- Mt. Gox has recently transferred 11,833 BTC, $932 million, raising concerns about potential market volatility.
- The crypto market cap fell to $2.44 trillion, its lowest since early November, triggering $937 million in liquidations.
The defunct Mt.Gox exchange transferred BTC valued at more than $932 million, creating market concerns about potential downward price pressure. The problem arose due to the presumption that creditors could sell assets they had reclaimed.
A deep dive into the minutiae reveals that the once-largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt.Gox, recently transferred 11,502 BTC worth $885 million to a new address. Also, 332 BTC worth $25.5 million was sent to a warm wallet, normally used for transactions or active fund management.
Notably, data from Spot On Chain suggested that the 332 BTC could soon be moved to assist with creditor repayments.
As we reported earlier this month, the exchange transferred 166.5 BTC to BitGo, likely in preparation for creditor repayments.
The assumption was echoed by Arkham intelligence on the X platform, stating;
This is a movement of $26M BTC to the Mt. Gox 1Jbez Operations wallet with the $1B moved to a change wallet. The last time that Mt. Gox did this 5 days ago, they moved ~$15M BTC to Bitgo, one of the custodians aiding Mt. Gox with repayments.
The recent transfers are part of Mt. Gox’s continued efforts to repay creditors impacted by its 2014 hack and subsequent bankruptcy. These movements have sparked concerns about potential market volatility, as creditors might opt to sell their Bitcoin, which could lead to an influx of supply and impact market prices.
US Economic Events and Their Influence
This week’s Bitcoin transfers coincided with key US economic events, including the release of inflation data and Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. Higher-than-expected inflation figures and the Fed’s stern stance may have pressured Mt.Gox to accelerate its repayment process.
Additionally, the cryptocurrency market faced another challenging week as prices continued declining, with Bitcoin briefly dropping to November 2024 levels.
Mt.Gox still holds 24,411 BTC ($1.94 billion) in its wallets, having offloaded $9.2 billion worth of Bitcoin since June 2024. The exchange has extended its repayment deadline to October 31, 2025, giving creditors more time to receive their funds.
Once handling 70-80% of global Bitcoin trades, Mt.Gox’s collapse in 2014 remains a cautionary tale in the crypto world. Its recent Bitcoin movements remind us of the lingering impact of its hack, which stole 850,000 BTC.
Market Reactions and Future Outlook
The crypto market reacted nervously to the news, with Bitcoin’s price dropping 2.4% to $76,784 within 30 minutes before recovering to $80,275. Analysts like Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom, advised investors to remain patient, predicting Bitcoin could bottom around $70,000. He stated;
The plan: Be fucking patient. $BTC likely bottoms around $70k. 36% correction from $110k ATH, v normal for a bull market.
At the time of press, Bitcoin is trading at $81,721.58, down 0.17%, with a trading volume of $60.22B and a market cap of $1.62 T.
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