Mt Gox starts payments of R$45 billion in Bitcoin

After more than 10 years of waiting, creditors of the extinct exchange Mt Gox have finally started to receive the return of their Bitcoins (BTC) trapped in the exchange. The process apparently began on Monday (22), when some customers reported having received their money in accounts registered with the company’s refund plan.

According to Mt Gox’s own lawyers, the extinct exchange owes customers US$9 billion, which amounts to more than R$45 billion in current values. The exchange closed its doors in February 2014 after suffering an attack that caused the loss of more than 850,000 BTC.

Mt Gox starts payments

Updates received by Mt Gox creditors include information such as the amount of BTC they are owed, as well as repayment dates. Brian Dixon, chief executive of Off the Chain Capital, bought Mt Gox receivables from some clients and was one of the people who confirmed the payment.

“This is the first time we have seen an update on the status of reimbursement, which is a good sign and a step in the right direction,” Dixon said.

In Dixon’s case, he received information about the refund payment date, but refused to disclose that information. On the other hand, Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, mentioned that he has received notifications about payments but is awaiting confirmation of payment dates.

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, Mt Gox still has approximately 137,892 Bitcoin valued at US$9.2 billion. It is precisely this amount that the company intends to reimburse its customers.

Furthermore, previous records indicate that Mt. Gox also owned Bitcoin Cash and fiat currency such as dollars. But in the latter case, the exchange has already returned part of the balances to customers.

Creditors will receive payments by October 31st

As the liquidation process progresses, the Mt Gox administrator said creditors will receive payments on a staggered basis. As stated in the bankruptcy agreement, the platform will have until October 31, 2024 to make all payments due to customers.

It is worth noting that the vast majority of creditors have been waiting years since Mt Gox’s bankruptcy to receive their funds. Some have balances in fiat currency, while others will receive their payments directly in BTC.

The current refund, however, does not correspond to all 850,000 BTC that the exchange held before going bankrupt, as it only managed to recover part of that total.

Now the question is whether these lenders will sell their BTC upon receipt. The market fears that this could introduce some selling pressure on BTC and contribute to the price decline. However, given the cryptocurrency’s potential to appreciate even more in the long term, the expectation is that most of them will not sell their BTC.