When word spread of yet another multibillion-dollar Bitcoin transfer from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, the price of BTC fell below $66,000.
The Mt. Gox estate transferred around 34,000 Bitcoin, valued at $2.25 billion at the current rate, to a new wallet on Tuesday, July 30. This action suggests that, following its 2014 closure, the exchange may be actively paying back its debtors.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, as of the time of publication, Mt. Gox had transferred 33,963 BTC to a new wallet. It’s still unclear if the now-defunct exchange transferred the more than $2 billion in Bitcoin to another exchange or just shifted the money around inside its own wallets.
Bitcoin Price Recovery Amid Mt. Gox Transfer Uncertainty
Bitcoin’s price momentarily fell to $65,400 during the transfer but soon recovered and crossed the $66,000 mark again. As of publication, BTC is trading slightly above $66,000, down 5.37% from July 29, when it surpassed $70,000.
In contrast to the prolonged sell-off of confiscated BTC by the German government in early July, which alarmed speculators and caused the price of Bitcoin to drop below $55,000, it is unclear how these recent transfers would affect the price of BTC.
Preliminary signs, however, point to little sell-side pressure. According to a report released by Glassnode on July 29, roughly 59,000 of the 142,000 Bitcoins seized from the Mt. Gox breach have already been given to creditors through the well-known exchanges Kraken and Bitstamp.
Despite these significant swings, the report notes that the price of Bitcoin has remained above $60,000, suggesting a comparatively minor market influence.
As a result, long-term holders now own roughly 45% of the network’s value, according to Glassnode, who observes that the percentage of BTC held by new investors has decreased.
This implies a shift from selling to holding in investment behavior. Nevertheless, Mt. Gox still has over $5.3 billion worth of BTC in its accounts, according to data from Arkham Intelligence, suggesting that it might take several weeks or months to release this monies.
