Wallets linked to the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox initiated the transfer of over 140,000 Bitcoin (BTC), amounting to approximately $9 billion, to an unknown address during the early hours of Tuesday in Asia. This spooked markets, causing BTC to decline by over 2.3%, reaching as low as $67,680 after reaching a high of over $70,000 on Monday.
Mt. Gox, which once held the title of the largest Bitcoin exchange globally, shuttered its operations in 2014 after suffering a massive hack that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of BTC. Since then, creditors have eagerly awaited the repayment of their holdings, which has been anticipated to place selling pressure on BTC markets.
Analysis of wallet activity reveals that these transfers were executed through thirteen transactions. On May 20, a test transaction of $3 was conducted, followed by a smaller transaction of $160 on Tuesday. The remaining transactions ranged from $1.2 million to a staggering $2.2 billion worth of bitcoin. All of Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin holdings have now been consolidated into a single Bitcoin wallet.
Nobuaki Kobayashi, the rehabilitation trustee overseeing the process, released a statement clarifying that no sale of Bitcoin or Bitcoin cash (BCH) had occurred. He assured stakeholders that the group was handling the management of Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash in a secure manner.