Over the past weeks and months, Mt. Gox’s insolvency administrator Kobayashi had sold over $400 million USD in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The sale of over 40,000 Bitcoins had a massive impact on the Bitcoin price. What influence do the remaining 162,000 Bitcoins have?
No auctions and OTC trades | Conscious price manipulation?
The problem with the insolvency administrator’s sales is the type of settlement. 40,000 Bitcoins were gradually sold on the open market. He did not use auctions and OTC trades, although this is usual for sums of this magnitude.
The Bitcoin market is comparatively small. Larger sums, including the $400 million, affect the Bitcoin price and drive it down. And you can see from the graph below that Kobayashi’s sales affected the Bitcoin market.
It is unclear why he chose this type of settlement. Why does an insolvency administrator use the free market and not auctions or over-the-counter trades? Through auctions and OTC trades, Kobayashi would not have had a direct impact on the free market and would have achieved higher selling prices.
All doors were open to the insolvency administrator. Several providers, including the Bitcoin exchange Kraken, offered him help with the sale.
What happens to the remaining 162,000 Bitcoins?
Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014. The company owed a total of $414 million to its creditors. With the sale of the 40,000 Bitcoins, the sum is covered and the creditors could be paid out.
In 2014, 202,185,36428254 BTC were seized, which means that just over 162,000 BTC remain.
It has not yet been clarified what will happen to the 162,000 Bitcoins. The insolvency administrator has done his duty and the creditors receive their money – but only the then equivalent in JPY. The court decides what should happen to the Bitcoins.
It would be fair if the Bitcoins were distributed proportionately to the creditors. That is very probable however not. However, all Bitcoin and crypto enthusiasts hope that the insolvency administrator will not be commissioned to sell the Bitcoins.