Bitcoin
(BTC)
is
leading
crypto
prices
sharply
lower
Monday
after
the
trustee
for
the
defunct
Mt.
Gox
crypto
exchange
said
it
will
begin
returning
more
than
140,000
BTC
in
July
to
clients
whose
assets
were
stolen
in
a
2014
hack.
At
press
time,
bitcoin
was
trading
at
$60,700,
down
more
than
5%
over
the
past
24
hours
and
at
its
weakest
level
since
the
beginning
of
May.
Ether
(ETH)
was
lower
by
similar
amount
as
was
the
broader
CoinDesk
20
Index.
Those
selling
today
are
contemplating
the
effect
of
more
than
140,000
bitcoin
hitting
the
market
in
less
than
one
month.
Putting
that
number
in
perspective,
it
would
be
just
less
than
the
immediate
liquidation
of
Fidelity’s
spot
bitcoin
ETF,
which
at
last
check
held
167,375
bitcoin.
“We
think
fewer
coins
will
be
distributed
than
people
think
and
that
it
will
cause
less
bitcoin
sell
pressure
than
market
expects,”
said
Alex
Thorn,
head
of
research
at
Galaxy.
Thorn
said
his
research
suggests
75%
of
creditors
will
be
taking
the
“early”
payout
in
July,
meaning
a
distribution
of
about
95,000
coins.
Of
that,
Thorn
believes
65,000
coins
will
be
going
to
individual
creditors,
but
he
thinks
they
may
prove
more
“diamond-handed”
than
most
expect.
Among
the
reasons,
he
said,
is
that
they’ve
already
resisted
years
of
“compelling
and
aggressive
offers
from
claims
funds,”
not
to
mention
the
capital
gains
taxes
involved
given
bitcoin
is
up
140-fold
since
the
bankruptcy.
Turning
to
those
claims
funds,
having
had
discussions
with
some,
Thorn
suggests
the
overwhelming
majority
of
the
partners
in
those
funds
are
high
net
worth
bitcoiners
looking
to
build
their
stack
at
a
discount,
as
opposed
to
arbs
looking
for
a
quick
profitable
trade.