plenty of margined positions.
'This of course creates a cascading effect, pushing prices further down than it might in a market with less leverage.'
Li Xing Gan, a financial market strategist at Exness, said: 'The expiration of $1.5billion in crypto options has exacerbated market volatility and could fuel the bearish market sentiment.
'Large-scale liquidations of crypto assets have further compounded the market's instability.
'The market saw a staggering $670million worth of assets liquidated yesterday, reflecting the uncertain state of the market.
'Moreover, risks surrounding the liquidation of Mt. Gox cryptocurrency holdings could continue to weigh on the sentiment as the eventual release of these assets could introduce additional selling pressure on the market.
'Additionally, political concerns in the US as presidential elections approach could remain a source of uncertainty for crypto investors.'
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