Kraken says significant progress made in MtGox bankruptcy bitcoin probe
[NEW YORK] Global bitcoin exchange Kraken said on Wednesday significant progress has been made in the investigation into claims of creditors of bankrupt exchange MtGox.
In 2014, MtGox Co Ltd, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange, was forced to file for bankruptcy after hackers stole an estimated US$650 million worth of customer bitcoins.
Kraken was appointed in November of that year to assist Tokyo district court-appointed trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi in the bankruptcy investigation of missing bitcoins, receiving claims and distributing remaining assets to creditors of MtGox.
Kraken said in a statement, citing the Tokyo-based trustee, that out of the 9,863 persons who filed bitcoin-only claims through the Japanese trustee or through Kraken's online service, 7,952 claimants have been approved. The approved creditor claims are equivalent to around 12.6 billion yen in bitcoins, with about 27.5 billion yen in bitcoins still on hold.
According to the trustee's report shared by Kraken, a total of 24,733 people around the world have filed bankruptcy claims related to the MtGox exchange.
The total amount of bankruptcy claims filed in both bitcoin and fiat currencies are about 2.7 trillion yen. The trustee currently holds 202,163.41191816 bitcoin, worth more than US$84 million. "Although the investigation into MtGox claims is still ongoing, we have made significant progress for creditors," said Mr Kobayashi.
One bitcoin is currently worth around US$418.88 on the BitStamp platform.
REUTERS
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Banking & Finance
BOJ will hike rates if trend inflation accelerates, says Ueda
Binance’s rivals muscle in on Bitcoin trading around the world
Citi picks Amit Dhawan to head Singapore commercial bank operations
China finance ministry echoes Xi’s call for bond trading at PBOC
Thai PM asks banks to lower interest rates to help economy
From airport lounge access to dining deals: How banks can attract customers with travel perks