Why Is Bitcoin Under $70K – Mt. Gox, Michael Saylor, And Iran Threat Pressure Markets

• Ethereum held up better than Bitcoin, slipping just 0.6% in the last 24 hours versus Bitcoin’s drop of nearly 5%.
• MN Fund founder Michael van de Poppe said Bitcoin is beginning to lose market share to Ethereum, a trend he believes could pave the way for an "altcoin summer."
• Amid Strategy selling Bitcoin and rising geopolitical uncertainty, Mt.Gox’s transfer of 10,422 BTC worth $739 million to a new wallet added pressure on the cryptocurrency market

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $70,000 on Tuesday morning amid Mt. Gox moving Bitcoin around, Michael Saylor selling the apex cryptocurrency despite having said he would “never sell,” and growing geopolitical uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran war.

Bitcoin’s price fell nearly 5% in the last 24 hours to around $69,300 and was the top trending ticker on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency continued to trend in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day, while chatter jumped to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ levels. 

Ethereum’s price, on the other hand, dropped just 0.6% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $1,970. Retail sentiment around the leading altcoin rose to ‘bearish’ from ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day, amid ‘normal’ levels of chatter.

According to MN Fund founder Michael van de Poppe, Bitcoin has started to lose market share to Ethereum. In a post on X, he wrote that if the trend continues, money could begin flowing into a wider range of altcoins, similar to what happened before the big crypto rally in 2020–2021. According to him, traders may get to see an “altcoin summer.”

Why Is Bitcoin’s Price Dropping?

Bitcoin’s price was already in a downward spiral on Monday after Strategy (MSTR) announced that it had sold 32 BTC over the past week. Even though that amount only accounts for a small fraction of the company’s overall Bitcoin holdings of over 840,000 BTC, it sent the signal to retail traders that Saylor’s “never sell” thesis may not hold.

Many retail traders on the platform blamed Saylor for opening the doors to BTC sales as the reason behind Bitcoin’s bearish sentiment.

Moreover, reports that Iran was withdrawing from the negotiations to end the war, while President Donald Trump continued to claim that a deal would be announced soon, also left risk assets like cryptocurrencies in limbo.

On Tuesday, more pressure was added on Bitcoin after Mt. Gox moved 10,422 BTC, worth $739 million, to a new wallet in the early morning hours. This is the largest transfer by the defunct Bitcoin exchange in months ahead of the October deadline to complete creditor repayments. 

Bitcoin’s price has fallen over 20% this year and remains more than 45% below its record high of over $126,000 seen in October last year.

Read also: Iran Reportedly Halts US Talks, Vows to Block Hormuz — BTC Drops to 7-Week Low With Retail Blaming Michael Saylor

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