Investing.com — Bitcoin price was little changed on Friday, suffering heavy losses over the past month, as anticipation of a major distribution by defunct exchange Mt Gox kept traders on edge for further price weakness.
Sentiment towards broader cryptocurrency markets was also on edge ahead of a key US inflation reading due out on Friday, which is likely to influence the outlook for interest rates.
rose 1.2% in the last 24 hours to $61,515.2 at 01:39 ET (05:39 GMT).
Mt Gox Liquidation Fears Persist and Bitcoin Heads for June Losses
The token distributions stolen from the Mt Gox exchange in 2014 remained the biggest cause for concern for Bitcoin. The exchange's liquidators said distributions will begin in early July and the stolen bitcoins and tokens will be returned to customers.
Since the tokens will be worth substantially more than when they were stolen, traders speculated that the recipients would likely sell their tokens, representing a sell-off event for Bitcoin, which could potentially drive prices down substantially.
This notion weighed heavily on Bitcoin prices throughout the week and put the world's largest cryptocurrency on track for a nearly 9% drop in June.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Ether Sees Some Bids From ETF Hopes
Cryptocurrency prices generally rose but still suffered losses through June.
World no. 2 rose about 1%, boosted by reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve a spot Ether exchange-traded fund as soon as next week.
But the token was also trading down almost 9% in June.
, and increased between 1.4% and 6%, and also recorded losses until June. Altcoin trading volumes were also limited.
Among meme tokens, they rose more than 2% each on Friday.
The strength of the dollar, which hit a two-month high, pressured cryptocurrency prices as traders turned to the greenback ahead of data due later on Friday.
The reading is the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation and is likely to be tied to the outlook for interest rates.
The prospect of higher interest rates for longer was a key weight on cryptocurrency prices through June, given that the sector typically thrives in a low-rate and highly speculative environment.
