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Steady at $61k Amid Mt Gox, Inflation Nervousness By Investing.com
Investing.com — Bitcoin price was little changed on Friday, posting steep losses over the past month as anticipation of a major distribution from defunct exchange Mt Gox kept traders on edge for further price weakness.
Sentiment in broader cryptocurrency markets was also tense ahead of a key U.S. inflation reading due on Friday, which is likely to weigh on the interest rate outlook.
rose 1.2% over the past 24 hours to $61,515.2 as of 01:39 ET (0539 GMT).
Mt Gox Liquidation Fears Persist, Bitcoin Heads for June Loss
The distribution of tokens stolen from the Mt Gox exchange in 2014 has remained the main cause for concern for Bitcoin. The exchange’s liquidators have said that distributions will begin in early July and will see stolen Bitcoin and tokens returned to customers.
Since the tokens will be worth significantly more than they were when they were stolen, traders speculated that the recipients would likely sell their tokens, representing a mass sell-off event for Bitcoin, potentially sending prices down substantially.
This idea has weighed heavily on Bitcoin prices all week, and has put the world’s largest cryptocurrency on track for a nearly 9% plunge in June.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Ether Sees Some Bidding From ETF Hopes
Cryptocurrency prices overall rose, but continued to suffer losses through June.
The world’s No. 2 token rose about 1%, buoyed by reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve a spot Ether exchange-traded fund as soon as next week.
But the token also fell nearly 9% in June.
, and increased between 1.4% and 6%, and were also nursing losses through June. Trading volumes in altcoins were also limited.
Among meme tokens, they rose more than 2% on Friday.
Strength in the dollar, which hit a two-month high, put pressure on cryptocurrency prices as traders turned to the greenback ahead of data due later on Friday.
The figure represents the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator and is likely to be linked to the interest rate outlook.
The prospect of higher interest rates for a longer period had a key bearing on cryptocurrency prices through June, as the sector usually thrives in a highly speculative, low-rate environment.