• Mt. Gox creditors have started receiving bitcoin and bitcoin cash transfers on the crypto exchange Kraken
• Kraken received 48,641 BTC valued at over $3 billion from the Mt. Gox Rehabilitation Trustee last week to distribute to creditors
• Mt. Gox had previously moved 142,857.49 BTC worth around $2.8 billion to new addresses
Mt. Gox was once the largest bitcoin exchange in the world before its infamous collapse in 2014. Recently, creditors of the exchange have started receiving payments in bitcoin and bitcoin cash.
Background on Mt. Gox Collapse
Mt. Gox was launched in 2010 and quickly became the most popular bitcoin exchange by 2013, handling over 70% of all bitcoin transactions worldwide. However, in February 2014, Mt. Gox suddenly suspended trading and filed for bankruptcy protection, announcing that approximately 850,000 bitcoins belonging to customers and the company were missing and likely stolen. At the time, the missing bitcoins were valued at around $473 million. Mt. Gox blamed the thefts on technical issues and flaws in their system.
Mt. Gox Bankruptcy and Rehabilitation
After its collapse, Mt. Gox entered bankruptcy proceedings in Japan. A trustee was appointed to oversee the claims process for creditors. In June 2018, the Tokyo District Court approved a petition to rehabilitate Mt. Gox, moving it from bankruptcy to a new civil rehabilitation process. This allowed the possibility of creditors receiving some compensation.
Payouts to Creditors Begin
On July 16, 2024, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced they had received over 48,000 BTC from the Mt. Gox trustee to begin disbursing to creditors. The transfer was valued at over $3 billion at current bitcoin prices. Kraken was selected to facilitate the payout process to approved creditors.
According to reports, some creditors have now begun receiving their share of the bitcoin and bitcoin cash holdings from Mt. Gox. The payouts are being made to Kraken accounts of creditors who held funds on Mt. Gox at the time of its collapse. Most creditors are expected to receive their funds within 1-2 weeks.
The payouts represent a fraction of the total losses from Mt. Gox but provide some compensation to victims who lost money when the exchange failed over 10 years ago. The rehabilitation process and creditor payouts are still ongoing.
