Did Mt. Gox sales Affected Crypto Markets?

The trustee of Mt. Gox who sold over $400 mln in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) around the new year has stated that he does not believe the sales affected the market prices of BTC or BCH, according to a report released today, March 17.

Kobayashi noted that after consulting with cryptocurrency experts, he “sold BTC and BCC [BCH], not by an ordinary sale through the BTC/BCC [BCH] exchange, but in a manner that would avoid affecting the market price, while ensuring the security of the transaction to the extent possible.”

Kobayashi added a clarification about the transfers of BTC and BCH to different addresses, underlining that he did not necessarily sell BTC and BCH at the same time as these transfers:

“Please refrain from analyzing the correlation between the sale of BTC and BCC [BCH] by us and the market prices of BTC and BCC [BCH] based on the assumption that the sale was made at the time the BTC and BCC [BCH] were transferred from BTC/BCC [BCH] addresses that I manage, as such assumption is incorrect.”

Kobayashi reported that he sold the two coins at what he believes to be a fair market price, and picked the timing of sale “following consultation with the court.” Kobayashi also noted that he sold BTC and BCH separately, and added that there is no determination yet on future sales of the remaining BTC and BCH.