World’s Oldest Bitcoin Exchange, Mt. Gox, Disappears
Mt. Gox is gone. Go to the website and you’ll find nothing but a vague statement from Mark Karpeles explaining that the company is trying to figure out a solution to its problems. As of right now, however, most analysts believe the exchange has been bankrupted.
Mt. Gox’s problems started as a security attack that made it impossible to tell legitimate and illegitimate transactions from one another. Now it is believed that at least 740,000 Bitcoins have been wiped out in the attack. That would account for several hundred million dollars worth of Bitcoins.
Read more…
Japan Says Bitcoin Regulation Should Be International
The largest and oldest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, has gone belly up. Given that the exchange was located in Japan, it should come as no surprise that Japanese officials are now wondering how Bitcoin should be regulated.
Japanese Finance Minister Jiro Aichi said that regulation would need to be made on the international level in order to avoid loopholes. Mr. Aichi also emphasized that multiple ministries and agencies would have to be involved in regulating the digital currency.
U.S. Attorney Issues Subpoena For Mt. Gox
Preet Bharara has sent subpeonas to Mt. Gox and other businesses affected following the recent security breaches. Some even accuse Mt. Gox of essentially being a ponzi scheme, and investors will likely be looking to see if the company broke any laws.
With hundreds of millions of dollars potentially lost following the collapse of the exchange, the potential for lawsuits and legal action is high. Still, what legal protection could be afforded to investors remains unknown. Either way, investors will likely be looking to recover whatever they can, however they can.
Bitcoin Prices Begin To Recover Following Mt. Gox Collapse
Bitcoin prices have begun to recover since the collapse of Mt. Gox. Over the last few days, Bitcoin prices have broken the $600 dollar mark, recovering by more than 30% from the lows suffered during the collapse. The currency’s swift recovering suggests that Bitcoin is more resilient than its detractors thought.
Yellen Says Fed Can’t Regulate Bitcoin
How Bitcoin should be regulated is becoming a very popular topic. Don’t plan to turn to Janet Yellen, however, because the Fed won’t be regulating Bitcoin anytime soon. Ms. Yellen has claimed that because Bitcoin is outside of the banking system, it cannot be regulated by the Fed. Ms. Yellen said that the Fed lacked the authority to supervise or regulate Bitcoin.
The comments came at a semi-annual monetary policy meeting with the Senate banking committee. Bitcoin has become a hot topic among legislators in the United States and elsewhere. Ms. Yellen’s comments suggest that the Fed will look to avoid getting drawn into Bitcoin, at least for now. Of course, as Bitcoin continues to grow in popularity, the Fed may eventually be forced to get involved.