Rumors About Mt. Gox Effect On Bitcoin Resurface, Victims to Receive 150K BTC?

Reynaldo Marquez

Last Updated: June 11, 2024 2:21 pm

2 mins read

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Victims from crypto exchange Mt. Gox hacked could finally see compensation for their lost Bitcoin. Almost a decade after an attack forced the platform to shut down, users began a long litigation process which could be which could bear fruit in the next coming months.

In the crypto space, people have been following the case due to its potential implications for the Bitcoin market. In 2014, a bad actor managed to steal over 850,000 BTC, Mt. Gox managed to recover around 150,000 BTC which could soon enter the market and contribute to the current downside price action.

At the time of writing, BTC’s price trades at $21,000 with a 4% profit in the last 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has experienced relief for the first time in weeks after sustained selling pressure pushed it to a yearly low of around $17,000.

Bitcoin BTC BTCUSD — BTC’s price trends to the downside on the 4-hour chart. Source: BTCUSD Tradingview

Market participants believe that the 150,000 BTC unlocked from Mt. Gox will put more stress on a market which seems ready for taking further losses. According to a document published by Mt. Gox’s rehabilitation trustee, the entity in charge of handling compensation, they are making preparations to begin repayments.

This process was dictated and approved on November 15, 2021, by a Japanese court. In order to redeem the funds, the trustee has asked victims to provide the necessary information, such as names and addresses.

People will be able to choose their preferred payment method to receive compensation. From cash to Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin, the general consensus points at most people using BTC to collect their compensation.

The rehabilitation trustee made the following clarification:

Rehabilitation Trustee may, if necessary for the implementation of the Rehabilitation Plan and with the permission of the Court, set a period during which the assignment, transfer, succession, provision as collateral, or disposition by other means of rehabilitation claims are prohibited (…).

Can Bitcoin Withstand A 150K BTC Unlock From Mt. Gox?

The repayment will begin at some point during the end of August 2022 and will end “until all or part of the repayments made as initial repayment is completed”.

The Mt. Gox victims, according to speculation from the crypto community, purchase their BTC in 2014 which means most redeemers will have an average purchasing price of around $300 per BTC. Even if someone receives 1 or 2 BTC, they would have made a massive profit.

Thus, why market participants are speaking about the possibility of a flash crash or another downside period. CryptoQuant’s Ki-Young Ju provided users with an alert for the BTC from Mt. Gox wallets to begin flowing away into the market.

MtGox emailed creditors about repayment info.

You can set an alert for $BTC outflows from MtGox wallets at the link below. It's still quiet for now.https://t.co/RwZCTBP9Ps https://t.co/CgZ0xJ6eNj

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) July 7, 2022

Related Reading | Bitcoin Miners Have Been Dumping, But Price Has Held So Far

The crypto market seems weak because it has been trending to the downside since November 2021. However, Bitcoin’s current levels, according to Bloomberg’ Mike McGlone, are similar to those that supported BTC’s price during some of its darkest periods. Will history repeat with the Mt. Gox unlock?

Reynaldo Marquez

A literature major, Reynaldo Márquez has been deeply immersed in the crypto industry since 2017. His journey began with translating articles for various crypto news outlets, a role he took on with zeal. In 2018, amidst a challenging market, he embraced his first writing assignment, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the nascent industry and the promise of change it bears for many people worldwide.
In March 2021, he joined the prestigious crypto news outlet NewsBTC and Bitcoinist, where he not only reported on the latest crypto news but also had the privilege of interviewing some of the industry's most influential figures. A year later, his dedication and hard work were recognized, and he was promoted to Managing Editor, a position he currently holds with pride.
He believes in honesty, good communication, hard work, and the power of cryptocurrency and its potential to transform people's lives, especially those alienated by the legacy financial system. Born in 1992 in Venezuela, Reynaldo is familiar with how governments and central banks can negatively affect people, their everyday lives, and their futures by creating inflation and erasing their hopes for a better future. Thus, like many Venezuelans, he embraced this new technology to help him and his family navigate difficult times.
In another life, Reynaldo would have pursued a career as an investigator, most likely tracking down the origins of the Cyberpunk movement with the publication of William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer.’ The intersection between fiction and reality, with the materialization of Bitcoin in 2009, would have allowed him to dive deep into the crypto sphere as something more than a financial phenomenon but also a cultural shift in society that was brewing since the XX century, and maybe even sooner, in the XIX century with the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience.’
But that’s for another life. In this one, Reynaldo has been trading to improve his trading skills. Since 2023, he has been trying to learn Python to create successful strategies and find ways to execute them. It is a difficult task, which continues to keep him busy today and will most likely continue to keep him busy in the near and long term.
In his free time, he enjoys lifting heavy objects, reading, watching movies, and listening to his favorite music. Some of his favorite authors are Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Mario Vargas Llosa, Reinaldo Arenas, Rafael Cadenas, and many others. Lately, he has been primarily interested in reading about dystopic societies, a topic that deeply resonates with the crypto industry.
Since 2023, he has lived in Spain with his wife. He loves the weather, the food, and the people and their culture. They both expect to travel much more within the country they now call home and beyond its border. He hopes to retire with his wife, maybe in a quiet place near a beach, but most likely in a city close to a library and a university with his kids and, hopefully, grandkids.

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