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Investing.com — The price of Bitcoin fell on Thursday, seeing little relief after a significant decline over the past week, as fears of a massive sell-off event triggered by the defunct Mt.Gox exchange kept traders avoiding buying the token.
Markets got a little boost from a Reuters report that the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve exchange-traded funds linked to the spot price of ether as soon as next week.
Broader sentiment towards cryptocurrencies was also crushed by concerns over the upcoming US inflation reading, which is likely to factor into interest rate expectations. This notion also kept traders heavily biased towards the dollar.
It fell 1.1% over the past 24 hours to $60,918.7 by 01:28 ET (05:28 GMT).
Bitcoin price affected by Mt Gox tensions and strong dollar
Liquidators of defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox said they planned to start crypto assets stolen during a 2014 hack by early July. Distributions will mainly consist of large amounts of Bitcoin and…
But given that the Bitcoin returned to customers will be worth much more than when it was stolen, traders expect that recipients of the assets will likely liquidate their holdings, presenting massive selling pressure on Bitcoin.
Mt Gox liquidators were seen amassing $9 billion worth of Bitcoin earlier this year. But their token holdings are much more than that.
Aside from Mt Gox sales, the anticipation of Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index data – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – also kept investors on their toes.
Strength in – amid ongoing concerns of higher US interest rates for a longer period – has been a major drag on cryptocurrency prices in recent sessions.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Ether A Little Excited by ETF Report
Among broader cryptocurrency prices, altcoins also drifted lower as traders remained biased toward the dollar.
The No. 2 coin globally fell 0.4% to $3,374.23, receiving a bit of support from a Reuters report that said the Securities and Exchange Commission may approve an ethereum spot ETF by next week.
Optimism about the spot ETF sent the token sharply higher during May. But it was expected to give up much of those gains over the past two weeks, as traders wondered how much of a price boost the spot ETF could provide.
The approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year sent the token briefly soaring to record levels. But Bitcoin has since remained within a tight trading range and struggled to provide any meaningful returns in the near term.
The hype around Bitcoin ETFs has also diminished in recent weeks, with cryptocurrency investment products recording two weeks of sharp outflows.
Other altcoins also drifted lower on Thursday. It decreased between 0.5% and 2.7%.
Among tokens, it fell 3.4%, while losing 3.2%.
