The notorious Mt.Gox cryptocurrency exchange will airdrop non-fungible tokens (NFTs) between its former customers that were affected by the hack back in 2014. In an interview with Forkast, Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of Mt.Gox, said that he is launching a new project called Mt.Gox NFT, which will grant the exchange's customers a lifetime of free access to the new website.
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The FAQ of the website's initiative says that ownership of the NFT is not only proof of someone "being an early Bitcoin adopter," but also "proof of having lived and survived one of the most covered Bitcoin-related disasters." The FAQ continues:
"Owning a MtGox NFT proves you are OG. You were there in the early days of Bitcoin, and now you can prove it on the blockchain."
The website also says the airdrop of NFTs sets the foundation for DAO governance with privileged access for Mt.Gox users. In order to get an NFT, users will need to go through an identity verification process where they should provide a screenshot of the account lookup tool showing their account name and balance, PDF of their original Mt.Gox account creation email or related emails, and PDF of communications with Mt.Gox among other documents.
Mt.Gox was one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, and accounted for 70% of Bitcoin transactions at its peak. Between 2011 and 2014, the platform was repeatedly hacked and experienced technical difficulties. In early 2014, problems with the withdrawal of user funds began, as a result, Mt.Gox froze trading and went out of business.
Mt.Gox was subject to a hacker attack, during which 850,000 Bitcoins valued at over $450 million at the exchange rate at the time ($50.8 billion at the moment) were stolen. The exchange was unable to recover the stolen funds, so it filed for bankruptcy in April 2014. The process is still ongoing.
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