The Ethereum Fusaka upgrade will introduce PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) to improve scalability, and is expected to go live in late 2025. Read more.

Ethereum advances its scaling road map with the upcoming Fusaka upgrade, introducing the innovative PeerDAS protocol. This major technical enhancement aims to revolutionize data availability, potentially enabling an 8x increase in storage capacity and driving 

This article examines the Fusaka upgrade's key features, with special focus on the PeerDAS protocol and its implications for validators downloading blob data. We also explore potential impacts on ETH prices and investment strategies for the forward-thinking crypto investor.

The Ethereum Fusaka upgrade is a planned network update targeted for late 2025. It will introduce PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) to improve scalability by allowing validators to verify blob data by sampling only portions, rather than downloading entire datasets.

The name "Fusaka" combines "Fulu," a star from the Cassiopeia constellation, with "Osaka," a city that hosted a past 

 event. This maintains Ethereum's tradition of naming upgrades after stars and cities.

 deployed in May 2025, Fusaka represents the next step in Ethereum's technical road map. However, due to the extensive testing required for its components, the release date might slip into early 2026.

Impact of the recent Ethereum Pectra upgrade

Implemented in May 2025, the Pectra upgrade brought several significant changes to the Ethereum network. Most notably, it introduced EIP-7251, which increased the maximum effective balance (MaxEB) for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.

Large-scale validators can now consolidate their operations, reducing the overall validator count while maintaining network security. Pectra also increased blob data capacity, raising the minimum from three to six blobs per block and the maximum from six to nine.

 benefit from more affordable data availability. The upgrade also introduced account abstraction improvements through EIP-7702, enhancing 

 functionality with features like bundled transactions and sponsored 

These changes have begun addressing scalability challenges while improving the user experience, setting the stage for the more ambitious improvements planned by Fusaka.

What does the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade aim to achieve?

The Ethereum Fusaka upgrade focuses on scaling Ethereum through improved data availability, aiming to make the network more efficient for all participants.

Fusaka aims to solve Ethereum's data availability bottleneck, which has become a critical scaling limitation. Currently, validators must process all blob data in each block, creating excessive demands for bandwidth and storage that restrict Layer 2 (L2) throughput and increase end-user fees.

PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) transforms this approach by allowing validators to verify data availability through small random samples, rather than complete downloads. This breakthrough dramatically reduces resource requirements while improving network capacity, this enabling Ethereum to support far more L2 transactions without compromising security.

According to Ethereum researcher Alex Stokes, 

 from the current nine blobs per block to a potential 48 blobs with a maximum of 72. This 8x improvement delivers substantial scaling benefits throughout the Ethereum ecosystem by reducing the resource burden on validators.

Such expanded blob capacity translates directly to lower transaction costs for users of L2 solutions like 

. Applications previously hindered by high fees will become economically viable, thereby expanding Ethereum's utility and accessibility across more use cases.

The Pectra upgrade (implemented in May 2025) and the upcoming Fusaka upgrade represent distinct but complementary approaches to Ethereum's scaling challenges. Pectra focused on validator consolidation through MaxEB and made initial steps toward increased data capacity, while Fusaka targets fundamental changes to the way that data availability functions across the Ethereum network.

As mentioned earlier, Pectra's introduction of EIP-7251 increased the maximum effective balance from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, allowing large-scale validators to consolidate operations and reduce network overhead. It also introduced account abstraction improvements through EIP-7702, enhancing wallet functionality with features such as bundled transactions and sponsored gas fees.

On the data capacity front, Pectra made modest improvements, increasing blob capacity from three to 9 blobs per block. Fusaka dramatically expands this vision with a substantial 8x jump to 48 blobs per block (with a maximum of 72), representing a quantum leap in Ethereum's data availability capabilities.

The validator experience evolves significantly as a result of these two upgrades. While Pectra streamlined operations through consolidation, Fusaka fundamentally transforms how validators interact with data. PeerDAS requires validators to download only small samples (2–4%), instead of complete blob data, dramatically reducing hardware and bandwidth requirements.

Vitalik Buterin has projected that increasing blob capacity to just 16 could drive L2 fees below $0.01. With Fusaka targeting 48 blobs, transaction costs could approach near-zero levels, enabling Ethereum's L2 ecosystem to process volumes competitive with centralized payment systems while maintaining decentralization.

