As a long-time crypto investor who has weathered many market storms and witnessed the rise and fall of several exchanges, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions upon reading about Mt. Gox moving half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin to cold storage.
Previously defunct cryptocurrency platform Mt. Gox appears to have transferred approximately 500 Bitcoins, equivalent to around $35 million, into cold storage wallets. This news follows the exchange’s recent announcement of postponing customer restitutions for another year due to a significant hack that occurred in 2014.
According to reports, it appears that Mount Gox transferred approximately 500 Bitcoins, currently valued at around $35 million, to unidentified wallets. Tracing these transfers back to Mt. Gox was made possible by analyzing two transactions involving Bitcoin linked to the exchange, as determined by Arkham’s blockchain intelligence platform.
Mt. Gox Postpones Deadline to Repay Creditors
In a recent development, Bitcoin linked to the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has started moving again. Blockchain analysis firm Arkham detected two transactions on November 1st where Mt. Gox transferred 500 BTC to offline storage. The 31.78 and 468.24 BTC transfers to unidentified addresses represent the first significant Bitcoin movement from Mt. Gox wallets in over a month. As per Arkham’s analysis, approximately 44,905 Bitcoins, valued at around $3.1 billion, are still held in wallets associated with Mt. Gox.
Once a bustling crypto exchange located in Tokyo, Mount Gox suffered a hack in 2014. In this assault, cunning hackers gradually emptied approximately 850,000 Bitcoins, ultimately leading the platform to close its doors and file for bankruptcy. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to recover around 140,000 BTC years after the breach. Now, with a rehabilitation proposal approved in 2021, Mt. Gox creditors are finally receiving their long-awaited funds.
After almost a decade of waiting, creditors are facing more setbacks. Crypto exchanges Kraken, Bitstamp, Bitbank, SBI VC Trade, and BitGo are in charge of distributing repayments to the fallen exchange’s creditors. While some repayments have already been made, it does not appear that all creditors will see the funds soon. Earlier this month, Mt. Gox announced the deadline to make repayments has been extended until October 2025, leaving traders in the lurch for another year.
In a statement, Mt. Gox said:
Despite several rehabilitation lenders being due their repayments, many haven’t received them yet as they haven’t finished the required steps to claim their repayments.
The exchange also cited “issues arising in the Repayments process” for creditors not receiving payments.
Mt. Gox Transfers Leave Market Unsettled
Mt. Gox was among the earliest Bitcoin trading platforms globally, handling nearly 70% of all Bitcoin transactions at some stage. However, its success was brief as it faced multiple security issues that ultimately crippled the business.
Market players, nonetheless, express worry about the repayment process given the significant amount of Bitcoin at stake. Past Bitcoin transactions by Mt. Gox have caused unease among market participants, leading to fears of a mass sale. Creditors stand to gain significantly from the repayments due to the substantial increase in Bitcoin’s value since the breach occurred.
Earlier in the week, Bitcoin experienced a significant surge when it surpassed $70,000, nearing its all-time high (ATH) of $73,800. However, after that spike, BTC has retreated and is now being traded at $69,268.
Read More
Sorry. No data so far.
2024-11-02 22:10