Former Mt. Gox CEO Proposes Bitcoin Hard Fork to Recover 79,956 Frozen Bitcoin

Highlights:

• Former Mt. Gox CEO proposes a targeted hard fork to unlock 79,956 stolen Bitcoin now worth over $5.2 billion.
• His proposed one-time protocol update would enable movement of long-frozen coins without the original private key.
• The Bitcoin community is divided, as some support creditor relief while others fear a chain split.

Mark Karpelès, ex-CEO of the now-defunct Mt. Gox crypto exchange, has sparked a new round of debate in the Bitcoin (BTC) community with a rather ambitious proposal. He proposes a Bitcoin hard fork to reclaim around 79,956 Bitcoin, worth over $5.2 billion at today’s market value. The proposal, made on February 27, describes modifications to Bitcoin’s core consensus rules. Such modifications would enable the transfer of long-stalled funds.

Fat chance this ever happens, but Mark Karpeles is proposing a hard fork to regain access to the ~80,000 bitcoins lost in the 2011 Mt. Gox hack.

The coins have never moved since.

The stash was worth less than a half million dollars at the time.

Today: $5.2 billion

Read more… pic.twitter.com/YvxVfZC1Cd

— CryptoBizzle (@CryptoBizzle) February 27, 2026

Can a Protocol Change Unlock 15 Years of Frozen Bitcoin?

Hackers stole the targeted Bitcoin during the infamous 2011 Mt. Gox hack. These coins have remained untouched in a single wallet for more than 15 years. However, Bitcoin’s current protocol only allows funds to be moved using the private key associated with the address. Since no one has recovered that key, the network has kept the coins permanently locked.

Karpelès’ proposal seeks to change that rule. He wants to introduce a one-time protocol update that would allow the transfer of those coins without the original private key. Under his plan, the network would move the Bitcoin into a designated recovery address under court supervision to repay creditors who have waited more than a decade for compensation.

Unlike formal Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs), the draft is presented as a discussion starter, not an official governance document. According to Karpelès, bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi has chosen not to pursue an on-chain recovery because he cannot guarantee that the Bitcoin community would support such a move.

This is a protocol level change so it needs to be a BIP before it's a pull request to change code in implementations. 😉

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 27, 2026

Implementing this proposal requires miners, node operators, developers, and exchanges to coordinate an upgrade. The new rule applies only to the hacked wallet and activates at a specific future block if the network supports it. Even so, no one has ever attempted such a targeted protocol change on Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Hard Fork Sparks Debate Over Bitcoin’s Core Values

The Bitcoin community is divided over the proposed change. Some argue that the proposed change violates Bitcoin’s most basic rule that once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be reversed. Others have pointed out the possibility of a hard fork if some members of the Bitcoin community do not accept the proposed change. This could lead to the development of multiple Bitcoins.

What Comes Next?

The proposal remains in its early stages and serves mainly as a technical discussion. So far, no formal governance process has started, and major stakeholders have not pledged support. Meanwhile, the Mt. Gox creditor repayment process continues on schedule, with about 200,000 BTC already distributed under court supervision and set to continue through October 2026.

Regardless of whether Karpelès’ hard fork takes hold or becomes a footnote in history, it is a reminder that the cryptocurrency community has always struggled to find a balance between innovation and restitution and the founding tenets of Bitcoin.