Mt. Gox Market Mayhem Still Messes with Defunct Exchange’s Victims Funds in Bitcoin’s Biggest Blunder

Mt. Gox, the most popular exchange back in 2013 and 2014, lost 850,000 Bitcoin (BTC) that were worth $450 million at that time. The exchange handled more than 70% of all the Bitcoin transactions worldwide.

Five Years Passed Since Mt. Gox’s Hack

Five years ago, rumors started to circulate regarding a possible hack to the platform. The founder of Messari Crypto, Ryan Selkis, was one of the first individuals that warned about Mt. Gox being hacked.

I hope this isn't true, but I received report allegedly from Mt. Gox which says they have lost 750,000 BTC #bitcoin. http://t.co/3Rjxw4fb4b

— Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) February 24, 2014

At that time, not even Jameson Lopp, the current CTO at Casa, believed that this could seriously be happening.

@twobitidiot Oh come on, now. You're seriously telling people to dump their coins based upon an unverified report?

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 24, 2014

And indeed, everything was based on rumors that were circulating online. Nonetheless, the exchange announced that it was shutting down its operations, leaving thousands of users without their funds. Although the company tried to calm the community down, they’ve filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo and in the United States.

After the collapse of the platform, Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space experienced a long bear market. Since that moment, Mt. Gox users have been waiting to recover their funds. After this hack, the industry changed and started to modify some habits. One of the things that most of the users learned after it is the fact that the best way to store virtual currencies is not by leaving them on an exchange but storing them in a cold storage wallet.

Until now, there Mt. Gox issue continues to generate new controversies and issues. Mark Karpeles, the CEO of the Mt. Gox exchange could be in prison for a decade on charges of embezzlement. However, he has always claimed that he is innocent. Additionally, users still need to recover the funds lost.

Brock Pierce, the co-founder of Blockchain Capital is trying to revive the Mt. Gox exchange. He wants to make sure that others are paid a fair share of what remains of Mt. Gox’s assets. He wants to pay every creditor of Mt- Gox through a civil rehabilitation.

However, launching the exchange once again would bring some challenges in Japan. In order to operate in that country, it is necessary to have a license provided by the Financial Services Agency (FSA). During 2018, regulatory authorities in the country have been imposing new regulations and restrictions in the crypto market.

Although there is nothing confirmed regarding the possible re-opening of the exchange, users want to know where their funds are and when they will get them back.

https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/crypto-price-analysis-watch-bitcoin-btc-ethereum-eth-ripple-xrp-and-bch-predictions/