This article previously independent inaccurate information, it has since been updated for accurateness.

On March 7 a report addressed to the Tokyo District Court revealed that a Mt. Gox bankruptcy trustee – Nobuaki Kobayashi – may take contributed to the iii month downtrend in the cryptocurrency market place.

Over the past three months, Nobuaki Kobayashi has sold over $300 mln in Bitcoin on two public exchanges. Some critics believe Kobayashi's sales put so many Bitcoin back into circulation, that the sales contributed to astringent drops in the cost of Bitcoin. Bitcoin has declined 51.half dozen percent since its Dec. 17 height of almost $20,000, and it is suspected that Kobayashi was a significant factor in the decline.

Bitcoin Charts

Image source: Coinmarketcap

Who is Nobuaki Kobayashi?

Nobuaki Kobayashi is a lawyer at the Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu constabulary house headquartered in Tokyo. The Commune Court of Tokyo assigned Kobayashi to be the Mt. Gox Bankruptcy trustee in a document released on April 24, 2022.

Nobuaki Kobayashi

Epitome source: Noandt.com

Report details

According to the Tokyo District Courtroom report Kobayashi is planning to consult with the court on how the sale of the remaining 166,344 Bitcoin (BTC) and 168,177 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) under his management should be conducted.

"I plan to consult with the courtroom and decide further sale of BTC and BCC [Bitcoin Cash is called BCC in the study - Cointelegraph]." (Mt. Gox report, p. 12)

Notwithstanding Kobayashi has already sold 35,841 BTC and 34,008 BCH without consulting the court. "Between the 9th creditors' meeting [Sep. 27, 2022 - Cointelegraph] and this creditors' coming together [March 7, 2022 – Cointelegraph], with the permission of the court I sold a certain amount of BTC and Bitcoin Greenbacks ("BCC") that belonged to the bankruptcy manor," the report cites Kobayashi.

Kobayashi did this to begin paying down the current JPY 45.six bln ($430 mln) claim that creditors have on the defunct Mt. Gox. Originally, 24,750 claims that totaled JPY 263.5 trln ($2.four trln) were filed against Mt. Gox. On May 25, 2022, Kobayashi stopped accepting claims on lost funds, rejecting JPY 263.four trln ($2.4 trln) worth of claims, leaving Mt. Gox with JPY 45.6 bln ($430 mln) of liabilities to creditors.

Although Kobayashi received permission from the Tokyo Commune Court to sell a sure amount of BTC and BCH, he is beingness criticized for selling the funds on online exchanges, every bit this decision has allegedly been the cause of several market disturbances contributing to the downtrend.

Five sales

On February seven, 2022 it was discovered that seven of the Mt. Gox Bankruptcy trustee's cold storage wallets were involved in transactions to ii dissimilar hot wallets – wallets hosted on online exchanges - between December 18, 2022 and February 5, 2022.

Information technology could be suspected that since Kobayashi was dealing with relatively large amounts of Bitcoin, some of the $30 mln + transactions made by Kobayashi from the Mt.Gox cold storage wallets are correlated with pregnant declines in the cost of Bitcoin.

Transaction and sale #1

2017-12-22 03:eighteen 7310efd9...: 6000 BTC -> 1MLGpEQfzd44vPuiihuazPL9tW7qzew1J5

Blockchain.info

Image source: Blockchain.info

On Dec. 22, 6,000 Bitcoin was transferred from one cold storage wallet to an online exchange at iii:12 a.m (UTC). The Bitcoin was sold at 3:37 a.one thousand. for somewhere around $13,480/BTC, meaning Kobayashi received $80.viii mln in total for the sale.

At 10:34 a.grand. the toll of Bitcoin dropped to $12,350.10, a 8.4 percent decrease in the price of Bitcoin from the time of the $80 mln sale. However, Bitcoin finished the day in the green at $fourteen,320.90 – a 6.two percent increment in value from the estimated sale cost.

Bitcoin Charts

Prototype source: Coinmarketcap

Transaction and sale #two

2018-01-17 03:28 55454a47...: 8000 BTC -> 1MLGpEQfzd44vPuiihuazPL9tW7qzew1J5

Blockchain.info

Image source: Blockchain.info

On January. 17, 8,000 Bitcoin was transferred from the same cold storage wallet that was used on December. 22 to the hot wallet at three:28 a.m. At the time of the auction, the price of Bitcoin was effectually $10,788.ten. It is expected that Kobayashi received around $86.3 mln. At 10:24 a.yard., the cost of Bitcoin was $9,622.96, a 10.8 pct drop in the price from the fourth dimension of the sale, nevertheless, BTC finished in the green for the day at $11,626.80 – a 7.vii percent increase in value from the estimated sale cost.

Bitcoin Charts

Image source: Coinmarketcap

Transaction #3, #4, and #5

On Feb. five, half-dozen,000 BTC was transferred to an online wallet from 3 unlike cold storage wallets for a total of 18,000 BTC.

