Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a significant decline of over 5%, dropping to approximately $68,779 from $72,500 in the last 24 hours. This downturn coincided with the movement of 500 BTC, valued at $35 million, from the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange to various unidentified addresses.
The cryptocurrency fell into the $69K range, shedding more than 5% in a single day, primarily due to the recent transactions involving Bitcoin linked to the infamous Mt. Gox exchange. This decline follows a peak where BTC reached as high as $72,662, prompting discussions within the crypto community about the potential implications of these transactions on the broader market.
According to a report from blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence dated November 1, approximately 500 BTC was moved from wallets associated with Mt. Gox to several unknown addresses. Specifically, one address received 1.78 BTC, while another was credited with 468.24 BTC.
(Source: Arkham)
This marks the first significant transfer from Mt. Gox-related wallets in about a month. Notably, the wallet flagged as belonging to Mt. Gox still holds a staggering 44,905 BTC, which is valued at around $3.12 billion, according to Arkham.
A Look Back
This latest transfer follows a similar incident in August when Mt. Gox moved approximately 13,265 BTC, worth about $784 million at that time, to an undisclosed wallet. Such frequent transactions have sparked speculation that Mt. Gox is gearing up for the long-anticipated repayment of Bitcoin to its creditors. Initially scheduled for 2024, the platform has recently postponed this deadline to October 31, 2025.
In May, Mt. Gox categorically dismissed rumors suggesting a massive sell-off of $10 billion worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) from its wallets. Nonetheless, the current market response indicates that any activity from these wallets continues to influence Bitcoin’s price. Currently, with BTC trading around $69,567, the trading volume for the day has surged by over 14%, reaching $44.59 billion.
Once a dominant player in the Bitcoin exchange landscape, Mt. Gox managed approximately 70% of all global BTC transactions before its collapse in 2014 due to major security breaches. Since then, creditors have been eagerly awaiting the return of their Bitcoin.
