Key Takeaways
- As per the liquidator, within last few days, over NZ$400 million in crypto has been returned on-chain
- Further distributions for newly verified users are planned for next year, as per the advisory.
Cryptopia, the defunct New Zealand-based crypto exchange, has commenced the long-awaited process of returning approximately NZ$400 million (about $225 million USD) in digital assets to 10,000 verified account holders.
The exchange entered liquidation in 2019 after a devastating cyberattack resulted in the theft of $15.5 million worth of crypto. Aggravating its troubles, a former employee stole $170,000 in 2021 from a wallet tied to Cryptopia. Despite these setbacks, liquidators from Grant Thornton have worked to rebuild the exchange, reconcile millions of transactions, and verify account details for nearly 960,000 users.
“Within the last 48 hours, over NZ$400 million in crypto has been returned on-chain,” the liquidators noted, highlighting the progress in distributing assets, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin. This first phase of distributions follows Justice Gendall’s 2020 ruling that recognized crypto as property under common law, laying the foundation for the asset recovery and distribution process.
Grant Thornton also revealed plans for additional distributions. “This includes giving notice of cut-off dates before distributing the remaining Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and all other crypto of sufficient value to account holders,” the liquidators stated.
An additional top-up distribution could allow users to recover up to 100% of their holdings by redistributing unclaimed assets from accounts that did not register in the claims portal. “The liquidators will give account holders notice of the soft cut-off date in the coming days.”
The liquidators encouraged remaining account holders to register promptly. “We encourage all remaining account holders to register on the claims portal and take the necessary steps to be eligible for future distributions,” they said. Further distributions for newly verified users are planned for next year, according to the advisory.
Acknowledging the complexities of the recovery process, Grant Thornton remarked, “This complex process also involved rebuilding the hacked cryptocurrency exchange and reconciling millions of transactions from nearly 960,000 users.”
They also expressed gratitude for the patience affected users showed throughout the prolonged process. “We are grateful to account holders for their patience and cooperation,” they said.
