A date for repayment of Mt. Gox is set, how will this affect Bitcoin?
Mt. Gox Bitcoin payments have been long overdue. The process has lasted for several years, and finally, in 2021, recourse is now in sight for all those affected. Lawyer Nobuaki Kobayashi has been appointed as rehabilitation administrator and will be responsible for the repayment process. This is expected to take place over several months, and a specific date has now been set for when repayments can start.
Save the September date
Since the announcement of the Mt. Gox bitcoin repayment plan back in July 2021, affected users have been waiting for when repayments would begin. So far, claims for the funds are being processed and there are around 140,000 BTC expected to be refunded in full.
The latest announcement about the repayment has come with a specific date for when it will finally begin. The start date was set for September 15, 2022, to start on Japanese time. If that date looks familiar, here’s a little reminder that this is the same date that was set for the completion of the Ethereum merger.
Given the start date, repayment is expected to end before the end of the year. More importantly, the notice states that refund administrator Nobuaki Kobayashi would stop accepting claims requests on that date to enable the lawyer to focus on the refund in its entirety.
“To ensure safe and secure Downpayments and to avoid unexpected inconveniences, we ask that you refrain from transferring rehabilitation claims during the Assignment etc. Reference period for restriction,” the notice says.
What does this mean for Bitcoin?
Ever since Mt. Gox bitcoin repayment plan was announced, there has been speculation about what it might mean for the price of the digital asset. Initially, rumors circulated about 140,000 BTC being dumped on the market at the same time, triggering panic among investors. However, these rumors have since been dismissed.
Rather, the repayments of Mt. Gox bitcoin happen over a period of time, putting only a portion into circulation at a time. This will see that there is a much smaller impact from BTC entering the market and will not take out the price of BTC.
One thing that is important to keep in mind is the fact that the start of the refunds starts on the same day as the Ethereum merge. The merger is already rumored to be a sell-off event, and with some of the BTC being put on the market, it will negatively affect the market.
Finally, BTC is expected to advance before bottoming out. So all these events seem to be working towards an inevitable end where BTC finally breaks below its previous cycle high of $19,000 again.
Featured image from The Indian Express, chart from TradingView.com
follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates and the occasional funny tweet…
