Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Liquidation Process Still Underway

December 21, 2014

Amanda Marie

The once largest Bitcoin exchange, responsible for approximately 80% of all of the global transactions, will never be revived despite hopes by many that it might have been. A meeting of creditors was held at the end of November, during which trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi announced that Bitcoin exchange Kraken will be assisting in the ongoing investigation of the missing bitcoins. San Francisco based Payward, which operates Kraken, will also be assisting in the investigation and the claims by Mt. Gox customers who ended up losing bitcoins in the collapse of the exchange back in February of 2014.

In the announcement, Kobayashi stated, "The bankruptcy trustee believes that it is very helpful for conducting the bankruptcy proceedings smoothly and for protecting the interests of the bankruptcy creditors to obtain support from a company with expertise in operating a bitcoin exchange business and managing bitcoin transactions."

Kraken, which had recently opened its own exchange for bitcoin in Japan a few weeks prior, had been a hopeful candidate to take over Mt. Gox but the trustee made it clear that Kraken is not going to revive Mt. Gox.

In a blog post, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell stated that, "The outcome of the Mt. Gox bankruptcy proceedings will deeply affect the Bitcoin community as a whole," and he added, "We've decided to volunteer our resources and expertise in an attempt to minimize damage to creditors, restore faith in the Bitcoin community and demonstrate trusted leadership in the industry."

Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles, is still cooperating with the trustee and Kraken during the bankruptcy process of Mt. Gox. Karpeles still remains as CEO of Mt. Gox's parent company Tibanne.

Kobayashi said that the bankruptcy estate so far has secured about 202,149 bitcoins, worth approximately $74 million at the current bitcoin value tracked by Coindesk.

Kobayashi also said he may consider taking legal action to force Karpeles to repay 136 million ($1.1 million) he had in loans from Mt. Gox as of April 24th. The trustee also said Tibanne and two of its subsidiaries owe Mt. Gox about 1.1 billion ($10 million).

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Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Liquidation Process Still Underway