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What was the Mt. Gox collapse?
Mt. Gox was a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that stopped operating in February 2014, saying bitcoins had disappeared, and went bankrupt that April. Its trustee began repaying creditors in bitcoin and bitcoin cash in 2024; the deadline for the remaining repayments is October 31, 2026.
What it means for you
An exchange's failure can tie up customers' coins for more than a decade. Creditors are repaid through a court process, in whatever form and on whatever timetable that process allows.
How it works
The trustee's own announcements give the timeline. On February 28, 2014 Mt. Gox applied to the Tokyo District Court for civil rehabilitation, and in March it announced consultations with investigators over the disappearance of bitcoins. After that application was dismissed, bankruptcy proceedings began on April 24, 2014. On June 22, 2018 the court moved the case into civil rehabilitation instead, and on October 20, 2021 it confirmed the rehabilitation plan. Repayments in bitcoin and bitcoin cash began in 2024; the deadline has been extended each year and is now October 31, 2026, Japan time.
Source: Mt. Gox rehabilitation trustee: announcements · checked 5 October 2026
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