Updated on:12/02/2025 05:54 PM 
Mark Karpeles, co-founder and former chief executive of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, has revealed his plans to consult for a new crypto ratings agency called UNGOX, according to an interview with Forkast published today.
“Following the Mt. Gox collapse, I've been monitoring developments in the crypto sector, and I've observed numerous exchanges implementing measures to prevent another Mt. Gox scenario. For example, by adopting proof-of-reserves reports,” Karpeles stated. “However, these initiatives quickly lost momentum, and today's situation for many exchanges closely resembles what led to Mt. Gox's downfall.”
Mt. Gox was one of the earliest—and at its peak, the largest—Bitcoin (BTC) trading platforms globally. Established in Tokyo in July 2010, it handled approximately 70% of all BTC transactions at its zenith. In February 2014, however, the platform declared bankruptcy after discovering that Mt. Gox had suffered a security breach resulting in the loss of about 850,000 BTC (with 200,000 later recovered by Karpeles).
Following the incident, Karpeles was arrested by Japanese authorities on multiple occasions and spent several years in detention—until he was ultimately acquitted of major charges in 2019. Leveraging this unique experience and perspective, Karpeles decided to establish a new initiative to help other exchanges and crypto-related firms avoid Mt. Gox's fate—appropriately naming it UNGOX.
“After Mt. Gox's bankruptcy, 'goxed' (sometimes written goxxed) became a term describing the loss of cryptocurrencies due to a faulty Bitcoin exchange or wallet that malfunctioned,” Karpeles explained. “Many issues can be identified with the right knowledge and experience, but most people don't examine closely enough or lack the expertise to recognize warning signs.”
Consequently, UNGOX will concentrate on developing a rating framework for cryptocurrency exchanges and related services, evaluating them across several key areas, including technology, security, operations, and legal compliance.
Beyond these external assessments—which can be conducted remotely—the new agency will also directly engage with exchanges to voluntarily obtain additional information.
“We'll also be seeking cooperation and verifying operational data, knowledge, and structure,” added Karpeles. “When a company collaborates, it enables us to more accurately rate them based on the information they provide, such as security policies.”
UNGOX is currently scheduled for launch in Q3 2022. In addition to publicly available data, such as overall scores for each entity, the agency will also offer a premium subscription service featuring more detailed information, real-time alerts, comprehensive audit reports, and more.
Former Mt. Gox customers, however, will receive complete access to UNGOX's platform at no cost—thanks to exclusive historical non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
As part of this "ungoxxing" initiative, Karpeles will mint Ethereum-based MtGOX NFTs for every user who registered on the platform between its launch in 2010 and its closure in February 2014.
“When MtGox launched, each user had a unique account number, starting with 1 (Jed McCaleb's account, who founded MtGox, with an account dated July 17th 2010) and reaching as high as 1066097. The final account created on MtGox was established at 1:14 AM UTC on February 25th, 2014,” the Mt. Gox NFTs website detailed. “The MtGox NFT is an ERC-721 standard NFT with additional features designed to address specific use cases.”
You can claim your @MtGox NFT on https://t.co/uUVPsXtCYC if you were a MtGox user between 2010 and 2014. The NFT is airdropped for free, and available regardless of whether you had a balance or filed a claim with the bankruptcy.
— Mark Karpelès (@MagicalTux) February 28, 2022
To receive their historical NFTs, users will need to complete "a verification process to ensure they are indeed legitimate Mt. Gox customers registering" and wait "a couple of weeks to prevent duplicate claims for the same account number."
“Possession of a MtGox crypto wallet serves as evidence of being an early Bitcoin adopter, but also proof of having endured one of the most significant Bitcoin-related disasters,” the WEBSITE continued. “Owning a MtGox NFT demonstrates you're an OG. You were present during Bitcoin's early days, and now you can prove it on the blockchain.”
Beyond bragging rights, Mt. Gox NFT holders will also gain access to certain "member-exclusive areas" and a potential DAO governance structure, while it's also "possible to leverage this in the future in ways that aren't known yet," the WEBSITE concluded.
As CryptoSlate reported, the current trustee of Mt. Gox, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced that creditors have agreed to a multibillion-dollar repayment plan last November.
Karpeles also addressed this topic during the recent interview, noting that the remaining $7 billion worth of BTC (since Kobayashi sold approximately 24,658 Bitcoin and 25,331 Bitcoin Cash between 2017 and 2018) "are scheduled to be distributed very soon."