The impact of the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade on ETH prices

Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade could reignite market enthusiasm by addressing technical limitations that have driven Ethereum users toward competing blockchains. As Ethereum enhances its capabilities, projects and users who migrated to alternatives like Solana might return, bringing fresh activity and capital back to its ecosystem.

Institutional investors view blockchain architecture upgrades as key indicators of long-term viability. As Ethereum strengthens its foundation through Fusaka, cautious institutional capital may accelerate its allocation strategies, as sophisticated investors typically prioritize structural improvements over short-term price fluctuations.

Fusaka's PeerDAS protocol represents a breakthrough for L2 networks by revolutionizing the way data is processed and stored. The 8x increase in blob capacity slashes costs that previously constrained L2 growth. Such a quantum leap in efficiency could catalyze a wave of innovation and adoption across Ethereum's scaling ecosystem.

Reduced validator resource requirements may encourage broader staking participation, potentially decreasing ETH's circulating supply as more tokens become locked in staking contracts. This combination of increased utility and constrained supply could create favorable price dynamics.

However, Ethereum's upgrade history reveals mixed price performance. While ETH gained over 16% in the six months following The Merge, its price declined over 40% in the six months following 

. Moreover, market sentiment, broader cryptocurrency trends and macroeconomic factors influence prices alongside technical improvements. 

Ways to profit from the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade

Investors can position themselves to potentially benefit from the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade through several strategic approaches:

1. Accumulation strategy before upgrade announcements

Consider gradually accumulating ETH in the months leading up to testnet deployments and official announcements. Historically, ETH often experiences price appreciation during the pre-upgrade anticipation phase as speculation builds around potential improvements.

Timing is crucial with upgrade-related investments. The classic "buy the rumor, sell the news" pattern frequently plays out in crypto markets, with prices often peaking just before the actual implementation. Accumulating ETH early before mainstream attention focuses on Fusaka could provide significant advantages.

 (DCA) (rather than lump-sum investments) can mitigate 

 risks during an accumulation phase. Consider setting predetermined exit points to potentially capitalize on pre-upgrade speculation, since prices sometimes retrace following successful implementations despite technical improvements.

For those already running validators or considering staking operations, Fusaka presents unique opportunities. Since PeerDAS reduces hardware requirements, setting up additional validators could become more economical, lowering the barrier to entry for earning staking rewards.

The Pectra upgrade's increased MaxEB feature allows for consolidating existing validators for efficiency, thus reducing operational overhead. This consolidation opportunity, combined with Fusaka's resource efficiency improvements, creates a compelling optimization window for both existing and prospective validators.

 protocols that will likely update their infrastructures to leverage Fusaka's improvements. These services can enable investors to earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity, offering highly flexible exposure to staking benefits without capital lockups.

Perhaps the most strategic approach involves identifying Layer 2 projects that stand to benefit the most from Fusaka's expanded data availability. Solutions that heavily rely on blob data for rollups will experience significantly reduced operational costs, potentially improving their competitive position.

Analysis of transaction volume and gas consumption can reveal which Layer 2 protocols currently suffer the most from data availability limitations. These projects may see the most dramatic improvements in user experience and cost structure post-Fusaka, potentially driving increased adoption.

Look for L2 protocols that are actively preparing for Fusaka's capabilities, especially those focused on high-throughput applications, such as decentralized exchanges and gaming or social platforms. Projects mentioning Fusaka in their road maps demonstrate awareness of the ways in which these improvements align with their development strategy.

For traders looking to capture Fusaka-related price movements, Bybit offers a straightforward yet powerful trading platform. Its Spot market provides easy ETH purchases with competitive fees, which is ideal for those looking to build positions ahead of the upgrade.

Traders seeking higher potential returns can use 

 to gain leveraged exposure to ETH without directly owning the asset. This approach works well for short-term strategies around key Fusaka development announcements.

To manage the volatility common during upgrade cycles, Bybit's conditional orders and 

 help protect investments. These features allow traders to set buy or sell levels automatically, based on price movements, thus reducing emotional decision-making.

Bybit also offers multiple staking services, allowing investors to earn passive rewards while holding ETH in anticipation of the Fusaka upgrade. This combination of trading tools and yield opportunities provides flexibility for various investment time frames and risk preferences.

