Bitcoin fell nearly 7% on Friday morning in London, below its 200-day moving average to $54,330 (£42,506) after shuttered exchange Mt. Gox began moving coins in preparation for repaying creditors.
The Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange, which collapsed nearly a decade ago, accounted for more than 70% of bitcoin trading at its peak. It declared bankruptcy in 2014 after a devastating hack in which thousands of bitcoins were stolen.
The impending repayment, announced in June, involves $7.7 billion in bitcoin, and traders are nervous that it could trigger a lot of selling pressure in the market once people waiting for the repayment receive their cash.
read more: Pound rises after Labour wins landslide victory in UK general election
At the time of the hack, Bitcoin was trading at around $600.
The current price is the lowest since February.
Samsung Electronics shares rose 3 percent in Seoul on Friday after the company said it expected profits for the three months to June to rise 15-fold from last year.
This is due to the production and sale of chips used in AI, and the boom in AI development has led to the company’s second-quarter forecast increasing.
read more: FTSE 100 Live: European stocks rise as Labour wins UK general election
The company saw its profits increase tenfold in the first three months of the year.
The company said it now expects current-quarter profit to rise to 10.4 trillion won ($7.54 billion, £5.9 billion), up from 670 billion won last year. Analysts had expected 8.8 trillion won, according to LSEG Smart Estimate.
Gold prices rose cautiously ahead of the release of key US economic data.
Nonfarm payroll data, which the Federal Reserve will use to decide the direction of interest rates, is due to be released later on Friday.
“The main focus today will be on gold price action,” said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaie Capital Markets. “If the data does not impress the market, we expect the dollar index to fall sharply and gold prices could rise.”
Traders tend to view gold as a safe haven when other assets appear to be riskier investments.
Bharat Development (BDEV.L)
British housebuilders were among the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) gainers on Friday morning following the Labour Party’s landslide victory in the general election.
Barratt, Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) and Persimmon (PSN.L) were all among the top performers on the index, with all three up more than 3 percent at the open.
Analysts say Labour’s election pledge to increase house building is helping to spur price increases.
read more: Today’s trending stocks
“If election promises are translated into policy, today is not just a new day for housebuilding but the beginning of a new era. Over the next 100 days we will see a return of housing targets, a rethink of the green belt and urban planning reform. And by the end of the year, an updated Labour government could unveil a new generation of new towns,” said Anthony Codling, managing director of equity research at RBC Capital Markets.
“The potential of homebuilders has been stifled over the past few years, but the coming years are likely to see this potential unleashed.”
WATCH: Prime Minister Keir Starmer promises ‘national renewal’ after Labour wins UK election
Download the Yahoo Finance app. apple and Android.
