Bitcoin prices fell to a four-month low on Monday, continuing the cryptocurrency's weeks-long decline that has sent prices of many other major cryptocurrencies plunging amid uncertainty over the round. Imminent sell-off from the German government and creditors of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox.
MAJOR EVENTS
Bitcoin prices fell more than 6% early Monday morning before trimming losses to trade at around $55,500 as of 3:15 a.m. Eastern time, still down 4% from the same time on the day. yesterday.
This is the lowest price for the world's leading digital asset in months and is down about $18,000 from its all-time high of nearly $74,000 in March, a loss of about a fifth. .
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Bitcoin, followed suit, falling more than 7% before recovering to trade at around $2,900 as of 3:15 a.m. , down 4% on the day.
This path is also reflected in Binance's BNB, Solana, Ripple's XRP, Dogecoin and Cardano's Ada — the next major cryptocurrencies, excluding stablecoins pegged to traditional currencies such as Tether and USDC — with losses of 9% to 11%, down to losses of 2.5% to 7% as of 3:15 a.m.
Overall, the total cryptocurrency market value fell by about $20 billion in the day as of 3 a.m. ET, down about 2% from the previous day.
WHY IS BITCOIN PRICE FALLING AND CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET FALLING?
Monday's Bitcoin sell-off threatens to continue a dismal weeks-long losing streak for the popular cryptocurrency as it slips from record highs in March. The decline comes amid waning interest in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) , uncertainty about monetary policy and concerns that Tokyo cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox bankruptcy could trigger a collapse in fulfilling its promise to repay creditors . The exchange was once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency platforms but filed for bankruptcy a decade ago after hackers stole most of its crypto assets between 2011 to 2014. Bitcoin is trading about 10 times higher on Monday than when the exchange declared bankruptcy, and today the bitcoin proceeds would be worth about $58 billion, according to CNBC. The exchange has managed to recoup some funds after declaring bankruptcy, the tokens are worth around $9 billion today and markets have reacted with what is predicted to be a massive Massive Bitcoin sell-off as creditors withdraw funds at a much higher price than they lost the crypto tokens. Bitcoin accounts for more than half of the total value of the cryptocurrency market, and its value tends to be reflected across the entire market and smaller cryptocurrency tokens.
TANGENT
MT. Gox is not the only factor causing the cryptocurrency market to decline, and the German government is also making waves by rushing to sell off hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin for fiat currency. Berlin has been sending its cryptocurrency reserves to exchanges like Coinbase, Bitstamp and Kraken since June as European governments sold off and liquidated assets they had confiscated from various criminal groups. The transfers have added to concerns about a significant market sell-off, and according to Arkham Intelligence, Germany is believed to still hold around $2.2 billion in Bitcoin.
