The cryptocurrency Bitcoin took a hit over the past few days after Japanese BTC exchange MtGox has halted withdrawals to its users.

The world’s first and once largest Bitcoin exchange, MtGox, has suspended Bitcoin withdrawals from after what is claimed to be “technical issues”. As expected from such a large exchange, not being able to withdraw funds has led to a price crash of over $850 down to $675 on MtGox’s exchange rate.

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A poll held by Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news site Coindesk.com shows 70% of respondents unable to withdraw funds from the Japanese exchange.

This is not the first time Bitcoin was hit by exchange issues and after the Peoples Bank of China’s release in December, BTC China, another large exchange, was forced to cease activities, bringing the price down from  a then all-time high of over $1,200 down to $800-$850 where it has remained relatively steady. Since then BTC China has resumed operations, with no real effect on the exchange price.

2013 and what has already begun of 2014 has proven to be a promising era for Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Main name brands such as Overstock.com, TigerDirect.com, and Zynga have begun support for Bitcoin transactions. The moves seemed to have paid off for the firms who have recorded impressive amounts of BTC purchases.

Currently MtGox has not come out publicly to discuss the issues with withdrawals. We will continue to report more on this matter as more information is made available.

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