Bitcoin price predictions split as Mt Gox bankruptcy repayments near
New report downplays fears of major crypto market movements relating to liquidations
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Creditors of the defunct Mt Gox cryptocurrency exchange will soon begin the process of recuperating some of their funds, leading to fears among investors that mass liquidations could lead to a bitcoin price slump.
Nine years after the exchange collapsed, Mt Gox customers will finally be able to redeem at least part of their holdings as either fiat or crypto.
The deadline to select a repayment option is 10 March, with repayments expected to begin in September this year.
A 2022 report from Coinjournal described the Mt Gox crash as “the most existential threat to crypto” in its 15-year history.
The Tokyo-based exchange ceased operations in 2014 after roughly 850,000 bitcoins belonging to customers went missing, amounting to around $680 million at the time. 142,000 BTC have since been recovered, worth more than $3.3 billion.
The exchange was handling over 70 per cent of bitcoin trading volume at the time of its collapse, with the amount of bitcoins lost equivalent to around 7 per cent of the entire supply of the cryptocurrency.
The market impact has long been a concern for investors and traders, however a new report from UBS has downplayed fears of any major movements.
“It’s certainly difficult to estimate the extent to which the market has been pricing massive sales coming from Mt Gox,” UBS strategist Ivan Kachkovski wrote.
“However, we think such news could have been an additional factor for – what we believe could be mainly retail-led – BTC’s surprising resilience of late.”
Bitcoin has seen a strong start to 2023 – rising nearly 50 per cent in price since the start of the year – leading to renewed hope that the so-called “crypto winter” may soon be coming to an end.
The return of dormant bitcoins to the market will be a major test of consumer confidence in the cryptocurrency.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments