Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy, Faults Hackers and Flawed System for Collapse

Internet pioneer Marc Andreessen said that Mt. Gox “had to die,” and it officially just did.

After a rocky few weeks practically sputtering on life support, the troubled Bitcoin trading exchange, once most robust in the world, filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo District Court today.

CEO Mark Karpeles blamed hackers for his company’s demise, saying they exploited a “weakness” in Mt. Gox’s computer system that enabled them to pilfer almost half a billion U.S. dollars worth of the digital currency. Karpeles, like Andreessen and scores of fellow Bitcoin defenders, says he still expects the controversial unregulated virtual currency to grow and thrive, even as his exchange pulls the plug on itself.  

Related:

"First of all, I'm very sorry," he said. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point."

Mt. Gox, which claimed for a time that it oversaw approximately 80 percent of all dollar-for-Bitcoin trades across the globe, said it discovered on Feb. 24 that 750,000 of its customers’ bitcoins were missing, along with 100,000 of its own. That adds up to about $480 million total, approximately 7 percent of the estimated total of bitcoins in existence.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

The company halted customer withdrawals on Feb. 7 and later wiped out the contents of its website and Twitter feed, sparking accusations of insolvency and rocking the Bitcoin trading community worldwide.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

Related:

The widely expected bankruptcy filing comes only one day after Japan’s highest government spokesperson announced that Japanese authorities, along with the country’s Ministry of Finance, are actively investigating angry investor claims that Mt. Gox lost their Bitcoin. Federal prosecutors in New York subpoenaed the trading platform this earlier this month.

Meanwhile, as of 9:56 a.m. ET, Bitcoin prices hit $561.24, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. The price dipped below $500 last Monday, its weakest price since November, when it rallied at about $1,200.