The cryptocurrency market bled profusely Thursday, as investors shuddered about the movement of billions of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ahead of a probable sell-off.
What Happened: Bitcoin nosedived to the $57,000 zone, its lowest since Feb. 28. Since the beginning of this week, the world's largest digital asset has slumped 9.5%, nearly 21% down from its all-time high clocked earlier this year.
The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, also crashed to a six-week low, erasing all the gains made since the hype of spot ETF approvals in mid-May.
The sell-offs were precipitated by the movement of 47,228 Bitcoin, worth $2.7 billion, by defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox from a cold wallet to a new wallet, possibly in preparation for payouts to its creditors.
The slump forced the largest wave of liquidations since mid-April, as $541.45 million in future contracts was wiped out in the last 24 hours. Long liquidations accounted for a whopping $472 million.
Bitcoin's ...