Friday, February 28, 2014

Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy - TIME

Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy

http://business.time.com/2014/02/28/tokyo-bitcoin-exchange-files-for-bankruptcy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fcurious_capitalist+%28TIME%3A+Business%29

By Feb. 28, 2014Add a Comment
(TOKYO) — The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo filed for bankruptcy protection, acknowledging that a significant amount of the virtual currency had gone missing.
The exchange’s CEO Mark Karpeles appeared before Japanese TV news cameras Friday, bowing deeply for several minutes.
He said a weakness in the exchange’s systems was behind the massive loss of the virtual currency.
Speaking in Japanese at a Tokyo court, he apologized for the troubles he had caused so many people.
Kyodo News said debts at Mt. Gox totaled more than 6.5 billion yen ($65 million), surpassing its assets.
The exchange’s unplugging this week drew renewed regulatory attention to a currency created in 2009 as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks.


Read more: Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy | TIME.com http://business.time.com/2014/02/28/tokyo-bitcoin-exchange-files-for-bankruptcy/#ixzz2ufIkz9YR
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Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Goes Offline - TIME

A Huge Bitcoin Exchange Just Disappeared Into Thin Air

Read more: Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Goes Offline | TIME.com http://business.time.com/2014/02/25/mt-gox-bitcoin-exchange-offline/#ixzz2ucOkmDiG

The shuttering of Mt. Gox sent the price of the digital currency tumbling and raised questions about its stability
By  @naterawlingsFeb. 25, 201427 Comments
Bitcoin currency in Los Angeles, on Feb. 3, 2014.
Ted Soqui / Corbis
A major bitcoin exchange went offline late Monday evening, sending the value of the digital currency tumbling and feeding rampant speculation about its stability.
The website for Mt. Gox, a bitcoin exchange based in Tokyo, went blank late Monday night, after reports surfaced on Twitter and Reddit saying the company had halted all trading. In the hours since Mt. Gox went offline, the value of one bitcoin fell to $470, down from $550 just a few hours ago. The currency has long been volatile.
A purported Mt. Gox document that has been shared online says more than 740,000 bitcoin are missing from the exchange, a loss of $350 million, the Associated Press reports. In the wake of Mt. Gox’s failure, several other bitcoin companies issued a joint statement saying they are working to “re-establish the trust squandered by the failings of Mt. Gox.” The statement said that Mt. Gox’s closure “was the result of one company’s actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry.”
The closure of one of bitcoin’s largest exchanges comes as the digital currency has gained broader acceptance. The currency is “mined” by computers and gets more difficult to generate over time. There are currently more than 12 million bitcoin in circulation, more than half of the maximum 21 million that can be generated. Mt. Gox’s closure cost many currency traders all of the money they had invested in bitcoin. Kolin Burgess, a bitcoin trader who flew to Tokyo from London in an attempt to retrieve more than $300,000 worth of bitcoin, told the AP that Mt. Gox’s closure “hasn’t shaken my trust in Bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges.”
[AP]


Read more: Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Goes Offline | TIME.com http://business.time.com/2014/02/25/mt-gox-bitcoin-exchange-offline/#ixzz2ucP0hm1o
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