Bitcoin Plunges Below $54K as Crypto Liquidations Surge to $664 Million

Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted to a four-month low of $53,499 on Coinbase, driven by news of Mt. Gox's latest cold wallet transfer and a surge in crypto liquidations. The price drop resulted in $664.5 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, the highest in two months, according to CoinGlass. Long Bitcoin positions accounted for $222 million of the total liquidations, with Ether (ETH) longs coming in second at nearly $163 million. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index reflects a score of 29 out of 100 on July 5, indicating extreme fear in the market. Traders are spooked by potential sell pressure from the $8.5 billion in Bitcoin creditor paybacks expected from the collapsed crypto exchange Mt. Gox. The exchange transferred 47,229 BTC, worth around $2.6 billion, to a new address on July 5, marking its first major move since May. Adding to the sell pressure, Germany's government has sold 7,583 BTC worth $419.5 million since June 19, leaving them with 42,274 BTC worth around $2.3 billion. Analyst Markus Thielen expects Bitcoin to fall as low as $50,000 due to sell pressure on the cryptocurrency.