BTC Tanks to $61K as Long-Awaited Mt. Gox Repayments to Begin in July

On June 24, the Mt. Gox rehabilitation trustee issued a letter regarding repayments to creditors commencing at the beginning of July 2024.

“The Rehabilitation Trustee has been preparing to make repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash under the Rehabilitation Plan,” it stated.

The move comes after extensive preparations to ensure safe and compliant repayments, it added.

Mt. Gox Repayments

Additionally, the process involved technical safeguards, adherence to various countries’ financial regulations, and discussions with cryptocurrency exchanges, according to the letter.

Repayments will be made through trading platforms, starting with those that have completed the necessary information exchange and confirmation process with the Trustee. Creditors were advised to wait patiently as the repayments in BTC and BCH were processed.

Mt. Gix became insolvent after a hack that led to the theft of 850,000 BTC, valued at $460 million at the time of the incident in 2014.

Some of the larger creditors of the bankrupt crypto exchange chose a payment option that would allow them to receive a lump sum of their recovery payout in BTC rather than fiat.

Additionally, on-chain analysts identified several large BTC movements associated with Mt. Gox in late May. They cautioned that this could put selling pressure on Bitcoin markets.

This latest news has already sparked concern over large amounts of Bitcoin entering markets that have already turned bearish.

Germany is dumping $3B and now MtGox is dumping $9B Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/O5zWlzr6iG

— Charles Edwards (@caprioleio) June 24, 2024

Bitcoin pioneer Kyle Chassé echoed the concern, exclaiming, “F*cking $9 billion worth of Bitcoin repayments.”

MASSIVE Mt. Gox Distribution Incoming!

Here’s the breakdown of the figures:… pic.twitter.com/i7zCdWGbNr

— Kyle Chassé (@kyle_chasse) June 24, 2024

Analyst Don Alt advised caution when trading with further losses expected.

“Gonna be interesting to see how price reacts to the Mt. Gox announcement. Bulls need to show significant strength to reverse this slow bleed. If they can’t, the bottom of the range may just fall out.”

Impact on BTC

In addition to this sell-side pressure, Bitcoin miners have been offloading the asset. Miners sold over 30,000 BTC worth around $2 billion in June, “the highest amount this year, dropping reserves to a 14-year low,” said analyst ‘Carl B Menger.’

BREAKING: #Bitcoin miners sold over 30,000 $BTC (~$2 billion) in June, the highest amount this year, dropping reserves to a 14-year low.

The recent #Bitcoin halving cut profits, causing especially smaller miners to sell off #Bitcoin to cover operation costs. pic.twitter.com/rfbeI6Mwih

— Carl ₿ MENGER ⚡️🇸🇻 (@CarlBMenger) June 24, 2024

“BTC is now approaching the critical level where many will give up this cycle,” said analyst ‘Titan of Crypto’ in a post on X on June 24.

Bitcoin prices dumped to $61,000 on the news, accelerating losses over the past 24 hours, which are now 4.6%.