The defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox has recently executed a significant transfer of approximately 12,000 Bitcoin to a new, unidentified wallet address, marking its first major transaction since late July.
On August 20 at around 11:39 pm UTC, Mt. Gox transferred 12,000 BTC, valued at $709.4 million, to a new address starting with “1PuQB”. Additionally, 1,265 BTC, worth $74.8 million, was sent to another address beginning with “1Jbez,” which is identified as a Mt. Gox cold wallet by Arkham Intelligence. These funds have remained stationary since the transfer.
This substantial transaction may signal that Mt. Gox is preparing to distribute more Bitcoin to its creditors, who have been awaiting the return of their funds following the exchange’s collapse and hack in 2014.
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However, Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, suggests a different scenario. He posits that only a small portion of the moved funds, approximately $74.5 million, is intended for distribution, while the remainder is likely being moved to “fresh cold storage” still under the estate’s control.
This is the first notable Bitcoin movement from Mt. Gox since July 30, when the exchange transferred 47,229 BTC to three unknown wallets over a span of three hours. At that time, Arkham Intelligence speculated that 33,105 Bitcoin went to a wallet owned by crypto exchange BitGo, which is collaborating with the Mt. Gox Trustee to return funds to creditors. A test transaction was conducted two weeks later before the entire amount was transferred to another unknown address, where it has since remained.
According to CryptoQuant, about 68% of Mt. Gox’s funds have been distributed back to creditors. Currently, Mt. Gox still holds a substantial 46,164 BTC, worth roughly $2.7 billion.
Interestingly, Mt. Gox creditors seem to be holding onto their reacquired Bitcoin more than expected. Bitpanda’s deputy CEO, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, mentioned that many early users of Mt. Gox views Bitcoin not just as an asset but as a technology and idea they deeply believe in. This belief may influence when and in what volume they choose to sell.
Maria Carola, CEO of StealthEX, noted that these creditors may be holding their coins in anticipation of future price increases to achieve potentially higher returns. Immediate liquidation could result in significant capital gains taxes, whereas holding the funds might delay these taxes or allow them to wait for more favorable market conditions.
Cre: cointelegraph.
I’m Jessi Lee, currently living in Singapore. I am currently working as a trader for AZCoin company, with 5 years of experience in the cryptocurrency market, I hope to bring you useful information and knowledge about virtual currency investment.
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