Kraken: Mt. Gox Bitcoin Repayments Will Arrive Before August - Decrypt

07/16/2024 13:08
Kraken: Mt. Gox Bitcoin Repayments Will Arrive Before August - Decrypt

Over a decade after losing 850,000 Bitcoin, Mt. Gox creditors could be paid as early as next week according to Kraken.

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At least some Mt. Gox creditors are expected to receive their repayments in the next seven to 14 days, according to an email Kraken sent to users.

Kraken is one of five crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, that is working with the Mt. Gox trustee to facilitate distribution of BTC to the defunct exchange’s creditors.

The exchange confirmed that the email, which has been making the rounds on Twitter, is legitimate. But Kraken did not comment on whether its distribution will match that of other coordinating exchanges.

"As we said in the email, we have asked clients to anticipate funds to be credited to their accounts in the next 7-14 days," a spokesperson told Decrypt.

The announcement comes more than a decade after Mt. Gox went bust following a monumental hack and a series of legal issues. Previously known as the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, Mt. Gox. is set to repay billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to creditors. 

“We have successfully received creditor funds (Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash) from the Mt. Gox Trustee,” Kraken wrote in an email to creditors. “Please anticipate 7-14 days for funds to be credited to your account.”

Kraken Says Sucessfully Received Funds From Mt. Gox Trustee, Will Work to Distribute Within 7 to 14 days: Email Sent to Affected Users pic.twitter.com/OnCp8a7siM

— Tree News (@News_Of_Alpha) July 16, 2024

Earlier this month Bitstamp told Decrypt that its agreement with the Mt. Gox trustee gives the company up to 60 days to distribute BTC to creditors. However, Bitstamp said it will make payments “as soon as possible.”

Earlier this morning, Bitcoin took a quick dip after the wallets belonging to the trustee shifted $2.8 billion into a cold storage wallet. That wallet later made a $3 billion wallet transfer to an unidentified wallet. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is changing hands for $63,914.15 and has gained 2% since this time yesterday, according to Coingecko data.

It's worth noting that the transfers and creditor email from Kraken are happening exactly 14 years to the day after Mt. Gox completed its first ever trade.

Back in 2014, the firm lost 850,000 Bitcoin due to an exploit. At least 90% of the BTC lost belonged to customers. How much Bitcoin will be refunded to creditors is currently unknown, but it is unlikely that a full 850,000 Bitcoin will be distributed. 

Without sharing the total planned distribution, Kraken said in its email that the Mt. Gox trustee has already determined how much each creditor will receive.

Market participants are expecting creditors to sell off at least a portion of their refunded Bitcoin. This has been one of many factors that pushed the crypto market downwards as of late. Some experts believe that the end of the Mt. Gox fiasco, and the German government selling seized assets, will “likely” mark the Bitcoin bottom.

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