Bitcoin fell below $60,000. Investor sentiment weakened on the possibility that Strategy, the world's largest bitcoin-holding corporations, could sell up to $1.25 billion (about 1.935 trillion won) worth of bitcoin.
According to CoinMarketCap, a virtual asset market tracker, at 8:30 a.m. on the 1st, the price per bitcoin was trading at $58,538, down 2.7% from 24 hours earlier. This is more than half lower than last year's record high of $126,000. At the same time, Ethereum, the leading altcoin (Altcoin·all virtual assets excluding bitcoin), was down 2.4% from the previous day to $1,567.
The day's weakness in the virtual asset market, including bitcoin, is seen as stemming from the possibility that Strategy could sell up to $1.25 billion in bitcoin to secure cash. Strategy had been operating an at-the-market (ATM) program under which, when the price of its old preferred stock STRC (Strategy Bitcoin Yield Trust) exceeded $100, it would purchase additional bitcoin with funds raised by selling new perpetual preferred shares into the market.
Strategy said it would pursue various capital operations in addition to buying bitcoin to secure liquidity and improve its financial structure by overhauling its funding strategy. On the news, Strategy shares plunged nearly 10% intraday overnight. The market sees liquidity securing, strengthening financial soundness, and purchasing securities trading at a discount as potential priorities for Strategy.