According to crypto journalist Colin Wu, the MtGOX cryptocurrency exchange will “shortly” distribute a large amount of crypto to creditors.
Recently, crypto journalist Colin Woo said on his Twitter account that new news is coming regarding this case. Particularly, the Mt. Gox exchange will distribute a total of $5.67 billion in cryptocurrencies to its creditors.
The exchange’s bankruptcy administrator reportedly notified users of the upcoming payment via email. In that sense, the start of payments would begin before the end of this year 2023 and would extend until 2024. These are 142,000 BTC and 143,000 BCH, in addition to 69 billion yen.
Defunct Japanese crypto exchange Mt. Gox will begin paying its creditors this year, about a decade after its collapse. Creditors of the exchange received an email on Wednesday in which rehabilitation administrator Nobuaki Kobayashi stated that all people whose payment requests were approved would begin receiving cash payments.
The email notes that payments will begin sometime this year and continue into next year. However, it does not specify when repayments will begin or when each creditor will receive their payments.
Some observers have noted that the email only mentions cash payments to Mt. Gox creditors. This excludes payments to creditors expecting to receive Bitcoin. According to MtGoxBalanceBot, an X account that which tracks balances on all known addresses held by MtGOX administrator Nobuaki Kobayashi, has 137,890.9811 BTC.
The account also notes that the Trustee has an additional 3,795 BTC at unknown addresses. In addition to the email sent to creditors, the Receiver also published an announcement. The publication claims that Nobuaki Kobayashi received more than 7 billion Japanese yen (about $47 million) to finance creditor payments.
Mt. Gox Payouts Come After Multiple Postponements
In September, Mt. Gox extended its payment deadline until October 31, 2024, after receiving approval from the Tokyo District Court. The previous deadline was October 31, 2023, decided after multiple delays. Last October,
Mt. Gox asked affected customers to choose a payment method by January. In February, the two main creditors, MGIF and Bitcoinica, decided to receive payments in Bitcoin instead of fiat money. However, the company delayed payments several times, until October, before the current deferral.
As of the September extension, Mt. Gox’s estate held 142,000 Bitcoin (BTC), 143,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and 69 billion Japanese yen. Launched in 2010, Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, responsible for 70% of global Bitcoin transactions in 2013. However, just four years after its launch, Mt. Gox stopped customer withdrawals after of a major hack in which the exchange allegedly lost 850,000 Bitcoins.
The exchange then suspended operations and later filed for bankruptcy. In June, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) announced charges against two Russian nationals allegedly involved in the Mt. Gox hack.
More Legal Battles Ahead
In an official press release, the Department of Justice announced that Alexey Bilyuchenko, 43, and Aleksandr Verner, 29, stole approximately 647,000 Bitcoins. Bilyuchenko is also accused, along with Verner and other conspirators in a separate lawsuit, of using the stolen funds to operate the illicit BTC-e exchange from 2011 to 2017.
According to the press release, the co-conspirators used BTC-e to launder funds for cybercriminals around the world. At current prices, the value of the stolen Bitcoin is $23.6 billion.
The fact that Mt. Gox will distribute a large number of coins could have a positive side. Basically, BTC would break free from this bearish pressure ahead of the expected bull market.
By Audy Castaneda
