The Economist, 2/25/2014 9:54 AM PST LESS than a year ago Mt Gox was the pinnacle of bitcoin trading, accounting for an estimated 70% of the cryptocurrency’s global transactions. Today Mt Gox is apparently gone—early Wednesday Tokyo time, its website, which had been blank all Tuesday, displayed a short message saying the exchange was closed “for the time being”. The firm’s Tokyo offices appear to be abandoned, and its chief executive and sort-of founder, Mark Karpeles, has dropped out of sight. (The only thing that has been heard from him since Sunday is an e-mail sent to Reuters, saying "We should have an official announcement ready soon-ish. We are currently at a turning point for the business. I can't tell much more for now as this also involves other parties.") |