Bitcoin has slipped below the $60,000 mark, reaching its lowest level since October 2024, shortly before the election of US President Donald Trump, whose pro-cryptocurrency stance helped drive the digital asset to record highs.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped by around 6 per cent to $59,770.9 during trading before recovering some of its losses later in the session.
Following Trump’s victory in the November 2024 election, optimism surrounding the crypto sector surged, pushing bitcoin to an all-time high of nearly $110,000 as investors anticipated a more favourable regulatory environment.
Market analysts attributed the latest decline to several factors, including a notable corporate selloff. According to Emma Bernuau, a consultant at Eurosagency, investor sentiment was shaken after Strategy disclosed that it had sold 32 bitcoins from its holdings, marking its first bitcoin sale in years.
Although the amount sold was relatively small, Bernuau noted that the move carried significant symbolic weight because many investors had believed the company would continue accumulating bitcoin regardless of market conditions.
Despite the recent downturn, analysts suggest the price drop could present a buying opportunity for long-term investors. Bernuau also pointed to potential positive developments ahead, including progress on cryptocurrency-friendly legislation in the United States that could support the market in the coming months.
Crypto platform mistakenly sends $40bn worth of bitcoin to users
A major cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea apologised after mistakenly sending a huge amount of bitcoin to its users. The error led to temporary chaos and a short selloff on the platform.
Bithumb said it accidentally transferred 620,000 bitcoins to 695 users. The total value of the amount was more than $40 billion.
The exchange blocked trading and withdrawals within 35 minutes after the mistake was found on Friday.
Local reports said the company had planned to send around 2,000 South Korean won to each user as part of a promotion. Instead, it wrongly sent nearly 2,000 bitcoins to each person.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers due to the confusion that occurred during the distribution process of this (promotional) event,” Bithumb said in a statement.
The exchange said it managed to recover 99.7 per cent of the transferred bitcoins. It also said it would use its own funds to cover the remaining losses.
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