Mt. Gox was one of the dominant Bitcoin exchange platforms. It handled around 70% of transactions in the early years. But in 2014, the platform faced a major hack attack that drained 740,000 Bitcoin tokens. Everything has been downhill since then, and the defunct platform is now planning to distribute tokens to the hack victims. The move comes after several delays.
Trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi announced on Monday that the Rehabilitation Trustee will make the payments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, following years of work to develop the Rehabilitation Plan. Repayments will commence in early July, Nobuaki added. However, the community may need to exercise due diligence and adhere to safety measures.
The development has brought two critical scenarios to light. The first scenario pertains to traders who acquired BTC in 2013. They would now be eligible to buy tokens at a higher price. This implies that they might hold a substantial quantity of green trade, which they could sell to earn a profit. It fuels the second scenario, in which the Bitcoin market could face selling pressure. It is only natural to assume that traders will liquidate their holdings if profits are on paper.
Mt. Gox recently made its first transaction in the last 5 years. It shifted 140,000 BTC from the cold wallet to an unknown address. This was done in over 13 transactions. At the time of execution, their combined value was $9 billion.
Tokyo Court has issued a deadline of October 2024 for the defunct platform to make all the settlements.
Bitcoin has been trembling for almost a month, with the token declining constantly. It even stooped to a level that was closer to $61,000. BTC was seen hovering below that level.
For reference, BTC has fallen by 1.85% in the last 24 hours and 10.96% in the last 30 days. It is exchanging hands at $61,111.14 at the press time. Prevailing sentiments are bearish amidst 3.31% volatility.
Bitcoin could go as high as $81,931 in the next 30 days. That would be a jump of 35.34% from the current value. The only factor that can thwart this prediction is the selling pressure that Mt. Gox brings to the market. Holders who receive their tokens may want to mitigate the risk of losing any more value, considering they are getting their tokens after a struggle of nearly a decade. Mt. Gox took its time to come up with a plan for settlements in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, but victims of the 2014 hack now have a chance to make up for the losses they have suffered since then.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how many tokens Mt. Gox distributes, as there is speculation that the actual number might fall short of the community’s expectations.