The Ethereum Fusaka upgrade and its PeerDAS protocol represent a major leap forward in scaling Ethereum's Layer 2 ecosystem through improved data availability. By allowing validators to sample data rather than download entire blobs, Fusaka significantly reduces hardware requirements while enabling an 8x increase in capacity. These technical improvements translate to lower user transaction fees and new development possibilities for builders. While technical improvements don't always directly affect prices, Fusaka addresses fundamental limitations that could drive long-term adoption and strengthen Ethereum's position in the blockchain ecosystem.

Intermediate

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Ethereum Fusaka upgrade: What PeerDAS means for validators

MapleStory N marks the franchise's blockchain debut with a successful launch on Avalanche, generating massive interest through its free NFT mint and player-owned economy.

Daily top performer — EigenLayer (EIGEN)

The S&P 500 futures plunged about 1% after Moody’s cut the U.S. credit rating to Aa1 over rising debt costs and gridlock, despite recent tariff optimism and steady capital inflows. Gold surged over 1% to $3,247.40 an ounce on Monday as a softer dollar and renewed U.S. tariff threats under President Trump reignited safe-haven demand in a low-rate environment. CoinDesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, fell 0.58% in the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ether dropped 2.23% and 4.30%, respectively. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is EIGEN, which surged 12.2% after Eigen Foundation and SOON launched an incentive program to boost LST/LRT adoption with 349,800 EIGEN tokens.

EigenLayer (EIGEN), founded in 2021, is an Ethereum protocol that lets users restake ETH for extra rewards while keeping it usable, and allows developers to tap into this pooled security for their own projects—boosting yields and decentralization. Eigen Foundation has 

 with SOON to launch the SOON Acceleration Incentive Program, distributing 349,800 EIGEN tokens to encourage adoption of LST/LRT assets within SOON's ecosystem. The collaboration makes EigenDA SOON's preferred high-throughput data availability solution (currently 15MB/s, scaling to 50MB/s), while offering DA cost rebates and support for developers building DePIN, AI, and blockchain projects on SOON's SVM rollup stack.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

MapleStory N marks the franchise's blockchain 

 with a successful launch on Avalanche, generating massive interest through its free NFT mint and player-owned economy. The game's NXPC token saw significant trading activity as it introduced full on-chain functionality via its dedicated Henesys chain, bringing true digital ownership to this beloved RPG series for the first time in its long history.

Between May 12–16, 2025, BTC spot ETFs saw $72 million in outflows from GBTC offset by $680.4 million of inflows into non-GBTC products, yielding a net weekly inflow of $608.4 million—driven primarily by $319.5 million on May 14 and $260.2 million on May 16. Since inception, GBTC has lost $22.99 billion while non-GBTC ETFs have gained $64.74 billion, for a total net inflow of $41.75 billion.

Beginner

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MapleStory N debuts on Avalanche, bringing blockchain gaming to classic RPG franchise

Doodles (DOOD) blends NFTs, AI storytelling, and community to redefine web3 entertainment with a dynamic, creator-driven digital universe.

Since 2021, Doodles has remained among the top 

 world, and its colorful line-drawn characters have remained popular. Now, almost four years later, the team behind Doodles has launched the DOOD token, which went live on May 9, 2025.

On May 7, 2025, Doodles announced that the DOOD token generation event would occur on May 9. Its NFT sales volume doubled within one day to hit $1.1 million on May 8, and by May 16, the Doodles NFT sales volume hit $3.9 million, registering a 255% spike in NFT sales from its $1.1 million achievement recorded just eight days earlier.

Furthermore, the project has added DreamNet, a decentralized AI narrative protocol initially powered by the Base network, to its thriving NFT ecosystem. This strategic expansion marks Doodles’ broader ambition to transition from a simple PFP collection to becoming a fully immersive entertainment and content ecosystem.

Let’s learn more about Doodles and its vision to disrupt the 

 is a web3 entertainment platform that includes a community-centric NFT ecosystem, an AI-powered storytelling protocol and other digital offerings.

After a launch led by its three founders (Jordan Castro, Evan Keast and Scott Martin), Doodles entered the web3 space in 2021. The project's 10,000 generative NFTs received a warm welcome in the web3 space.

