Mt.Gox to pay $9 billion to creditors, which may put pressure on BTC

Author: Krisztian Sandor, CoinDesk; Compiler: Baishui, Golden Finance

• Mt. Gox creditors recently noted updates to their crypto claims, which could mean payments could be coming soon.

• K33 analysts say BTC worth more than $9 billion could "become a relevant negative price factor in the coming weeks."

The cryptocurrency market has largely shaken off last week's correction, but there could be a catalyst in the future that could put pressure on prices in the coming weeks, putting the rally in jeopardy.

Mt. Gox, the cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in a 2014 hack, is preparing to distribute 142,000 bitcoins (BTC) worth about $9.5 billion and 143,000 bitcoin cash (BCH) worth about $73 million to creditors, putting significant pressure on digital asset prices, cryptocurrency firm K33 Research said in a report on Tuesday.

“The cryptocurrencies distributed by Mt. Gox are likely to become relevant negative price contributors in the coming weeks,” Anders Helseth and Vetle Lunde wrote.

The warning comes as creditors saw their BTC and BCH claims recently updated in the Mt. Gox claims filing system, a development that could signal upcoming payments sooner than previously expected. Last year, the defunct exchange’s trustee set a deadline of Oct. 31, 2024 for creditors to be repaid.

The K33 report notes that creditors saw similar cash repayment updates in mid-March, with some users claiming they had received transfers.

If the crypto payment process mirrors the fiat refunds, creditors could start receiving digital assets as early as next month.

While creditors are unlikely to sell their assets en masse, the expectation could prompt market participants to be cautious and avoid taking risks ahead of the event, the report explains.

Anders Helseth and Vetle Lunde say “repayments do not necessarily equal selling pressure, as creditors may choose to hold their funds,” but this “is an open question that could soon alarm markets.”