Mt.Gox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Type Bitcoin exchange
Location Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Founded2010 (2010)
OwnerTibanne Ltd.
CurrencyBitcoin
VolumeBTC 884,501 (last 30 days)[1]
WebsiteMtGox.com

Mt.Gox is a Bitcoin exchange based in Tokyo, Japan. Mt.Gox was established in 2009 as a trading card exchange, but rebranded itself in 2010 as a Bitcoin business and was, for a time, the largest-volume Bitcoin exchange.

History

Its name was originally an initialism of Magic: The Gathering Online eXchange when it was an exchange for Magic: The Gathering Online playing cards[2]. However, the site abandoned Magic and became a bitcoin exchange, quickly growing to handle 60% of the bitcoin exchange volume, as of August 2013.[3] It was established in 2010.[2] Originally founded by Jed McCaleb, ownership of the company changed hands to its current owners, Tibanne Ltd., in March 2011.[4] The exchange is currently run by Mark Karpeles.[5]

Example Bitcoin price history in USD on the Mt.Gox exchange

Trading incidents

On 19 June 2011, a security breach of the Mt.Gox bitcoin exchange caused the nominal price of a bitcoin to fraudulently drop to one cent on the Mt.Gox exchange, after a hacker allegedly used credentials from a Mt.Gox auditor's compromised computer illegally to transfer a large number of bitcoins to himself. He used the exchange's software to sell them all nominally, creating a massive "ask" order at any price. Within minutes the price corrected to its correct user-traded value.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Accounts with the equivalent of more than USD 8,750,000 were affected.[8]

On Feb 22, 2013, following an introduction of new anti-money laundering requirements by Dwolla, some Dwolla accounts became temporarily restricted. As a result, transactions from Mt.Gox to those accounts were cancelled by Dwolla. The funds never made it back to Mt.Gox accounts. Mt.Gox help desk issued the following comment: "Please be advised that you are actually not allowed to cancel any withdrawals received from Mt.Gox as we have never had this case before and we are working with Dwolla to locate your returned funds." The funds were finally returned on May 3, more than 3 months later, with a note "Please be advised never to cancel any Dwolla withdrawals from us again".

In March 2013, the bitcoin transaction log or "blockchain" temporarily forked into two independent logs with differing rules on how transactions could be accepted. The Mt.Gox bitcoin exchange briefly halted bitcoin deposits. Bitcoin prices briefly dipped by 23% to $37 as the event occurred[12][13] before recovering to their previous level in the following hours, a price of approximately $48.[14]

Suspension of trading

Mt. Gox suspended trading on 11 April 2013 until 12 April 2013 2am UTC for a "market cooldown".[15] The value of a single bitcoin fell to a low of $55.59 after the resumption of trading before stabilizing above $100.

Mt. Gox suspended order placing on 13 April 2013 until 13 April 2013 21:00:00 UTC to let engine "cooldown".[citation needed]

Mt. Gox suspended withdrawals in US dollars on June 20, 2013.[16] On July 4, 2013, Mt. Gox announced that it had "fully resumed" withdrawals, but as of September 5, 2013, few US dollar withdrawals had been successfully completed.[17][18][19]

On August 5, 2013, Mt. Gox announced that they have incurred "significant losses" due to crediting deposits which had not fully cleared. Mt. Gox announced that new deposits would no longer be credited until the funds transfer to Mt. Gox is fully completed.[20]

Withdrawals delayed or refused

Many traders in the Bitcoin community are reporting severe delays to the point of outright non-payment when requesting withdrawal of funds from Mt. Gox since April 2013. Thousands of user complaints have been registered in internet forums[21][22] and media outlets have covered this story.[23] Mt. Gox has so far offered no explanation beyond telling their customers "your withdrawal is yet to process. we will keep you posted once it is done."[21] As of February 2014, this situation has worsened, with Bitcoin withdrawals as well as US dollar and Euro withdrawals being delayed or refused.[24]

As of February 6, 2014, the wherabouts of Mt. Gox' CEO are unknown. Mt Gox customers are unable to withdraw funds from their accounts in any form. Both cash and Bitcoin withdrawals have ceased.[25][26][27]

Legal issues

On 2 May 2013 CoinLab announced that it was suing Mt. Gox for $75m for breach of contract.[28]

