Mt. Finally, Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi has submitted a draft recovery plan to a court in Japan – meaning that former users of the long-running crypto exchange can one day look forward to getting paid.
Kobayashi, the Japanese bankruptcy lawyer appointed to oversee investor reimbursement, presented the plan to Tokyo District Court on Dec. 15. In a statement posted on the Mt. Gox’s website, Kobayashi, said:
The Tokyo District Court and an auditor will review the draft recovery plan and decide whether to pursue the rehabilitation case applicable to the draft recovery plan.
The resettlement trustee added that it intended to explain the draft plan “to the relevant parties in a timely and appropriate manner.”
Kobayashi is said to hold 150,000 bitcoins (BTC) – worth about $ 2.9 billion at current market prices – in ransom, but none has yet been paid. More than 20,000 victims are believed to have filed claims for ransom.
Mt. Gox collapsed in 2014 after more than 850,000 BTC (worth over $ 470 million at the time and about $ 16.5 billion now) were stolen by hackers, with 200,000 bitcoins recovered two weeks later. At the time of its demise, the exchange was the world’s largest, handling 70% of global bitcoin trades.
Ever since, the plan has been to repay creditors using the recovered bitcoin. Kobayashi has been leading that charge since 2018 when he was appointed by the court to do so. On several occasions, the trustee has asked the court for more time before submitting its draft recovery plan, arguing that “there are issues that need closer examination.”
Now with the draft plan finally presented to the court, former users of Mt. Gox can look forward to ending their six-year expectation for a refund.
What do you think of Mt.Gox recovery plan finally being rolled out? Let us know in the comments section below.
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