After nearly a decade of waiting, creditors of the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox have finally begun receiving repayments for funds lost when the exchange collapsed in 2014. Several Reddit users recently reported receiving refunds in Japanese Yen via PayPal, coming just one month after the Mt. Gox trustee announced plans to start issuing cash repayments to creditors in 2023 and 2024.
Mt. Gox was once one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges before it suddenly announced in February 2014 that 850,000 Bitcoins worth around $450 million at the time had been stolen, with an additional 100,000 Bitcoins also missing. The reason for the massive theft was never fully explained, but poor security measures and insider theft were suspected.
The loss devastated creditors who had deposited Bitcoins on Mt. Gox expecting easy withdrawal access. Instead, their funds were trapped, leaving creditors waiting years as some filed lawsuits against the exchange and its former CEO.
Recently, the trustee informed creditors via email that repayments would finally begin, starting with those who had waited the longest and suffered the biggest losses. This comes after the trustee worked to distribute 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and 69 billion yen in assets. While long delayed, the repayments are a welcome relief for Mt. Gox victims.
