Crypto exchange Mt. Gox appears to be starting to pay out customers who lost 850,000 bitcoins (BTC), now valued at around $36 billion, on Tuesday.
Mt. Gox, the infamous Bitcoin exchange that suffered a major hack more than a decade ago, has reportedly finally begun the process of refunding its customers for the lost 850,000 Bitcoin. This news has shocked the market, causing a momentary interruption in the upward trend in the price of Bitcoin.
As a result of these developments, the current price of Bitcoin stands at $42,625, with a 24-hour trading volume of $22,655,498,534.64. However, the market has witnessed a drop of -2.40% in the last 24 hours, reflecting the uncertainty caused by the Mt. Gox payment process.
Bitcoin Price Plunges Amid Growing Speculation
Reports from participants in the mtgoxinsolvency subreddit group indicate that some people have already received payments in yen through PayPal. However, those who opted for cash deposits into their bank accounts have not reported any inflows so far.
“I just got paid,” said Reddit user Free-end254, attaching a screenshot of the email containing the PayPal payment receipt.
“I just received money!” wrote another Reddit user, adding that he initially believed the email was some kind of phishing scam, before claiming that a real payment had arrived in his PayPal account.
Another user noted that he had only been refunded a portion of his claim of 0.125 bitcoin, receiving a total of 30,283 yen – valued at USD 200 at the current exchange rate – and that he was still missing an approximate payment of USD 748.
Several users have shared notifications they received, alerting them to a system error that resulted in double payments. These users are now supposedly being asked to return any excess funds to the Rehabilitation Trustee as soon as possible.
Furthermore, the Rehabilitation Trustee has contacted the affected individuals to refund the amount transferred in error, which was the second transfer, since the first transfer was the official refund.
Users have been instructed to use PayPal’s “Refund” feature to return funds to the Rehabilitation Trustee account. Alternatively, they can transfer an equivalent amount of money to the Rehabilitation Trustee’s PayPal account if the “Refund” feature is not available.
While some users have confirmed receiving their refunds, there is uncertainty about the timing of Bitcoin refunds or whether they are taking effect.
No Bitcoin Outflows Detected from Mt. Gox?
In a recent statement from CryptoQuant co-founder and CEO Ki Young Ju, it was confirmed that “there have been no Bitcoin outflows from the Mt. Gox Trustee wallet at this time.”
Furthermore, the administrator responsible for managing the rehabilitation procedures of Mt. Gox, the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange, has yet to provide any official statement explaining the lack of money outflows from the wallet.
Consequently, the cryptocurrency community is on edge and eagerly awaiting updates on the timing and method of Bitcoin refunds. Once again, the cryptocurrency community has been hit by another episode of misinformation surrounding the Mt. Gox exchange’s long-awaited payout to its clients.
The spread of this news has had a notable impact on market sentiment and caused volatility in the price of Bitcoin. The future timeline and potential effects of the exchange repayment, expected in 2024, remain uncertain.
By Leonardo Perez
