$3.4 Billion Mt.Gox Bitcoin Are on the Move; the Market Remains Strong

Over the last two days, the wallet related to Mt.Gox has moved around 35,000 BTC or around $3.4 billion at current prices. The largest transfer, 24,052 BTC, occurred shortly after Bitcoin hit a milestone of $100,000. It was made to an unknown address with no previous history. The movements are likely related to the ongoing payouts to creditors.

Although the movement went almost unnoticed amid the bullish market, the BTC price briefly dropped from $103,000 to $95,000. It has since rebounded to nearly $98,500, reflecting the resilience of the current market.

Some traders express discontent as they believe such movements might disrupt bullish momentum or stall further price surges.

After the commencement of repayments was announced, the BTC price plunged. Many experts predicted back then that releasing such large sums (around 140,000 BTC and 140,000 BCH in total) would add selling pressure and distort the market. Although the real amount that will be allocated among regular creditors in early payouts is much lower (around 65,000 BTC), the sum is still impressive.

Some experts believe the supposed Mt. Gox sell pressure is already priced into the market. The traders and investors have long anticipated the release of these funds and adjusted their strategies accordingly, factoring in the possibility of sell-offs.

The price rapidly recovered after the announcement. Later, BTС movements by Mt.Gox had no major impact on the market, although they added bearish pressure this summer. Since September, Bitcoin has been showing strong growth. After Trump’s election, the price skyrocketed and hit the new ATH of $104K after he nominated the pro-crypto Chair of the SEC. 

Now, the fears about looming sell pressure look overblown, at least amid the current market conditions. Many creditors will likely prefer to hold as they observe their long-lost and new-found assets rapidly gaining in price. Besides, after years of resisting offers of USD payouts, many want their Bitcoin back, not fiat currency.

Clearly, there are those who will prefer to sell straight away after being deprived of their Bitcoin for over a decade to minimize the risks, but the heated market will probably absorb the extra supply without major price slumps. 

Mt. Gox reported losing almost 750,000 of its customers’ Bitcoins and around 100,000 of its own due to an alleged exploit in 2014. This June, after significant and repeated delays, the Mt. Gox trustee announced the commencement of repayments. In October, the Mt. Gox trustee again extended the deadline for creditor repayments by another year, setting the new date to October 31, 2025. The slow repayment process is annoying for the creditors but will further soften the impact on the market.

At the moment of writing, the company had  36,085 BTC left. Future movements could test Bitcoin’s resilience again, but for now, the market stands strong.