Ahead of creditor payout, Mt. Gox completes $840M Bitcoin transfer

In a significant development, Mt. Gox, the defunct crypto exchange, has transferred 12.24k BTC, valued at around $840 million, to an undisclosed address. This move is part of a larger plan to distribute the remaining assets to its creditors by October 31, 2024. The transfer of funds marks a crucial moment in the ongoing saga of Mt. Gox.

According to Arkham Intelligence, Mt. Gox has not only transferred 12,240 BTC to the address 1JbezD.KLAPs6, but it has also made subsequent transfers of 14.05k BTC and 16.589k BTC, totaling approximately $1.14 billion, to the same undisclosed address. As a result of these transfers, Mt. Gox’s wallet now holds 137.892k BTC.

To compensate for the significant losses suffered during a cyber-attack in 2014, where customers’ wallets lost 750,000 BTC and the exchange funds lost an additional 100,000 BTC, Mt. Gox plans to distribute 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and 69 billion Japanese yen to its creditors.

Following the recent transfers, the price of Bitcoin experienced a slight drop from over $70,600 to below $68,500. Some market observers believe that the release of a large number of BTC could trigger a sell-off, leading to a decline in Bitcoin’s price. However, there is also the possibility that Bitcoin maximalists may counteract the sell-off effects to maintain market stability.

Established in 2010, Mt. Gox was once the largest Bitcoin exchange, handling 70% of all global transactions. However, in 2014, it ceased trading and filed for bankruptcy after suffering a devastating cyber-attack that resulted in the loss of over 800,000 BTC.

Since then, the victims of the attack have faced numerous legal hurdles in Japan, hindering their chances of receiving compensation. Although 200,000 BTC has been recovered, the process of compensating creditors has been slow and arduous. The recent transfers mark the first significant movement of assets from Mt. Gox wallets in the past five years.

The deadline for the distribution of BTC and BCH to creditors is October 31, 2024. The market is closely monitoring these transfers to assess their impact on the price of Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market. With the trustee working to resolve the remaining claims, the full repercussions on the market are yet to be seen.