Mt. Gox Transfers $172M Bitcoin as BTC Price Approaches $107K — Is a Sell-Off Coming?

Mt. Gox made waves again by transferring $172 million worth of Bitcoin on Dec. 17, just after BTC price surged to $107,857. While markets stayed steady, the unexpected move raised concerns over creditor repayments and future Bitcoin price action.

Mt. Gox Transfers $172.5M in Bitcoin After BTC Price Hits $108K

Just 24 hours after Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of nearly $108,000, the long-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox sent nearly $172.5 million in the cryptocurrency to an undisclosed wallet.

The exchange sent 1,619.6 Bitcoin to two anonymous addresses on December 17—a 1427.9 BTC transfer and a 191.7 BTC transfer, according to Arkham Intelligence.

A chunk of the 1427.9 BTC transfer, minus around 108 BTC, made it to a wallet that begins with "1DeY" after passing through another.

Bitcoin Movement Sparks Speculation Amid Market Calm

Next, the 108 BTC and the 191.7 BTC went through a number of wallets until they arrived at a wallet that starts with "1KLr," which now contains 300 BTC.

Why Mt. Gox sent the money is anybody's guess. Since its bankruptcy in early 2014, the exchange has paid out its creditors and tracked the whereabouts of its Bitcoin holdings.

These new developments follow Mt. Gox's December 5 shuffle of more than 24,000 Bitcoin, which was valued around $2.5 billion at the time, to an undisclosed address, which occurred just twelve minutes after Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time.

Mt. Gox Holds Over $3.86 Billion in BTC Reserves

The historic exchange reportedly has $3.86 billion (or 36,085 BTC) in its possession among its wallets, according to Arkham data. Bitcoin can be used as a payment method for creditors of Mt. Gox if that is what they choose.

After reaching a new high of $107,857 late on December 16, according to TradingView (via Cointelegraph), Bitcoin has remained relatively unchanged at around $106,500 throughout the day, despite Mt. Gox's newest move, which is typically perceived as bearish. This comes after Bitcoin has traded over $100,000 since Friday, Dec. 13.

Creditor Repayment Deadline Extended to October 2025

Creditor repayments were extended by an entire year to October 31, 2025, by the trustee overseeing the Bitcoin stack of the insolvent exchange.

It claimed that a large number of its debtors “still have not received their repayments because they have not completed the necessary procedures for receiving repayments.”