Mt. Gox's $9 Billion Bitcoin Repayment May “Spook'' Markets, Pressure Bitcoin, K33 Says

Mt. Gox’s $9 Billion Bitcoin Repayment May “Spook” Markets, Pressure Bitcoin, K33 Says

Updated: 24 April 2024

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Over $9 billion in Bitcoin from the Mt. Gox era could return to the crypto space in the next few weeks to “spook the market” and exert selling pressure on Bitcoin, K33 Research said.

More than $9.4 billion in BTC and $72 million in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is owed to Mt. Gox’s 127,000 creditors, along with an additional 69 billion Japanese yen worth around $445.8 million.

“Mt. Gox coins could become a relevant negative price contributor in the next weeks,” K33 Research analysts Anders Helseth and Vetle Lunde wrote in an April 23 note.

Updates Started Appearing On Reddit

Rumors about the impact of the impact on the Bitcoin price started to circulate on Reddit earlier this week after some of Mt. Gox’s creditors said they saw updates regarding their claims. These updates included how much crypto and fiat is owed to creditors, and repayment dates also were mentioned.

Many have identified this as an indication that crypto payments might soon be executed. If true, creditors could start seeing Bitcoin paid back to them within the next month.

This is under the assumption that crypto payments follow the same payment schedule as fiat payments, the K33 Research analysts said in the note.

Although the release of the crypto might not lead to immediate selling pressure, the analysts believe that the collective size of the payouts is large enough to “spook the market.”

Mt. Gox Collapsed In 2014

Mt. Gox collapsed in 2014 after it fell victim to a series of hacks that went unnoticed for years. After being left in the dark for more than a decade, creditors finally started receiving communication from the Mt. Gox trustee at the start of this year.

Some creditors reportedly received Japanese yen repayments towards the end of 2023. More creditors said that they received further fiat transfers in March this year, K33 said.

Mt. Gox’s 142,000 Bitcoin Payout

Trustee announces payout plan: 142,000k BTC, 143k BCH, & 69 Billion Yen to be distributed.

Repayment possible by Oct 31, 2024 pic.twitter.com/n0iOYYmZUk

— Kashif Raza (@simplykashif) April 22, 2024

Mt. Gox’s final repayment deadline for base repayments, early lump-sum repayments and intermediate repayments is Oct. 31 this year, but the repayment schedule and deadline could still change.