Bitcoin experienced a slight rebound on Monday morning, increasing by 0.29% and trading at around $57,000.
The top cryptocurrency had dropped to $55,000 on Friday as the now-defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox began repaying its creditors in Bitcoin worth billions of dollars, leading to a massive sell-off by the creditors. Even with the recent recovery, though, Bitcoin is still more than 8% below its last week’s high.
Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, formerly the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, is supposed to return more than 140,000 Bitcoin—worth $9 billion—to victims of a 2014 hack. The exchange handled nearly 70% of all Bitcoin transactions at that time, when it became the victim of one of the first major cryptocurrency hacks. The exchange declared bankruptcy that year, owing creditors 45 billion yen ($414 million). Creditors have been waiting for the repayment of their holdings ever since.
Bitcoin’s rebound this week seems to have impacted the entire crypto market. On Monday, Ether surpassed the $3,000 mark with a 1.5% gain. Cardano and Dogecoin saw increases of 4% and 0.4% respectively.
The German government is also selling Bitcoin
Amid massive selloff, the German government has been unloading hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin — potentially impacting Bitcoin’s price. The sales are being conducted by the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office, known locally as the Bundeskriminalamt, or BKA.
The BKA is selling Bitcoin confiscated from a now-defunct movie piracy website, according to on-chain data tracked by blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence. Last week, the government sold an additional 3,000 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $172 million. On Monday, German police sold an additional 2,739 Bitcoins, equivalent to $155 million worth of the cryptocurrency. The government has been transferring its cryptocurrency reserves to major exchanges like Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs see inflows
The recovery of Bitcoin is also attributed to the increase in inflows of spot Bitcoin ETFs on Friday, July 5, following two consecutive days of outflows. According to the Bitcoin ETF tracker Farside, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw over $143 million in inflows on Friday, with Fidelity’s FBTC receiving the most at $117 million.
With the recent recovery, Bitcoin’s focus is now shifting to the economic data and inflation report, which is due on Thursday. As cryptocurrency is becoming more integrated with macroeconomics, the data will have a significant impact on the entire crypto market.
Read more: The history of Bitcoin