By
Temitope Olatunji
April 26th, 2024
The trustee cited the need for additional time to facilitate the rehabilitation process.
Defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has yet again postponed its repayment deadline by one year. This significant development was confirmed in a letter shared by Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee responsible for overseeing the rehabilitation of the exchange.
Initially slated for October 31, 2023, the repayment deadline has been shifted to October 31, 2024, following approval from the Tokyo District Court.
Mt. Gox Creditors Hit with Additional Wait Time
The Mt. Gox case has been a prolonged saga of legal battles and delays. The exchange, which was once a major player in the crypto industry, met its downfall in 2014 after a devastating hack, resulting in the loss of approximately 850,000 Bitcoins (BTC) worth around $460 million at the time of the theft. Since then, creditors have eagerly awaited the recovery of their funds.
The company initially unveiled its repayment plan last October, asking affected users to choose a suitable payment method before January 2023. At the time, Kobayashi said that the payment distribution would begin immediately after the Tokyo District Court confirmed the rehabilitation plan.
Since then, the company has been pushing the repayment. In April 2023, the defunct exchange obtained the court’s approval to delay the plan for one month, citing “various circumstances such as the progress by rehabilitation creditors in respect of the Selection Registration”.
Now, the company has secured another permission to delay the repayment, making the creditors suffer an additional waiting period after almost a decade of patience.
New Mt. Gox Repayment Delay Cuts Across the Three Payment Options
Trustee Kobayashi cited the need for additional time to facilitate the rehabilitation process successfully. The extension applies to all three phases of repayment: the base repayment, the early lump-sum repayment, and the intermediate repayment, which was provided for creditors to choose from to receive their assets.
As stated in the letter, one silver lining in this new development is that creditors who have promptly provided the required information may receive their repayments sequentially as early as the end of this year. However, it’s crucial to note that the exact timing remains uncertain and subject to potential adjustments.
“However, for rehabilitation creditors who have provided the Rehabilitation Trustee with the necessary information, repayments will be made in sequence as early as the end of this year. Please note that the schedule is subject to change depending on the circumstances, and the specific timing of repayments to each rehabilitation creditor has not yet been determined,” Kobayashi said.
Mt. Gox’s Current Bitcoin Holdings
Currently, Mt. Gox estate holds various assets, including approximately 142,000 Bitcoin (BTC), 143,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and 69 billion Japanese yen. These assets are crucial for facilitating the repayments to the creditors who suffered losses in the 2014 hack.
Meanwhile, before the unfortunate incident that led to the end of the once-upon-a-time major exchange in the industry, Mt. Gox handled over 70% of all transactions within the blockchain ecosystem during its prime.
However, it all came crashing down after the 2014 security breach, ultimately bankrupting the company. The company officially sought bankruptcy protection the following year after the attack.