Analysts see a limited impact from Mt.Gox compensation payouts

Payouts to Mt.Gox creditors affected by the bankruptcy will have a limited impact on Bitcoin’s price, according to Matrixport analysts.

1/10: #Bitcoin crashed -8% in minutes on news that «wallets belonging to #MtGox and #US government are making transactions.» pic.twitter.com/PwQvzOtYQE

— Matrixport (@realMatrixport) April 27, 2023

Experts reacted to an 8% drop in the price of the first cryptocurrency on April 26. Many linked the move to rumors of sales of digital gold from U.S. government wallets and Mt.Gox clients.

Matrixport stressed that the market had anticipated such a turn, so a material impact on quotes should not be expected. They advised taking advantage of the price drop to buy in anticipation of a return to prior levels once the rumors are debunked.

Experts noted that only a small portion of the stolen coins has been recovered as part of the civil rehabilitation process. Of 850,000 BTC ($500 million at the time), the trustee had only 25% of the proceeds from the hack — 200,000 BTC ($5.79 billion).

«Since not all stolen bitcoins have been recovered, only part of the initial amount held by creditors will be compensated,» the analysts noted.

Clients will receive the base payment with four options for obtaining the remaining portion of their funds. The timelines for base, interim and early lump-sum payments may be adjusted with the permission of the Tokyo District Court.

The compensation process is scheduled to run until October 31, 2023. At present, Mt.Gox holds 142,000 BTC ($3.9 billion), 143,000 BCH ($17.9 million) and ¥69 billion ($523 million) — about 20% of the hack.

Earlier UBS doubted material risks to Bitcoin from payments to platform clients.

Bloomberg noted that the largest creditor of the bankrupt exchange intends to retain the returned coins.