Mt. Gox Bailout: When Did it Start and When Will it End?

Let’s take a moment to remember the 2014 Mt. Gox scandal. Mt. Gox, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, was formerly the world’s largest bitcoin exchange in existence. In February of 2014, they were hacked and robbed of almost a million bitcoins collectively between their own holdings and the holdings of their customers. Now, over 4 years later, the affected Mt. Gox creditors may get to see their lost funds again. Mt. Gox crypto exchange has officially announced that they are opening claims for creditors to request their lost funds.

Mt. Gox Civil Rehabilitation

The Mt. Gox case was originally filed with the bankruptcy court but has since been transferred to the civil rehabilitation process. Kobayashi (Mt. Gox trustee) has been conducting mass bitcoin selloffs with hopes to pay back the damages to creditors. Luckily, the selloffs concluded once the case moved from bankruptcy to civil rehabilitation. Though creditors are pleased with the chance for reimbursement, there are a number of prerequisites to meet in order for them to see their lost funds. To begin with, they must file no later than October 22nd or they will not be considered. Furthermore, filings made prior to the announcement on August 23rd will not be considered, either. On top of this, all corporate client claims must be filed via snail mail.

A Look Back at Mt. Gox

Mt. Gox is an acronym for “Magic: The Gathering Online eXchange.” It actually began as a card trading site. In 2010 Mt. Gox founder, Jeb McCaleb made the decision to switch to a bitcoin exchange instead. It appears the decision was apt, at least in the beginning. There was a point in time where they held 80% of all bitcoin transactions in the world. The massive and extremely notable hack caused the bitcoin market to plummet. The nature and source of the hack still remain mysterious to this day.

Creditors began filing claims on August 23rd and are expected to see their funds returned beginning in February. After all that they have endured in the fact of the crypto marketplace, we are left to wonder if they will opt to sell their bitcoin immediately, or hold onto their long-lost coins.