After a long wait, the doomed crypto exchange Mt. Gox is finally moving towards a settlement with its creditors.
Nobuaki Kobayashi, the rehabilitation trustee of the defunct exchange, announced on March 19 that he had “approved or disapproved” the creditors’ claims for refund and would publish the results within the next few days.
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The announcement also stated that Kobayashi had already submitted “a statement of approval or disapproval” to the Tokyo District Court.
“On March 15, 2019, the Rehabilitation Trustee approved or disapproved rehabilitation claims regarding MTGOX Bitcoin exchange users’ rights to make claims against MTGOX for return of cryptocurrency and/or cash […] and submitted to the Tokyo District Court a statement of approval or disapproval,” the announcement noted.
I bought some Bitcoin on MtGox in 2013 because I thought it was a great hedge against inflation/gov spending. After 6 years of theft, bankruptcy, a crypto boom and bust, and tons of emails and postcards in a combination of Japanese and English it looks like I’m getting some back! pic.twitter.com/W9oKdYDvU8
— Cal Spears (@CalSpears) March 20, 2019
In addition, the creditors who failed to file their rehabilitation before the deadline will still have their claims acknowledged by the trustee in accordance with the Civil Rehabilitation Act of Japan.
Once one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, the Japanese crypto exchange was brought to its knees after an attack in 2011 that led to the theft of 850,000 BTC – then worth around $460 million. This finally led to the collapse of the exchange in early 2014.
According to last year’s report, around 24,000 creditors are in line for a settlement deal with the defunct exchange.
Available Funds to Settle
Recently, Kobayashi also provided details of the current balance of crypto exchange available for settlement.
As per the shared figures, JPY 69,553,086,521 ($629,594,540) in cash is available with the rehabilitation trustee along with 141,686.35 BTC and 142,846.35 BCH.
However, the trustee document detailed that JPY 15,894,588,396 ($143,881,490) had been entrusted as the measure to secure the interests of bankruptcy creditors which includes the various expense endured by the trust.
A Controversial Figure
The rehabilitation trustee himself is a controversial figure in the crypto community. He was previously alleged to move a huge amount of cryptocurrencies into the open market for liquidation, thereby dragging down the value of the digital asset.
Meanwhile, the founder and ex-CEO of the ruined exchange, Mark Karpeles, was recently found guilty by a Tokyo District Court for manipulating trading-related data in the exchange. The court, however, acquitted him for the charges of embezzlement.