Key takeaways
- Mt. Gox moved 13,265 BTC, most of it into new cold storage.
- Bitcoin price remains stable above $59,000 despite the transaction.
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Defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has transferred 13,265 Bitcoin worth $784 million, marking its first major on-chain activity since late July.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, an address associated with Mt. Gox transferred 12,000 BTC (worth $709 million) to an empty wallet starting with “1PuQB.” The remaining 1,265 BTC, worth about $75 million, was sent to an address labeled as a Mt. Gox cold wallet.
The move has sparked speculation that Bitcoin could be distributed to creditors who have been waiting for repayment since the stock market crashed in 2014. However, Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, suggests the impact on markets could be limited.
“We now believe that of the 13,265 BTC moved in this tx, only 1,265 ($74.5 million) are intended for distribution, with 12,000 going to next-gen cold storage, so very little,” Thorn said.
Bitcoin price remained relatively stable after the trades, holding above $59,000 according to data from CoinGecko. This muted market reaction contrasts with previous instances of Mt. Gox-related selling pressure impacting BTC price after the distributions were announced to begin in June.
Mt. Gox’s last major Bitcoin move occurred on July 30, when the company transferred 47,229 BTC to three unknown wallets over a three-hour period. At the time, Arkham Intelligence suspected that 33,105 Bitcoin were sent to an address belonging to cryptocurrency custodian BitGo, which is working with Mt. Gox’s trustee to return the funds to creditors.
The exchange still holds 46,164 BTC worth about $2.7 billion. Interestingly, Mt. Gox creditors appear to be holding onto their repurchased bitcoins rather than selling them immediately.
In July 2024, the Mt. Gox rehabilitation trustee announced that distributions of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash would begin for approximately 127,000 creditors who were owed over $9.4 billion. The exchange’s 2014 crash was attributed to multiple undetected hacks that resulted in the loss of over 850,000 BTC, now valued at over $51.9 billion.
While recent moves signal progress in the long-awaited refund process, the Mt. Gox saga continues to be relevant in cryptocurrency history, even as its final years end with refunds. The exchange’s ability to move substantial amounts of Bitcoin without significantly impacting the market and barely moving it at all shows the growing maturity and liquidity of the crypto ecosystem.
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