• Cryptopia has repaid 10K verified account holders with NZD 400 million in cryptocurrency.
  • A top-up distribution plan allows users to recover up to 100% of their holdings from unclaimed assets.

The New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange, Cryptopia, has initiated the reimbursing process after years of liquidation proceedings. The liquidating firm of the exchange, Grant Thornton, has begun the distribution of recovered assets to verified account holders. 

In the initial phase, more than 10K users have received approximately NZD 400 million ($224.9 million) in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin . The liquidators went through a cautious process to rebuild the exchange’s database and verify the transaction records for nearly 960,000 users. 

The liquidators conducted a comprehensive verification to ensure the accurate and fair distribution of assets. Additionally, the account holders were advised to register their claims through the official portal to participate in the repayment process.

Future Distributions and Unclaimed Assets

Grant Thornton plans to distribute additional funds next year. Moreover, there is a provision for a “top-up” distribution, which aims to use the unclaimed assets from the account holders who have not registered their claims by the specified cut-off dates. 

This plan potentially allows the verified users to recover up to 100% of their holdings. The liquidators encourage account holders to quickly complete the verification process to qualify for future distributions.

Grant Thornton stated , 

“The liquidators encourage all remaining account holders to register on the claims portal and complete the necessary steps to become eligible for future distributions. Further distributions for newly verified users are planned for the New Year.”

The Hack and Liquidation

Cryptopia encountered a security breach in January 2019, resulting in the theft of around $15.5 million worth of crypto assets. The exchange was forced to halt its operations following the incident, and in May 2019, Cryptopia was put into liquidation. 

On the other hand, Cryptopia faced another hack in 2021, during the liquidation process. A former employee has accessed a wallet linked to the exchange illegally and stole an additional $170,000 worth of cryptocurrencies. Later, the individual was arrested and brought into legal light for the theft.

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