It is the final chapter in the Mt. Gox saga, which has taken years to wrap up.
Kraken announced on Tuesday that it has “effectively distributed” Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to consumers who were the victims of a breach that brought down the former Japanese exchange Mt. Gox a decade ago.
CEO Dave Ripley told X that it had been over ten years since the Trustee chose Kraken to help with the investigation and getting clients’ funds back. “It was our privilege and our obligation.”
It was not immediately apparent how much Kraken had returned to Mt. Gox customers as part of its responsibilities. Kraken didn’t respond to a request for comment promptly.
It is the final chapter in the Mt. Gox saga, which has taken years to resolve. Kraken was one of five companies that were responsible for returning customer funds to some of the 127,000 creditors affected by the 2014 collapse as part of efforts to make Mt. Gox users whole.
According to reports, creditors are anticipating the receipt of over $7 billion in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and cash distributions from other entities that are believed to be involved in the mediation process.
The Mt. Gox estate has designated Bitstamp, SBI VC Trade, Bitbank, and Coincheck as designated crypto exchanges responsible for remitting stolen funds to former consumers.
The precise date on which creditors can anticipate receiving their funds from the other four exchanges is still uncertain. The exchanges in question did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics firm, announced on Tuesday that Mt. Gox had initiated the transfer of $2.85 billion in Bitcoin to new accounts. Four distinct addresses owned by Bitstamp will receive $340 million of this amount.
Arkham tweeted that the Mt. Gox estate continues to possess approximately 85,234 BTC, which are considered to be worth $5.7 billion.
Although a few customers are fortunate enough to receive their Bitcoin, the local Japanese law enforcement force was able to recover only 140,000 of the 850,000 digital assets that were stolen in order to make payments to creditors.
In 2021, a rehabilitation proposal was authorized, which aimed to compensate approximately 90% of the assets owed to the affected customers.
After hackers seized 850,000 Bitcoin, which is equivalent to $56 billion at current market rates, Mt. Gox, which was once the largest crypto exchange in the world and processed over 70% of all Bitcoin transactions globally, filed for insolvency in February 2014.
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