Mt. Gox, a now-defunct Bitcoin (“BTC”) exchange based in Tokyo, Japan declared bankruptcy in 2014. At the time, it was one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, but it suffered a catastrophic hack in 2013 in which about 850,000 BTC (worth approximately $473 million at the time) were stolen. The hack resulted in the closure of the exchange and subsequent bankruptcy proceedings.
In the years since, there have been ongoing legal proceedings related to the Mt. Gox case. In June 2018, a Japanese court approved the start of civil rehabilitation proceedings, which allowed creditors to claim their lost BTC rather than receiving a cash payout. In March 2019, the trustee for the exchange, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced the discovery of an additional 141,686 BTC (worth $1.3 billion) that had been in the exchange’s possession prior to the hack.
In December 2020, the Tokyo District Court approved a rehabilitation plan proposed by Mt. Gox’s trustee which included the distribution of the remaining BTC and BTC cash held by the estate to creditors. The trustee announced that the distribution process would begin in early 2021.
As of March of this year, the distribution process is still ongoing, with some creditors receiving their share of BTC and BTC cash, while others are still waiting. The trustee stated that the process could take several years to complete, and the timing and amount of each distribution will depend on various factors, including the price of BTC at the time of distribution.
It's worth noting that the value of BTC has increased significantly since the Mt. Gox hack in 2014, and some creditors may end up receiving more than the value of their lost BTC. However, there are also concerns that the distribution process could have a negative impact on the price of BTC, as large amounts of coins are released onto the market.
As for the state of BTC itself, its value and adoption have continued to fluctuate in the years since its creation in 2009. As of September 2021, the cryptocurrency was valued at over $46,000 per coin, with a total market capitalization of over $870 billion. Some analysts and investors remain bullish on BTC’s long-term potential as a store of value and alternative to traditional currencies, while others are skeptical about its volatility and regulatory challenges.
What are your thoughts? Do you think those investors who lost their BTC to the Mt. Gox bankruptcy will immediately cash out once their BTC is returned, thus causing BTC to plummet, or will they hold? Will BTC be able to remain the top coin in the crypto market or do you see an alt coin, such as ETH or XRP, leaping ahead of the king of crypto?
