Despite being bullish in the last 24 hours, with the price soaring to an intra-day high of $68,267, the Bitcoin (BTC) price hit as Mt Gox made substantial Bitcoin transfers. The now-defunct exchange moved more than $2.8 billion worth of Bitcoin, which affected the cryptocurrency market at the time.

Source: CoinMarketCap)

Mt Gox Bitcoin Transfers

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, on July 23, Mt Gox transferred 42,587 BTC, valued at around $2.85 billion, to an internal wallet. Another 5,110 BTC was moved via yet another internal wallet, all indicating that the exchange is preparing for BTC repayments to creditors. The total amount in the exchange now goes to 90,344 BTC, valued at $6 billion. It began yesterday that Mt Gox initiated payouts; that was also the day when Spot Ethereum ETFs were introduced. 

Some smaller BTC transfers were also seen, and these probably were indicators of a dry run of the transfer facilities. These two transactions of 0.021 BTC a piece were a duplication of a transaction from six days prior. 

Last week, on July 16, Mt Gox announced that it had started settling its Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash obligations to some 13,000 of the roughly 20,000 claimants. That was followed by a massive $6 billion move in Bitcoin, of course, similar to the latest today. 

Market Reactions to Bitcoin Movements

Unsurprisingly, the recent timing of such big moves in Bitcoin has spurred wild speculation about how it will impact the crypto market. It’s this latest shift, and the fact that it occurred with the launch of the Spot Ethereum ETF, that really gives this its bite. The crypto market took a beating on the launch of much-hyped Ethereum ETF as it turned out to be another “sell-the-news” event. 

Whales across the space booked profits ahead of the burst of hype around the instrument, and that could potentially lead to a dip below $3,000 for the Ethereum coin, analysts warned. Meanwhile, outflows from the ETF and the gradual adoption of these products are expected to keep Ethereum on course for prices beyond $4,000. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan had targeted for $5,000 for ETH following the launch of the ET.

JPMorgan published a research report positing that any recovery in the cryptocurrency markets over the short-term will likely be tactical and not the beginning of a new long-term bullish uptrend. The bank also said that the price of Bitcoin is currently way ahead of cost of production, which is standing at $43,000, and its price comparison with gold, which is $53,000 on an adjusted basis for volatility. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was changing hands around $66,400. JPMorgan noted that most recently, there had been weak momentum in the bitcoin futures market due to BTC sales from creditors of Gemini, Mt.Gox, and the German government. Liquidations are seen subsiding this month, and the bank expects positioning to bounce in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) bitcoin futures into August.

Bitcoin and Political Developments

Bitcoin and gold are both poised to benefit from the increased chance of a Trump election victory because some investors see a “second Trump presidency as more friendly towards crypto companies and crypto regulations,” note analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. 

This one is currently rampant, as people are now speculating that Trump will declare Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset at a Bitcoin conference happening in Nashville later this week. 

That possibility sets off parabolic trends in Bitcoin price sentiment, meaning it is likely to go into an aggressive rise for some time. Even worse, a market intelligence firm noted, “Signs of massive latent volatility were quickly noticed as a response to the news of Joe Biden dropping out of the race and giving his endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris, and slight panic selling developed in crypto land.” Bitcoin’s drop may also indicate profit-taking by traders ahead of Trump’s appearance at the Bitcoin Conference on July 27.