[NEWS] Bitstamp Announces Mt. Gox Bitcoin Repayments to Begin "As Soon as Possible"

Bitstamp, one of five cryptocurrency exchanges selected to distribute 1.3 trillion yen worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to creditors of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, announced on the 8th that it plans to distribute the payment to creditors as soon as possible after receiving it.

In a statement, Bitstamp, which was acquired by Robinhood, said, "The agreement with the Mt. Gox trustee gives Bitstamp 60 days to distribute tokens, but of course we are working to ensure that investors recover their full amount as soon as possible."

The statement sheds light on the opaque and unsettling process by which the trustee of Mt. Gox, once the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to sell 142,000 BTC recovered from the exchange to creditors who were unable to recover their funds when the platform was hacked and shut down in 2014.

Will there be a Mt. Gox shock?

Many cryptocurrency holders are concerned that the price of Bitcoin may crash if the largest amount of cryptocurrency ever is released at once. Many are saying that this crash, called the Mt. Gox shock, will soon bring about a cryptocurrency winter.

Last week, the price of Bitcoin fell by 10% as Mt. Gox accelerated the process of transferring Bitcoin custody (transferring about 430 billion yen worth of Bitcoin from cold storage to an unidentified wallet).

The price of Bitcoin has fallen by 19% since last month due to concerns about the impact of Mt. Gox's Bitcoin refund on the market and the German government's sale of Bitcoin seized from criminals.

The total amount of Bitcoin to be distributed by the Mt. Gox trustee is about 1.3 trillion yen. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the German government still holds about 240 billion yen worth of Bitcoin.

Analysts predict that if these huge amounts are released into the market, it is almost certain that the price of Bitcoin will fall further.

It is also said that the overwhelming pressure of Mt. Gox's creditors and the German government to sell Bitcoin on the market will affect the price of all crypto assets to the peak in August. Some measures must be taken to prevent this. There is a high possibility that the price of Bitcoin will fall below 8 million yen, so countermeasures are necessary.

Some analysts point out that measures such as approving an Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF as soon as possible, which would prevent a collapse in the price of Bitcoin and other tokens if the crypto asset market is activated.

However, in the year of the Bitcoin halving, prices tend to fall and then rise, so the price drop can be said to be the best opportunity to buy on the dip.

Reference: Announcement
Image: Shutterstock

Related articles

Mt. Gox repays creditors; crypto asset prices fall sharply

Mt. Gox begins repaying Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash from early July