On 15 May 2013 the US authorities seized accounts associated with Mt.Gox after discovering that it had not registered as a money transmitter with FinCEN in the US.[29]
As of 27 June 2013 Mt. Gox is registered as a Money Service Business with FinCEN [30] [31]

Tibanne

Tibanne Ltd.
Trading name Mt.Gox
Founder(s) 2009[32]
Headquarters Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Key people Mark Karpeles (CEO)
Products Mt.Gox bitcoin exchange
Employees 10
Subsidiaries
  • K.K. MtGox
  • MT.GOX POLAND INC. sp. z o.o.
  • Mutum Sigilium LLC

The exchange is operated by Japanese company Tibanne Ltd.[33] The company was established in 2009 and is registered by Tokyo Chamber of Commerce.[34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/mtgoxUSD.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Wayback Machine: Mt Gox". Retrieved 12 April 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Bitcoinity; 30 day market share". Retrieved 5 August 2013. 
  4. ↑ Mtgox is changing owners.
  5. ↑ Mt Gox Barons of Bitcoin
  6. ↑ Karpeles, Mark (2011-06-30). "Clarification of Mt Gox Compromised Accounts and Major Bitcoin Sell-Off". Tibanne Co. Ltd. 
  7. ↑ Bitcoin Report Volume 8 - (FLASHCRASH). YouTube BitcoinChannel. June 19, 2011. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mick, Jason (19 June 2011). "Inside the Mega-Hack of Bitcoin: the Full Story". DailyTech. 
  9. ↑ Timothy B. Lee, 19 June 2011, Bitcoin prices plummet on hacked exchange, Ars Technica
  10. ↑ Mark Karpeles, 20 June 2011, Huge Bitcoin sell off due to a compromised account – rollback, Mt.Gox Support
  11. ↑ Chirgwin, Richard (2011-06-19). "Bitcoin collapses on malicious trade – Mt Gox scrambling to raise the Titanic". The Register. 
  12. ↑ Lee, Timothy. "Major glitch in Bitcoin network sparks sell-off; price temporarily falls 23%". Arstechnica. Retrieved 12 March 2013. 
  13. ↑ Blagdon, Jeff. "Technical problems cause Bitcoin to plummet from record high, Mt.Gox suspends deposits". The Verge. Retrieved 12 March 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Bitcoin Charts". 
  15. ↑ https://twitter.com/MtGox/status/322355614414147588
  16. ↑ McMillan, Robert (2013-06-20). "Bitcoin’s Big Bank Problem: Why Did Mt. Gox Halt U.S. Payouts?". Wired. 
  17. ↑ Vigna, Paul (2013-07-05). "Bitcoin operator Mt. Gox resumes withdrawals". Wall Street Journal. 
  18. ↑ Vigna, Paul (2013-07-31). "Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox still grappling with slowdown". Wall Street Journal. 
  19. ↑ Marron, Donald (2013-09-03). "How Bitcoin spreads violate a fundamental economic law". Forbes. 
  20. ↑ https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20130805.html
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=268313.0M
  22. ↑ https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=179586.0
  23. ↑ http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/11/mtgox/
  24. ↑ Wong, Joon Ian (February 4, 2014). "Are you having Mt. Gox Withdrawal Issues?". Coindesk. 
  25. ↑ Finberg, Ron (February 6, 2014). "$40 Million in Bitcoins on the Brink at MtGox While CEO is Still MIA". Digital Currency Magnates. 
  26. ↑ "Statement Regarding BTC Withdrawal Delays". Mt. Gox. February 7, 2014. 
  27. ↑ Dougherty, Carter (February 7, 2014). "Bitcoin Price Plunges as Mt. Gox Exchange Halts Activity". Bloomberg. 
  28. ↑ "Massive Bitcoin Business Partnership Devolves Into $75 Million Lawsuit". Retrieved 06/08/2013. 
  29. ↑ Dillet, Romain. "Feds Seize Assets From Mt. Gox’s Dwolla Account, Accuse It Of Violating Money Transfer Regulations". Retrieved 2013-05-15. 
  30. ↑ http://www.fincen.gov/financial_institutions/msb/msbstateselector.html
  31. ↑ http://bitcoinmagazine.com/5560/mtgox-gets-fincen-msb-license/
  32. ↑ Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry - TIBANNE Co., Ltd.
  33. ↑ http://www.mtgox.com
  34. ↑ http://www.tokyo-cci.or.jp/english/ibo/2353440.htm

External links

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