This week, the decision to delay repayments of the now-defunct Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange was officially announced by Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee responsible for managing the assets of Mt. Gox. He stated that by the court’s approval, the creditors’ repayment deadline has been postponed a year, from October 31, 2023, to October 31, 2024.
The Court’s Approval to Delay Repayments
According to a letter dated September 21, Kobayashi stated that, with the Tokyo District Court’s approval, the new deadline applies to the base repayment, the intermediate repayment, and the early lump-sum repayment. It reads:
“Given the time required for rehabilitation creditors to provide the necessary information, and for the Rehabilitation Trustee to confirm such information and engage in discussions and share information with banks, fund transfer service providers, and Designated Cryptocurrency Exchanges etc., involved in the repayments, the Rehabilitation Trustee will not be able to complete the repayments above by the deadline of the Base Repayment, the Early Lump-Sum Repayment, and the Intermediate Repayment, all of which were set for October 31, 2023″
Moreover, the trustee cautioned that the proposed schedule is subject to changes depending on the prevailing conditions, and the exact timing of reimbursements to individual rehabilitation creditors has yet to be finalized.
However, the rehabilitation creditors who have provided the necessary information can potentially receive repayments starting the end of this year, the announcement reads.
Notably, the rehabilitation proposal, which promised to compensate around 90% of the assets owed to the affected users, was greenlit in October 2021.
The Meltdown of Mt. Gox
Japan-based Mt. Gox was one of the earliest bitcoin exchanges, once managing more than 70% of all bitcoin trades. However, its reputation took a devastating hit following the infamous 2014 security breach, which drained 850,000 BTC from investors’ funds.
Related reading : Mt Gox Founder Guilty of Data Manipulation, No Jail Time
Consequently, the affected users, around 24,000 in number, embarked on a decade-spanning quest for closure, seeking the restitution of their funds. Sadly, with the recent postponement of the repayment deadline, users find themselves in their 11th year of awaiting resolution.
Mt. Gox estate currently holds around 138,000 BTC, worth around $3.7 billion based on current market rates. Moreover, it also holds a comparable number of Bitcoin Cash, worth around $29 million, along with 69 billion Japanese yen ($46.5 million).
Earlier this year, the United States Department of Justice filed charges against two Russian men — Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner — for allegedly stealing around 647,000 bitcoin from the exchange from 2011 to 2014.
