Around 7:20 AM on July 5, 2024, blockchain data revealed that Mt. Gox’s cryptocurrency wallet transferred 47,299 BTC, valued at $2.71 billion, to a new address. This transaction only cost $3.57 in fees.
BREAKING
Mt Gox moves 47,228 BTC ($2.71 billion dollars) from cold storage to a new wallet. pic.twitter.com/3ZdSlC1IX2
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) July 5, 2024
The reason behind this transfer is still unknown.
Previously, on May 28, the Mt. Gox wallet moved $9.6 billion worth of Bitcoin to a new address. Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles explained that this was to move funds out of the Mt. Gox wallet for allocation purposes, not to sell Bitcoin now.
Currently, Mt. Gox-controlled wallets contain 90,663 BTC, valued at $5.15 billion.
Could Bitcoin Drop to $50,000?
Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange from 2010 to 2014, controlled 70% of the global BTC trading volume. Therefore, any movement from Mt. Gox can shake the market despite the Japanese government declaring the exchange bankrupt.
According to financial records, Mt. Gox’s trustee holds 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and 69 billion Japanese yen (about $510 million). If creditors choose, the first 200,000 yen will be paid in yen, followed by crypto payments. The crypto payout includes 71% in coins (BTC and BCH) and 21% in cash.
Mt. Gox plans to start compensating some creditors before October 31 this year. This has created potential selling pressure from Mt. Gox. Evidence of this came on July 4 when BTC prices dropped to $57,800 following news of Mt. Gox’s repayment plans.
Related news: Mt. Gox to Repay $9b Bitcoin in the Beginning of July
Additionally, there are concerns that Bitcoin might fall to $50,000 due to selling pressure from governments like Germany and the USA. Since June 19, German officials have moved 3,650 BTC to exchanges, part of the 50,000 BTC they seized from the illegal streaming site Movie2k. They still hold 40,359 BTC, worth $2.33 billion.
Some crypto community believe Germany is selling Bitcoin to fund defense activities amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Thus, the remaining BTC in these wallets might also be sold.
According to Arkham, the German Government transferred a total of 1,300 BTC to Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken at 16:25 UTC+8 today, worth approximately $75.53 million, which is the largest transfer to CEX in recent times. https://t.co/afdCFZk6Pg
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 4, 2024
The US government has also begun liquidating $131 million worth of Bitcoin seized in 2021 from illegal activities on the dark web marketplace Silk Road.
All these factors paint a “bearish” picture for the market in the coming months as large amounts of Bitcoin are sold. Bitcoin has also formed a double-top pattern, indicating a potential sharp decline. With this price pattern, a drop to $50,000—or even $45,000—seems likely.
The community’s hope may lie in the 2024 US Presidential Election, with candidate Donald Trump calling himself the “Crypto President.”
