The Mt.Gox affair is one of the historic ghosts of cryptocurrency history. Founded in 2010, Mt.Gox was once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, before declaring bankruptcy in 2014 following a hack in which around 850,000 bitcoins were stolen. Since then, investigations and litigation have continued, with ongoing efforts to refund affected customers and understand the full extent of what has become a major scandal in the crypto industry.
Time for accountability
The case Mt.Gox left an indelible mark on the cryptocurrency landscape, and since 2014, efforts to recover stolen bitcoins have never ceased.
Unsurprisingly, the creditors of the 850,000 Bitcoins, representing around $450 million, are determined to get their funds back. A group of creditors filed a civil rehabilitation petition in 2019, a move aimed at recovering the stolen funds.
Nobuaki Kobayashia trustee of the business, plays a crucial role in these efforts, being responsible for the sale of the exchange’s remaining assets in order to reimburse the aggrieved creditors.
However, recovering the stolen bitcoins proved to be a monumental challenge. The amount stolen has far exceeded the assets recovered to date, making full repayment unlikely. Despite this, efforts continue.
Between Craig Wright, purported creator of Bitcoin and holder of the address 1Feex
Linked to the Mt.Gox, the 1Feex adress would be, in his own words, that of Craig Wright, the controversial Australian entrepreneur and self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin. It was in 2013, shortly before the disaster of Mt.Gox, this address has received a significant amount of Bitcoin.
This controversy took another turn when Mark Karpeles,former CEO of Mt.Gox publicly declared on Twitter that Bitcoins sent to the address 1Feex are Bitcoins stolen from Mt.Gox and de facto belong to the creditors.
For his part, Wright counters by explaining that the Bitcoins in the 1Feex address are Bitcoins acquired in a legal and legitimate manner. The former CEO’s statement thus raises serious questions as to Wright’s involvement in the Mt.Gox hack…
Worthy of one of the best thrillers, the Mt.Gox affair never ceases to amaze and hold us spellbound with its twists and turns and mysteries. Is Craig Wright guilty? Is he just a usurper in need of attention? Will the creditors ever see the color of their money? To be continued, as always…
