Mt. Gox will begin paying creditors in July. How will it impact the price of bitcoin?
Key facts:
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142,000 BTC that were immobile for more than 10 years will be released to the market.
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Large purchases of bitcoin, mainly via ETFs, could offset the bearish pressure.
The rehabilitation trustee of Mt. Gox, the Japanese bitcoin (BTC) exchange that went bankrupt in 2014 when it was the largest in the world, is about to begin compensating users. As reported in a statement today, he has been preparing to begin payment with bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH).
“We take the time to ensure safe and reliable payments to creditors, such as taking technical payment security measures, complying with the financial regulations of each country and coordinating payment procedures with each virtual currency exchange,” he said.
This statement takes place after the process of deliberation and definition of compensation extended for more than ten years since the closure of Mt. Gox. Its users have since had to remain without their balances and attentive to each of their communications to comply with the requirements to be able to recover them.
“Now that these preparations are in sight, the Rehabilitation Trustee will begin making payments in bitcoin and bitcoin cash to virtual currency exchanges that have completed the exchange and confirmation of the information necessary to make payments,” he clarified in the new statement.
The notice details that Mt. Gox refund to users will be implemented from the beginning of July. “Payments will begin in order from the currency exchange, so please wait a moment until the specific payment is made,” he warned those affected, hoping that they would be more patient.
According to previous statements, creditors will be repaid before October 2024. The compensation will be 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH and 69 billion Japanese yen (JPY). Altogether, this is equivalent to more than 9 billion dollars (USD).
However, it should be noted that the refund process has been postponed on multiple occasions previously. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the payment is extended again.
Bitcoin ETFs accumulate almost twice as much BTC as Mt. Gox
In the market, There has been some concern in recent years about bitcoin sales by Mt. Gox creditors. as soon as they receive the refund. This is due to the large profits they could receive. The price of the coin has gone from around USD 500 to over 60,000 in the last ten years.
However, with the current demand, A liquidation of the BTC to be redeemed, which is equivalent to USD 8.7 billion, does not imply great selling pressure. To put it in perspective, bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States alone have raked in more than $14 billion since their launch five months ago.
In fact, such accumulation of ETFs is despite the fact that they have registered capital outflows during the last two weeks as in others, which can be seen in the graph. Therefore, It is possible that the supply from Mt. Gox creditors will be taken by the demand of the ETFsas soon as they resume this behavior.
Additionally, with better economic conditions expected to drive markets later in the year, creditors may remain unsold waiting for higher prices for bitcoin.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, the currency is trading at USD 61,000, 15% below the historical maximum of USD 73,700 that it registered a little more than three months ago. Although, despite this decline, it maintains an increase of 45% so far in 2024.
