Seattle-based crypto startup incubator CoinLab has reached a deal with Mt. Gox creditors after a long-lasting legal battle, allowing them to claim 90 percent of lost Bitcoin funds, according to Bloomberg reporter Matt Leising.
A total of 137,891 BTC ($4.9 billion) is expected to be distributed to the users of the now-defunct exchange that shut down in February 2014 following the largest cryptocurrency hack in history. Mt. Gox — which was the dominant crypto trading platform at that time — lost a staggering 850,000 BTC.
Considering that their coins have dramatically appreciated over the past six years, most creditors might be tempted to cash out their profits, exerting selling pressure on the whole market.
As reported by U.Today, private equity firm Fortress Investment Group started offering creditors $1,300 per Bitcoin in exchange for their claims last February after previously coming up with a $900 offer.
Bitcoin is trading at $36,170 on the Bitstamp exchange at press time.
A stopping block
CoinLab joined forces with Mt. Gox back in November 2012 to serve the exchange's customers in North America. Their partnership soon went awry. In 2013, Mt. Gox was taken to court by CoinLab for allegedly breaching their contractual agreement before countersuing.
The multi-year civil rehabilitation process was delayed by CoinLabs's upping the original claim from $75 million to mammoth $16 billion.
Gamza Khanzadaev
Tomiwabold Olajide