- Former Mt. Gox customers have been given a five-month window to vote for the creditor-approved rehabilitation plan
- The vote represents the apex of a seven-year legal battle after the collapse of the exchange
- A 50% threshold is needed for the vote to pass, with payouts possible in 2022
Mt. Gox claimants have been given a five-month window during which they can cast their vote on the reimbursement proposal that was agreed by creditors last year. Following years of wrangling, a proposal was finally agreed in December and, with the court’s approval, has now been passed to former Mt. Gox customers to vote on. They have until October to cast their vote, with a 50% threshold needed for approval.
Seven Years of Wrangling Finally Reaches Vote
The issue of reimbursing Mt. Gox victims has been a slow and torturous process, with the saga rumbling on for over seven years ever since then-owner Mark Karpelès admitted in February 2014 that approximately ₿850,000 had leaked out of the exchange’s during prior months.
Working out how to repay claimants with what funds remain has been the work of Tokyo District Court-appointed Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi. Kobayashi has put several proposals to creditors over the years, all of which were rejected until finally in December last year the court accepted it, with a key creditor, Coinlab, finally coming on board three weeks later.
Mt. Gox Payout Proposal Gives Claimants Two Choices
The Mt. Gox proposal would see all claimants reimbursed in both Japanese yen (JPY) and BTC/BCH. The total value of each claim would be denominated in JPY with each bitcoin being pegged to approximately $7,000. This reflects Bitcoin’s valuation when the civil rehabilitation began in 2018, rather than current prices.
All creditors and claimants will receive a base payment of 200,000 JPY (approximately $1,800) with cryptocurrency claims paid out on top. This could come in one of two forms – a fast-track payout, which would see applicants receive a guaranteed 21% of their claimed amount, or a potentially more rewarding payout that will take longer to process and is not guaranteed.
Vote Needs 50% to Pass
All claimants have now been given until October 8 to vote for this reconciliation plan. If it passes, they will then be able to choose their preferred payout option. However, the proposal will only be carried if 50% or more vote for it, which is not guaranteed seeing as anyone who does not (or cannot) cast a vote will be assumed to have voted against the proposal.
Should the Mt. Gox rehabilitation proposal not pass the vote, the number of non-voters will be critical to determining any future reconciliation plans – if the number is too high then no such plan will ever pass.
