Bitcoin
Mt. Gox launches payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Mount Gox said on Friday which has started issuing refunds to customers, ending a nearly 10-year wait for some users to get their crypto back after a 2014 hack bankrupted the cryptocurrency exchange.
The company was once the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, moving more than 70% of all bitcoin (BTC) transactions in its early years. The hack resulted in the loss of around 740,000 bitcoins.
The announcement added to the selling pressure on bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market after Mt. Gox announced last month its intention to begin payments in July.
“Mt. Gox moved 47,228 BTC, signaling the start of its payment process, which caused some fear in the market due to the large potential for liquidation… However, it is worth noting that despite these concerns, the long-term impact may be less severe as the market gradually absorbs the selling pressure,” said Willy Chuang, COO of cryptocurrency exchange WOO X.
Some customers may have to wait 60 to 90 days to receive their payments, but Mark Karpeles, the exchange’s former CEO, confirmed in a direct message to CoinDesk on X that these are the worst-case scenarios.
“These are deadlines tied to the number of transfers to be processed. Each exchange may have a slightly different internal policy and decide to credit everyone later rather than sooner or sooner rather than later,” he said.
Exchanges approved by the administrator to process refunds include Bitbank, BitGo, Bistamp, Kraken, and SBI VC trade, a Japanese exchange.
UPDATE (July 5, 06:40 UTC): Adds additional information and market history.
UPDATE (July 5, 07:00 UTC): Adds analyst comments and markers.
UPDATE (July 5, 10:10 UTC): Adds quotes from Mark Karpeles in the fifth paragraph and updates BTC price in the fourth.