The late Bitcoin Mt. Gox said it will begin distributing assets stolen in the 2014 hack to customers starting in July, after years of delays.
JUST BECAUSE: Bankrupt Mt. Gox will start at $9 billion #Bitcoin payments in July 👀 pic.twitter.com/Rph2AupnTY
– Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 24, 2024
“The Rehabilitation Trustee has been preparing to make payments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash under the Rehabilitation Plan,” trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox today.
“Payments will be made from the beginning of July 2024,” Kobayashi added, noting due diligence and security measures are still required.
Mt. Gox was once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, handling over 70% of all Bitcoin transactions in its early years. In 2014, hackers stole about 740,000 bitcoins, worth $15 billion today, in several attacks on exchanges from 2010-2013.
After declaring bankruptcy in 2014, Mt. Gox has faced numerous delays in paying victims. Last year, a Tokyo court set an October 2024 deadline for the social rehabilitation program.
In May, Mt. Gox moved more than 140,000 BTC, worth about $9 billion, from cold wallets for the first time in five years. The transaction was probably a payment arrangement.
Future payments will be made in Bitcoin and Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox partner. The order will depend on the progress of due diligence required by each platform.
Victims have been waiting for more than ten years to recover lost funds when Mt. Gox is falling. For many, this first day of July finally gives hope that they will return the stolen money.
The refund is expected to distribute 142,000 bitcoin, 143,000 bitcoin cash, and 69 billion Japanese yen owed to approximately 127,000 creditors.
While the wait is long, some worry that large payouts could temporarily balance the price of Bitcoin if victims sell part of their recovered money.
Nevertheless, the affected users are eager to continue after the hack of Mt. Gox and failure marked the early days of Bitcoin. Payments represent the final chapter in Bitcoin’s history.
