Mt. Gox Resurrects: $1.2B Bitcoin Transfer Raises Concerns
1min readDefunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox made headlines on Thursday with a significant Bitcoin (BTC) transfer, moving over 12,000 BTC, worth over $1.2 billion, to a new wallet. The assets were transferred from wallet "1PuQBjpPfAuANa3KM4HBdfF98BC7wnWhTb" to a cold wallet and a new wallet "1Mo1nW5ZM5m2tx9qMsYm2YJxGn3TeS9gR9." This transaction marks some of the largest movements from the exchange since its bankruptcy in 2014.
Such wallet transfers are usually a consolidation of holdings to new addresses before they are sent to crypto exchanges, where the bitcoin is sold on the open market. Mt. Gox was once the world’s top crypto exchange, handling over 70% of all bitcoin transactions in its early years. In early 2014, hackers attacked the exchange, losing an estimated 740,000 bitcoin (more than $15 billion at current prices).
Trustees have put together a repayment plan with a deadline of October 31, 2025, per the latest filings. BTC trades over $92,300 as of Asian morning hours, up 6.5% in the past 24 hours.
The transfer has raised concerns among market participants, as the destination of the funds remains unknown. According to Arkham Intelligence, the BTC was moved from Mt. Gox's wallet (1PuQB) with a transaction fee of 0.0001 BTC. The exchange has not provided any official statement regarding the purpose of the transfer.
Mt. Gox's history is marred by controversy, including a hack in 2011 that led to the loss of approximately 850,000 BTC. The exchange's CEO, Mark Karpeles, was arrested in 2015 on charges of embezzlement and manipulating data. Despite the exchange's insolvency and the subsequent legal issues, Karpeles emerged as a billionaire, owning billions worth of BTC.
The recent transfer comes amid market volatility, with Bitcoin's price trading near the $92K mark on Thursday.
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