On May 28, an on-chain analyst confirmed that the Mt. Gox distribution was underway. At the time, about 42,900 BTC, worth about $2.9 billion, had been moved, but the value could reach $6 billion.
Analyst James Check Said The Mt. Gox incident will be “a great case study of why on-chain data works so well for Bitcoin.”
Mt. Gox Distribution
A few hours later, LookOnChain reported that Mt. Gox still held 95,061 BTC, worth approximately $6.53 billion.
Crypto Crib posted an update on X indicating that around $6 billion worth of BTC is on the move.
The big bitcoin move comes as Mt. Gox appears to be preparing to return its BTC holdings to creditors ahead of a repayment deadline on October 31, more than nine years after the exchange collapsed in 2014.
The company went bankrupt after a devastating hack in which 850,000 BTC, worth $460 million at the time, was stolen.
In February 2023, the largest creditor of a bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange opted for a payment option that allowed them to receive their recovery in a lump sum in BTC instead of fiat currency.
Analysts have previously warned that the transfer of Mt. Gox-era Bitcoin could destabilize the market and put downward pressure on the price of BTC.
That appeared to be what was happening in Asian markets on Tuesday morning, as the cryptocurrency market plunged 2.7%, dropping its total market capitalization to $2.68 trillion.
BTC falls 4%
Bitcoin prices fell 4% from an intraday high of $70,600 during Tuesday's morning Asian trading session, bottoming out at $67,555 about 12 hours later.
At the time of writing, it has recovered slightly and is trading at $67,844, remaining within a multi-month range.
However, it remains to be seen whether prices will fall further if creditors decide to liquidate the assets as soon as they receive them.
Trader “Bleeding Crypto” said he is keeping an eye on the $65,000 and $61,450 technical support levels.
