Reflecting on Mt. Gox with Andy Pag

Interview location: Skype
Interview date: Friday 22nd Feb, 2019
Company: Mt. Gox Legal
Role: Creator and Elected Administrator

The Mt. Gox story is incredibly complicated. The first Bitcoin exchange, created at a time when people would buy Bitcoin through eBay or forum discussions, and payment was sent with trust. When it launched it, Bitcoin was trading at $0.06, and within six months Jed McCaleb had passed it onto Mark Karpelès.

Three years after the sale the exchange collapsed when a suspected 850,000 Bitcoins were stolen. Since then the story has unravelled but remains complex, both in finding the truth and resolving what should happen to the remaining Bitcoin.

From the Jed to Mark and what happened with the sale and handover; with Coinlab and Brock Pierce’s claims; with the creditors, the lawyers and the Japanese legal system, finding the truth of what happened and what should happen is highly complex.

In this final interview in my series covering Mt. Gox, I talk to the journalist, Mt. Gox creditor and the creator and elected administrator of Mt. Gox Legal, Andy Pag. We reflect on my interviews and discuss the parties involved, the history of what happened between Jed and Mark, the claims by CoinLab and Brock Pierce and how this may all be resolved.

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Timestamps:

00:03:41: Introductions
00:07:35: Involvement with Mt. Gox and creation of Mt. Gox Legal
00:13:22: The present day status of creditor claims and the civil rehabilitation process
00:17:19: Analysing Coinlab’s claim and how it impacts the rest of the creditor claims
00:19:09: Peter Vessenes’ silence in regards to discussing Coinlab’s claim
00:23:24: Potential reasons behind why Coinlab’s claim is $16 billion
00:29:19: Likely scenarios that could play out in relation to Coinlab’s claim
00:38:04: The structure, finance and communication behind Mt. Gox Legal
00:50:59: Interactions that Andy has had with Brock Pierce
00:55:25: Brock’s intentions to submit a civil rehabilitation plan to the Mt. Gox trustee
00:55:59: The possibility of running an ICO on future Mt. Gox recoveries
00:57:25: What are Brock’s overall intentions getting involved in this situation
01:02:18: Claims on Reddit recently from Mt. Gox Transparency that were aimed at Andy
01:03:33: Claim 1, Andy suggested co-operating with Gox Rising
01:06:18: Claim 2, Andy’s income will dry up at the end of March
01:07:53: Claim 3, Andy was trying to arrange a meeting with his lawyer, the trustee and Brock Pierce
01:12:52: Thoughts surrounding Jed McCaleb and the beginning of Mt. Gox
01:15:43: The mystery surrounding the 80,000 Bitcoin hack and the impact this hack had on Mt. Gox
01:23:06: Mark’s handling of Mt. Gox and how much of its failure was down to him
01:32:27: An alternative narrative, in that Mark is just an incompetent businessman
01:39:46: A summary of the current status of the situation and the ideal solution for creditors
01:42:24: Final comments and Andy’s personal reflection on Mt. Gox

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Helpful Links:

Connect with Andy:
- On Twitter @andybutshorter
- On LinkedIn
- His Website
- At Mt. Gox Legal

Mentioned in the interview:
- Mt. Gox
- Mt. Gox Wikipedia page
- Andy’s Story=
- Mt. Gox Transparency
- Reddit Accusations against Andy
- The History of the Mt Gox Hack: Bitcoin’s Biggest Heist
- Mark’s Reddit AMA
- Brock Pierce plan
- Gox Rising
- Coinlab claim
- Civil rehabilitation

Other relevant WBD podcasts:
- WBD079: Brock Pierce on Reviving Mt. Gox
- WBD078: Kim Nilsson's on His Investigation Into Mt. Gox
- WBD077: Daniel Kelman on the Creditors of Mt. Gox and Civil Rehabilitation
- WBD076: Mark Karpelès on the Collapse of Mt. Gox=
- WBD075: Jed McCaleb on the Creation of Mt. Gox
- WBD058: Trace Mayer on Why You Must Own Your Bitcoin Private Keys

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