After nearly a decade of waiting, creditors of the defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox have started receiving repayments for their trapped Bitcoin. The news emerged on social media forum Reddit, where several users claimed to have received Japanese Yen-denominated refunds via PayPal. The repayments come just a month after trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi announced plans to commence repayments to creditors in cash in 2023, with further payments expected in 2024.
Collapse of Mt. Gox
Mt. Gox, which was one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges at the time, suddenly announced in February 2014 that it had lost approximately 850,00 Bitcoins, worth around $450 million at the time. The exchange also claimed that an additional 100,00 Bitcoins were missing, bringing the total to around 950,00 Bitcoins. The exact reason behind theft has never been fully explained, but it is believed to have been a combination of factors, including poor security measures and possible insider theft.
The Impact on Mt. Gox’s Creditors
The loss of such a large number of Bitcoins had a significant impact on Mt. Gox’s creditors, many of whom had deposited their Bitcoins on the exchange with the expectation that they could easily withdraw them at a later date. With the exchange’s collapse, however, those funds were effectively trapped on the platform. Creditors have been waiting for years to recover their lost funds, with some even filing lawsuits against Mt. Gox and its former CEO Mark Karpeles.
Recently, the Mt. Gox creditors received an email where MtGox had informed some creditors that repayments would commence in 2023 and continue through 2024. The trustee had been working diligently to distribute cash to creditors, following the distribution of 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and 69 billion yen in assets. The distribution process would prioritize repaying creditors who had been waiting for a long time and those who had suffered significant losses due to the bankruptcy.
Source: https://coinpedia.org/news/mt-gox-creditors-receiving-long-awaited-repayments/