Mt. Gox Trustee Prepares for Creditor Payouts with Test Bitcoin Transfers

As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade under my belt, I’ve seen more than a few rollercoasters in this wild ride we call the cryptocurrency market. The recent news about Mt. Gox, the once-mighty exchange that crumbled like a sandcastle, has me both intrigued and apprehensive.


On August 13th, it’s been reported that a cryptocurrency wallet, which had received approximately $2 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) from the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange’s trustee, performed a test transaction. This action suggests possible preparations for distributing payouts to creditors, according to blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence.

Based on findings from Arkham researchers, the wallet used in the transaction appears to be connected to BitGo, a well-known digital asset custody service. Notably, BitGo is one of only five companies tasked with distributing tokens to Mt. Gox creditors and is currently the last active partner in this distribution process.

A few weeks following the movement of about 33,100 Bitcoins (worth around $2.2 billion) from a cold wallet linked to Mt. Gox containing creditor funds, these test transactions took place.

As a crypto investor, I’ve been following the findings of Arkham closely, and here’s how they broke down their identification of the wallet: They clustered this wallet with a larger input cluster that’s associated with BitGo’s custody structure and wallet types. This association was key in identifying it as potentially belonging to BitGo.

Track wallet bc1q26 on Arkham:

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) August 13, 2024

Originally the biggest global Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox fell in 2014 due to a major hack. The stolen digital assets, approximately 140,000 Bitcoins and an equivalent amount of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), have been a source of anxiety for investors. Some fear that creditors who have waited nearly a decade might decide to sell their holdings, which could influence market prices.

Based on a report by CoinDesk, the administrator managing Mt. Gox’s assets initiated the distribution process in early July, which sent Bitcoin prices plummeting below $54,000 upon announcement. The approved exchanges tasked with handling creditor refunds include Bitbank, BitGo, Bitstamp, Kraken, and SBI VC Trade.

According to the CoinDesk piece, there’s been a significant drop in the amount of Bitcoin held by Mt. Gox-related addresses, as per recent data from Arkham. On July 1st, these addresses held approximately 141,000 BTC, but currently, they only hold about 46,000 BTC.

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2024-08-14 08:30