The long-awaited closure to the Mt. Gox saga is finally approaching as the defunct Japanese Bitcoin exchange has made another substantial move, transferring over $2 billion worth of BTC to crypto wallet addresses. With this significant transaction, the exchange’s repayment plan is nearing its completion, resulting in a considerable reduction in its previously hefty distribution funds.
Mt. Gox Transfers Over 33,000 BTC
In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, Arkham Intelligence, an AI-powered blockchain analytics platform, revealed that Mt. Gox had executed a significant BTC transfer. According to their reports, the exchange moved an impressive 33,960 BTC, valued at $2.25 billion, on July 31.
UPDATE: MT. GOX MOVES $3.1B BTC
Last night Mt. Gox addresses moved 33.96K BTC ($2.25B) to addresses we believe are most likely BitGo:
bc1q26tsxc0ge7phvcr2kyczexqf5pcj8rk79cqk90h34c30dn9dskeq3gmw3f
bc1q48a5tjhdjtkfv8zv6tj68767h8lgep9dpx0emrkx0yhhmum7wscs95ft36BitGo is the 5th… pic.twitter.com/XWNiZ2boAN
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) July 31, 2024
Arkham disclosed that this massive Bitcoin transfer was likely sent to addresses believed to belong to BitGo, a digital asset trust company and security firm. BitGo is the fifth and final custodian working directly with Mt. Gox to facilitate the return of funds to creditors.
Following this transaction, Mt. Gox still holds approximately 32,899 BTC, worth over $2.11 billion based on the current BTC price of $64,622, according to CoinMarketCap.
In June, Mt. Gox announced the commencement of distributing recovered Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to creditors affected by the 2014 hack, where hundreds of thousands of BTC were stolen from the exchange and its customers. The stolen BTC was worth around $450 million at the time, marking a substantial loss.
Since the hack, Mt. Gox has recovered about 141,686 BTC. However, after several large-scale BTC transfers, the exchange’s BTC distribution holdings have dramatically decreased, reflecting a 76.5% drop from the original amount.
Accord into @ArkhamIntel, Mt. Gox is now holding 32.9k #Bitcoin, 23.5% of the original amount (140k) pic.twitter.com/Wr5kMvEDC3
— Alessandro Ottaviani (@AlexOttaBTC) August 1, 2024
Lookonchain Reveals Massive Bitcoin Transfer
Blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain also reported that Mt. Gox initiated a massive Bitcoin transfer on July 31. According to Lookonchain, the exchange moved a staggering 47,229 BTC, worth approximately $3.13 billion, to three unknown wallet addresses.
Additionally, Lookonchain noted that since July 5, Mt. Gox had transferred 61,559 BTC, valued at approximately $3.89 billion, to various crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, Kraken, Bitbank, and SBI VC Trade. With less than half of its Bitcoin repayment funds left, Mt. Gox’s reimbursement plans are finally nearing their end.
Bitcoin Repayment to Over 17,000 Creditors
On July 24, Mt. Gox’s rehabilitation trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced that the exchange had successfully made repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to over 17,000 creditors. The statement highlighted that following the repayments on July 5 and 16, Mt. Gox’s rehabilitation trustee had completed repayments to various creditors on July 24 using designated cryptocurrency exchanges.
Kobayashi assured that further payments would be executed promptly after the redistribution conditions for Mt. Gox creditors have been met. He urged the remaining eligible rehabilitation creditors to remain patient as the repayment process continues.
