Trustee of failed exchange Mt. Gox, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced that refunds in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to the platform's customers will begin in early July.
Mt. Gox has been preparing to begin its recovery plan and pay victims of the hack that shut down the platform, which has kept customers' Bitcoin funds locked since 2014.
The exchange's rehabilitation trust to pay back its victims, which has been coming up with different reimbursement procedures and deadlines over the past few years, has confirmed the launch of the exchange's latest reimbursement plan, stating that it will begin next week.
Mt. Gox is expected to refund about 143.000 bitcoins, which is currently worth more than $8.700 billion, to the victims of the hack that the platform suffered 10 years ago. The Mt. Gox victims could also receive a portion of their debt in Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Mt. Gox will carry out refunds progressively
According to described According to Nobuaki Kobayashi, Mt. Gox will pay its customers in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In addition to this, the trustee highlighted that cryptocurrency refunds will be made progressively, starting with the exchange platforms with which the exchange has been completed and the confirmation of the necessary information to make the payments.
The trustee also explained that the platform will take the necessary time to “ensure a safe and reliable payment to creditors.” According to Nobuaki Kobayashi, to make the repayment in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, everything is being considered from technical support to make a safe payment, to compliance with the financial regulations of each country where the creditors are located and the coordination of agreements for carrying out the repayment operations with each cryptocurrency exchange where they will receive the payments, so the exchange creditors are asked to remain patient.
“Wait until payments are made”, the trustee wrote at the end of the letter filed June 24.
Selling pressure on Bitcoin price
Market analysts believe that the return of a large portion of Mt. Gox's bitcoins will add more selling pressure on the bitcoin price, as it could flood the market with new coins. In fact, the price of the market-leading cryptocurrency has seen a 5% correction in the last few hours, following the recent publication of Mt. Gox.
The price of Bitcoin, at the time of writing this article, is $61.100 per BTC.
Source: CoinMarketCap
In April, K33 Research analysts also warned that several Mt. Gox creditors and victims might be tempted to sell at least part of their bitcoins once repayments are completed and they receive their payments. This is due to the appreciation in the price of BTC since 2014, before the exchange imploded. The company's analysts also highlighted that it is possible that at least a portion of Mt. Gox creditors may choose to keep their cryptocurrencies.
What happened to Mt. Gox?
Mt. Gox was the largest exchange platform in the crypto market in 2014, managing nearly three-quarters of the market at the time. However, a hack that occurred between April and June of that year caused it to lose around 850.000 BTC, which led to its collapse and definitive closure.
Victims of this hack have been struggling for the past 10 years to recover their cryptocurrency funds from the platform.
The exchange moved nearly 140.000 BTC, valued at over $9.400 billion, to an unknown Bitcoin wallet address in late May. This move came after a Tokyo court ruled to repay the platform's creditors by October 31, 2024.
