t's been a long road for those impacted by the infamous 2014 hack of Mt. Gox, once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange. The Tokyo-based trading platform lost 850,000 Bitcoin ($450 million at the time) and filed for bankruptcy.
Almost a decade later, its trustee is almost done with the distribution of Bitcoin that had been seized through legal proceedings.
Mt. Gox's Massive $2 Billion Bitcoin Distribution in July
In late July, blockchain analytics firm – Arkham Intelligence, spotted a major development in Mt. Gox's efforts.
The exchange on July 31, moved about $2.25 billion worth of Bitcoin at the time – or approximately 33,960 BTC – to addresses allegedly owned by BitGo, a crypto trust company serving as one of the last intermediary custodians to facilitate repayments. It was one of the largest single transfers reclaimed from Mt. Gox so far.
Immediately when the transfer was completed, Mt. Gox was left with 32,899 BTC, valued at almost $2.11 billion.
However, further analysis unveiled massive Bitcoin transfers from Mt. Gox balance to wallets amounting to over $3 billion during mid-July. On the 5th, almost 61,559 BTC, or $3.89041 billion, moved to Bitstamp, Kraken, and SBI VC Trade.
Less than a month later, 47,229 BTC, or $3.12551 billion, was moved to an address with unknown ownership. In a month, more than 142,000 BTC was moved – almost what the exchange managed to recover since the breach through court proceedings focusing on the suspected culprits.
Over 17,000 Creditors Repaid So Far as Process Winds Down
Nobuaki Kobayashi, the exchange’s court-appointed rehabilitation trustee, issued a statement on the 24th of July that revealed that repayments to more than 17,000 eligible customers impacted by the hack have been made.
These were accomplished on the 5th and 16th, where payouts were remitted through specified cryptocurrency exchanges. He notes further categories of redistribution will resume once demands for further redistribution are met.
One of the final guardians, BitGo, will play a significant role in governing the flow of payments as the proceeding wraps up. Kobayashi pleaded that the remaining creditors maintain patience as the complicated process that took years and global legal action comes to a close.
