Account holders of the defunct New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have received a significant payout, marking a notable milestone in the aftermath of the company’s collapse due to a major hack in 2019. Over the past 48 hours, more than 10,000 verified account holders have collectively received NZ$400 million (approximately USD $250 million) in cryptocurrency distributions from the liquidators, according to Grant Thornton, the firm overseeing the liquidation process.
Background on Cryptopia’s Collapse
Cryptopia was established in 2014 and quickly became one of New Zealand’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges. However, in January 2019, it suffered a devastating hack that resulted in the theft of around NZ$30 million worth of cryptocurrencies, which accounted for nearly 10% of its total assets at that time. Following this incident, trading activity plummeted, leading to the company’s eventual liquidation in May 2019. At that point, Cryptopia held approximately NZ$170 million worth of cryptocurrencies and had over 2.2 million registered users globally
Liquidation Process
The liquidation process has been complex and lengthy. Liquidators David Ruscoe and Malcolm Russell have worked diligently to identify account holders and return their assets in accordance with a court ruling from March 2020. This process involved reconstructing the hacked exchange and reconciling millions of transactions across nearly 960,000 user accounts
Future Distributions
The liquidators indicated that there may be additional distributions for account holders who have not yet registered in the claims portal. This could potentially allow them to receive up to 100% of their holdings using “unclaimed holdings” from those who have not participated in the claims process
Conclusion
The return of NZ$400 million to account holders represents a significant recovery effort following one of New Zealand’s largest cryptocurrency thefts. As liquidators continue their work with law enforcement and international authorities to trace the origins of the hack, many former users of Cryptopia are hopeful for further recoveries in the future. The ongoing liquidation serves as a critical case study for cryptocurrency regulations and user protections in an evolving digital landscape.
