Bitstamp, one of the chosen cryptocurrency exchanges to handle the distribution of Bitcoin funds owed to Mt. Gox creditors, announced on Monday that it will release the funds to investors as soon as possible. The brokerage, which was recently acquired by Robinhood, is committed to meeting the agreed-upon deadline of 60 days for token distribution. Bitstamp’s statement provides greater transparency to the previously opaque process, which has been closely monitored by the cryptocurrency industry.
The administrators at Mt. Gox, formerly the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, plan to distribute around 142,000 recovered BTC to creditors who suffered losses during the platform’s 2014 hack and subsequent bankruptcy. Cryptocurrency holders are concerned that the sudden sale of such a significant amount of Bitcoin could negatively impact its price. When Mt. Gox was preparing to transfer its BTC holdings, worth $2.7 billion, from one cold storage wallet to another unidentified one, the value of Bitcoin dropped by nearly 10%.
Furthermore, the recent release of seized Bitcoins by the German government has contributed to a 19% decrease in the value of the leading cryptocurrency over the past month. The total value of Bitcoin to be distributed is approximately $8 billion, while the German government still holds tokens worth about $1.5 billion.
In the midst of these challenges, Bitstamp emphasizes the complex and conflicting priorities involved in distributing such a large amount of cryptocurrencies to lenders. These lenders are eager to regain control over the owed funds quickly, while also wanting to stabilize the price of Bitcoin.
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