Old Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès called for a hard fork (forced protocol update) on the Bitcoin network in order to recover approximately 80,000 Bitcoins (BTC) that did not move as a result of a hack that made a big impact in the history of cryptocurrency. This suggestion sparked controversy in the Bitcoin community.
Funds Frozen After Hack and Details of the Offer
Mt. Gox drove the majority of global Bitcoin transaction volume between 2010 and 2014. The company lost more than 750,000 customer Bitcoins as a result of the hack attack in 2014 and filed for bankruptcy in Tokyo. The incident in question is still remembered as one of the biggest losses in the crypto industry. Approximately 80,000 BTC stolen as a result of the attack in 2011 have remained dormant in a single wallet since then and today correspond to a value of over 5 billion dollars.
In his technical proposal shared on GitHub, Mark Karpelès proposed a protocol change that would enable the Bitcoins in question to be transferred to a designated recovery address without the actual private key. In order for this change to be implemented, the Bitcoin network must undergo a drastic update; So a hard fork will be required.
Community Reaction and Controversies
There has been intense criticism regarding this proposal, both on Bitcoin forums and on intra-community platforms. Many users express concern that Bitcoin’s immutability principle may be damaged and that requests for rule changes may arise again in similar events in the future. Critics emphasize that the foundation of the network cannot be bent according to social or legal decisions.
Along with opposing views, some creditors and Mt. Gox victims state that they can support the proposal. It is stated that if the funds are rescued, there may be an opportunity to make additional payments to creditors within the framework of the existing bankruptcy.
Opinions of Karpelès and Creditors
Mark Karpelès, Mt. Gox hack is unique. According to Karpelès, both law enforcement and most of the community argue that in this case, where the source of the stolen Bitcoins can be clearly identified, a special intervention can be made outside of general network rules.
These funds have not been moved for over 15 years. Unless there is a reliable and clear plan to resolve the situation, authorities in the bankruptcy process are not keen on on-chain bailouts.
Karpelès also states that it is not possible to take a significant step without the approval of most bankruptcy creditors, and that he aims to pave the way for community-based discussion with this proposal.
Last year, the fund called Strive, run by Vivek Ramaswamy, supported Mt. Gox’s strategy to acquire a large amount of Bitcoin from bankruptcy receivables. As part of the strategy, they announced that they planned to expand the BTC portfolio with discounted purchases from the stock market. Strive’s goal is to enable bulk purchases of Bitcoin from bankruptcy creditors.
Mt. While demands for radical changes in the Bitcoin ecosystem have come to the fore through the Gox case, social and technical discussions regarding the hard fork proposal continue.
