Key Points
- Mt. Gox, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, is preparing to repay customers by transferring $2.7 billion worth of Bitcoin.
- The repayment process has been revived after 10 years, with several large transfers indicating the resumption of repayments.
The now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange, Mt. Gox, is making preparations to repay its customers who suffered losses from scams almost a decade ago.
Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics platform, reported that a Bitcoin (BTC) wallet associated with the exchange transferred $2.7 billion worth of Bitcoin to an unknown address. There was also an initial transfer of 0.021 BTC to an unknown address.
Reviving the Repayment Plan
The first movement of Bitcoin is suspected to be a test transfer before the larger amount was moved.
Recently, these types of transfers have become common as Mt. Gox has resumed discussions about the repayment of affected customers, including Blockstream CEO Adam Back.
Earlier this month, over 47,000 BTC were transferred from the exchange’s address to new wallets.
In March, the company began the process of repayment and collaborated with other crypto exchanges.
Crypto exchange BitGo stated that it would take up to 20 days for the repayment to be processed, while Kraken exchange mentioned that payments could take up to 90 days to process.
The plan was to start paying customers from March 10, but this did not occur.
In May, Bitcoin addresses associated with Mt. Gox that had been dormant for five years began showing signs of activity.
On-chain data indicated that over 141,686 Bitcoins were moved from these addresses associated with the exchange to unknown addresses within 24 hours.
This large movement caused the prices of many crypto assets, including Bitcoin, to drop during that period.
Batch Repayment by Mt. Gox
As the first half of the year came to a close, Mt. Gox increased its efforts towards repayment, stating that it would begin in July.
Rehabilitation Trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi stated on the Mt. Gox website that “the Rehabilitation Trustee has been preparing to make repayments in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) under the Rehabilitation Plan”. He added that the preparations are finally in place.
Kobayashi emphasized that the results from due diligence and other procedures are crucial to the repayment of customers.
The crypto exchanges that would be involved in the process were described as those that have completed the exchange and confirmed the required information for implementing the repayment.
By July 4, it was reported that Mt. Gox made repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to some creditors through different crypto exchanges.
Other customers were asked to wait until all conditions and criteria were met before their repayment request was processed.
The latest transfer may be in preparation for the next round of payments.
The impact of such large transfers on the broader crypto market is a concern for many.
When the first repayment was conducted, Bitcoin’s price dropped more than 8% within 24 hours, falling to around $54,000.
Currently, no significant negative change has been recorded as Bitcoin is trading at $62,648.33 with only a 0.28% drop.
