A wallet associated with the Mt. Gox exchange has transferred 500 BTC worth approximately $35 million to unknown addresses. The transactions occur during the ongoing process of the exchange repaying creditors.
Gox has transferred 500 bitcoins worth approximately $35 million from its cold wallet to unknown wallet addresses. Two more transactions, worth 31.78 BTC and 468.24 BTC, followed. The transactions occurred in the middle of the exchange’s fund reimbursement process.
As of now, it is unclear whether the recent transactions are linked to the distribution process.
Arkham flags Mt. Gox’s recent transactions
Arkham Intelligence flagged the transaction as having occurred on November 1, 2024, at 00:42:49 UTC. According to the blockchain intelligence firm, Mt. Gox’s wallet addresses still have 44,905 BTC, worth over $3 billion at current market prices.
The transfer is part of a series of transactions that the exchange has initiated in the last few months. The last activity from the exchange’s wallets happened about a month ago. On August 20, the exchange moved 12,000 bitcoins worth about $700 million to a new address.
The transfer was the first major transaction since July when the trustee overseeing the exchange’s distribution process began paying out eligible creditors in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
Part of the eligibility requirements included verifying their accounts, confirming a safe disbursement process, and a subscription to one of the five selected exchanges to be used in the disbursement process. Kraken crypto exchange is among the five exchanges selected to facilitate the disbursement process. In July, Mt. Gox’s trustee sent 48,641 BTC to Kraken as part of the repayment plan.
Mt. Gox already extended repayment deadline by 12 months
In October, the exchange’s trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced extending the creditor restitution deadline by 12 months to October 2025 with permission from the court.
The trustee cited that many creditors have not received their repayments because they have not completed the necessary procedures for the disbursement process. The trustee also highlighted that the repayment process had been hindered by rising issues such as system malfunctions that caused double deposits to some creditors.
Mt. Gox was founded in 2010 as a platform for card game enthusiasts to buy and sell cards online, with Bitcoin as the currency of exchange. What started as a card game website quickly transitioned to a digital asset platform that attracted malicious hackers.
The company went under in 2014 with a bankruptcy filing after experiencing a series of hacks that drained the crypto exchange of thousands of bitcoins worth billions at today’s BTC prices. In the process, the exchange lost about 850,000 bitcoins but recovered 200,000 coins. While it was operational, Mt. Gox accounted for more than 70% of global Bitcoin transactions.
Since July, the exchange’s imminent liquidation process has raised concerns among Bitcoin enthusiasts about the potential implications on BTC price and the entire crypto market. At the time of this publication, Bitcoin is trading at $69,420, having dipped slightly after crossing $73k. The asset’s price is down 4% in the last 24 hours and up 2% in the last seven days.
