Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox has transferred more than 47,000 BTC, or around $2.7 billion, to a new cold wallet in anticipation of the $9 billion payment it must make to creditors this month, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.
This transfer could influence market dynamics due to increased supply. The price of Bitcoin briefly fell to $56,800 following this move, according to data from CoinGecko. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $57,000, down 7% on the week.
Mt Gox transfer details
Mt Gox has transferred 47,229 BTC (approximately $2.7 billion) to a new wallet address. Part of this Bitcoin treasure was sent to a Bitget-labeled wallet, one of the exchanges designated to handle repayment of Mt Gox's creditors. This transfer is therefore considered a test transaction.
The recent activities of the Mt Gox-tagged wallet have agitated the market, with concerns over the potential impact on the Bitcoin price due to possible sales by creditors. Previously, on May 28, the wallet had moved nearly $7.3 billion worth of Bitcoin to another unknown wallet. Following this move, the Bitcoin price fell by 2%.
Payment to creditors
The cryptocurrency exchange plans to start distributing $9 billion in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and fiat currency to its creditors from July. This payment will include approximately 142,000 Bitcoins ($8 billion), 143,000 Bitcoin Cash ($45.9 million) and fiat currency worth 69 billion Japanese yen ($428.7 million).
According to Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, Mt Gox's creditors are mainly made up of debt funds, defunct cryptocurrency exchange Bitcoinica and individual creditors. "We believe they are largely die-hard Bitcoin investors, so sales will be limited," he said.
