On Tuesday, August 21st, defunct exchange Mt. Gox transferred a whopping 13,265 Bitcoin, worth approximately $784 million, to separate wallets. This marks the largest movement of funds since Mt. Gox began its repayment process in early July.

Crypto influencer and YouTuber Crypto Rover was among the first to sound the alarm, sharing a screenshot of the transaction with his followers on X (formerly Twitter). 

Several people in the community were expecting the market to take a nosedive—after all, Mt. Gox has a history of sending Bitcoin prices downhill.

But that wasn’t the case this time. In fact, the market's reaction was surprisingly muted. Bitcoin did take a bit of a tumble, dropping from its $60K perch to just below $59,000. But compared to previous Mt. Gox-induced panic sells, this was more of a gentle nudge than a full shove.

  • 12,000 BTC ($709 million) sent to a new, empty wallet
  • 1,265 BTC ($75 million) transferred to a known Mt. Gox cold wallet
  • Total Bitcoin moved: 13,265 BTC ($784 million)
  • Bitcoin price drop: From $60,000+ to just below $59,000
  • Ethereum also dipped below $2,600, settling in the $2,500 range

Members of the crypto community reacted differently to the news. One X user, responding to Crypto Rover's post, suggested that this transaction could cast a shadow over the market for months to come.

 But not everyone shared the doubt, as one other user pointed out that most recipients of the Mt. Gox payment won’t sell.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, also offered an optimistic take. He suggested that of the 13,265 BTC moved, only 1,265 BTC (about $74.5 million) might actually be destined for distribution. The lion's share—12,000 BTC—appears to be headed for fresh cold storage. In other words, it's not likely to flood the market anytime soon.

 And his prediction was confirmed, as the 1.2K BTC was later transferred to Bitstamp, one of the exchanges handling the redistribution for the defunct company.

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Source: Arkham Intelligence

This relatively calm market reaction could be seen as a positive sign for Bitcoin's maturity. Back in the day, a Mt. Gox sneeze could give the entire crypto market pneumonia. Now, it seems we're developing a stronger immune system.

But let's not forget why these transfers are happening in the first place. Mt. Gox's rehabilitation trustee announced in July 2024 that Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash distributions would finally commence for approximately 127,000 creditors owed over $9.4 billion. 

It's been a long time coming—a decade, to be precise—since Mt. Gox's collapse in 2014 due to a series of undetected hacks resulting in the loss of over 850,000 BTC.

To put that in perspective, those lost Bitcoin would be worth over $51.9 billion today.

As of this writing, Mt. Gox still holds a hefty 46,164 BTC, valued at around $2.7 billion. That's a lot of Bitcoin still waiting in the wings, and each transfer has the potential to cause market jitters.

Related: Bitcoins ETFs Are Still Selling Fast, Bitwise Announces

But is this barely-there market dent a good sign? It could very well be. Of course, with more Mt. Gox Bitcoin still to be distributed, we're not out of the woods yet. Each transfer has the potential to impact the market. But if this latest move is any indication, maybe—just maybe—we're getting better at weathering the storm.

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