• Bitcoin faces severe selling pressure, dropping under $53,500 as Mt. Gox begins repayments to creditors. Significant market volatility led to liquidations totaling $589 million.
• If Bitcoin doesn’t recover to $61,000, it risks falling further to $48,000 with no immediate support in sight.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) faces severe selling pressure falling under $53,500 as Mt. Gox begins repayment to creditors. As of press time, Bitcoin is trading 4.89% down at $55,037 with a market cap of $1.084 trillion, extending the weekly losses to more than 10.5%.

Bitcoin and broader crypto market volatility have led to significant liquidations, totaling $589 million, with over $511 million in long positions and $78 million in shorts. Remarkably, nearly $100 million was liquidated within the past hour alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRWwrHPQyqk

Despite this, Avinash Shekhar, CEO of crypto derivatives exchange Pi42, highlighted in an interview with BeInCrypto that such price volatility presents opportunities for short-term traders. Shekhar said:

Such movements usually present opportunities, especially for scalpers to recover their liquidated trades.

What’s Behind the Bitcoin Price Sell-off?

Further unsettling the market, the Mt. Gox bankruptcy estate transferred billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to an unknown wallet. According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, this involved moving 47,228 BTC, valued at approximately $2.71 billion. As per the latest report from CNF, Mt. Gox began repaying BTC and BCH to creditors earlier today.

Before this, the estate conducted several small test transactions. With repayments expected to start soon, about 142,000 BTC and 143,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are set for disbursement.

Additionally, recent actions by the German government have added to market anxiety, reported Crypto News Flash. This week, it transferred about 1,300 BTC, worth roughly $75.5 million, to its wallet and several crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken. This development has heightened fears of further price declines.

Bitcoin Price Crashing to $48,000?

Amid these developments, prominent crypto analyst Miles Deutscher expressed his frustration, suggesting that a swift drop to $48,000 could end the market’s current turmoil. Deutscher wrote:

Can we just nuke to $48,000 already and get this sh*t over with? Dear Germany & Mt. Gox – please just jeet your entire stack. Dear retail, please just panic sell your low conviction alts. Just get the pain over with quickly, then up only,

Ali Martinez, a well-known crypto analyst, has highlighted Bitcoin’s current lack of significant support. According to Martinez, the primary demand wall is around $47,000. Per the CNF update, for the bull run to resume, Bitcoin must close and maintain a position above $61,000.

The recent sell-off in Bitcoin has led to strong liquidations across the broader crypto market. Over the last 24 hours, more than $600 million has been liquidated from the crypto market as altcoins are facing an even deeper correction.