Rehabilitation will commence in a month- around 20 November.
over 850k Bitcoin was stolen from Mt.Gox in 2014 The long-running Mt.Gox rehabilitation program has moved one step closer to seeing victims receive a share of the reclaimed Bitcoin (BTC).
The good news to the defunct exchange's creditors follows the end of voting on a rehabilitation proposal last week.
As Bitcoin price hits new highs above $66,000, the Tokyo District Court has confirmed the majority's decision for the trustee to go ahead with coin distribution.
According to a notice on the Mt.Gox website, 99% of the votes were in favour of the reimbursement plan. The results mean that those who lost money when the exchange was hacked into oblivion now have some hope of getting part of the Bitcoin back.
Trustee to sell $1.7 billion worth of BTC
Mt.Gox accounted for the largest volume of BTC trades and users in the early years of Bitcoin. However, with a series of security breaches between 2012 and 2014, activities eventually ran aground after what was then the largest hack in crypto history.
After years of court battles, the court's confirmation moves this matter closer to an end.
Creditors have to wait one more month for the court's order to be binding, with payments made to those who chose to receive payouts in fiat first. That will then be followed by a distribution of the remaining Bitcoin to those that preferred to receive BTC.
When Mt.Gox sank in 2014, Bitcoin price was way below $1000. In the seven years since the exchange declared bankruptcy, BTC's price has traded higher via its 2017 bull run to $20k and the stellar 2021 that has seen the flagship cryptocurrency peak above $66,000 on 20 October.
About 141,686 BTC are in the hands of the trustee, meaning the total amount at stake is over $9 billion going by Bitcoin's current price. Of these, around $1.7 billion will go to 10,000 creditors, potentially introducing sell-side pressure to the market around 20 November.