Investing.com — Bitcoin prices fell on Wednesday as Mt Gox appeared to have moved around $2 billion worth of tokens, raising concerns about further distributions from the defunct cryptocurrency exchange.
Broader risk sentiment also cooled as Wall Street snapped an eight-day winning streak, with traders now looking for more positive signs to extend the mid-August rally.
fell 2.8% to $59,397.1 by 01:38 ET (05:38 GMT) after failing to hold above the $60,000 support level.
Mt Gox expected to move $2 billion in tokens, distribution fears persist
A wallet associated with Mt Gox was observed moving around $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, potentially setting up further token distributions.
The defunct exchange began returning tokens stolen during a 2014 hack to its customers in early July, and had initially triggered sharp losses in the price of Bitcoin by sparking fears of a supply surge and a sell-off event.
But while Bitcoin recovered most of its initial losses, traders remained nervous about potential further distributions by the platform. It is also unclear how much Bitcoin Mt Gox holds, although the platform was seen moving some $9 billion worth of tokens earlier this year.
Bitcoin struggles to break above $60k, more positive signs expected
Bitcoin has recovered most of the losses recorded in early August as fears of a US recession eased.
But the token struggled to break above the $60,000 level consistently amid few positive signs for the cryptocurrency markets.
While broader risk sentiment was boosted by expectations of interest rate cuts and a soft landing for the US economy, Bitcoin largely lagged behind a stronger recovery in stocks.
This trend also came amid declining capital inflows into cryptocurrency investment products. Trading volumes in the products were also a fraction of the highs seen during the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds earlier this year, data this week showed.
Cryptocurrency price today: Altcoins fall on Fed signals
Altcoin prices across the board fell on Wednesday, tracking Bitcoin's losses. The world's No. 2 token, Ether, fell 3.4% to $2,594.51.
and fell by between 2% and 3%, while and rose by 5.3% and 3.3%, respectively.
Among meme tokens, it fell by 1.4%.
Markets are focused on further indications of U.S. interest rate cuts this week, with the Federal Reserve's late July meeting scheduled for later on Wednesday. The Fed had taken a dovish stance during the meeting.
He is scheduled to speak at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday and is likely to offer more clues on interest rates amid growing expectations that the central bank will cut rates in September.
