After a turbulent few days and weeks, Nobuaki Kobayashi has spoken out again, denying any market manipulation in the course of his duties as bankruptcy trustee for the defunct exchange Mt. Gox.
Mt. Gox was a Bitcoin exchange where, in 2014, more than 850,000 bitcoins and $27.4 million were stolen from the company’s bank account in a hacking incident.
The company filed for bankruptcy immediately afterward, and Kobayashi was appointed trustee in April 2014. A public report dated March 7, 2018, stated that Kobayashi sold 35,841 BTC and 34,008 BCH with the court’s permission.
As discussed on Reddit, seven separate transactions were carried out beginning December 18, 2017. Because of the size of these sales he has been labeled a “whale,” and some observers claim those sales significantly influenced the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
In a statement released recently, Kobayashi set out his position clearly and denied that his actions affected the market (translated):
I sold BTC and BCH in a normal manner without using any unusual method that could influence market prices. The sales were made in multiple steps to ensure the security of the transactions.
Nevertheless, critical voices continue to draw a strong connection between Kobayashi’s Bitcoin sales and the alleged Bitcoin crash. As Cointelegraph has documented in detail (and in our view correctly), there is no direct correlation between the timing of these sales and Bitcoin’s price movements.
As we reported in detail yesterday, Chainalysis identifies two factors that can drive cryptocurrency prices down temporarily:
- Regulatory news affecting Bitcoin, which can strongly impact trading volume;
- A lack of reliable information or indicators that investors can use to assess the credibility and market impact of breaking news.
In our view, these two factors carry far more weight than the sale of a relatively modest amount of BTC or BCH over a limited period.
The broader market remains volatile because events surrounding the first meeting of G20 leaders in Buenos Aires could have unforeseen international implications for the crypto market.
A letter from the Governor of the Bank of England to the G20 has given the crypto community some renewed hope. In it he states briefly that he does not currently view digital currencies as a threat to the traditional financial system. Their share of global GDP is still too small to pose a significant negative impact at this time.
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