The Bitcoin-trading website Mt.Gox was taken offline this past Monday. This puts millions of dollars at risk by investors who put invested in the digital currency.
The exchange deleted all of its tweets, and the CEO of Mt.Gox, Mark Karpeles resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation’s board of directors on Sunday.
Bitcoin investors are alarmed with the price down 3% to $490, its lowest level since November.
An unverified document called “Crisis Strategy Draft” is being circulated online states Mt.Gox has lost 744,408 of its users’ bitcoins, a net worth of $367 million.
There are rumors Mt.Gox has plans to re-brand itself as Gox.
Mt.Gox has been dealing with problems ever since the beginning of this year. Feb. 7 Mt.Gox suspended withdrawals from its trading accounts.
The company found out there was a flaw with bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin records transactions every 10 minutes, leaving a large window for malicious activity. Attackers would make real transactions immediately posting fake ones, confusing the exchanges’ accounting programs.
This glitch was made public in 2011 but never addressed by the Bitcoin exchange.
Bitcoin dropped to $130 during this time, after it was trading for more than four times then that of other exchanges.
“The people running the systems right now are not necessarily business men,” Rose said. “For the most part, they’re people who came into this digital project without grasping the value or risk of it. The ecosystem is maturing, but it’s a little scary for everyone involved.”
– Charles Riley contributed reporting from Hong Kong.
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References:
Mt.Gox site disappears, Bitcoin future in doubt – CNN Money
http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/25/technology/security/mtgox-bitcoin/index.html
Bitcoin is under attack – CNN Money
http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/12/technology/security/bitcoin-attack/index.html?iid=EL
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