Mt. Gox to Start Repaying Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in July 2024, After 2014 Hack
The defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox, formerly the world leader, has announced that it will begin distributing the stolen BTC and Bitcoin Cash assets to victims of the 2014 hack in July 2024.
This announcement comes after years of continuous deadline extensions. At its peak, Mt. Gox processed over 70% of all bitcoin transactions.
Plan for Mt. Gox Repayment
According to a statement by Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee for rehabilitation, repayments will be made in bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH).
The rehabilitation trustee is preparing to make repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as part of the rehabilitation plan.Statement on Mt. Gox website
He added that due diligence checks and specific security measures will be necessary before payments are made.
Impact on Bitcoin and the Crypto Market
The repayments are widely seen as likely to add selling pressure on bitcoin, as early investors will receive assets at a significantly higher value than their pre-2014 entry price.
This could lead them to sell at least a portion of their holdings, according to many speculators. In May, the exchange moved over 140,000 BTC, worth around $9 billion, from cold wallets to an unknown address in 13 transactions. This marked the first on-chain wallet movements in five years.
Mt. Gox’s statement had an immediate impact on the price of Bitcoin, experiencing a 2% drop in just a few minutes. The BTC price fell from over $62,400 to less than $61,000 within 15 minutes of Mt. Gox’s announcement.
History of Attacks and Future Outlook
The 2014 hack, which resulted in the loss of approximately 740,000 bitcoins (worth $15 billion at current prices), was the largest of the many hacks that Mt. Gox experienced between 2010 and 2013. Since then, the trustees have developed a repayment plan that has been in preparation for several years. A Tokyo court had set a deadline of October 2024 for the completion of repayments.
As Mt. Gox prepares to start repayments in July 2024, the crypto community is closely monitoring the potential impact on the markets. The repayments could introduce additional volatility as beneficiaries decide whether to hold or sell their newly recovered assets.
