DD Support Board and Research Team

[DaReal]

Mt. Gox bitcoin site disappears


By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Bitcoin prices tumbled to levels not seen in months on Tuesday after the popular bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox went blank amid reports that trading was halted earlier and that the website may have been deleted.

The website was functioning on Monday evening. A report on Business Insider cited customers of the Tokyo-based bitcoin platform as saying they received messages saying trading activity was disabled, while two sites monitoring Mt. Gox said there was currently no activity. On CoinDesk, the price of a bitcoin was down 22% to $423.16, at levels not seen since November..

A subsequent Wall Street Journal report said the entire site — mtgox.com — appeared to have been deleted, as accessing the site yielded an answer from the site’s server but displayed nothing.

Business Insider reported that the issue could be temporary, given a tech glitch earlier Monday at popular bitcoin wallet service Blockchain.info. The AFP quoted Japanese regulators as saying they were “not in a position to take action,” over the site’s shutdown.

As to how much is at stake, media reports also alluded to a document circulating in the bitcoin world that said hackers had stolen 744,000 bitcoins, worth around $350 million at current prices, from Mt. Gox in a theft that had gone on for years. That theft which would represent about 6% of 12.4 million bitcoins in circulation. MarketWatch has not seen the document, nor can it verify its authenticity.

The issues at Mt. Gox followed the surprise resignation of Gox executives from the Bitcoin Foundation, prompting the firm’s bitcoins to trade at a sharp discount to the currency’s rates at other bitcoin dealers.

The disappearance of the Mt. Gox site also came after chief executives of six other large bitcoin exchanges and businesses sought to assure customers that their funds were safe. On The Coinbase Blog chief executives of the firms — Blockchain.info, exchanges Bitstamp, BTC China and Kraken, along with broker/payment processor Coinbase, and payment firm Circle Internet Financia — issued a statement touching on concerns of insolvency at Mt. Gox..

“This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt. Gox was the result of one company’s actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry,” said those executives, who added that they were certain the industry would continue to thrive provide d it’s led by “competent teams and backed by credible investors.”

On Redditt, a social news website, in a string entitled “Gox horror story thread -- How much did you lose?” , the discussion ranged between losing thousands and getting out just in time.

The rise of bitcoin has triggered a lively debate over the risks and rewards of virtual currencies. If you’re interested in bitcoin, and will be in New York on Tuesday, March 4, you’re invited to join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation on the topic. MarketWatch Senior Columnist Robert Powell will moderate a panel discussion with guests Todd Harrison, founder and CEO of Minyanville Media, and Mark T. Williams, a banking and risk management expert and a professor at the Boston University School of Management. This MarketWatch Investing Insights event is free, but space is limited. To attend, just RSVP to [e-mail] by Friday, Feb. 28.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mt-gox-bitcoin-site-disappears-2014-02-25?link=MW_pulse