Bitcoin (BTC) The selloff continued during Asian trading hours on Friday as the defunct Mt. Gox exchange moved large amounts of bitcoin to a new wallet, in preparation for paying off its debts.
The leading cryptocurrency by market cap fell more than 4% to $53,600, hitting its lowest level since Feb. 26, according to charting platform TradingView and CoinDesk.
At 00:27 UTC, Mt. Gox moved 47,228 BTC ($2.6 billion) from cold storage to a new wallet, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The exchange is set to begin distributing assets stolen from customers in a 2014 hack.
The impending redemption, which includes 140,000 bitcoins ($7.73 billion), 143,000 bitcoin cash and the Japanese yen, was announced last month. Since then, traders have been worried that creditors who have been patiently waiting for a decade to be repaid will immediately sell the coins upon receipt, creating a sell-off in the market. Note that bitcoin was trading at around $600 when the exchange was hacked in 2014; today, it is worth more than $55,000.
Several analysts have recently tried to calm nerves by saying that potential selling pressure from the redemptions will be limited, but to no avail. Bitcoin has fallen 10% in seven days and 22% in four weeks.
The heavy selling has turned the horizontal support at $56,500 from the May lows into resistance. Moreover, the bears have established a foothold below the 200-day simple moving average and the bullish market trend line.
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