Mt. Gox creditors

Mt. Gox top creditor goes with early payout option: Report

The creditor will be paid by September this year instead of waiting for the legal processes to be finished.

The top Mt. Gox creditor chose to have an early payout in Bitcoin (BTC), deciding against waiting longer for an even larger payment.

Mt. Gox Investment Fund, the largest creditor of the defunct crypto exchange, reportedly decided to take its chances with a lesser but earlier payout rather than waiting for all the legal processes to be resolved. This means that the creditor will be paid by September this year instead of potentially waiting another nine years before getting their funds back.

According to Bloomberg, opting for the earlier payout means that the creditor will receive 90% of what’s due to them, and the bankruptcy trustee doesn’t have to sell tokens to acquire fiat funds for the payment since the creditor also chose to be paid in BTC. This will ease market concerns because token sales of that magnitude could potentially have a negative impact on the crypto market.

Other creditors of the exchange also have until March 10 to decide whether they want to wait for a larger payment percentage or take the earlier repayment in September.

Related: Mt. Gox creditors dismiss rumors of massive Bitcoin dump

On Jan. 6, Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi urged creditors to complete the necessary steps before the deadline. Kobayashi wrote that creditors who fail to do so will not be able to receive their funds or will have to bring documents to the head office in Japan and receive payments in Japanese yen.

Mt. Gox used to be considered the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world before it went bankrupt in 2014 after 750,000 of its customer’s BTC and 100,000 of its own Bitcoin were stolen. At the time of the incident, the funds were only worth around $473 million. However, at current market prices, it’s worth around $20 billion.

Mt. Gox creditors dismiss rumors of massive Bitcoin dump

Mt. Gox creditor Eric Wall said that at the moment, creditors are still unable to register where the funds should be sent to.

As rumors about an upcoming Bitcoin (BTC) dump float on Twitter, Mt. Gox creditors took to the social media platform to say that the rumors are all false, with one highlighting that the defunct exchange’s repayment system is still not yet live.

In a Twitter thread, Eric Wall introduced himself as a Mt. Gox creditor and confirmed that there would not be a 137,000 BTC dump, countering the rumors floating around on social media. According to Wall, the exchange has not yet completed the infrastructure needed to commence the repayment.

Wall also said that at the moment, people are still unable to register where to send the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) payments. The creditor also believes that payments should occur in various installments, dismissing the fears that thousands of Bitcoin will be sold all at once, dumping the cryptocurrency’s price.

Wall also noted that the crypto exchange has not yet provided a timeline detailing when it will proceed with its repayment process. Following this, the creditor argued that even if the BTC were released, he would rather buy than sell because of the current market conditions.

Eight Global CEO Michaël van de Poppe highlighted that the distribution will be delayed. He tweeted:

Marshall Hayner, another Mt. Gox creditor, confirmed that they are not close to receiving their BTC. Hayner assured the community that many people who will be getting their repayments from the exchange do not intend to sell their Bitcoin. 

Related: Bitcoin risks worst August since 2015 as hodlers brace for ‘Septembear’

In July, Nobuaki Kobayashi — the appointed rehabilitation trustee in the Mt. Gox rehabilitation plan — confirmed that the exchange is preparing to pay back its creditors. In the released official document, the exchange noted that the account holders would have the option to receive payments in BTC or BCH. The rehabilitation plan was first approved in 2021. However, from the 850,000 BTC owed, the exchange only has 150,000 BTC to pay its creditors.