The cryptocurrency market has plunged over the last 24 hours, shedding $170 billion U.S. in value, as fears escalate concerning the Mt. Gox Bitcoin (BTC) distribution.
The cryptocurrency market plunged on Wednesday, shedding $170 billion in value as fears escalated over the upcoming Mt. Gox Bitcoin distribution.
Bitcoin’s price fell 7% in overnight trading to $54,500. This marks the first time that Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has traded below the $55,000 level since Feb. 27 of this year, according to market data.
Ethereum (ETH), the second biggest crypto, also saw its price decline 7% to trade at $2,900 per digital token.
Smaller cryptocurrencies such as Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Litecoin (LTC) also saw their prices plunge, with some down as much as 13%.
In total, the entire cryptocurrency market shed $170 billion in combined market capitalization over the past 24 hours.
The global selloff comes as investors are growing increasingly concerned about the upcoming payout of nearly $9 billion in Bitcoin to users of the bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
On Wednesday, the trustee for the Mt. Gox bankruptcy estate began making repayments in Bitcoin to creditors of the defunct crypto exchange following a decade of legal wrangling.
In all, the Mt. Gox estate plans to return $9 billion in Bitcoin to former clients of the exchange.
However, there are concerns that the Mt. Gox repayment will lead to massive selling of Bitcoin on the open market as creditors of the exchange dump their holdings and take profits.
At the same time, the crypto market is being pressured after the German government sold 3,000 Bitcoins, worth $175 million, that were seized from criminal enterprises in recent years.
Before today’s big drop, the price of Bitcoin had been trending lower since the cryptocurrency underwent a halving event on April 19 that reduced the available supply of the token by 50%.
Despite the current decline, Bitcoin’s price is still up 25% for the year.
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