Lawsuit filed against Mt. Gox alleges inadequate security measures
In a significant turn of events, a class action lawsuit against the defunct Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange, filed by Gregory Greene with the Northern District of Illinois, US District court, has been dismissed. The lawsuit, which was one of many filed against Mt. Gox, alleged breach of contract and inadequate security on behalf of investors like Mr. Greene.
However, as of July 2025, there is no evidence of an active, current class action lawsuit against Mt. Gox exchange specifically targeting these issues in major Western jurisdictions. Instead, the primary legal developments related to Mt. Gox focus on ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, distribution of recovered assets, and ancillary criminal or civil issues connected to its notorious 2014 hack.
The Edelson law firm from Denver, Colorado, represented Mr. Greene in the lawsuit. The firm has stated that they are seeking to help those who have suffered losses due to the shutdown of the Mt. Gox exchange. In a bid to reach out to other potential Mt. Gox victims, the Edelson law firm has posted appeals on their Facebook page, asking potential victims to join the plaintiff class in the class action lawsuit against Mt. Gox.
The lawsuit was based on the fact that Mt. Gox, which at the time handled 80% of all Bitcoin transactions, was unable to protect its users' digital assets. Mt. Gox chief, Mark Karpeles, announced a loss of 850,000 bitcoins, equivalent to a theft of $475 million at today's price, following the exchange's collapse. This event caused a sharp decline in the market value of the online currency.
Mr. Greene, who transferred US dollars to his Mt. Gox account in late 2011 to obtain bitcoins, claimed that had he known about the substandard security of Mt. Gox, he would have paid less for their services or not paid at all. The lawsuit alleged that Mt. Gox was in breach of contract for failing to protect bitcoins and Fiat currency effectively.
Notably, the legal process for compensating Mt. Gox creditors has been managed through Japanese courts due to the company’s Japanese incorporation, and repayments to affected users have been in progress for years, albeit with significant delays.
While the class action lawsuit against Mt. Gox has been dismissed, the collapse of the exchange and the subsequent hack continue to have legal repercussions. For instance, the U.S. government has referenced the Mt. Gox hack in legal filings involving other exchanges, such as BTC-e, where it is alleged that BTC-e received at least $8.25 million from the Mt. Gox hack. However, this does not directly involve a class action by individual Mt. Gox users.
In summary, while there has been historical litigation and ongoing legal activity around Mt. Gox, there is no current class action lawsuit against the exchange for breach of contract or inadequate security as described in your question. The major ongoing actions remain within the bankruptcy and asset distribution processes in Japan. There are also recent scam attempts targeting old Mt. Gox-related wallets, but these are not legal actions by investors or former customers.
The Edelson law firm, despite their previous representation of Mr. Greene in a class action lawsuit against Mt. Gox, is currently not involved in any active class action litigation in major Western jurisdictions related to breach of contract or inadequate security. On the other hand, the industry of technology, specifically in the finance sector and general-news, continues to report on the repercussions of the Mt. Gox hack, such as its mention in legal filings involving other exchanges, indicating that the impact of this notorious crime-and-justice incident endures.
