Mt. Gox is preparing to repay creditors through the Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange, according to the latest onchain fund movements.
The address associated with Mt. Gox has executed the first test transactions to the Bitstamp cold wallets.
The test transactions were flagged by blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence, in a July 22 X post.
“Mt. Gox addresses deposited $1 to 4 separate Bitstamp deposit addresses. Bitstamp is 1 of 5 exchanges working with the Mt. Gox Trustee to facilitate creditor repayments… These transfers are likely to represent test transactions.”
More than $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin is owed to approximately 127,000 Mt. Gox creditors who have been waiting for over 10 years to recover their funds.
However, some crypto investors are concerned about the potential sell pressure introduced by the Mt. Gox repayments, which could put downward pressure on Bitcoin's (BTC) price.
Could 99% of Mt. Gox creditors sell the funds?
Most of Mt. Gox’s creditors could be looking to sell their Bitcoin, which has increased in value by over 8,500% in the 10 years since the exchange’s collapse.
Up to 99% of the creditors could be looking to sell their BTC from the defunct exchange, according to finance analyst Jacob King, who said in a July 4 X post:
“99% of those on Mt. Gox are going to sell their coins the moment they get it. Imagine billions worth of Bitcoin all being dumped gradually over the next several weeks. There is no way to spin this to be bullish, or news that could offset this.”
However, a Reddit community poll suggests that most Mt. Gox creditors — or 56% — intended to continue holding the Bitcoin, while only about 20% of the respondents signaled an intention to sell.
Mt. Gox Bitcoin distribution: 36% complete, but $6 billion left to go
As of July 17, over 36% of the Bitcoin owed to Mt. Gox creditors had already been distributed, but large Bitcoin holders — called whales — continued their buying spree unfazed.
Unbothered by the potential selling pressure, a savvy whale bought 245 BTC, worth nearly $16 million, on July 17. The address has only traded Bitcoin twice this past year, making over $30 million profit from the trades.
The Mt. Gox-labelled wallet currently holds over 90,300 Bitcoin worth $6.12 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence data.
It is unclear when Mt. Gox will resume the repayments, but today’s test transactions suggests that these are the final preparations before repaying the creditors on BitStamp.