Bitcoin
Steady at $61K amid Mt Gox, inflation jitters By Investing.com
Investing.com – Bitcoin’s price was little moved on Friday, posting steep losses over the past month as anticipation of a major distribution by now-defunct exchange Mt Gox kept traders nervous about further price weakness.
Sentiment towards the broader crypto markets was also tense ahead of the key US inflation reading due on Friday, which is likely to influence the outlook for interest rates.
rose 1.2% in the past 24 hours to $61,515.2 as of 01:39 ET (05:39 GMT).
Mt Gox Liquidation Fears Persist, Bitcoin Heads for Losses in June
Distributions of stolen tokens from the Mt Gox exchange in 2014 have remained a major point of concern for Bitcoin. The exchange’s liquidators have said that the distributions will begin in early July and will see stolen Bitcoin and tokens returned to customers.
Given that the tokens will have a substantially higher value than when they were stolen, traders speculated that the recipients would likely sell their tokens, representing a major sell-off event for Bitcoin, which could potentially drive prices down substantially.
That notion weighed heavily on Bitcoin prices throughout the week, putting the world’s largest cryptocurrency on track for a nearly 9% drop in June.
Crypto Price Today: Ether Sees Some ETF Hopes Offerings
Broader cryptocurrency prices rose but were still suffering losses as of June.
No world. 2 rose about 1%, driven by reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve a spot Ether exchange-traded fund as early as next week.
But the token also fell nearly 9% in June.
and was up between 1.4% and 6%, and was also nursing losses until June. Trading volumes in altcoins were also limited.
Among the meme tokens, each rose more than 2% on Friday.
The strength of the dollar, which reached a two-month high, put pressure on cryptocurrency prices, with investors turning to the dollar ahead of data released later this Friday.
The reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and will likely be related to the interest rate outlook.
The prospect of high interest rates for longer periods was a key drag on cryptocurrency prices through June, as the sector typically thrives in a low-rate and highly speculative environment.