Mt Gox's Crypto Wallet Starts Sending 42,587 Bitcoins

The bankrupt crypto exchange Mt Gox has started to compensate users for hacking. (Photo; Doc. Publish0x)

JAKARTA - Significant activity was observed from wallets affiliated with Mt Gox, a crypto exchange that had triumphed in the past. On Tuesday (23 July 2024) at 5 am UTC, these wallets sent a total of 42,587.49 BTC (about US$2.82 billion or Rp45.12 trillion) to new addresses.

This major transaction sparked speculation that Mt Gox is preparing to settle its obligations to creditors, with a total of 9 billion US dollars (Rp144 trillion) to be returned.

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the transfer of funds is part of the Mt Gox rehabilitation process. Previously, on Monday, this no-operating crypto exchange also transferred a small amount of bitcoin worth around US$1,400 (Rp22.4 million). One of the recipients is the address owned by the Bitstamp crypto exchange.

This latest transaction shows a more massive movement, with 5,110.16 BTC transferred to the cold storage address with the end of "1Jbez." Not long after, at around morning UTC, Mt Gox sent 2,238.87 BTC (approximately US$150 million or Rp2.4 trillion) to Bitstamp. This indicates that the distribution of bitcoin payments via Bitstamp is likely to start soon.

For information, Bitstamp and Kraken are two crypto exchanges appointed by trustee Mt Gox to distribute payments to creditors. Kraken received its share last week, and Bitstamp said it would soon distribute tokens to creditors once they were received.

Apart from Bitstamp and Kraken, two Japanese exchanges, Bitbank and SBI VC Trade, have also received and distributed allocated funds within hours of receiving the bitcoin. This swift effort demonstrates the partners' commitment to helping complete the Mt Gox rehabilitation process.

This big movement of bitcoin inevitably affects prices in the market. In the last 24 hours, the price of bitcoin fell 1.82% and was trading at 66.491 US dollars (IDR 1.063.856.000) per BTC, according to a data report from The Block.

While this price movement may raise concerns, Mt Gox's move to settle its obligations to creditors is a positive step for the crypto industry as a whole. The distribution of these funds is expected to increase investor confidence and promote stability in the market.

Furthermore, the case of Mt Gox is an important reminder of the importance of adequate regulation and risk management in the crypto industry. This recovery effort shows the progress that has been achieved in this aspect, and is expected to be an example for future crypto platforms.