CEO of Defunct Mt. Gox Doesn’t Want to Get Rich Taking ‎Creditors' Bitcoins

Mark Karpelès, the former CEO of the now-defunct Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term exchange Mt. Gox Mt. Gox Mt. Gox is the name of a Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange that was infamously hacked for 850,000 BTC worth roughly $450 million at the time in February of 2014. During July 2010 Mt. Gox formally launched Mt. Gox launched its exchange and price quoting service. It was subsequently sold to French developer Mark Karpelès in early 2011.Prior to its hacking, Mt. Gox suffered from other security vulnerabilities as early as June 2011. On 19 June, 2011, a security breach of the exchange caused the no Mt. Gox is the name of a Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange that was infamously hacked for 850,000 BTC worth roughly $450 million at the time in February of 2014. During July 2010 Mt. Gox formally launched Mt. Gox launched its exchange and price quoting service. It was subsequently sold to French developer Mark Karpelès in early 2011.Prior to its hacking, Mt. Gox suffered from other security vulnerabilities as early as June 2011. On 19 June, 2011, a security breach of the exchange caused the no Read this Term, said ‎in an ‘Ask me anything’ Reddit Q&A session that he doesn’t want to profit millions of dollars which will be left after paying out claims of the ‎exchange’s creditors.‎

Despite his responsibility for turning the largest Bitcoin exchange into a bankrupt ‎company, the French-born Karpelès could stand to gain 160,000 Bitcoins and Bitcoin ‎Cash from the remaining assets in the Gox estate. ‎

Those assets, currently valued at $1.13 billion, will be distributed to shareholders as ‎part of the liquidation. This is because the value of creditors’ claims is calculated in ‎the exchange rate between Bitcoin and Japanese yen on the bankruptcy date, April 2014, instead of current rates.‎

‎“I don't want this. I don't want this billion dollars. From day one I never ‎expected to receive anything from this bankruptcy. The fact that today this is a ‎possibility is an aberration and I believe it is my responsibility to make sure it ‎doesn’t happen,” said Karpelès.‎

To achieve that, the 33-year-old French national said he met with the bankruptcy trustee appointed by the ‎Tokyo court to commence civil rehabilitation proceedings.‎

‎“That's the only way any bankruptcy law can reasonably work. And yet, in this case, it ‎produces an egregiously distasteful outcome in that the shareholders of MtGox would ‎walk away with the value of over 160,000 bitcoin as a result of what happened.”‎

Karpelès explained that Mt.Gox has two ‎shareholders, Tibanne and Jed McCaleb. The Tokyo-based exchange is 88-percent owned by Tibanne, ‎of which Karpelès is the sole owner. The remaining 12 percent are held by Mt. Gox’s original ‎creator Jed McCaleb, a San Francisco-based programmer who currently works with ‎Stellar.‎

Throughout the AMA threads, Karpelès revealed that in addition to his own legal troubles, ‎Tibanne is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. As such, he doesn’t mind redistributing the BTC/BCH to creditors if they ever happen to be ‎given to him, but he hopes “things won't get that far as a very ‎large chunk would end being lost to taxes, that's why Civil ‎Rehabilitation is so important.”‎

To date, Karpelès has denied any wrongdoing and blamed hackers for the lost bitcoins, pointing to a software security flaw.