A crypto wallet that recently received more than $2 billion in Bitcoin from the rehabilitation trustee of the now-defunct exchange Mt. Gox, started test transactions on Tuesday ahead of potential creditor distributions.
The wallet is believed to belong to BitGo and could suggest that the Mt. Gox saga is nearing its end. Hours later, the BitGo wallet moved all of the funds to a new wallet.
BitGo Moves Over 33,000 BTC
The now active address was inactive for two weeks after receiving the 33,100 BTC two weeks ago on July 30 from a Mt. Gox cold wallet.
According to Arkham, the wallet initiated test transactions ahead of expected payouts to victims, and then the entire balance of over 33,000 BTC — worth $2 billion at the current price — was transferred to another wallet.
BREAKING: Bitgo has just moved $2B of Mt. Gox BTC. pic.twitter.com/3aPFPhmGGN
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) August 13, 2024
Arkham Intelligence analysts said that the address was most likely tied to crypto custody BitGo, one of the five exchanges tasked with distributing BTC to Mt. Gox’s former creditors.
BitGo is the last remaining distribution partner approved for creditor repayments, the analysts added. Throughout July, Mt. Gox sent billions worth of Bitcoin to the four other designated crypto exchanges — Bitbank, Bitstamp, Kraken, and SBI VC Trade. These exchanges have already started repaying customers.
BTC’s Response To Mt.Gox Transfers
Japan-headquartered Mt. Gox was at one point the largest crypto exchange in the world before collapsing in 2014 due to a major security breach, resulting in the loss of 850,000 BTC.
The distribution of proceeds to affected users has resulted in Bitcoin prices falling in recent weeks as investors worried about creditors selling the reclaimed assets to realize profits and flooding the market. Mt. Gox creditors would have made massive returns as the price of Bitcoin was valued at less than $500 when the exchange imploded 10 years ago.
However, this time was a bit different. Bitcoin’s price jumped to as high as $61,539 (from a price of about $59,500) after the giant transaction. The alpha crypto has since retreated to $60,882 as of press time, representing a 4% gain on the day.
