AN INFAMOUS Japanese bitcoin trader was forced to offload $400m (USD) worth of the cryptocurrency amid criminal investigations and a bankruptcy case.
Documents filed in the Tokyo District Court, Collegiate Section of 20th Civil Division show Nobuaki Kobayashi is being pursued by a number of creditors after hackers raided the failed Mt. Gox in 2014 leading to the collapse of the exchange.
Now court documents show lawyer Kobayashi has offloaded bitcoin and bitcoin cash totaling $400m as creditors fight to get their money back.
The price of bitcoin has been hovering below $10,000 in recent weeks amid a furious backlash from traders worried the large sale is harming the price.
In the documents Kobayashi says: “As a result of the consultation with the court, I considered it necessary and reasonable to sell a certain amount of BTC and BCC at this point and secure a certain amount of money for distribution resources.
“I made efforts to sell BTC and BCC at as high a price as possible in light of the market price of BTC and BCC at the timing of sale.
“I plan to consult with the court and determine further sale of BTC and BCC.”
Financial disclosures in the documents posted online show that Kobayashi has been attempting to get the price possible price in order that clients who lost money can reclaim some of their losses.
Whale on hunt for missing bitcoin
Mt Gox admitted approximately 850,000 bitcoins – worth around $454 million – were lost due to hacking.
The company later admitted it had found 200,000 bitcoins but that did little to quell fury from those who lost out who are now pursuing the company which is embroiled in a catalogue of probes including from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mr Kobayashi has told the court that he is doing his best to account for the rest of the bitcoin which he is still hunting.
And he has given a sworn oath to the court that he will continue to investigate the whereabouts of bitcoin that has been missing.
He added: “The amount of BTC managed by the bankruptcy estate as of March 5, 2018, is
166,344.35827254 BTC.
“Currently, I am still investigating the existence of additional BTC held by the bankrupt entity. If any BTC is found, I will move them to the address which I manage, and I will keep such BTC there, in the soonest
manner.”
Angry Backlash at whale sell off
Bitcoin has fallen 7 percent to $9,825 overnight according to Coinbase amid a crackdown at two Japanese exchanges.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency suspended operations at Bit Station and FSHO, for one month, it was revealed today.
This came as news of yet more compromised accounts on a major Hong Kong-based exchange and a statement from the SEC that expanded its scrutiny to cryptocurrency exchanges.
Now traders are rounding on the Whale amid claims his sell-off which started last year has had a knock-on effect and is driving down prices.
The strangest thing about this guy selling 40K #Bitcoin for MtGox victims is that he just sold on exchanges. How can such an incompetent person be in charge of this? Just OTC it.
— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) March 8, 2018