After a wait of 10 years, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt.Gox has finally started repaying its creditors. Several Mt.Gox creditors have recently stated on Reddit that they are receiving compensation in Japanese yen through PayPal.
Background:
Delay in the sale of 140,000 bitcoins! Mt.Gox repayment deadline extended to October 31 next year.
Mt.Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after losing 850,000 bitcoins in a hacker attack. After years of legal battles, Mt.Gox opened the registration for creditors to make claims in October last year. 140,000 bitcoins were waiting to be delivered for reimbursement, and the registration system for creditors closed on April 6.
The latest official update was that Nobuaki Kobayashi, the bankruptcy trustee of Mt.Gox, started sending emails to creditors in November regarding the initiation of compensation payments. The plan stated that the cash payments to creditors would begin in 2023, with further payments expected in 2024, but did not provide a specific timeframe for the payments.
Creditors’ reactions to receiving compensation started surfacing on Reddit after a month. They indicated that they are starting to receive payments from Mt.Gox via PayPal in Japanese yen. Reddit user Free-end254 posted, “I just received payment,” and attached a screenshot of the email confirming the payment received via PayPal. Another user confirmed, “I just received the money.” Initially, these users thought the related emails were some kind of online phishing scam, but they later confirmed the actual receipt of payment in their PayPal accounts.
After ten years of waiting, these victims are finally receiving compensation. (Users pointed out that they have received partial repayments, and according to previous official statements, repayments should continue to be issued.)
It is understood that the earliest payment from Mt.Gox was made on December 21. An anonymous Japanese user tweeted that they had received compensation from Mt.Gox through a bank transfer, with the amount being deposited in Japanese yen into their bank account.
Repayment deadline is October next year. Will Mt.Gox start selling?
Mt.Gox’s repayment plan for creditors, including basic repayments, midterm repayments, and early lump-sum repayments, was announced by Nobuaki Kobayashi, the bankruptcy trustee of Mt.Gox, in September this year. The final deadline for repaying creditors was changed from October 31, 2023, to October 31, 2024. However, for creditors who have provided the necessary information, repayments will be made in order by the end of this year at the earliest.
Previously, concerns were raised in the market that the reimbursement of 140,000 bitcoins by Mt.Gox could cause significant selling pressure on bitcoin. However, UBS analyst reports stated that the reimbursement from Mt.Gox would not have a major impact on the price of bitcoin. This is because the current repayment plan provides creditors with various repayment methods and time options, and most Mt.Gox creditors are still cryptocurrency enthusiasts who are unlikely to sell their bitcoins.
However, currently, those who claim to have received payments online are saying that they have been paid in Japanese yen. This suggests that Mt.Gox may have secretly liquidated assets during this period.