Kraken Completes Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Distribution to Mt. Gox Creditors

Kraken Completes Distribution of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to Mt. Gox Creditors

On Tuesday, Kraken CEO Dave Ripley announced that they had “successfully distributed” Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to customers affected by the hack that led to the collapse of Japanese exchange Mt. Gox nearly a decade ago. “It has been nearly a decade since Kraken’s Board of Trustees selected us to facilitate the investigation and ensure the return of customer funds. It was our privilege and our duty,” Ripley said.

Mt. Gox’s creditors are reportedly expecting more than $7 billion in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and fiat currency from the various entities that mediated the fund distribution process. While Kraken did not specify the total amount returned to Mt. Gox customers, the exchange’s involvement is a significant step toward resolving one of the cryptocurrency industry’s longest-running sagas. Kraken was one of five exchanges selected to help some of the 127,000 creditors affected by the 2014 crash return their funds.

Other exchanges involved in the effort include Bitstamp, SBI VC Trade, Bitbank, and Coincheck. The exact timeline for when creditors will receive their funds from these exchanges remains unclear as none of them have commented on the matter.

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reported on Tuesday that the Mt. Gox estate had begun transferring $2.85 billion worth of Bitcoin to new wallets. $340 million of that amount was transferred to four separate addresses belonging to Bitstamp. Arkham also noted that the Mt. Gox estate still holds about 85,234 BTC, worth $5.7 billion.

Mt. Gox was once the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, handling more than 70% of all Bitcoin transactions globally. However, the exchange filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after hackers stole 850,000 Bitcoins, which would have been worth $56 billion at current market rates.