Apart from its striking NFT characters, the project's hype involves popular names in the entertainment industry, including Pharrell Williams as Chief Brand Officer and Julian Holguin (former president of Billboard) as CEO. However, Scott Martin tweeted in March 2025 that he had stepped in as the new CEO of the Doodles project following Holguin's exit.

In its spirit of innovation and creativity, the project has expanded its ecosystem to include collector hubs known as Stoodio and Inkubator that act as community launchpads for its genesis NFT community. Other products include DoodleTV, which features original animations and music videos.

Furthermore, Doodles has a merchandise shop that sells physical items, including apparel, collectibles and kids' items, such as backpacks and water bottles.

The project recently launched its token, DOOD, which included an 

Doodles entered the crypto space in October 2021 as a PFP NFT project, floating 10,000 genesis NFTs at a minting price of 0.123 ETH per mint.

From the outset, the Doodles NFT project received a lot of hype. Particularly, the project made a bold move in closing its Discord channel after having acquired 1,000 members about a month before its launch. This move was intended to ensure exclusivity for its community and, ultimately, to reward its early NFT adopters.

Doodles was co-founded by notable names in the art and NFT spaces. Two of its co-founders, Evan Keast and Jordan Castro, were part of the team that helped build the popular 

 NFTs by Dapper Labs. Meanwhile, current CEO Scott Martin is a legendary Canadian-based illustrator, having hand-drawn 62 of the genesis collection of 10,000 Doodles NFTs that consisted of original art with unique visual traits that were randomly mixed and matched, similar to 

While the Doodles NFT collection remains at the core of the project's ecosystem, various creativity-related initiatives have been added to it.

DoodlesTV showcases original creations, such as animation shows and music videos by Doodles. One of the original works available on DoodlesTV is the animation show 

which was released in September 2024 (its tickets were sold out). The storytelling experience also features music from top celebrities, such as Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne and Coi Leray. 

Doodles genesis NFT holders can join events hosted by DoodlesTV for free.

Stoodio is a creative space on Doodles where collectors can create and customize their 

 and upload them to the blockchain. The feature was initially powered by the 

, but has since migrated to the Base blockchain to leverage its speed and affordability. This migration was in line with the platform's vision of better community engagement and enhanced user experience. To commemorate it, Doodles has partnered with Zora for an open edition NFT mint.

 is an AI-driven decentralized storytelling protocol whose community can build, own and monetize story universes. It employs a tokenized economy model that combines human and agent participation in order to drive creativity.

At the heart of every story world on DreamNet is a Universe Token that’s automatically generated to represent the root idea. In order to create narratives and story universes, creators can leverage AI through integrated agents on the platform to enrich and hasten the process. Once created, each idea that's generated by the community is tokenized as an 

 to be paired with the respective Universe Token.

At the core of DreamNet is the agent terminal, where creators can bring characters to life through the AI Launchpad. The user-friendly terminal allows users to easily sculpt a personality, customize it, pick a PFP NFT for the agent, add context to it and then fund it with the Universe Token and launch it as an Agent Token for the community. When a DreamNet agent is launched, it’s paired with an Agent Token, as well as an Active Wallet that the character can use to invest in other agents and swap tokens.

Further, DreamNet’s Multiplayer Place Creation tool allows you to create stages for the characters to play. This tool empowers the community to create shared worlds within the greater story universe on DreamNet. It’s powered and governed by Place Tokens, which operate similarly to Agent Tokens but on a broader scale.

DreamNet also has an AI-readable Vector Worldstate database that uses a vector format to record all occurrences in the story universes. Vectors are mathematical representations (typically numerical arrays) that AI models can interpret, compare and build upon, allowing the system to track, understand and evolve narratives over time. This innovative database will record the profiles of verified characters, details of everywhere they’ve been and any other significant information related to them.

In short, DreamNet is Doodles' innovative approach to decentralizing and monetizing storytelling through AI and blockchain technology.

Another feature of the Doodles ecosystem is the Inkubator, which acts as a creative hub for Doodles OG holders to turn their creative dreams into reality. This community-centric hub allows these NFT holders to hold community events, experiment with ideas and obtain funding to fuel their brands.

As an incentive, Inkubator offers holders one-time community grants in order to explore and tap into their innovative spirits. For ease and efficiency, Inkubator's community grants are categorized into two categories: event grants and experiment grants.

