After a long wait, the victims of the notorious Mt. Gox hack may finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Today, it was discovered that cold wallet addresses linked to Mt. Gox conducted test transactions with small amounts of Bitcoin, commonly known as “dust.”
Before the hack, Mt. Gox was the leading cryptocurrency exchange, handling up to 70% of global Bitcoin transactions. However, in February 2014, the platform halted withdrawals and revealed that it had been embezzled of 650,000 to 850,000 BTC, equivalent to approximately $500 million at the time, but now worth around $49 billion.
Although around 200,000 BTC were eventually recovered from the company’s old wallets, victims have been awaiting reimbursements or negotiating their claims, all while facing ongoing delays in legal proceedings. In a recent update in September 2023, the deadline for refunds was extended by another year.
The activation of Mt. Gox’s wallets for repayments has brought some hope for the victims. However, some concerns have arisen within the crypto community due to the current downward trend in BTC prices, which have seen a 17% decrease in the past month, now valued at $57,369.64. This decline has had a negative impact on the entire cryptocurrency market, with over $250 million in long positions liquidated in the past 24 hours.
Apart from the impending refunds from Mt. Gox, there have been other significant movements of BTC, including transfers by the German and US governments, who have recently moved substantial amounts of confiscated funds. This, combined with the low market sentiment and questionable timing, has led to speculation that authorities may be preparing for a future price crash related to the Mt. Gox events.
Even long-dormant cryptocurrency wallets are being reactivated, as reported by Coindesk, with one notable “whale” wallet that had been inactive for six years suddenly transferring 1,000 BTC to Coinbase, resulting in a significant increase in value since its acquisition.
It is important to note that the views and opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or investment advice. Investing or trading cryptocurrencies carries the risk of financial loss.
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