In a promising move for creditors, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has transferred $9.62 billion worth of Bitcoin into a new wallet named “1Jbez.” These funds were consolidated from various cold wallets associated with Mt. Gox. This transfer signifies the first movement of funds from the exchange in over five years and aligns with Mt. Gox’s plan to repay creditors by October 2024.
Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain expert and author, believes that this near $10 billion Bitcoin consolidation suggests Mt. Gox’s intention to repay its users. However, there is a possibility of further delays, as the current deadline was set in September 2023, a month before the original repayment date of October 31, 2023.
Mt. Gox owes over $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin to its 127,000 creditors who have been waiting for over a decade to recover their funds since the exchange’s collapse in 2014. The collapse, which followed multiple undetected hacks, affected approximately 24,000 creditors and resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC.
Once a prominent cryptocurrency exchange facilitating over 70% of all trades within the blockchain ecosystem, Mt. Gox faced a major hack in 2011 before collapsing in 2014. The recent transfers from Mt. Gox have caused a 2% dip in the price of Bitcoin on May 28, with a subsequent recovery. This dip may indicate that the market is factoring in the potential repayment by Mt. Gox.
Lian believes that a potential repayment by Mt. Gox would address a significant and longstanding issue within the crypto industry.