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Disclaimer: This story was originally published on May 28, 2024.
Defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox is moving billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin from its cold wallets to an unknown address ahead of the platform’s customer repayment deadline in October.
The exchange, which collapsed in 2014, continued such transactions at the time of writing on May 28, according to blockchain tracking X account Whale Alert. The platform has transferred 141,658 BTC worth about $9.65 billion as of 10:30 a.m. GST.
According to independent crypto journalist Colin Wu, the Mt. Gox-related address may have transferred all BTC to 1JbezD...KLAPs6. The unmarked address currently holds 141.686k BTC, worth approximately $9.6 billion.
This transfer represents the first movement of assets from Mt. Gox’s wallets in half a decade. Arkham Intelligence's tracking data shows that the exchange still maintains a substantial Bitcoin reserve valued at approximately $9.42 billion in identified wallets.
Following the transfer of Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin holdings, the asset’s value experienced a decrease of approximately 2%, with its price settling around $67,994.16, down from $69,374 before the initial transfer, as per CoinMarketCap’s data.
In September 2023, the trustee of Mt. Gox announced that the repayment deadline was pushed back by 12 months to Oct. 31, 2024.
Established in 2010, the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox quickly rose to prominence, becoming the leading platform for Bitcoin trading by 2013. At the time, it facilitated a significant majority of global transactions. However, by early 2014, the exchange abruptly ceased withdrawals and suspended trading. Shortly after, the website became inaccessible, and the company sought bankruptcy protection following the loss of a substantial amount of Bitcoin, exceeding 800,000 BTC.