Mt. Gox Bitcoin is on the move as over 140,000 BTC was transferred to a known cold wallet. Bitcoin-stacking firm Metaplanet has just bought up another $1.2 million in Bitcoin. Meanwhile, stablecoin issuer Tether has poached Chainalysis’ chief economist to improve transparency reporting with regulators.
Mt. Gox shifts $9 billion in BTC, market braces for impact
In three hours on July 16, Mt. Gox has moved over 140,000 Bitcoin, worth almost $9 billion, to a known cold wallet and two unknown addresses.
According to Arkham Intelligence data, Mt. Gox still holds 138,985 Bitcoin (BTC) in its main wallet, worth around $8.7 billion and has begun mobilizing funds held for the first time in two weeks.
Two transactions saw almost 96,000 BTC, worth over $6 billion, shifted to two unknown wallets while the initial 44,527 BTC was sent to a known Mt. Gox cold wallet.
The combined volume of Mt. Gox’s BTC transactions on July 16 amounted to almost 190,000 BTC, accounting for over $12 billion in value moved in just three hours.
The unknown address, ending in “BHDct9b,” received 42,587 BTC worth $2.69 billion, while the remaining 4641.24 BTC worth $293.94 million was transferred to “Mt. Gox: Cold Wallet (1Jbez).”
The “BHDct9b” address has not yet transferred the 42,587 BTC, but the resulting fear in the market has caused its value to fall as market sentiment toward BTC shifts.
Shortly after, a further 48,641 BTC was sent to another unknown address, shifting another $3.07 billion in holdings out of the main Mt. Gox wallet.
Metaplanet buys another $1.2 million of Bitcoin amid rebound toward $65,000
Bitcoin-stacking investment firm Metaplanet has purchased another 21.88 Bitcoin — worth over $1.2 million (200 million Japanese Yen) — amid the recent Bitcoin rally that has seen prices reach nearly $65,000.
According to its latest July 16 purchase statement, the Japan-based firm’s Bitcoin holdings now total 225.6 Bitcoin, valued at $14.6 million.
The recent purchase, combined with Bitcoin’s 4.4% price rise over the last 24 hours, has fueled a surge in Metaplanet share prices — up 25.8% to $0.74 (117 Japanese yen) in the opening two and a half hours on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 16, Google Finance data shows.
Meanwhile, in the three days between July 13 and July 16, the Bitcoin (BTC) sentiment tracker Crypto Fear & Greed Index has whipsawed from “extreme fear” to “greed” amid a crypto market rally.
Tether adds Chainalysis economist to the team
USDT issuer Tether has appointed Philip Gradwell as head of economics, in a move designed to bolster the firm’s transparency reporting with relevant stakeholders.
According to the July 15 announcement, Gradwell will be responsible for quantifying and communicating Tether’s USDT usage with regulators. Before his appointment, Gradwell spent six years as chief economist of blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Gradwell said his role will help “shift the conversation towards understanding how digital assets are used in the real economy, and how USDT is supporting dollar hegemony.”
Tether has had a long and often tenuous relationship with US regulators. In February 2021, Tether and its sister company, Bitfinex, settled with the New York Attorney General for $18.5 million stemming from allegations that the stablecoin issuer misrepresented its collateral.
Additional reporting by Felix Ng, Sam Bourgi and Geraint Price.
