Bitcoin Plunges As Mt. Gox Moves $700M in BTC
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — On August 20, defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox transferred 12,000 Bitcoin to a new wallet address. The move, worth $709.4 million, is the first significant transaction since the end of July. The Bitcoin was sent to an empty address starting with “1PuQB.”
In addition to this, Mt. Gox sent 1,265 BTC, valued at $74.8 million, to a wallet labeled as a cold storage address by Arkham Intelligence. This wallet, starting with “1Jbez,” has not moved any funds since the transaction.
Mt. Gox Moves 13,265 Bitcoin. Source: HODL15Capital
The last major move from Mt. Gox was on July 30, when 47,229 BTC were transferred to three unknown wallets over three hours. At that time, Arkham Intelligence suggested that 33,105 BTC were sent to a wallet controlled by the crypto exchange BitGo, a custodian working with the Mt. Gox trustee.
Mt. Gox Bitcoin Transfer Fuels Speculation Amid Ongoing Distributions
The recent Mt. Gox Bitcoin transfer has sparked speculation. Some believe the exchange may be preparing to distribute Bitcoin to creditors who have been waiting since the 2014 hack and collapse.
Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, believes that only $74.5 million of the transferred funds may be intended for distribution. He suggests the rest may be moved into fresh cold storage still controlled by the Mt. Gox estate.
Mt. Gox BTC Transfer Correction by Alex Thorn. Source: @intangiblecoins
This marks the first large Bitcoin transfer by Mt. Gox in nearly three weeks. According to CryptoQuant, 68% of Mt. Gox’s funds have already been distributed to creditors.
Mt. Gox BTC Balance Drops to $2.7B. Source: @hansolar21 Mt. Gox Creditors Hold $2.7B in Bitcoin, Awaiting Better Market Conditions
Mt. Gox currently holds 46,164 BTC, valued at approximately $2.7 billion. Despite the long wait, many creditors appear to be holding onto their Bitcoin.
Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, deputy CEO of Bitpanda, noted that Mt. Gox was one of the earliest exchanges. As a result, many creditors were early adopters who see Bitcoin as more than just an asset.
“For them, Bitcoin isn’t just an asset, it’s a technology and an idea that they really believe in. That doesn’t mean they will never sell, but it will affect when they might sell and in what volumes.”
Maria Carola, CEO of StealthEX, mentioned that some creditors may be holding their coins in anticipation of future price increases. Additionally, selling immediately could result in significant capital gains taxes, which might influence their decision to hold.
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