Mt. Gox creditors to receive cash repayments next month
Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee responsible for managing the assets of the now-defunct Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange, informed its creditors via email that repayments in cash are set to begin shortly.
Kobayashi said they plan start the repayments within this calendar year, although the process is expected to extend into 2024 due to the extensive number of creditors involved. However, he cautioned that the repayment schedule is still subject to changes depending on the prevailing circumstances, and the exact timing of repayments to individual rehabilitation creditors has not been finalized.
In a document sent to creditors today, the trustee addressed the complexities in determining the exact timing of repayment for each individual creditor, making it impractical to provide personalized advance notifications. Creditors have been directed to monitor the status of their repayments through the claim filing system set up by Mt. Gox.
Additionally, Kobayashi disclosed that on November 17, Mt. Gox’s liquidators redeemed 7 billion yen ($46.9 million) from trust assets to facilitate these repayments. After this redemption, a balance of 8.8 billion yen remains in the trust assets.
This announcement follows a previous extension of the repayment deadline, indicating a protracted process ahead for the defunct exchange’s many creditors awaiting the return of their funds.
October 31, 2024 will serve as the new deadline for base repayment, early lump-sum repayment, and intermediate repayment. Having obtained the permission of the court, the business’s Japanese bankruptcy trustee pushed back the deadline from its previous October 31, 2023 date.
Kobayashi published additional explanatory materials including a notice concerning the amendment of the rehabilitation plan and acquired permissions. It also contains information on the financial situation of Mt. Gox, the income and expenditure statement, and a guide to the selection of a crypto exchange or custodian.
Earlier in April, Mt. Gox trustee told creditors that the deadline to select a repayment method, register payee information online and indicate how they want to receive their repayments, already passed. A deadline for when creditors of the defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox can register their payment details to receive claims was extended multiple times after receiving court permission.
As described in the notice, those who failed to complete the “selection and registration” process before the deadline will not be able to receive such repayments as the early lump sum. They also forfeit their rights in a portion of the cryptocurrency rehabilitation claims, bank remittance payments, or remittance through a fund transfer service provider.
Bitstamp and BitGo were appointed by Mt. Gox trustee as some of the designated crypto exchanges to assist in the repayment procedures to creditors. A creditor can choose his preferred cryptocurrency exchange and register as a user for the receipt of the relevant assets according to the repayment procedures under the rehabilitation plan.
Almost a decade after an attack forced the platform to shut down, Mt. Gox creditors were given the option to choose between bitcoin, cash or Bitcoin Cash to receive repayment. The process could make the frozen crypto assets liquid again, depending on the entitled users’ choices.
