MtGox ceases operations, $350 million in BTC missing

After freezing withdrawals over the past 2 weeks, once the largest Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term exchange MtGox has ceased operations as of today and is reported to have lost around $350 million in BTC.

After causing the exchange rate of Bitcoin to drop down to $400, MtGox has stopped all operations and would seem the exchange has simply vanished. Users interested for whatever reason to visit the exchange are greeted with a blank white page.

A leaked crisis strategy draft show large quantities of the cryptocurrency have gone missing:

"At this point 744,408 BTC are missing due to malleability-related theft which went unnoticed for several years. The Cold Storage Cold Storage Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Read this Term has been wiped out due to a leak in the hot wallet. The reality is that MtGox can go bankrupt at any moment, and certainly deserves to as a company," the leaked document posted by Bitcoin blogger Ryan Galt states.

The malleability-related theft has been reported to have lasted over a year. The weakness in MtGox’s security hit its cold storage, leaving the accumulated Bitcoins vulnerable to attack.

"With Bitcoin/crypto just recently gaining acceptance in the public eye, the likely damage in public perception to this class of technology could put it back 5-10 years, and cause governments to react swiftly and harshly. At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of Bitcoin, at least for most of the public."

Sensing the blood in the water, other BTC exchanges such as Coinbase, BTC China, Kraken, Bitstamp, Bl.ockchain.info, and Circle issued a joint statement stating the problems at MtGox aren’t indicative of failures with Bitcoins and problems at their companies