Nobuaki Kobayashi, Mt. Gox Rehabilitation Trustee, has extended the reimbursement window to 2024. The news broke after the creditors of Mt. Gox have reported the company’s “Notice regarding the change in reimbursement deadlines”.
A number of creditors face additional waits as the repayment deadline moves to 2024.
According to the original plan, Mt. Gox was supposed to reimburse its former customers on October 31, 2023. However, the company rescheduled the repayment to October 31
, 2024.
Repayment Deadline postponed to 2024
The exchange will attempt to refund customers who provided all the information requested by 2023, as noted. However, the repayment period can still be extended to next year. Other customers may not receive their funds until the end of October 2024.
The trustee of Mt. Gox holds 42,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH and 69 billion Japanese yen (equivalent to 510 million dollars). Initial payments will be distributed in a combination of BTC, BCH, and fiat. Creditors can choose to receive their refund in cryptocurrency after the distribution of the first 200,000 yen. The refund process will cover 71% of the cryptocurrencies and 21 fiat dollars
.
As reported by CoinDesk, the two largest creditors of Mt. Gox, the New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitcoinica (now defunct) and the investment fund MtGox Investment Fund (MGIF), have chosen
to receive their money in bitcoin.
These two entities represent one-fifth of Mount Gox’s claims. You’ll get 90% of their assets as part of the plan. The repayment will cover 21% of their asset value locked on the exchange during the 2014 hack
.
Long delays increase frustration
This is not the first time that Monte Gox has extended the repayment deadline. The defunct exchange previously changed the repayment deadline from September 30, 2023 to October 31, 2023
.
The lengthy repayment process has raised concerns within the crypto community, as Mount Gox has repeatedly moved deadlines from month to year, leaving creditors in a state of uncertainty.
Some former customers have doubted that they might not be able to get their money back after their long-overdue repayments. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in February 2014, when Bitcoin was trading at around 500 dollars. At the time of writing, the flagship cryptocurrency is trading at around $27,000. The value of Bitcoin held by the trustee has increased by more than 3,900%
.
As a result of the 9-year surge in the price of Bitcoin, creditors are expected to receive a higher percentage of their credits than they would have if the price of Bitcoin had remained the same.
However, it’s important to note that the repayment process is still ongoing and it’s unclear when creditors will receive their full payments. The trustee said he pledged to repay all creditors in full, but he also warned that
the process could take several years.
In addition to growing frustration, many are warning of a massive sell-off after repayment, which could have a significant impact on the market. If a large number of creditors choose to sell their Bitcoin at the same time, it could create downward pressure on the
price.
The size of the impact would depend on several factors, including the amount of Bitcoin being sold, the speed at which it was sold, and the general conditions of the market.
While the scenario has left creditors anxious, other members believe that the creditors of Mt. Gox is unlikely to sell their Bitcoin immediately. Some creditors may choose to hold their Bitcoin, hoping that the price will continue
to rise.
This belief has been reinforced by the recent wave of Bitcoin ETF spot deposits by Wall Street giants, including 21Shares & ARK, BlackRock, Bitwise, VanEck, Wisdomtree, Invesco, Fidelity, and Valkyrie.
Many people worry about using centralized exchanges, and Mt. Gox is a good example of why people think there are great risks associated with using them. It could be a decade before someone gets their money from the
exchange.
