Bitcoin Holds Steady as Mt. Gox Moves $800M in BTC to New Wallet
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price remained remarkably stable on Wednesday despite a significant transfer of funds by the long-bankrupt Mt. Gox exchange. Notably, the cryptocurrency traded just below the $60,000 range for most of the past week, showing resilience despite the anticipated volatility.
On August 21, the exchange moved approximately 13,265 BTC, valued at around $784.2 million, to a new wallet. This transaction, tracked by crypto analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, represents the first major Bitcoin movement from Mt. Gox since July 30, when the exchange transferred 47,229 BTC across three unknown wallets within a three-hour period.
The latest transfer follows a series of movements involving Mt. Gox’s assets, including a large distribution of Bitcoin that began at the start of August. Notably, the exchange has been in a prolonged civil rehabilitation process since June 2018, aimed at returning funds to its defrauded users. Recent distributions have included significant amounts of Bitcoin, with Mt. Gox having already released about 140,000 BTC, valued at approximately $9 billion to creditors.
According to data from Arkham, Mt. Gox currently holds 46,164 BTC, equating to roughly $2.74 billion. The recent transfer was preceded by an internal movement of 1,265 BTC to cold storage, a common practice to ensure security before any major transactions.
That said, the substantial amount of Bitcoin in circulation has led to mixed reactions from analysts. Some experts have expressed concerns about potential selling pressure, fearing large-scale distributions could impact Bitcoin’s price. However, others, such as Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, suggest that the impact might be minimal.
“We think that of the 13,265 BTC moved in this transaction, only 1,265 ($74.5m) is meant to [be distributed], with12,000 BTC going to estate fresh cold storage,” tweeted Thorn.
“That would mean Gox has distributed 97,000BTC of 142,000BTC (45,000BTC remaining). If they’re done, then our original estimate was pretty close (they may not be done though, but probably very small left if any). We are now mostly unbothered, no longer burdened by most of what had been.” He added.
Additionally, recent historical data shows that Bitcoin has absorbed significant distributions and sales from various entities without major disruptions. For instance, the German and U.S. governments have sold substantial quantities of seized Bitcoin over the past few months, while bankruptcies like Celsius and Gemini have also contributed to market supply.
Analyst PlanB highlighted Bitcoin’s resilience, noting that the recent large-scale sales had already been factored into its price. He further suggested that the forthcoming $12.7 billion redistribution from FTX in Q4 could be the “spark that ignites the pump.”
Bitcoin was trading at $64,468 at press time, reflecting a 0.95% upsurge over the past 24 hours.
