TLDR:
Mt. Gox transferred 13,265 BTC worth $784 million
12,000 BTC went to a new wallet, 1,265 BTC to a Mt. Gox cold wallet
Bitcoin price remained stable above $59,000 despite the transaction
Mt. Gox still holds 46,164 BTC worth approximately $2.7 billion
Creditors appear to be holding onto their reacquired Bitcoin rather than selling
On August 21, 2024, defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox transferred 13,265 Bitcoin (BTC) worth approximately $784 million.
This marks the exchange’s first major on-chain activity since late July, sparking discussions about potential distributions to creditors who have been awaiting reimbursement since the exchange’s collapse in 2014.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, an address associated with Mt. Gox moved 12,000 BTC (valued at $709 million) to an empty wallet starting with “1PuQB”. The remaining 1,265 BTC, worth approximately $75 million, was sent to an address labeled as a Mt. Gox cold wallet.
Here we go again Mt. Gox moves 13,265 Bitcoin https://t.co/cNSPM3rOvH pic.twitter.com/uwLfdjaAaD
— HODL15Capital (@HODL15Capital) August 21, 2024
Despite the substantial movement of funds, the Bitcoin price has remained relatively stable, holding above $59,000. This muted market reaction contrasts with previous instances of Mt. Gox-related selling pressure impacting BTC’s price.
Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, suggested that the impact on markets may be limited, stating, “We now think that of the 13,265 BTC moved in this tx, only 1,265 ($74.5 million) is meant to distro, w/ 12,000 going to estate fresh cold storage so, very small.”
CORRECTION — in a prior tweet i said mt gox tx’d $1.5bn onchain. it was half that — $700m. (sorry, i misread my alerts)
AND, we now think that of the 13,265 BTC moved in this tx, only 1,265 ($74.5m) is meant to distro, w/ 12,000 going to estate fresh cold storage
so, very small
— Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) August 21, 2024
The recent transfer is part of an ongoing process to reimburse Mt. Gox creditors. In July 2024, the exchange’s rehabilitation trustee announced that Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash distributions would commence for approximately 127,000 creditors owed over $9.4 billion.
The exchange’s collapse in 2014 was attributed to multiple undetected hacks resulting in the loss of over 850,000 BTC, now valued at over $51.9 billion.
Mt. Gox still holds a substantial 46,164 BTC worth roughly $2.7 billion. Interestingly, Mt. Gox creditors appear to be holding onto their reacquired Bitcoin rather than immediately selling.
This behavior has caught the attention of industry experts, with some suggesting that early adopters who used Mt. Gox may view Bitcoin as more than just an asset, but as a technology and idea they believe in.
The exchange’s last major Bitcoin movement occurred on July 30, when it transferred 47,229 BTC to three unknown wallets over a three-hour period. At that time, Arkham Intelligence suspected that 33,105 Bitcoin was sent to an address owned by crypto custodian BitGo, which is working with the Mt. Gox Trustee to return funds to creditors.
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