Bitcoin exchange boss works to fix site as Japan probes closure
THE BOSS of the biggest Bitcoin exchange resurfaced yesterday to reassure investors he is working to get the site back online, as Japanese regulators started to investigate the closure that left an estimated $375m (£225m) worth of bitcoins inaccessible.
Mark Karpeles, head of the Mt Gox platform, said he was still in Japan and “working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues”.
Mt Gox vanished on Tuesday, less than a month after halting withdrawals while it looked into a security fault.
Documents later emerged purporting to show a massive breach of the Tokyo-based site that left the fate of 744,408 bitcoins unknown.
“At this stage the relevant financial authorities, the police, the finance ministry and others are gathering information on the case,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference yesterday.
Trading on other exchanges showed the price of Bitcoin recovering yesterday, with coins changing hands for more than $580, having slumped below $500 once Mt Gox disappeared on Tuesday.