Bitcoin Price Unfazed As Long-Bankrupt Exchange Mt. Gox Makes $1 Billion BTC Transfer

Mt. Gox caused a stir early Tuesday, transferring huge amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) to two wallets.

This is the third notable on-chain movement of funds by the long-defunct Japanese crypto exchange this month as it works to resolve outstanding compensation claims from former users who lost assets during its 2014 hack.

Mt. Gox Shifts New Bitcoin

The transfer, tracked by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, directed 10,608.16 Bitcoin to an unlabeled address. Roughly 893 BTC was then sent to Mt. Gox’s hot wallet amid Bitcoin’s recent price rebound. The top crypto closed in on the $89,000 mark on Monday before settling around $87,342 as of press time. According to CoinGecko data, BTC is currently trading a paltry 0.1% higher than it was this time yesterday.

Past large-scale movements from wallets associated with Mt. Gox typically have negatively impacted the Bitcoin price as they preceded repayments to the scandal-ridden exchange’s creditors, but today’s movement has not affected the spot price so far.

The latest transfer follows a previous movement of  $930 million in Bitcoin on March 11, with the majority of the sum being shifted to another unknown address. Also, on March 6, Mt. Gox transferred $1.07 billion to a new wallet. 

Market pundits note that while some creditors have already received fiat currency payments, many await full compensation in Bitcoin (BTC) or Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The extended timeline affects thousands of former users who lost assets during one of the industry’s most notable setbacks.

The exchange postponed its complete creditor payout deadline by one year to Oct. 31, 2025, citing ongoing verification and processing requirements for claimants. This means that until then, no transaction on Mt. Gox’s part will increase selling pressure on BTC or BCH.

Launched in 2010, Mt. Gox was once the most popular platform for buying and selling the world’s first cryptocurrency online, servicing roughly 70% of all Bitcoin trades worldwide in 2013. The Tokyo-headquartered exchange, however, suffered a security breach in 2014 and lost a whopping 850,000 Bitcoins, forcing the company to declare bankruptcy.

The collapsed exchange retains about 35,583 Bitcoin in its wallets, valued at $3.1 billion at current prices.