Mt. Gox’s leading creditors opt for Bitcoin payment that guarantees 90% of funds owed

Mt. Gox’s leading creditors opt for Bitcoin payment that guarantees 90% of funds owed

Feb. 16, 2023 at 7:21 pm

By Dorian Batycka

The two biggest creditors are expected to take payment in BTC in Sept. 2023.

The two largest creditors of Mt. Gox, the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange that got hacked in 2014 — leading to the loss of 850,000 BTC — have chosen an early lump sum payment option that will not require a selloff of their Bitcoin holdings.

The payment is scheduled for September 2023, CoinDesk reported Feb. 16.

While the option to wait for all Mt. Gox litigation to settle may offer higher payouts, it could take another 5-9 years, as per sources. Opting for the early payout will allow the creditors to receive their payments sooner and avoid any potential market impact that could result from a large-scale Bitcoin sell-off.

According to sources, the two largest creditors of Mt. Gox, the cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed due to a hack nearly a decade ago, have chosen to receive their bankruptcy recovery in mostly bitcoin (BTC).

These creditors, Bitcoinica, a now-defunct New Zealand-based crypto exchange, and MtGox Investment Funds (MGIF), which collectively account for about one-fifth of all Mt. Gox claims, will receive 90% of their recoverable funds, which are estimated to be around 21% of their original holdings on the platform at the time of the hack.

In 2014, hackers stole 850,000 BTC, valued at $460 million at the time. Following the hack, Mt. Gox was left with roughly 142,000 BTC, 143,000 bitcoin cash (BCH), and 69 billion Japanese yen.