Mt. Gox trustee releases repayment procedures update

The Restriction Reference Period is one of the final steps in repaying creditors, according to the document released Wednesday.

Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi released updated information on Wednesday regarding the rehabilitation plan for creditors of the long-defunct crypto exchange. According to the file, the restriction reference period starts on September 15. During the phase, “the assignment, transfer or succession, provision as collateral, or disposition by other means of rehabilitation claims are prohibited.”

Kobayashi confirmed that creditors have until September 15 to submit claims regarding funds lost when the early crypto exchange collapsed in 2014:

“During the Assignment, etc. Restriction Reference Period, the Rehabilitation Trustee will cease accepting applications for claim transfer procedures through the Rehabilitation Claim Filing System.”

The document is unclear about the deadline for the restriction period but confirms that it will be followed by the first entire repayment to creditors, as outlined in the Rehabilitation Plan approved by roughly 99% of the eligible users affected by the case.

The file also stated that if a notice of transfer is submitted during the restriction period, the trustee may be unable to determine whom to repay:

“This may result in rehabilitation creditors being unable to receive their preferred Repayments, the Repayment date being delayed significantly compared to other rehabilitation creditors, or at worst, the Repayment amount may be deposited with the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau in accordance with laws and regulations.”

Earlier this week, Twitter rumors about a 137,000 BTC dump put pressure on crypto markets. Creditors later dismissed the speculation on social media.

Mt. Gox was one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges, and at one time facilitated more than 70% of all trades made within the blockchain ecosystem. Following a major hack in 2011, the site subsequently collapsed in 2014 due to alleged insolvency; the fallout affected about 24,000 creditors and resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC. In November 2021, the exchange’s trustee confirmed that the rehabilitation plan was in Japan’s court system. It is one of the final steps in a long process that began in 2018 with a petition to compensate creditors.