Investing.com-- Bitcoin price staged a flat performance on Friday, taking a breather from steep losses over the past month as anticipation of a major distribution by defunct exchange Mt Gox kept traders on edge over further price weakness.
Sentiment towards broader crypto markets was also on edge before a key U.S. inflation reading due on Friday, which is likely to factor into the outlook for interest rates.
Bitcoin rose 0.1% over the past 24 hours to $61,367.0 by 08:58 ET (12:58 GMT).
Mt Gox liquidation fears persist, Bitcoin heads for June loss
Distributions of tokens stolen from the Mt Gox exchange in 2014 remained the biggest point of concern for Bitcoin. Liquidators for the exchange said distributions will begin in early July, and will see stolen Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash tokens being returned to clients.
Given that the tokens will be at a substantially higher value than when they were stolen, traders speculated that receivers were likely to sell their tokens, representing a massive sale event for Bitcoin, which could potentially bring down prices substantially.
This notion weighed heavily on Bitcoin prices through the week, and put the world’s largest crypto on course for a nearly 9% tumble in June.
Crypto price today: Ether also flat, altcoins climb
Broader crypto prices drifted higher, but were still nursing losses through June.
World no. 2 token Ether rose 0.1%, buoyed by reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) as soon as next week.
But the token was also trading down nearly 9% in June.
SOL, XRP and ADA rose between 1.1% and 3.5%, and were also nursing losses through June. Trading volumes in the altcoins were also limited.
Among meme tokens, DOGE and SHIB climbed 3.3% and 1%, respectively.
Strength in the dollar, which hit a two-month high, pressured crypto prices, as traders pivoted into the greenback ahead of PCE price index data due later on Friday.
The reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, and is likely to tie into the outlook for interest rates.
The prospect of high for longer interest rates was a key weight on crypto prices through June, given that the sector usually thrives in a low-rate, highly speculative environment.
Ether price could hit $6.5K this year amid ETF inflows
The crypto market is overly pessimistic about the upcoming launch of spot ether ETF in the U.S., with net inflows potentially reaching $20 billion in the first year, according to a report from Steno Research on Thursday.
The report noted that ETH’s appeal to Wall Street could drive significant investment.
“We continue to forecast a net inflow between $15 billion and $20 billion in the first 12 months, even considering the outflow from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE),” said Steno analysts in a note seen by CoinDesk.
They added that this influx should boost ether's value both in dollar terms and relative to bitcoin.
Steno Research predicts ether could reach at least $6,500 later this year, driven by these expected inflows to spot ETFs and additional positive factors.
Spot ether ETFs are set to begin trading in the U.S. after the SEC approved filings from issuers last month. Trading could start as soon as next week, pending the approval of S-1 filings.
Steno Research estimates that if the projected spot ether ETF inflows materialize, the ether/bitcoin ratio could strengthen to 0.065 later this year.
“A smaller inflow into ether ETFs compared to bitcoin ETFs will have a greater impact on ether due to its lower market capitalization and substantially poorer liquidity,” the report said, adding that inflows into ETH spot ETFs are more likely to exceed expectations than fall short.