Mountain Gox, a bankrupt Bitcoin exchange based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, conducted a large-scale Bitcoin transfer to several unknown wallets. The move has spooked the broader cryptocurrency market, raising concerns about its potential sales pressure.
Mount Gox transfers more than $2.9 billion worth of Bitcoin
On May 27, Blockchain analytics platform, Arkham Intelligence revealed a massive Bitcoin transaction initiated by Mount Gox. The bankrupt Bitcoin exchange has transferred a whopping 42,830 BTC, worth $2.9 billion, to several unknown wallets, marking its first transfer in five years.
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The reason for this transfer remains unclear, but the transaction follows Mount Gox’s recent announcement of reorganization plans compensate its creditors and customers who were victims of it hack attack and bankruptcy in February 2014.
Furthermore, these large-scale transactions have roiled the crypto market, with many speculating about the potential impact on Bitcoin’s value. One crypto member revealed that it may be time to dump BTC, indicating a potential sell-off could occur significantly influence the market.
Of Bitcoin is already falling up 4.41% on the week, and trading below $70,000 at $67,834, a sell-off could lead to more price declines for the cryptocurrency.
Mount Gox continues BTC transfer
After transferring 42,830 Bitcoins, the Blockchain tracker and analytics platform, Whale Alert revealed that Mountain Gox had executed a series of transactions on the same day. With only a few hours between each transaction, Mt. Gox more than five large-scale Bitcoin transfers.
The first two transfers discovers of Whale Alert involved 3,999 BTC and 8,239 BTC worth approximately $277.6 million and $565 million respectively. In subsequent transactions, Mount Gox transferred 14,057 BTC and 16,589 BTC, worth approximately $966.3 million and $1.1 billion, respectively.
Mount Gox’s largest transaction was a whopping 34,138 BTC worth $2.3 billion, sent to an unknown wallet. The Bitcoin exchange too transferred another 32,137 BTC and 32,499 BTC, worth approximately $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion respectively.
In total, Mount Gox moved over 141,659 BTC worth over $9.6 billion to various unidentified wallet addresses in a single day.
Mike Deutscher, a crypto analyst and avid proponent of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), has done just that noted that such a significant Bitcoin transaction was likely to occur cause selling pressure on the Bitcoin market. He emphasized that each Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) related to Mount Gox transfers should be seen as an excellent opportunity to accumulate more Bitcoin.
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Additionally, Deutscher reassured community members by saying he was not concerned about the potential impact of Mount Gox’s large-scale transactions on the market. He pointed to its disclosure by the Bitcoin exchange 200,000 Bitcoin Compensation Plans since January 2024 to creditors as a reason for his confidence.
Another crypto member, Mark Karpeles, also allayed community fears about Mount Gox’s Bitcoin transfers. “As far as I know, everything is going well with MtGox. The trustee moves coins to another wallet in preparation for the distribution that will likely take place this year; there is no upcoming sale of bitcoins,” Karpeles said declared.
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