Mt. Gox to Begin Repayments in July; BTC Slides Under $61K

As an experienced financial analyst, I have closely followed the developments surrounding Mt. Gox and its long-awaited asset distribution to clients affected by the 2014 hack. The news that repayments will begin in July 2024 is significant, as it brings a sense of closure for those who had their funds stolen during one of the most infamous incidents in the history of cryptocurrency.

Mt. Gox, the defunct bitcoin exchange, announced on Monday that they plan to begin distributing stolen assets belonging to their clients from the 2014 hack as early as the first week of July. This comes after numerous postponed deadlines spanning over several years.

Nobuaki Kobayashi, the Rehabilitation Trustee, announced in a statement published on the Mt. Gox website on Monday that they have been making preparations to make repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as part of the Rehabilitation Plan.

“Starting July 2024, the repayments are scheduled to begin,” Kobayashi explained, emphasizing the importance of conducting thorough investigations and taking necessary precautions prior to processing the payments.

As a seasoned analyst, I’d put it this way: In the crypto market’s infancy around 2010, Mt. Gox led the charge, processing approximately 70% of all Bitcoin transactions. However, in early 2014, my radar picked up a significant threat when hackers infiltrated the exchange, causing an estimated loss of about 740,000 Bitcoins, equivalent to a staggering $15 billion using today’s prices. This breach was the most damaging among several attacks that targeted Mt. Gox between 2010 and 2013.

As a crypto investor, I’ve been following the developments of a long-term repayment plan initiated by the trustees. Last year, we received a deadline set by a Tokyo court, which is now looming over us in October 2024.

In May, approximately $9 billion worth of Bitcoin, representing over 140,000 coins, was transferred from offline wallets to an unidentified wallet address in a series of 13 transactions. This marked the first on-chain transfer from these specific wallets in the past five years.

In the early hours of Asia, Bitcoin’s price soared above $62,300. However, it plummeted to under $62,100 just minutes after Mt. Gox made their announcement, according to information from CoinGecko.