Mt. Gox will begin repayments by the end of July, causing some fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), as Bitcoin’s value drops below $61,000. Following this FUD event, Bitcoin falls under $58,000 after the U.S. transfers $240 million worth of Silk Road-related BTC to Coinbase. Approximately 4,000 bitcoins were seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh during his trial in January 2024.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell back towards $60,000 on Wednesday after a wallet linked to the U.S. government moved about $240 million worth of seized BTC to a Coinbase Prime address. This development has raised concerns among traders that the digital assets are likely to be sold. Some 3,940 bitcoin originally seized from a Silk Road vendor was moved by the the wallet, according to an Arkham Intelligence social media post. “This BTC was originally seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh and forfeited at trial in January 2024,” the post said.
Some 3,940 bitcoin originally seized from a Silk Road vendor was moved by the the wallet, according to an Arkham Intelligence social media post. “This BTC was originally seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh, and forfeited at trial in January 2024,” the post said.
The most recent action taken by the government occurred in late 2022 with the seizure of approximately 50,000 bitcoins associated with the Silk Road website, totaling $2 billion in value. This move placed significant pressure on digital markets at the time. The government’s last confirmed sale took place in March 2023, involving the sale of 9,861 coins for $216 million.
Bitcoin attempted to recover from its recent drop related to Mt. Gox earlier this week, but it fell back below $61,000 when the news came out. It has since slightly risen to $61,100, showing a 1% decrease over the past 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index is also down by a similar amount. Ether (ETH) also decreased by 1.6% in response to the news. Mt. Gox, the defunct crypto exchange, is supposed to return over 140,000 bitcoin to victims of the 2014 hack.
The defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has announced that it will begin distributing assets stolen from clients in a 2014 hack in July 2024. Despite numerous delayed deadlines, the repayments will finally commence. Clients will receive their repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash. This could potentially lead to selling pressure on both markets.
Defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has announced that it will start distributing assets stolen from clients during a 2014 hack in the first week of July. Trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi stated in a Monday announcement on the Mt. Gox website that preparations are being made to make repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash under the Rehabilitation Plan.
The Rehabilitation Trustee has been preparing to make repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash under the Rehabilitation Plan,” trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi said in a Monday statement
posted on the Mt. Gox website.
The repayments will be made from the beginning of July 2024,” Kobayashi said, adding that due diligence and certain safety steps will be required before the payments go through.
Mt Gox Website
The repayments are widely believed to contribute to selling pressure in the bitcoin (BTC) markets. Early investors will receive assets at a much higher value than their initial investments before 2013, which may lead them to sell at least a portion of their holdings, according to traders.
In its early years, Mt. Gox was the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, managing over 70% of all bitcoin transactions. However, in early 2014, the exchange was targeted by hackers, leading to the loss of approximately 740,000 bitcoins, which is valued at around $15 billion at current prices. This hack was the most significant among several attacks on the exchange between 2010 and 2013.
Trustees have developed a repayment plan over several years and were given a deadline of October 2024 by a Tokyo court last year.
In May, the exchange transferred over 140,000 BTC, worth around $9 billion, from cold wallets to an unknown address in 13 transactions for the first time, marking the first on-chain wallet movements in five years.
Bitcoin prices fell from over $62,300 in early Asian hours to under $62,100 after Mt. Gox’s statement, according to CoinGecko data.
