Mt. Gox trustee extends claims deadline yet again

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A few days ago, the trustee handling the Mt. Gox digital currency exchange payout, decided that it was time to alter the scope of the payout scheme. Attorney Nobuaki Kobayashi sent his new plan to a Tokyo court for approval, indicating that he no longer wanted to purchase digital assets to continue making payments and that he would, instead, handle certain claims in fiat.

To ensure the idea meets payout requirements and obligations, more time is needed, and a delay in the claims deadline was requested. The judge who received the request has agreed, and a new deadline for the rehabilitation plan has been provided.

Initially, the deadline was supposed to be October 2019, a full year after the payout scheme first materialized. That deadline was then pushed back to March 31 and, when Kobayashi announced the most recent proposal changes, another delay appeared inevitable. In a notice (in pdf) on the Mt. Gox website, the attorney asserted, “The Rehabilitation Trustee is currently formulating the rehabilitation plan, but as there are matters that require closer examination with regard to the rehabilitation plan, it has become necessary to extend the submission deadline for the rehabilitation plan.

“In light of the foregoing, the Rehabilitation Trustee filed a motion to seek an extension of the submission deadline of the rehabilitation plan at the Tokyo District Court, and, on March 27, 2020, the Tokyo District Court issued an order to extend the submission deadline for the rehabilitation plan to July 1, 2020.”

The way the notice reads, it seems that Kobayashi may not yet be certain of how he wants to approach the remaining creditor payouts. He stated last week that his vision included creditors receiving payments comprised of both fiat and digital currency, or just fiat, but the wording in the notice would leave the reader believing that other changes are coming that he hasn’t announced.

Many creditors and users of the failed Mt. Gox have been able to receive compensation already, which should mean that the remaining number most likely isn’t that substantial. With that being the case, and with the previous plan apparently having worked well to make the proper reimbursements, making another, last-minute change is a little suspect.

Mt. Gox was first put into civil rehabilitation amid its bankruptcy efforts in June 2018. Even though previous reports have indicated that most of the more than $425 million in digital assets would be covered, the recent downturn in digital currency prices may be a contributing factor to Kobayashi’s Rehabilitation Plan alterations.