Cryptocurrency enthusiasts will have noticed all markets are getting battered. Volatility is an integral part of this industry, but the reason for the current sell-off is triggered by something else entirely. The Mt. Gox trustee is liquidating assets on behalf of the exchange’s victims. Unfortunately, he appears to be selling these coins across regular exchanges and crashing the price.
The Mt Gox Trustee
It is good to see the Mt. Gox debacle finally come to a close. More specifically, the trustee has allocated the funds necessary to repay all victims of this exchange. Thanks to the current Bitcoin price, fewer coins are needed to make this happen. At the same time, selling Bitcoin at the current prices is also problematic. As everyone can see, the price is tanking hard exactly because of this major sell-off.
It appears a total of 40,000 BTC need to be liquidated quickly. That represents a hefty chunk of money, which needs to be bought up by individuals and investors. Selling this amount of Bitcoin on the open market in large batches is not the correct approach. In fact, it is one of the biggest mistakes the Mt. Gox trustee can make. In doing so, this one person is effectively crashing the entire cryptocurrency market.
For anyone holding Bitcoin or altcoins, this is not good news. While everyone wants to put Mt. Gox behind them, this sell-off is not the right way to go. There are plenty of other options to sell this money without disrupting overall prices. Several service providers are even willing to help in this regard. So far, their advice is falling on deaf ears, as the Mt. Gox trustee just does what he thinks is best.
Purposefully Crashing the Bitcoin Price
Even though Kraken offered to aid in the sale, their request has been blatantly ignored. The company runs a dark pool where people can buy and sell large quantities which do not disrupt open market trading prices. Additionally, the funds could easily be sold through an auction and net even more money. For some reason, the Mt. Gox trustee isn’t even entertaining that idea either. It is a very disturbing approach and shows a lack of respect for the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole.
Crashing the Bitcoin price like this is completely unacceptable. It is unclear why this approach was taken, although it has all the traits of malicious intent. This is the fastest way to repay Mt. Gox victims. However, these people have waited years to see their money back, thus a few days or weeks extra won’t make any difference. A proper approach is warranted in this regard, but so far, the damage has been done already.
It will be interesting to see how all of this play out. For now, the Mt. Gox trustee is quickly becoming one of the most disliked individuals in cryptocurrency. His approach leaves a lot to be desired and it appears things are not improving whatsoever. Rumors are flying around how this is a move orchestrated by governments looking to scoop up cheap bitcoins. An interesting thought, but fake news until proven otherwise