The community can also submit proposals on Inkubator to offer ideas for enriching Doodles to make a real impact.

The Doodles Community Council powers Inkubator, processes proposals and supports those who are funded through the grants.

DOOD is the utility token for creating and participating in the Doodles ecosystem. It was launched on 

 in order to leverage the platform's speed and low transaction costs. However, the plan is to bridge DOOD to Base soon to make it a multichain digital asset and facilitate integration with the larger Ethereum NFT market.

The initial total supply of DOOD is 10 billion. According to its tokenomics, 68% of this total supply has been allocated to Doodles’ community and growth. The balance goes to the Doodles team and for liquidity. Allocation is as follows:

DOOD will act as the medium of exchange on the Doodles ecosystem, especially on DreamNet. It will be used in the following ways:

You can buy DOOD on Bybit as a Spot pair, or in the Innovation Zone as a Perpetual contract with leverage of up to 12.5x.

To celebrate its listing on the Spot trading platform, Bybit is holding two events in which 

As of May 19, 2025, the price of the Doodles crypto token is $0.004387, a 50.9% drop from its all-time high of $0.008887 on May 9, 2025, and a 2.6% increase from its all-time low of $0.004254 on May 18, 2025.

Price prediction platforms are pretty bullish on Doodles. According to price analysts at CoinCodex, 

 a maximum price of $0.0069 in 2027 and increase to $0.02045 by 2030. Meanwhile, experts at DigitalCoinPrice predict that 

 $0.0155 in 2027 and rise to $0.0197 by 2030.

While these prices are bullish, they don’t guarantee the future price of DOOD. We highly recommend you 

 before investing in Doodles or any other crypto tokens.

Doodles (DOOD) is ushering in a new era of participatory entertainment where fans aren’t just consumers — they’re creators. With innovative products like DoodlesTV, Stoodio and the Inkubator, its ecosystem empowers users to customize characters, mint digital wearables and engage in storytelling like never before. 

At the heart of it all is DreamNet, a decentralized protocol that’s redefining how communities co-create, share and monetize content. By blending blockchain technology with creative expression, Doodles is building a vibrant, interactive universe that puts fans in control and turns imagination into one decentralized story at a time.

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Doodles (DOOD): A new era of participatory entertainment

This article takes a look back at Bybit's journey, highlighting seven major milestones that have shaped our path from a budding derivatives exchange to the second-largest crypto trading platform globally.

The crypto space is constantly evolving and rapidly growing. At 

, we're excited to be at the forefront of this remarkable journey. Recently, we celebrated a monumental achievement: 

 globally. This incredible milestone is a testament to the trust and support of our community.

 that our platform now serves over 70 million registered users. As of May 2025, the official count stood at 70,245,487 users across 160 supported countries and regions. This growth is also reflected in our expanding market, with 1,907 cryptocurrencies listed for trading.

Our platform's robust growth is further demonstrated by significant trading activity, with our exchange’s 24-hour trading volume recently reaching $40.113 billion. These figures highlight not only the scale of Bybit's operations, but also the vibrant and active community that has chosen Bybit as their trusted crypto ark.

Bybit's path has been marked by consistent innovation and user-focused development. Let's explore some of the key moments that have defined our growth and our commitment to the crypto community.

 in March 2018. From its inception, the platform aimed to provide a professional, intuitive and innovative trading experience for both retail and institutional clients worldwide, initially focusing on crypto derivatives.

2. July 2020: Bybit's flagship World Series of Trading (WSOT) launches with a 200 BTC prize pool

 its flagship global trading competition, the 

. The first event captivated the crypto trading community with a substantial prize pool of 200 BTC, attracting thousands of participants and establishing WSOT as a premier annual event in the industry.

3. July 2021: Bybit introduces Spot trading with BTC, ETH, XRP and EOS against USDT

 in July 2021. The initial offering included popular pairs BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, XRP/USDT and EOS/USDT, providing users with a robust and liquid market for direct crypto-to-crypto transactions.

4. February 2022: Bybit scores $150M sponsorship with the Red Bull Racing F1 team

In a landmark move bridging crypto and mainstream sports, Bybit announced a 

 with the Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team in February 2022. Valued at $150 million over three years, this sponsorship aimed to boost brand visibility and engage a global F1 audience.

