Final Mt. Gox repayments near as BitGo moves $2b in Bitcoin

BitGo, the fifth and final cryptocurrency exchange to work with the Mt. Gox Trustee, has executed on-chain Bitcoin transactions ahead of creditors’ repayments.

According to data from Arkham’s Mt. Gox cryptocurrency tracking database, a BitGo wallet with the tag “bc1q26” transferred 33,105 Bitcoins (BTC) worth around $2 billion on August 12.

Observers noticed the move following an earlier test transaction by BitGo, a common practice on web3 before sending large amounts of funds. Test transactions help verify the target wallet and prevent loss of assets.

BitGo’s BTC transfer is the final step before Mt. Gox users receive their updated BTC balances. Kraken and Bitstamp have gone through similar processes during their payee distributions.

So far, Mt. Gox has settled less than $6 billion in user refunds. The defunct BTC exchange plans to pay out $9 billion in cryptocurrencies following multiple hacks between 2011 and 2014.

According to Crypto.news, around 20,000 creditors are expecting to receive Bitcoin and other cryptos in the coming days and weeks. The Tokyo bankruptcy court set a deadline of October 2024 for the platform’s Board of Trustees to execute the repayment plan.

After transfers to five crypto custodians, Mt. Gox still holds more than $3 billion worth of BTC, with the platform likely planning to distribute that treasure to its users as well.

Further refunds from Mt. Gox and potential user sell-offs could increase volatility and trigger near-term BTC price swings. At press time, the leading cryptocurrency was trading less than 1% lower at $59,500, while the broader digital asset market cap was down $2.18 trillion.