Bitcoin Dips Below $63K As Mt. Gox Moves $2.8B BTC to Internal Wallets
- BTC dips 3% on renewed movement of coins by defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
- One observer said the movement of coins was likely a part of the exchange's creditor reimbursement plan.
Bitcoin {{BTC}} faced renewed selling pressure on Tuesday after blockchain data showed defunct exchange Mt. Gox started moving coins internally for potential repayments to creditors.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value dipped 3% briefly falling below $63,000, after testing the $65,000 mark during the early Asian trading hours, according to CoinDesk.
The decline happened as the wallet associated with Mt. Gox initially moved 0.021 BTC ($1,000) to the blockchain address: 1EoZd1QNCiN9JbnsqvLRDbHKLygAsXHg3V. The small movement, supposedly a transfer test, was followed by a significant movement of 44,527 BTC ($2.84 billion) to an internal wallet, according to data tracked by Arkham Intelligence.
The movement was likely a part of the repayment plan, according to on-chain sleuth Lookonchain.
Mt. Gox moved 44,527 $BTC(2.84B) to an internal wallet 5 minutes ago, which may be preparing for repayment.#MtGox currently holds 138,985 $BTC($8.87B).https://t.co/f2q66eQNuk pic.twitter.com/JlqkZdzkPC
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 16, 2024
Mt. Gox, once the largest bitcoin exchange in the world, went bust in 2014 after it lost hundreds of thousands of bitcoin in a hack. The exchange began repaying its debt on July 4, spurring fears of mass selling by creditors who have waited for reimbursements for a decade.
Bitcoin's drop weighed over the broader market, with ether, the second-largest digital asset by market value, dipping over 2.5% to $3,400. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a broader market gauge, fell over 2% to 2,182.