Will Mt.Gox's billions lower the Bitcoin price?

Mt.Gox wants to pay out nine billion dollars in Bitcoin to creditors by October at the latest. Analysts warn of a collapse in the share price.

As a Mt.Gox creditor continues on Reddit, the insolvent crypto exchange could begin paying out Bitcoin as early as May. According to data from Glassnode, Mt.Gox currently holds 137,000 BTC, which could be paid out to creditors. At the current Bitcoin exchange rate of $66.858, that would amount to $9.16 billion.

If it is up to two analysts at K33, the payout could be followed by negative price movements. "Mt.Gox coins may become a relevant negative price factor in the coming weeks and spook the market", they said in an analysis.

Wrongly so, says major bank UBS. The Swiss bank does not believe a large amount of Bitcoin will actually reach the market. Creditors will keep their BTC, the bank says. Creditors of Mt.Gox have been waiting for compensation since its bankruptcy in 2014. The first payouts in yen and through PayPal took place in December 2023.

However, it is still unclear when Mt.Gox will actually begin official payouts. In a letter dated Sept. 21, 2023, the trustee marked Oct. 31, 2024, as the deadline.