Massive Bitcoin Movement by Mt. Gox Sparks Market Reaction
In a significant development on July 16, Mt Gox transferred over 140,000 Bitcoin, valued at nearly $9 billion, to a known cold wallet and two unidentified addresses within a span of three hours.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, Mt Gox still retains 138,985 Bitcoin (BTC) in its primary wallet, worth approximately $8.7 billion. This marks the first mobilization of its funds in two weeks.
The initial transfer saw 44,527 BTC sent to a known Mt Gox cold wallet. Subsequently, almost 96,000 BTC, valued at over $6 billion, were shifted to two unknown wallets.
Over $6 Billion Moved in Two Hours
The total volume of BTC transactions by Mt Gox on July 16 reached nearly 190,000 BTC, amounting to over $12 billion in value moved within just three hours.
One of the unknown addresses, ending in “BHDct9b,” received 42,587 BTC worth $2.69 billion, while the remaining 4641.24 BTC, valued at $293.94 million, was transferred to the “Mt. Gox: Cold Wallet (1Jbez).”
The address “BHDct9b” has not yet moved the 42,587 BTC, causing market fear and a decline in BTC value due to shifting market sentiment.
Shortly thereafter, an additional 48,641 BTC, worth $3.07 billion, was transferred to another unknown address, further reducing the holdings in Mt Gox’s main wallet.
Market Response
The price of BTC, which had approached $65,000 earlier on July 16, dropped to lows of $63,000 within hours.
This price decline, representing over a 3% drop for BTC, triggered a broader market impact, with altcoins such as Uniswap, Polkadot, and Bitcoin Cash experiencing price dips exceeding 5%.
Market sentiment turned bearish as BTC prices began to decline an hour before the first Mt. Gox transaction on July 16, continuing to drop as more outflows were sent to unknown wallets.
Repayment Repercussions
On July 5, Mt. Gox announced plans to start repaying its BTC and BCH debts to creditors. The repayments would be made to rehabilitation creditors via designated crypto exchanges.
The announcement named the Rehabilitation Debtor as Mt. Gox Co. Ltd. and the Rehabilitation Trustee as Nobuaki Kobayashi, attorney-at-law.
The repayment statement indicated that the remaining rehabilitation creditors would receive funds “promptly” upon meeting the necessary conditions.
As the main Mt. Gox wallet executed over $9 billion in BTC outflows on July 16, the anticipated prompt repayments to creditors could potentially be fulfilled before August.
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