After rising to over $70,000 on Monday, the price of Bitcoin dropped below $68,000 Tuesday morning as the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox transferred more than $9 billion worth of Bitcoin to an unknown wallet, possibly to repay its creditors.
The transfer of over 140,000 Bitcoin added pressure to the crypto market, causing the top cryptocurrency to drop by 1.4% to as low as $67,680 early Tuesday morning.
Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, lost hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin after a hack and declared bankruptcy in 2014, owing creditors 45 billion yen ($414 million). Creditors have been waiting for the repayment of their holdings ever since.
With the latest Bitcoin transfer, Mt. Gox made its first transaction in over five years. This is likely part of a plan to distribute the assets back to creditors before October 31, 2024.
Overall, the crypto market was sluggish Tuesday morning, with Ether hovering around $3,900, down 0.33%. Dogecoin and Cardano fell by 2.4% and 1%, respectively. Meanwhile, Solana jumped 2.6% following the news that its validators would receive additional fees.
Bitcoin and Ether ETF markets are expected to reach $450 billion
Meanwhile, Bernstein is bullish on Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. In a report published Tuesday, the brokerage firm stated that the Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) markets are expected to experience substantial growth, potentially reaching a combined value of $450 billion, CoinDesk reports. Bernstein said the Ether spot ETF approved by the U.S. has positive implications for rival tokens such as Solana, per the report.
Earlier this month, analysts at Bernstein predicted that Bitcoin would reach $150,000 in 2025 and that by the end of the year, the top cryptocurrency would reach $90,000.