5. June 2024: Bybit surpasses Coinbase to become the second-largest crypto exchange globally

According to a report by blockchain analytics platform Kaiko, Bybit's market share surged significantly by June 2024 to surpass Coinbase and 

 by trading volume, trailing only Binance. This achievement highlighted Bybit's rapid growth and competitive fee structures.

6. January 2025: Bybit Card hits milestone with 1 million cardholders

Demonstrating crypto's real-world utility, the Bybit Card

 by January 2025. This milestone underscored the demand for seamless cryptocurrency spending solutions, allowing users to easily convert and use their digital assets for everyday purchases through the Mastercard network.

Capping off a period of significant expansion and product development, Bybit announced in May 2025 that its global registered user base had exceeded 70 million. This achievement reflects both the platform's growing appeal, and the trust users place in our company's secure and comprehensive digital asset exchange.

From our launch in 2018 to serving over 70 million users today, Bybit's journey has been one of relentless growth, innovation and commitment to our community. Each milestone — from the launch of WSOT and Spot trading to F1 sponsorship deals and the expansion of our product suite with the Bybit Card — reflects our dedication to building a trusted and accessible crypto ark. We’re immensely grateful to our users for being a part of this incredible journey.

 event until June 4, 2025, with a total of $140,000 in rewards up for grabs. New users can earn 7 USDT by simply depositing and trading. Details about the event are available 

Ready to join a leading global crypto exchange? 

 and explore a world of trading opportunities!

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The road to 70 million: A look at Bybit's key milestones

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Bitcoin

Worried about the Mt. Gox rehabilitation plan FUD? Here's all you need to know about the Mt. Gox settlement and how Bitcoin's price can be potentially impacted.

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 made headlines back in 2014. It was a devastating blow for many investors, who saw their life savings vanish overnight as over 800,000 bitcoins were stolen from the exchange. The aftershock rocked the crypto industry and sent prices plunging as fear and uncertainty spread.

Eight years later, Mt. Gox is in the news again — good news, that is. The failed BTC exchange has announced plans to return creditor assets, or at least some of them. 

So, what happens when Mt. Gox starts returning BTC to creditors? Will the beneficiaries offload their reclaimed BTC all at once? Will this reparation torpedo the price of BTC, or will its impact be negligible?

Let's look at the possible scenarios in the aftermath of the Mt. Gox settlement — and what those could mean for BTC.

Mt. Gox is a Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange 

McCaleb initially built the website that became the Mt. Gox exchange as a platform for players of the card game 

 to swap cards online. As cryptocurrencies became popular, the site switched to acting as a platform for exchanging Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

Interestingly, the name “Mt. Gox” is actually an acronym for “Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange.” In 2011, Mark Karpeles, a French developer, bought the exchange for six months' worth of revenue, becoming its largest shareholder and CEO. 

At its peak in 2013, the now defunct exchange 

 trading volume, and was considered the largest Bitcoin exchange globally. 

Given its prominence in the market, it wasn't long before the Mt. Gox exchange became a target for hackers. From 2011 to 2014, the exchange experienced several security issues, culminating in the theft of 650,000–850,000 BTC in February 2014.

That same year, Mt. Gox shut down its website and filed for bankruptcy. 

 on the platform, stating that the temporary freeze was a mere pause in withdrawal requests "to obtain a clear technical view of the current processes."

A few days later, the company issued a statement blaming the downtime on 

, a bug common with the Bitcoin code that makes it possible for bad actors to change transaction details. The defect made otherwise successful transactions appear as if they’d failed — a setup for scammers to get 

Meanwhile, on the Mt. Gox exchange, Bitcoin was trading at prices below $200 (instead of the market price of about $418) and traders feared the worst: Loss of funds due to the possible bankruptcy of Mt. Gox.

Days turned into weeks, and still the "temporary freeze” remained in place, triggering speculation and uncertainty. Finally, on February 24, 2014, the exchange 

 on the platform and shut down the website.

 revealed that hackers had stolen 744,408 bitcoins belonging to Mt. Gox customers, and an additional 100,000 bitcoins belonging to the company. The leak insinuated that the aforementioned transaction malleability glitch was to be blamed for the looting of Mt. Gox Bitcoin reserves from active accounts and cold storages. The massive theft resulted in the exchange’s insolvency.

