Mt. Gox Confirms Discovery of 200,000 BTC in 'Old-Format' Wallet

Embattled Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has released a new press release confirming that it found an old-format bitcoin wallet on 7th March containing 199,999.99 BTC ($113.9m at press time).

Mt. Gox further confirmed it reported the finding to its bankruptcy counsels as required by its civil rehabilitation proceedings.

The release states:

"A hearing took place on March 8 where a detailed explanation of the situation was made to counsels. Immediately on Monday (March 10), counsels reported the existence of the 200,000 BTC to the Court and the Supervisor."

The exchange revealed it now has a total amount of 202,000 BTC, a figure which includes the 200,000 BTC recently found, as well as an additional 2,000 BTC ($1.1m) in funds.

Mt. Gox confirms money movement

The release, penned by CEO Mark Karpeles, indicated that the wallets were moved from online wallets to offline storage from 14th March to 15th March. Further, he confirmed that the courts were aware of this activity.

"These bitcoin movements (including the change in the manner in which these bitcoins were stored) has been reported to the Court and the Supervisor by counsels."

The confirmation would suggest reports that Mt. Gox funds have been moving through the blockchain were valid, though the dates of the movement do not coincide.

Missing bitcoin figures revised

Mt. Gox indicated that with the finding, the amount of bitcoins it reported as lost or stolen needs to be revised, suggesting that this wallet, and the funds therein, were factored into the original estimate.

Said the statement:

"Taking into account the existence of the 200,000 BTC, the total number of bitcoins which have disappeared is therefore estimated to be approximately 650,000 BTC."

Image credit: Old wallet via Shutterstock