Mt. Gox Shuts Down: Collapse Should Come As No Surprise

New submitter Dan541 writes in with word that Mt. Gox has halted all operations indefinitely. A statement from the CEO: "As there is a lot of speculation regarding MtGox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues. ... In light of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly." MrBingoBoingo writes that we should not be surprised Mt. Gox appears to have failed "The recent closure of the famous Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has grabbed a lot of media attention lately, but people involved heavily in bitcoin have been raising alarms about business practices at Mt. Gox for quite some time now. With the Mt. Gox failure being Bitcoin's biggest since the collapse of the ponzi run by Trendon Shavers, also known as Pirateat40, it might be time to revisit the idea of counterparty risk in the world of irreversible cryptocurrency."

Re:Can someone explain this theft?

[darkwing_bmf]

Let's say you deposit your retirement money at the Bonnie and Clyde savings and loan. They then take that money and move to Mexico and use it for their retirement. They may or may not use a car to get there. Either way, you're never going to see that money again.

Update, good news!

[eclectro]

I just read online that the flash drive containing the 170K missing bitcoins was just found behind the couch at Starbucks that it slid behind!

Re:Cryptocurrency

[Spad]

It would have been fine if they'd kept it in their mattresses, but instead they gave it all to a guy who used to manage Magic The Gathering card swaps.

Re:Car Analogy

[allcoolnameswheretak]

You type out a lame car analogy
You suspect that it is not actually correct
You like to appear knowledgeable and witty, yet
You didn't secure your Bitcoin wallet
You are in quite a predicament, and how?
Your Bitcoins are all belong to me now.

Re:Is MtGox Bitcoin?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Bitcoin is sort of a funny arrangement. You've got your mathematically clever, cryptographically secure, hard inner kernel; but the moment you step away from that it's pure Wild West.

"Sir, you may take comfort in your currency being cryptographically unforgeable and protected against double spending. However, sir is advised not to bank at financial establishments that are currently on fire, under attack by anonymous militants, or run by con men. Enjoy your stay."

CNBC "Experts"

[tekrat]

When bitcoin hit $1000 each, all the talking head "experts" on CNBC were pushing it as an investment vehicle. It was then that I was positive the whole thing was a scam. After all, if there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that just about anything recommended by CNBC is wrong.