Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt.Gox moved over 24,000 BTC to an unknown wallet address minutes after its price reached the $100,000 milestone.
The move comes amidst pending compensation claims, with the payout timeline for creditors extended to October 31, 2025.
Mt.Gox Moves Large BTC Tranche
The defunct exchange transferred around 27,871 BTC, valued at almost $2.9 billion at current prices, to an unknown address with no previous history, starting with “1N7j” at 2:45 am UTC on December 5. This was the exchange’s first transfer since November 12. The transfer happened minutes after BTC hit the $100,000 milestone and less than half an hour before it set a new all-time high. The transfer was detected by Arkham Intelligence, which also recorded around $3.8k BTC, valued at around $386 million, to a cold wallet. It isn’t known why Mt.Gox has moved a significant part of its holdings, although similar moves in the past have almost always been a precursor to giving payouts to the exchange’s creditors.
The exchange still holds around 39,878 BTC, worth over $4 billion, in its wallet. The latest transfer comes after Mt.Gox moved around 2,500 BTC to an unknown address on November 12. The bankrupt exchange has moved funds regularly to resolve outstanding compensation claims from former users.
Impact On BTC
The transfer of such a large number of BTC is usually viewed as a bearish development for the asset's price, as it could mean billions worth of BTC is being sent to users who could sell after being unable to access their assets for over a decade. However, despite historical price sensitivity to large movements, recent Mt.Gox transfers have had minimal impact on the price of BTC. Analysts believe sell-side pressure from Mt.Gox payments is significantly overblown because the market has already priced them in.
However, concerns persist that full compensation could impact prices if some creditors opt to sell their holdings. Mt.Gox creditors receive their payouts in BTC, and most creditors stated in a poll they were in no rush to sell their holdings.
The Mt.Gox trustee managing the BTC and payouts to creditors recently pushed the deadline to repay outstanding claims to October 31, 2025, extending the deadline by a full year. The trustee stated many users had still not received their repayments because they had yet to complete the necessary procedures.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
