According to data from Arkham Intel, Mt. Gox has begun the process of repaying creditors by transferring a token amount of bitcoin to a designated exchange. The development comes after months of speculation and planning about disbursing the roughly $8.2 billion in bitcoin owed to the collapsed exchange’s creditors.
Have Bitcoin payments started at Mt. Gox?
Earlier today, three wallets historically associated with Mt. Gox executed three transactions. The most significant of these involved a transfer of $24 in Bitcoin to a wallet that then sent the funds to Bitbank’s hot wallet. Bitbank, which is listed as one of the exchanges authorized to facilitate the payment, along with Kraken, Bitstamp, SBI VC Trade, and Bitgo, is set to make the funds available to its customers within a timeframe of up to 90 days from the date of receipt.
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However, there is some skepticism surrounding these transactions, as the funds were not transferred directly from Mt. Gox’s primary wallets. Observers are speculating whether this activity could be an initial test before larger transfers are planned to repay creditors. Mt. Gox’s rehab trustee has previously indicated that the repayment process is set to begin in early July, though specific dates for the transfers have not been publicly disclosed.
The other two transactions, one transferring $3.00 worth of BTC and another transferring $0.32, were moved to a new wallet.
This subtle movement of funds comes amid a turbulent period for Bitcoin, which has fallen more than 20% since hitting $72,000, now hovering around $57,700.
what are you expecting
Peter Chong, Head of Research at Bristow Research, recently said: available He gave insights into the broader implications of the Mt. Gox payout. He explained the expected dynamics between Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and predicted major trading opportunities.
“The Mt. Gox Rehabilitation Trustee plans to distribute billions of dollars of BTC and BCH to Mt. Gox creditors between July 1 and October 31, 2024. This is likely to change the supply and demand dynamics of BTC and BCH during this four-month period, potentially opening up a pairs trading opportunity,” he stated.
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“Our analysis shows that selling pressure on BCH will be four times greater than selling pressure on BTC — 24% of BCH’s daily trading value versus 6% of BTC’s daily trading value. This difference reflects divergent investor bases, with BCH being significantly weaker and more likely to sell its holdings,” Chung emphasized.
Traders were advised of potential strategies: “Coupling long-term Bitcoin perpetual contracts with short-term Bitcoin Cash perpetual contracts is the most effective way to express this view, excluding funding rate risk.” For those concerned about volatile funding rates, Chong recommended exploring “other approaches, such as short-term futures or borrowing Bitcoin Cash in the spot market.”
At the time of publishing this report, BTC was trading at $57,727.
Featured image created using DALL E, chart from TradingView.com