Bitcoin (BTC) Tumbled to a 5-Month Low, Altcoins Perform Even Worse (Market Watch)

The cryptocurrency market has been bleeding out in the last 24 hours, with the total capitalization plummeting to as low as $2.07 trillion (an 8.6% decrease on a daily scale).

The majority of leading digital assets are well in the red, with only a few defying the negative trend with mere increases.

Bitcoin Slips Way Below $55K

The primary cryptocurrency is among the worst affected. Earlier today (July 5), its price sank under $54,000 for the first time since February. Its downfall negatively impacted numerous over-leveraged traders, while total liquidations surged to almost $700 million.

Some of the main factors potentially contributing to BTC’s retreat are the German government’s decision to liquidate a substantial amount of its Bitcoin holdings and the impending repayment of creditors of the now defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox.

Not long ago, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the company’s bankruptcy proceedings said distributions to the roughly 20,000 investors will begin in July. The process includes the repayment of over 140,000 BTC (currently worth approximately $7.7 billion). The exchange has recently moved over $2.7 billion to a different address. 

Many creditors might choose to liquidate their stash upon receiving, leading to a significant increase in Bitcoin supply and consequently driving prices down​. 

It will be interesting to see whether the leading digital asset can return to the green track in the following days or whether bears will remain in charge and suppress the valuation even more. 

The Alts Perform Worse

Leading alternative coins, such as Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), and many more, have charted much more substantial losses than BTC. Ripple’s native token, for one, plummeted to a one-year low of under $0.40.

The meme coin sector is also deep in the red, losing almost 20% of its total market capitalization. Some of the poorest performers include Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), Floki Inu (FLOKI), Brett (BRETT), and others. 

Despite the grim picture, there are still some cryptocurrencies (part of the top 100 club) that have seen their prices going up in the last 24 hours. Fasttoken (FTN) is up 3%, while Leo Token (LEO) has risen by a mere 1%.