2018-02-05 06:31 571413cf...: 6000 BTC -> 14LuAvrRzAmeikgaafs7H5695xs5dVXqA5

2018-02-05 06:31 d833bd0e...: 6000 BTC -> 14LuAvrRzAmeikgaafs7H5695xs5dVXqA5

2018-02-05 06:31 fa824de4...: 6000 BTC -> 14LuAvrRzAmeikgaafs7H5695xs5dVXqA5

Auction #3

Blockchain.info

Paradigm source: Blockchain.info

4,000 of the 18,000 Bitcoin were sold on Feb vii. Bitcoin was priced effectually $vii,446.73 in the morning and was sold by Kobayashi at 13:25 for $eight,127.35/BTC – around $32.5 mln total. At 23:00 the currency was priced at $8,027.95 – a 1.2 percent decrease from the time of sale and a 7.8 percent increase in the value of Bitcoin for the day.

Bitcoin Charts

Prototype source: Coinmarketcap

Sale #4

Blockchain.info

Epitome source: Blockchain.info

4,000 of the remaining 14,000 were sold on Feb. 8. In the morning time on Feb 8. Bitcoin was priced around $8,256.68 and Kobayashi sold it at ix:56 a.m. for around $eight,246.62 – $32.9 mln total. Bitcoin finished the day at $eight,059.74 – a 2.ii percent decrease from the the time of sale and a 2.three percentage decrease in the value of Bitcoin for the solar day.

Bitcoin Charts

Image source: Coinmarketcap

Sale #5

Blockchain.info

Epitome source: Blockchain.info

Another x,000 BTC were sold on February. 9. Bitcoin was priced at $8,086.21 in the morning and Kobayashi sold it at xiv:09 for $eight,666.69 – around $86.6 mln in total. A few hours before the end of the day Bitcoin was priced $viii,907.39 – a two.7 pct increase from the fourth dimension of sale and a 10.1 percent increase in the value of Bitcoin for the day.

Bitcoin Charts

Prototype source: Coinmarketcap

Analysis

Kobayashi is being criticized for selling large quantities of Bitcoin on two public exchanges. Allegedly, Kobayashi'south sales contributed to the iii month downtrend in the toll of Bitcoin. Merely if we look at these vii transactions and 5 sales by the Mt. Gox trustee, how much of an impact did Kobayashi really take on the cryptocurrency market?

BTC Price

Only two of Kobayashi's trades had an bear on that moved the market place more than five pct in less than 12 hours. The decline in the toll of Bitcoin and the sales on the exchanges occurred around the same time in each case –ten:30 a.k. and three:30 a.m. respectively. Merely the marketplace finished half dozen.2 percent and 7.vii pct above its morning price respectively each day the market dropped more than five per centum.

Out of the five sales on the exchanges, the price of Bitcoin only finished in the ruby on Feb. 8. But despite Kobayashi selling $32.9 mln of Bitcoin on the commutation on Feb. 8, the price of Bitcoin just declined ii.three pct for that twenty-four hour period.

On four occasions the toll of Bitcoin dropped subsequent to Kobayashi'due south sales: Dec. 22, Jan. 17, Feb. 7, and February. 8, past viii.four percent, 10.eight pct, 1.2 percent, and 2.2 percent respectively. Nevetherless the price of Bitcoin rebounded in each example except for the day of February. 8.

Even though Kobayashi v sales represent over $300 mln in Bitcoin being sold over public exchanges, Kobayashi'due south largest auction of 10,000 BTC that netted him around $86.6 mln only represents about .55 percent of the unabridged Bitcoin market cap, nothing to bat an heart at.

Conclusion: Kobayashi's actions not and so significant

The rebound in the price of Bitcoin from the alleged declines caused past Kobayashi may take also been induced by Kobayashi.

It's possible that investors bought more Bitcoin after Kobayashi collection the price downward, which moved the price of Bitcoin back up and caused the cryptocurrency to finish in the green four out of the v sale days.

The correlation between Kobayashi selling Bitcoin and the render on Bitcoin for the day is negatively correlated at -.655240891. This means that the movements in the price of Bitcoin and the corporeality of coins that Kobayashi unloads on the market move independently of each other.

Kobayashi's actions not so significant

The data shows us that Kobayashi'south actions were non as significant to the toll of Bitcoin in the short run as some individuals believed they were. That being said, the amount of cryptocurrency under Kobayashi's management could have the ability to create a panic that causes investors to sell off their cryptocurrency – especially if they go a glimpse at a sell wall created by Kobayashi.

When asked by Cointelegraph how the remaining 66,344 BTC and 168,177 BCH under Kobayashi's management should be sold off, mean solar day trader and entrepreneur Tim Rainer said he would prefer to see the rest of the coins under Kobayashi's management sold off in a drip fed style if they actually need to be sold off at all:

"In my opinion they shouldn't exist allowed to sell whatsoever, only if they did so it should exist a baste fed amount. Too many [coins] put dorsum into circulation will cause a toll drop and that will cause the traders to become scared and sell. A majority [of investors] jumped onto Bitcoin too late, therefore their profits are modest. No panic selling. This happened in January and I lost $30,000."

Although the daily return and cost data show that in that location is a negative correlation between Kobayashi'south deportment and the Bitcoin prices in the short run (daily), it would exist best if Kobayashi took a less transparent approach to selling the quantity of coins under his management to avert frightening investors into another mob-mentality sell-off.