The Rehabilitation Trustee of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has confirmed that it has retained its significant Bitcoin holdings despite transferring over 140,000 BTC (approximately $10 billion) today.

In a statement issued on May 28, the trustee clarified that preparations for repaying creditors were still ongoing. The bankruptcy process aims to compensate creditors with fiat currency, Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash. While fiat currency payments have already commenced, creditors are yet to receive digital asset payments.

The trustee stated:

"The Rehabilitation Trustee is currently managing bitcoin and bitcoin cash securely. As preparations for the above repayments are underway, we ask for your patience until the repayments are finalized."

Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles explained that the transactions were part of the distribution process, emphasizing:

"The trustee is transferring coins to a different wallet in anticipation of the distribution expected to occur this year; there are no immediate plans to sell bitcoins."

Earlier today, the cryptocurrency community observed multiple transactions from wallets associated with the failed Mt. Gox exchange.

According to blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, 72 Mt. Gox-linked wallets sent 141,686 BTC in batches of approximately 2,000 BTC to a new wallet, which received its first transaction of $3.65 on May 20.

The new address subsequently transferred almost 4,022 BTC, worth over $273 million, to other wallets.

Additionally, Mt. Gox-related addresses moved 142,846.22 BCH to an unmarked address labeled 1LG4G. The wallet currently holds 142,824.27 BCH, worth about $67.9 million, making it the 11th largest BCH holding address.

This movement has fueled speculation within the community that Mt. Gox might soon commence repayments. Alex Thorn, the Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, suggested that this could mark the beginning of distributions to creditors.

Meanwhile, the transfers appeared to have unsettled the market, with Bitcoin's price dipping below $69,000 to $68,392 at the time of writing. Similarly, BCH's value experienced a 4.03% decline to $470, according to data from CryptoSlate.