Mt. Gox's wallet activity. (Arkham Intelligence)
BTC slides to its lowest level since late February, breaching key price support.
Early Friday, defunct exchange Mt. Gox moved 47,228 to a new address from cold storage.
Bitcoin's (BTC) slid for a fourth day as defunct exchange Mt. Gox moved sizeable BTC to a new wallet, potentially preparing for creditor repayments.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell over 4% to $53,600, the lowest since Feb. 26, according to charting platform TradingView and CoinDesk data.
At 00:27 UTC, Mt. Gox transferred 47,228 BTC ($2.6 billion) from cold storage to a new wallet, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The exchange is slated to start distributing assets stolen from clients in a 2014 hack.
BREAKING
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) July 5, 2024
Mt Gox moves 47,228 BTC ($2.71 billion dollars) from cold storage to a new wallet. pic.twitter.com/3ZdSlC1IX2
The impending repayments, which include 140,000 BTC ($7.73 billion), 143,000 BCH, and the Japanese yen, were announced last month. Since then, traders have been worried that creditors who have patiently waited for reimbursements for a decade will immediately sell upon receiving coins, creating mass selling pressure in the market. Note that BTC was trading at roughly $600 when the exchange was hacked in 2014, and today, it is worth over $55,000.
Several analysts have recently tried to calm nerves by saying the potential selling pressure from reimbursements would be limited, but to no avail. BTC has declined 10% in seven days and 22% in four weeks.
The intense sell-off has flipped the horizontal support of $56,500 stemming from May lows into resistance. Besides, the bears have established a foothold below the crucial 200-day SMA and the bull market trendline.
BTC's daily chart. (TradingView/CoinDesk) (TradingView/CoinDesk)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/05/bitcoin-dips-below-54k-as-mt-gox-moves-26b-in-btc/