Kraken: Mt. Gox Bitcoin Repayments Will Arrive Before August

At least some Mt. Gox creditors are expected to receive their repayments in the next seven to 14 days, according to an email Kraken sent to users.

Kraken is one of five crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, that is working with the Mt. Gox trustee to facilitate distribution of BTC to the defunct exchange’s creditors.

The exchange confirmed that the email, which has been making the rounds on Twitter, is legitimate. But Kraken did not comment on whether its distribution will match that of other coordinating exchanges.

"As we said in the email, we have asked clients to anticipate funds to be credited to their accounts in the next 7-14 days," a spokesperson told Decrypt.

The announcement comes more than a decade after Mt. Gox went bust following a monumental hack and a series of legal issues. Previously known as the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, Mt. Gox. is set to repay billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to creditors. 

“We have successfully received creditor funds (Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash) from the Mt. Gox Trustee,” Kraken wrote in an email to creditors. “Please anticipate 7-14 days for funds to be credited to your account.”

Earlier this month Bitstamp told Decrypt that its agreement with the Mt. Gox trustee gives the company up to 60 days to distribute BTC to creditors. However, Bitstamp said it will make payments “as soon as possible.”

Earlier this morning, Bitcoin took a quick dip after the wallets belonging to the trustee shifted $2.8 billion into a cold storage wallet. That wallet later made a $3 billion wallet transfer to an unidentified wallet. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is changing hands for $63,914.15 and has gained 2% since this time yesterday, according to CoinGecko data.

It's worth noting that the transfers and creditor email from Kraken are happening exactly 14 years to the day after Mt. Gox completed its first ever trade.

Back in 2014, the firm lost 850,000 Bitcoin due to an exploit. At least 90% of the BTC lost belonged to customers. How much Bitcoin will be refunded to creditors is currently unknown, but it is unlikely that a full 850,000 Bitcoin will be distributed. 

Without sharing the total planned distribution, Kraken said in its email that the Mt. Gox trustee has already determined how much each creditor will receive.

Market participants are expecting creditors to sell off at least a portion of their refunded Bitcoin. This has been one of many factors that pushed the crypto market downwards as of late.

"At first glance, the amounts seem much larger, but we should not forget that not all those cryptos are for sale," FxPro Senior Market Analyst Alex Kuptsikevich told Decrypt. "The money will go to early crypto enthusiasts, not authorities who are legally required to sell BTC. I would not be surprised if the actual transfers from crypto to fiat will be around 20-30%."

Some experts believe that the end of the Mt. Gox fiasco, and the German government selling seized assets, will “likely” mark the Bitcoin bottom.

Edited by Stacy Elliott

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to add a comment from Kuptsikevich.