Trapped Bitcoin Finally Making Its Way Back To Creditors

Creditors of the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, are reportedly getting fiat repayments for their BTC holdings that had been inaccessible since February 2014. Mt. Gox is sending repayments in Japanese Yen to users through PayPal. Creditors who have been waiting for the return of their long-frozen assets for years are closely monitoring the unfolding situation.

A long time coming

This marks a significant development nearly ten years after the funds got stuck on the defunct exchange on February 24th, 2014. It is important to note that these reports have yet to be officially confirmed. One Reddit user, Free-end254, enthusiastically stated that he recently got paid and shared a screenshot of the PayPal payment receipt. Another user initially suspected a phishing scam but later found a legitimate payment in their PayPal account.

However, one user mentioned that only a portion of their 0.125 Bitcoin claim had been repaid, receiving 30,283 Yen, equivalent to $200 at the current exchange rate, and still awaiting an approximate payment of $748. Repayments to creditors are expected to occur in multiple installments, including the base repayment, early lump-sum repayment, and intermediate repayment. The first instances of these repayments became public on December 21st, when a pseudonymous Japanese user announced receiving their Mt. Gox claims via a bank transfer in Yen.

A developing story

This development follows an email by Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee overseeing the Mt. Gox estate. The email was sent to rehabilitation creditors on November 21st, notifying them of the commencement of repayments. The email also mentioned the intention of the trustee to start cash repayments in 2023 and continue the process into 2024. However, no specific timeline for repayments to individual rehabilitation creditors was provided.

Notably, on September 21st, the Mt. Gox trustee extended the repayment deadline to October 31st, 2024. Nevertheless, the trustee indicated that some repayments could be made as early as the end of this year for rehabilitation creditors who had already provided the necessary information.