There is a free NFT for you, if you fell victim to this hack

Source: Criptonoticias / Jesus Herrera

Lost money on the now-defunct Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt.Gox? If so, the CEO of the now-discontinued company will reward you with a commemorative non-fungible token (NFT)… or consolation? The asset will be accessible only to those who were clients of the platform between 2010 and 2014.  

This was announced on Twitter by Mark Karpelès, former CEO of the platform who was the victim of a massive hack of 80,000 bitcoins in 2010 and a bankruptcy announced four years later.  

Delving into the digital collectible’s website , they indicate that the Mt.Gox NFT is compatible with ERC-721, so it has features designed to cover «specific use cases.»  

According to the page, it seeks to commemorate the theft and consequent bankruptcy of the company, the first linked to Bitcoin to go bankrupt in Japan, an event that occurred 7 years ago.  

Therefore, they will send NFTs to all users through an identity verification process «to ensure that they are really Mt.Gox customers who are registering.» This data collection, in addition, “will serve a series of purposes.” 

As they explain, the NFT will be used in various ways to «create new experiences», assuming that the user base of Mt.Gox is quite large.  

For example, the token will have a certificate of originality (OG), implying that the owner of the NFT was also an early adopter of Bitcoin. «But also proof of having lived through and survived one of the most covered Bitcoin-related disasters,» they noted.  

Teasing and rejection in social networks 

The arrival of the Mt.Gox NFT was accompanied by ridicule on social media. Karpelès’s own message was answered by many users who, through laughter, reproached the release of the collectible, which does not repair the losses that many had years ago.  

Jameson Lopp, CEO of CASA and Bitcoin referent, said between satires that the NFT should be accompanied by a shirt that says “I lost all my money in Mt.Gox and all I got was an NFT”.  

Another user, @superenrico , harshly criticized the hack, calling it «complete technical, security, and financial incompetence mixed with shady practices.»  

«Having the decency to shut up and disappear from the public eye forever is probably asking too much,» said the affected user. 

Other users did accept the NFT and defended the Karpelès movement. One example was @spoonmvn, who noted that while he’s okay with having a memorial about losing money, «it’s thoughtful that we get an NFT that won’t have a secondary market.» 

Shaking the dust off Mt.Gox  

Mt.Gox’s new NFT comes after news broke last week that the fake Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, suffered another setback in a UK court, which dropped a lawsuit over bitcoins apparently stolen from the exchange in 2010 and that were deposited in a purse that he claimed as his own.  

As reported by CriptoNoticias, a court refused to hold a trial to determine the responsibility of several main Bitcoin developers in the theft of those coins in 2010, which added another judicial defeat for who claims to be the «true» creator of Bitcoin.  

Although it is unlikely to know if one event caused the other, it is curious that before the Wright news broke, absolutely nothing had been revealed about the non-fungible token commemorating one of the most important hacks reported in the Bitcoin ecosystem. .  

In any case, both situations call to mind a fact that is still valid and that, according to Karpelès, is getting good feedback through an NFT that seems to kick up the dust.