Mt. Gox Hacker Dumps $114M in Bitcoin as Selloff Intensifies

Entities linked to alleged Mt. Gox hacker Aleksey Bilyuchenko transferred another 1,300 BTC worth approximately $114 million to unknown exchanges over the past week, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence.

The wallets still hold 4,100 BTC, valued at around $360 million, and have now sold a total of 2,300 BTC since distribution activity began in October.

Arkham analyst Emmett Gallic reported that the deposits mark an acceleration of a controlled selloff that started months ago.

“The entity related to Aleksey Bilyuchenko has deposited another 1.3K $BTC ($114M) to the unknown exchanges in the past 7 days,” Gallic stated, adding that total sales have now reached 2,300 BTC while substantial holdings remain intact.

Controlled Distribution Follows Months-Long Pattern

The recent transfers continue a systematic distribution that Gallic first flagged in October when roughly 8,000 BTC connected to the WEX/BTC-e case appeared to be controlled by Russian authorities, specifically the third department of the second service of the CSS of the FSB.

Bitcoin belonging to BTC-e co-founder Bilyuchenko had been slowly liquidated through unknown exchanges since mid-October, with 110 BTC deposited in just two days during early November alone.

Gallic noted uncertainty about whether Bilyuchenko remains jailed in Russia or continues to control these funds, though Moscow courts have seized most of his other assets.

However, the structured nature of the transfers suggests deliberate positioning rather than panic selling, with each deposit carefully routed through exchanges that obscure the final destination of proceeds.

Criminal Background Spans Mt. Gox Hack and BTC-e Operations

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed charges against Bilyuchenko and co-conspirator Aleksandr Verner in June 2023, alleging they conspired to launder approximately 647,000 bitcoins stolen from Mt. Gox between September 2011 and May 2014.

“Armed with the ill-gotten gains from Mt. Gox, Bilyuchenko allegedly went on to help set up the notorious BTC-e virtual currency exchange, which laundered funds for cyber criminals worldwide,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. stated at the time.

Court documents revealed that Bilyuchenko and Verner gained unauthorized access to Mt. Gox’s servers that held crypto wallets in September 2011, when the exchange was the world’s largest Bitcoin platform, servicing thousands of users.

The stolen bitcoins represented the vast majority of Mt. Gox customer holdings and were primarily laundered through bitcoin addresses at two other online exchanges controlled by the conspirators.

Bilyuchenko also allegedly operated BTC-e from 2011 until law enforcement shut down the platform in July 2017, working alongside Alexander Vinnik, who was recently returned to Russia in a February prisoner swap with the United States.

BTC-e processed over $9 billion in transactions and served approximately one million users worldwide, receiving criminal proceeds from computer intrusions, ransomware events, identity theft schemes, and narcotics distribution rings, according to Justice Department estimates.

Whale Selling Compounds Bitcoin’s Year-End Weakness

The Bilyuchenko-linked distribution adds another layer of supply pressure to Bitcoin markets already struggling under broader whale selloffs and thinning holiday liquidity.

Bitcoin slipped 1.12% below $87,000 today as perpetual open interest dropped $3 billion overnight, leaving markets vulnerable to sharp moves despite reduced leverage heading into Christmas.

Wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 BTC collectively reduced their positions by 36,500 BTC, worth approximately $3.37 billion, since early December, contributing to what analysts call Bitcoin’s “weakest year-end performance in seven years.“

Bitcoin ETFs recorded $650.8 million in outflows over four days, led by BlackRock’s $157 million single-day withdrawal, while Ethereum spot ETFs posted $95.52 million in net outflows.

Bitfinex analysts warned that Bitcoin now faces “a substantial headwind in the form of a dense overhead supply cluster accumulated by top buyers between $94,000 and $120,000.“

The concentration of supply has created a top-heavy market structure in which rebound attempts are increasingly capped by sell pressure, reminiscent of early 2022, when recoveries during bearish phases repeatedly failed to gain traction.

Amid the turbulence, most asset managers expect 2026 to be the year in which Bitcoin recovers and regains its strength.

However, the ongoing Bilyuchenko selloff, with 4,100 BTC still available for distribution, threatens to extend consolidation through early 2026 as markets absorb both legitimate whale profit-taking and illicit funds being methodically liquidated through unknown channels.

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