As Mt. Gox's website went offline, the price of Bitcoin slipped by as much as 23%, and the following ripple effect plunged the price of crypto to new lows.

While the wheels fell off in February 2014, preliminary investigations indicated that hacking activities on Mt. Gox had been going on since 2011. 

In June 2011, the company experienced the first of its many security breaches when hackers managed to access the company's auditor's computer and 

. Bitcoin was trading at around $30 at the time. Then, using the private hot wallet keys (which provide access to digital assets) of Mt. Gox customers, the hackers bought over 2,000 bitcoins at this spurious price.

To make matters worse, Mt. Gox customers also bought 650 bitcoins at this manipulated price.

This early hacking incident prompted Mt. Gox to tighten security. However, the upgraded security couldn't stop the raid on the exchange.

Further investigations in the aftermath of the February 2014 debacle revealed that Mt. Gox’s unencrypted private key 

. However, it was unclear if the data compromise was due to a hacking attack or carried out with an insider's help.

With access to Mt. Gox's private key, criminals proceeded to move customers' BTC over the years. Bizarrely, the exchange was unaware of the sustained skimming of the digital assets in their custody.

It's believed the Mt. Gox system didn't view the transactions as suspicious but, rather, as customer-induced transfers to more secure wallet addresses.

But there was more to the Mt. Gox saga than the hack.

The Mt. Gox exchange had technically been insolvent for at least two years before the knowledge of the hack and BTC theft was made public. Although they had been operational, they claimed to be unaware of the BTC drain.

 even before Mark Karpeles bought the exchange in 2011. By Q2 of 2013, the exchange had already lost most of its Bitcoin, although it still maintained its position as the world's third largest and most popular Bitcoin exchange.

The fact that nobody in the company was aware of these events points to gross mismanagement and poor organization.

For instance, employees claimed that only Mark Karpeles could approve any changes to Mt. Gox's website's source code — matters he paid scant attention to, meaning critical security updates and bug fixes could take weeks to complete.

Circumstantial evidence points to a combination of gross incompetence and criminal intent on the part of Mark Karpeles for the Mt. Gox cataclysmic failure. But after his arrest and subsequent prosecution, the Tokyo District Court found him guilty only of falsely inflating Mt. Gox's holdings through data manipulation.

The court acquitted him of the weightier charges, like embezzlement and breach of trust, believing that Karpeles acted without ill intent. In March 2019, Karpeles was 

 30-month prison term, suspended for four years — meaning he wouldn't have to serve time if he stayed out of trouble for four years from the time of sentencing.

 in Japan, and two weeks later in the U.S. What followed was a flurry of legal troubles, with several creditors initiating class action lawsuits against the exchange.

 it had been using before June 2011. The company promised to distribute the BTC to the victims of the hack. However, since the company was under bankruptcy protection, the fund has since been held in trust for the creditors.

Toward the end of 2021, the Tokyo District Court 

 on the Mt. Gox rehabilitation plan, bringing nearly eight years of legal battle to a close.

The Proposed Mt. Gox BTC Rehabilitation Plan

 to return a portion of recovered BTC to investors who had lost their assets in the infamous Mt. Gox hack. Nobuaki Kobayashi, the court-appointed Rehabilitation Trustee, 

spelling out the rehabilitation process and instructions for victims to claim and recover their BTC.

The distribution of assets to customers of the defunct Mt. Gox exchange will start by 2023. The reparation will target around 10,000 customers globally, and the trustee has set the deadline for submitting claims with the necessary information (selection and registration) as January 10, 2023, Japan time.

According to the official letter, dated October 6, 2022, creditors must first register on the system to carry out the aforementioned selection and registration. Creditors will require a code for this mandatory initial registration. A detailed guideline on the processes can be accessed 

As part of the final process, creditors are expected to visit the 

 to register payee information and select a payment method from four options. While all creditors will receive a base payment, they're given flexibility when it comes to receiving the remainder of their deserved funds. These include early lump-sum repayment, repayment by bank remittance, repayment for a portion of cryptocurrency rehabilitation claims in cryptocurrency and repayment through a fund transfer service provider.

Mt. Gox Settlement: How the Payouts Could Impact Bitcoin Prices

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Mt. Gox Settlement: How the Payouts Could Impact Bitcoin Prices

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