During the early morning trading session, Bitcoin experienced a 3% loss before partially recovering to trade at $58.8K during the Asian trading session. Other cryptocurrencies that saw significant declines included Solana and Dogecoin, the popular meme coin.
The selling pressure increased as Mt. Gox started returning more than 137,000 Bitcoin to creditors. Investors are uncertain about how much of the $8 billion worth of Bitcoin will be sold, and they are also evaluating the potential for U.S. and other authorities to dispose of seized Bitcoin.
In the past 24 hours, 100,565 traders were liquidated, with a total liquidation value of $261.98 million. The largest liquidation order, worth $4 million, occurred on OKX – ETH-USD-SWAP. The global cryptocurrency market value has dropped by 3.62% over the last day to $2.17 trillion.
Global investors are speculating about the potential outcomes if 81-year-old President Joe Biden succumbs to pressure and withdraws his candidacy for US reelection.
Miners in Struggle
Bitcoin miners are showing signs of capitulation following a challenging week for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, which often signals a market bottom. Bitcoin has been striving to maintain its $58.8K price and has gradually climbed back above the $60,000 mark.
CryptoQuant, a data provider, believes that numerous signs of capitulation are emerging after a period of intense selling pressure, suggesting that another round of capitulation is likely to occur soon. Both the hash rate and mining revenue per hash (hash price) have significantly decreased this month; the hash rate has fallen by 7.7% since the halving, and the hash price is near an all-time low.
The halving event in April, which reduced the number of new tokens miners receive as rewards, continues to negatively impact the financial health of those running the power-intensive computers that support the Bitcoin blockchain. As a response, some Bitcoin miners are selling portions of their token holdings to cope with the financial strain.
Standard Chartered’s Bullish Forecast on Bitcoin
Standard Chartered forecasts that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the time of the U.S. presidential election in November, potentially setting a record in August. The bank maintains year-end and 2025 predictions of $150,000 and $200,000, respectively, with a Trump victory expected to drive up Bitcoin's price. The market believes that President Joe Biden’s continued candidacy increases the likelihood of former President Donald Trump being re-elected, forming the basis for the bullish forecast.
A Trump victory is seen as potentially favorable for Bitcoin, as it could lead to legislation beneficial to the cryptocurrency industry. Standard Chartered suggests that a Trump win might result in a regulatory framework that supports the growth of digital assets. Conversely, if Biden were to withdraw from the race before the end of July, the bank predicts Bitcoin might drop to $50,000–$55,000.