28 May
28May

Mt. Gox, the now-defunct crypto exchange, has initiated a transaction involving more than 75,000 Bitcoin (BTC), which is valued at around $5 billion. This transaction is significant as it represents the first movement of these funds in over five years, stirring reactions across crypto markets.

The recent activity surrounding Mt. Gox has garnered significant interest, not only due to the substantial amount of funds involved but also because of the potential implications for the broader crypto markets.

Will Creditors of Mt. Gox Keep Bitcoin?

Arkham Intelligence reports that a wallet labeled as “Mt. Gox” has transferred BTC to a new address, 1Jbez, in batches of around 2,000 BTC over the past four hours. Despite these transfers, the Mt. Gox wallet still holds BTC assets valued at approximately $9.3 billion.

This transaction precedes the October 31 deadline set by Mt. Gox for repaying its creditors. The repayment plan includes 142,000 BTC, 143,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and 69 billion Japanese yen, following the Tokyo District Court’s approval of a rehabilitation petition. In 2021, 99% of creditors voted in favor of this plan.

The crypto community speculates that such a significant transfer could potentially trigger a market sell-off, given the extended anticipation surrounding Mt. Gox's creditor repayments. There are concerns that a considerable portion of the transferred assets might flood the open market.

However, not all industry experts share this pessimistic view. 

Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, believes that creditors will likely hold onto the Bitcoin they receive from Mt. Gox.

“The movement of BTC from Mt Gox likely indicates the beginning of distributions to creditors. I anticipate most BTC will be held, but the same may not be true for BCH,” Thorn commented.

In response to this development, the market reacted swiftly. Bitcoin's value dropped by nearly 4% from its previous day's high of $70,600, currently trading at around $67,800. Similarly, Bitcoin Cash experienced a decline of approximately 7% from its peak of $503.7, now trading around $468.

Established in 2010, Mt. Gox once dominated 70% of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide. However, a significant cyberattack in 2014 severely affected its operations, resulting in the loss of around 850,000 BTC from both customer and company funds. 

While 200,000 BTC were later recovered, legal disputes in Japan have prolonged the process of restitution to affected parties.

May 2024, Cryptoniteuae

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