Key Points
- Bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox is set to return $9 billion worth of Bitcoin to creditors in early July.
- Despite market concerns, institutional investors and crypto whales maintain interest in Bitcoin, as evidenced by recent ETF inflows.
The controversial crypto exchange, Mt. Gox, which declared bankruptcy following a substantial hack, is preparing to reimburse its users with a total of $9 billion in Bitcoin.
Return of Lost Bitcoins
Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based exchange that once held a significant share of the Bitcoin market, is set to commence repayments to its thousands of users in the coming month.
The repayment amount, which is a small portion of the 650,000 to 950,000 bitcoins stolen in 2014, is valued at nearly $9 billion. The value of the stolen coins at the time of the hack was significantly less, but with the current market prices, they would be worth over $59 billion.
The decision to start repayments follows a lengthy bankruptcy process filled with legal obstacles and delays. As of 1st July, the court-appointed trustee managing the case announced that distributions to the approximately 20,000 Mt. Gox creditors would begin.
The repayments will comprise of both Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash, a variant of the initial cryptocurrency.
Market Impact and Continued Interest
While the repayments are a welcome development for users who lost their bitcoins in the hack, the timing coincides with a period of instability in the crypto market.
However, despite potential short-term impacts on BTC prices due to the Mt.Gox repayments, institutional investors and crypto whales remain interested in Bitcoin. This is evident in the recent surge in ETF inflows.
Bitcoin spot ETFs saw inflows for five consecutive days, culminating in a total net inflow of $129 million on 1st July. Fidelity’s FBTC ETF and Bitwise’s BITB ETF were among the leaders, with inflows of $65.034 million and $41.4022 million respectively.
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $62,788.49, experiencing a 0.78% decline in the last 24 hours. The trading volume also saw a 5.5% increase.
