Broader cryptocurrency prices were also pressured by a strong dollar, as the greenback came close to a two-month high following robust U.S. purchasing managers index data.
Bitcoin fell 4.9% in the past 24 hours to $61,233.4 by 08:37 ET (12:37 GMT).
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was nursing steep losses over the past week as traders grew skeptical over the timing of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
This sentiment is likely to see little signs of improvement this week, especially ahead of key PCE price index data due this Friday.
The reading is the preferred inflation gauge of the Fed, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s outlook on interest rates in the coming months. While Friday’s data is expected to show some mild cooling in inflation, the reading is still expected to remain well above the Fed’s 2% annual target- giving the central bank more headroom to keep rates high.
High rates bode poorly for crypto, given that they diminish the appeal of speculative, risk-driven assets such as crypto.
Major altcoins saw much deeper losses than Bitcoin, as a slew of token unlocks, dwindling institutional demand and a healthy dose of profit-taking pressured crypto prices.
Recent capital flow data showed institutional demand, especially for crypto investment products, remained centered largely around Bitcoin. But even Bitcoin was seen logging heavy outflows earlier in June.
World no.2 token Ether dropped more than 5% to $3,320.76, hitting a one-month low as it largely consolidated gains made on hype over a spot Ether exchange-traded fund.
XRP slipped 1.9%, while ADA and SOL slid 3.5% and 4.6%, respectively. Both tokens had seen some gains in recent sessions.
Among meme tokens, DOGE and SHIB fell 5.5% and 6.5%, respectively.
Defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox said on Monday that it will begin distributing assets stolen from clients during a 2014 hack starting in the first week of July, a move that comes after years of moving deadlines.
Nobuaki Kobayashi, the Rehabilitation Trustee, stated on the Mt. Gox website, “The Rehabilitation Trustee has been preparing to make repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash under the Rehabilitation Plan. The repayments will be made from the beginning of July 2024,” adding that due diligence and safety steps are necessary before payments can proceed.
These repayments are expected to increase selling pressure on the bitcoin market. Early investors will receive assets now valued much higher than their pre-2013 entries, leading many to sell at least part of their holdings, according to traders.
Mt. Gox, once the world’s leading crypto exchange, handled over 70% of all bitcoin transactions in its early years. In early 2014, a hack resulted in the loss of approximately 740,000 bitcoin (worth $15 billion today). This was the largest of several attacks on the exchange between 2010 and 2013.
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
