In a development approved by the Tokyo District Court who are currently overseeing the Mtgox bankruptcy case, Bitcoin exchange Kraken has been selected to lead the investigation. As well as overseeing the work involved in identifying what happened to the missing Bitcoin, Kraken may also be involved in managing the claims process, distributing the remaining assets. Though the company will have access to Mt Gox’s servers, software and databases they will have no access to shamed former CEO of the company Mark Karpeles, who was supposedly contentious during the creditors meeting, refusing to answer questions and disagreeing about amounts that he loaned from the company according to a blog post from Kolin Burgess, the protestor who became synonymous with Mt Gox’s demise, having flown from the UK to Tokyo to confront Karpeles in February.
Kraken’s Role
CEO of Kraken, Jesse Powell, who’s previously assisted MtGox, notably following their hack in 2011 formally made the announcement during a press conference which proceeded the second Mtgox creditors meeting stating that he was “very humbled for the opportunity to help the community like this”
The exchange also made an announcement on their blog, explaining their role in the investigation.
“Duties that Kraken may be asked to carry out include the following:
- Aid in the investigation of possible lost or stolen Bitcoin
- Aid in the creation of a system to file and investigate claims
- Help to distribute Bitcoin and/or fiat assets to creditors
- Exchange Bitcoin to fiat currency when needed”
Creditors are now required to sign up to Kraken and verify their account via https://www.kraken.com/signup.
No Plans For Gox 2.0
Unlike other companies who’ve shown interest in Mt Gox over the past year, Powell explained that he had no desire to “resurrect” Mtgox, explaining that the company possessed nothing of value and that the brand name had lost it’s reputation, having once been a leader in the space.
[blockquote]There’s no code base of any value; the database can’t be re-used. The customer database is of dubious value. The reputation is severely damaged. It’s become a verb – to be ‘Goxed’ means to be screwed. The brand name is synonymous with fail. [/blockquote]