On July 3rd, Bitcoin’s value dipped beneath the significant $60,000 threshold, signaling a potential extension of the ongoing price stabilization phase, as the infamous Mt. Gox exchange might commence disbursing $9 billion in BTC to creditors.
In the 24-hour period ending at 10:33 am UTC on July 3rd, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a 4.2% decrease, touching a local low of $59,600. The pioneer cryptocurrency has seen a 1.8% drop on the weekly chart, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
Chart for BTC/USD on a 1-day scale. Courtesy of CoinMarketCap
Since June, Bitcoin has been on a downward trajectory, with a close to 18% reduction recorded in the second quarter of 2024. While investors have been keenly awaiting a surge past the $70,000 mark to set the stage for unprecedented highs, the loss of the pivotal $60,000 support level might indicate an extended period of price adjustment.
The recent slump below $60,000 could be linked to the anticipated initiation of Mt. Gox’s creditor reimbursements, slated for early July. This exchange, now defunct, appears to have begun the repayment process, as indicated by a chart showing Bitcoin transfer volumes for tokens last moved between seven to ten years ago, shared by Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments.
Edwards noted in a July 2nd post:
Visualization of Bitcoin’s spent volume. Source: Charles Edwards
An outstanding sum exceeding $9.4 billion in Bitcoin is due to roughly 127,000 Mt. Gox creditors, who have been awaiting over a decade to reclaim their assets. This scenario suggests that numerous investors might liquidate their holdings after ten years of unrealized gains.
Nevertheless, the influx from Mt. Gox could potentially be offset by institutional investments into U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs. Since their inception in January, these ETFs have accumulated more than $52.5 billion in BTC, according to data from Dune.
Net flows of Bitcoin ETFs. Source: Dune
Could the actions of Bitcoin whales have precipitated the drop below $60,000? It’s possible that a significant holder of Bitcoin was responsible for the price decline below this crucial psychological benchmark.
An anonymous whale executed a sale of $180 million in Bitcoin within a mere three minutes—a remarkably large volume to offload at market price in such a brief interval. This substantial transaction was identified by the prominent industry observer Zaheer, as depicted in the chart below, based on a July 3rd post.
Chart of BTC/USD price and aggregated funding. Source: Zaheer
Adding to the downward price pressure, another unidentified whale transferred 1,723 BTC, valued at over $168 million, to Binance within the last 24 hours, as reported by Lookonchain.
BTC whale movements to Binance. Source: Lookonchain
The transfer of Bitcoin to the leading crypto exchange by this whale suggests an intent to sell and secure profits.
In other news, VanEck has submitted an application for a Solana ETF, Ethereum’s supply has expanded, and more, as covered in the Hodler’s Digest for the week of June 23rd to 29th.