• 278 days Will The ECB Continue To Hike Rates?
  • 278 days Forbes: Aramco Remains Largest Company In The Middle East
  • 280 days Caltech Scientists Succesfully Beam Back Solar Power From Space
  • 680 days Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?
  • 684 days Americans Still Quitting Jobs At Record Pace
  • 686 days FinTech Startups Tapping VC Money for ‘Immigrant Banking’
  • 689 days Is The Dollar Too Strong?
  • 690 days Big Tech Disappoints Investors on Earnings Calls
  • 691 days Fear And Celebration On Twitter as Musk Takes The Reins
  • 692 days China Is Quietly Trying To Distance Itself From Russia
  • 693 days Tech and Internet Giants’ Earnings In Focus After Netflix’s Stinker
  • 696 days Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021
  • 697 days The ‘Metaverse’ Economy Could be Worth $13 Trillion By 2030
  • 698 days Food Prices Are Skyrocketing As Putin’s War Persists
  • 700 days Pentagon Resignations Illustrate Our ‘Commercial’ Defense Dilemma
  • 700 days US Banks Shrug off Nearly $15 Billion In Russian Write-Offs
  • 703 days Cannabis Stocks in Holding Pattern Despite Positive Momentum
  • 704 days Is Musk A Bastion Of Free Speech Or Will His Absolutist Stance Backfire?
  • 704 days Two ETFs That Could Hedge Against Extreme Market Volatility
  • 706 days Are NFTs About To Take Over Gaming?
FBI Investigating 100 Types Of Ransomware Attacks

FBI Investigating 100 Types Of Ransomware Attacks

Ransom attacks surged 150% over…

Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021

Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021

Crypto investors earned a whopping…

  1. Home
  2. Cryptocurrencies
  3. Bitcoin

What The Mt. Gox Trial Can Tell Us About Bitcoin Markets

Court

The two-and-a-half year Mt. Gox trial is nearing an end, and former CEO Mark Karpelès is sticking to his guns, denying the embezzlement and manipulation charges levied against him.

A Brief Recap

Mt. Gox was the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, at one point boasting between 70-80 percent of the world’s trading volume. Because of this, the exchange held tremendous sway over crypto markets in their earlier years.

Though the exchange had fallen victim to hacks on several occasions, it suffered its final blow in February 2014 when an unnamed attacker or attackers allegedly managed to get away with nearly 850,000 bitcoin. Within weeks, Mt. Gox was declared insolvent and filed for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the United States.

The exchange later found 200,000 bitcoin on an old digital wallet.

Though the details of the hack remain vague, some online theories suggest the company never held the total amount of bitcoin that it had claimed.

Bitcoin’s Biggest Trial

In 2015, Mark Karpelès was officially charged in Japan for embezzling coins from the exchange and artificially inflating trading volumes.

Though Karpelès isn’t accused of being involved in the hack that took down the exchange and subsequently led to a 2-year bitcoin bear market, the ex-CEO has been charged with manipulating data on the exchange and stealing funds that were to be used in the growth and development of the business.

The trial, which began in July 2017, has revealed some startling details about the business, however. Related: Bad News Builds For Global Markets

First and foremost, an exchange between then-owner Jed McCaleb and Karpelès reveals that Karpelès purchased the exchange with as much as 80,000 bitcoin already missing-in-action, with McCaleb suggesting that Karpelès could essentially sneak the coins back into the operation before it became a problem.

The trial has also confirmed the existence of a “Willy Bot,” or automated trading bot, which could have been used to artificially inflate bitcoin trading prices on the exchange.

Though Karpelès’ defense claims that this bot was used “for the good of the company,” and was not illegal, and that hackers were responsible for the fraudulent trading that resulted in increased upward pressure on bitcoin prices, only the ongoing trial will be able to put an end to this mystery.

Could This Happen Again?

Karpelès’ trial is scheduled to wrap up in March 2019., but it’s clearly had an impact on the markets and the community.

Exchanges are now held to extremely high standards of security and accountability, though some bad actors are still making waves. In 2018 alone, over $700 million has been lost from hacks on exchanges, including the Canadian MapleChange ‘hack’ which many have called an exit scam.

Even with stricter regulations, attacks and scams do happen and will likely continue to happen for some time no matter how seriously a company takes its security.

Always do your due diligence and trade at your own risk!

By Michael Kern via Crypto Insider

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com

Back to homepage

Leave a comment

Leave a comment