Former customers of Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest trading place for bitcoin, can finally file claims for lost assets.
The filings are starting over a year after the exchange collapsed with bitcoin worth hundreds of millions of dollars missing. Claims will be accepted until 29 May, bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi announced Wednesday at a Mt. Gox creditors’ meeting.
The claims will be submitted online at claims.mtgox.com and users have the option of sending them via Kraken, the bitcoin exchange operated by Payward, which has been helping Kobayashi in investigating the lost coins and setting up the claims system.
In a blog post, Kraken said it is offering creditors various incentives for filing via its platform, including up to $1 million in free trade volume per creditor.
In documents posted on the Mt. Gox website, Kobayashi encouraged users to register via Kraken, saying that any bitcoin distributions he authorises after analysing claims would be made through the exchange.
Making distributions in bitcoin rather than cash would go against tradition in Japanese bankruptcy law, but Kobayashi said he is consulting with the Tokyo District Court, which is overseeing the case, to make that possible.
Creditors must meet a few requirements, such as knowing the original e-mail address they used to create a Mt. Gox account, to file online. Otherwise, they can submit hardcopy claims.
One reason it has taken until now to begin the claims process is there are over 100,000 Mt. Gox creditors around the world, Kobayashi wrote, adding he will decide to accept or reject claims by 9 September.
Kobayashi also announced that he has continued to recover funds owing to Mt. Gox and that the bitcoin balance for the bankruptcy estate, following probes into the company’s bitcoin addresses, is roughly 202,159, which is today worth about €45.4 million.
“The next meeting isn’t until 9 September,” one Mt. Gox creditor named Aaron, who only wanted his first name used, said via e-mail after attending the meeting. “How long before we see any of our money? How much value have we lost from delays?”
Mt. Gox collapsed on 28 February 2014, with liabilities of some ¥6.5 billion (€50 million). It said it was unable to account for some 850,000 bitcoins, worth nearly half a billion dollars at the time. It was a staggering sum, possibly purloined by hackers who exploited a bug in the bitcoin system, according to the company.
IDG News Service
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