Markets Rattled as Bitcoin Falls Below $6,100

Today marks a landmark decision in the MtGox debacle, where as the Japanese court approves rehabilitation of the Bitcoin exchange from bankruptcy. Despite the positive news, markets are tumbling, as many top altcoins are experiencing double digit percent losses aside Bitcoin’s decline.

The ruling by the court today marks Bitcoin exchange MtGox as the first entity to be rehabilitated from bankruptcy under Japanese jurisdiction. For users who saw their funds lost in the exchange, they have earned a huge victory as, not only will they have their lost funds reimbursed, there is possibility to request the funds in Bitcoin, rather than the dollar value of their holdings at the time of insolvency. This news also suggests that, for the time being, the MtGox trustee will not be liquidating any of what’s left of the 200,000 BTC the exchange maintained after its late 2013 shutdown.

Despite the good news, within the past hours, Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline, dropping from US$6,750 to just below $6,100 across multiple exchanges, a loss of almost 10%. Bitcoin has recovered somewhat since then, with current exchange rates of $6,200, which still represents a net 7% loss over the past day.

Altcoins, unfortunately, are faring much worse. With the exception of Tron subsidiary Game.com (GTC), which seen an inexplicable 50% appreciation, all coins listed on the top 100 of Coinmarketcap have seen losses over the past 24 hours. More than 80% have seen depreciation versus Bitcoin, and more than half, 55 to be exact, are experiencing USD losses of double digits. Elastos’ (ELA) 19% depreciation leads as biggest decline among this group within the past day.

Globally, altcoin losses surpass that of Bitcoin. The global cryptocurrency market, excluding Bitcoin, began the day at market cap above US$170 billion. This nosedive sparked a 12% loss, down to $150 billion at daily lows. Fortunately, the market, like Bitcoin, has recovered slightly, as it currently rests at just below US$154 billion. Still, this leaves altcoins across the board with an average 10% loss in the past 24 hours.

Other news recently includes the St. Louis branch of the US Federal Reserve announcing their intentions to index and track the cryptocurrencies listed on Coinbase: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. This move indicates the Federal Reserve recognizes the future implications and legitimacy of cryptocurrency, as they’ll now be monitoring it in the same manner as is done with foreign currencies and commodities.

Goldman Sachs also recently indicated a desire to delve deeper into cryptocurrency holdings and investments. The President of the firm indicated that he finds it foolish to not believe that cryptocurrency has a future.

With an array of positive news, the fundamentals surrounding cryptocurrency at this time do not seem to support the sharp declines. Hopefully, these movements will be mitigated, either through the formation of an inverse Bart pattern or otherwise. Regardless, sentiments surrounding cryptocurrency seem to continue to improve each day, which suggests a transition to a bull market will come in due time.

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