The long-defunct Mt. Gox exchange initiated a significant bitcoin move on-chain Monday, transferring approximately 10,608 BTC, worth $950 million, to new wallet address, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
The transfer unfolded at approximately 11:40 p.m. ET, with around 10,422 BTC sent to an unidentified address labeled “1ANkD…ojwyt,” while a smaller portion of roughly 185.5 BTC was routed back to Mt. Gox’s own hot wallet.
Historically, such sizeable BTC movements by Mt. Gox have typically presaged repayments to creditors who lost funds during the exchange’s collapse in 2014.
Although it is not yet clear if the recent transfer is directly connected to creditor reimbursements, the timing is particularly unfortunate, given the ongoing downtrend in BTC that has seen prices slide to seven-month lows near $90,000. This on-chain movement may have added to market speculation about imminent repayments to creditors and the potential sell-offs that might follow.
Mt. Gox suffered a hack in early 2014, losing approximately 850,000 BTC that forced the company into bankruptcy. Repayment efforts commenced last year. The exchange still retains about 34,689 BTC, worth nearly $3.1 billion, across various wallets, as per Arkham data.