Mt.Gox comments on the movement of $9,3 billion worth of bitcoins

What’s new? Mt.Gox is preparing to settle some of its cryptocurrency customer claims as part of a rehabilitation plan, the trustee of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced. The announcement followed a series of transactions on May 28 in which Mt.Gox moved nearly all of its 137 892 bitcoins, worth $9,3 billion, to a new address.

The trustee’s address

What else is known? Mt.Gox, launched in 2010, was one of the first bitcoin exchanges in the world, accounting for up to 70% of trading volume. In 2014, it ceased operations due to insolvency: it turned out that in previous years, hackers had withdrawn 850 000 BTC belonging to 24 000 users from the platform due to a vulnerability.

Kobayashi said creditors would receive principal, interim, and early lump sum payments by October 31 this year. Customers began receiving their first fiat payments late last year, nearly a decade after the bankruptcy. A total of 142 000 bitcoins, 143 000 Bitcoin Cash and 69 billion Japanese yen were held in the company’s accounts before the payouts began.

The company later said it had mistakenly sent double payouts to some customers and called for a refund of some of the amount. Refusal to refund threatens both legal consequences and the inability to continue participating in the phased asset recovery.

The crypto community has repeatedly voiced concerns that compensating the exchange’s customers would put pressure on the bitcoin exchange rate as a result of massive sales. Since the bankruptcy of Mt.Gox, the asset has increased in value about 183 times.

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Data from analytics platforms CryptoQuant and Arkham Intelligence shows that on May 28, Mt.Gox began moving assets out of its wallets for the first time since May 2018.

Kobayashi commented on the moves, noting that he has not yet started returning customers their cryptocurrency or selling it for cash compensation. He clarified that he is only preparing for the payments for now, which will be made at a later date.

The bitcoin exchange rate fell by 4,3% overnight to $67 555 amid the Mt.Gox asset moves, but then partially recovered above $68 500. Bitcoin Cash also reacted with an 8% drop to $462, but later recovered to $473,5.