View source for Mark Karpelès

{{Infobox person|name=Mark Karpelès|image=[[File:MagicalTux.jpg|256px]]
|names=MagicalTux
|born={{birth date and age|1985|6|1}}
|active=2010&ndash;2014
|notableworks=[[Bitcoin Wiki]]<br/>[[QBitcoin]]
|knownfor=[[Mt. Gox]]
|twitter=MagicalTux
|reddit=MagicalTux
|bitcointalk=2134
|bitcoinwiki=MagicalTux
}}'''Mark Marie Robert Karpelès''',<ref name="US Bankruptcy Court case 14-31229-sgj15">{{cite document|title=Declaration of Mark Marie Mark Karpeles |url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/211626536/Karpeles-Declaration|publisher=US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division|accessdate=13 March 2014|page=1|format=PDF}} The document, signed by "Robert Marie Mark Karpeles", was published by ''Ars Technica'' on the Scribd website, and according to ''Ars Technica'' is a court document filed in US Bankruptcy Court.</ref><ref name=farivar2014>{{cite news | url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/03/mtgox-files-for-us-bankruptcy-protection-to-put-ongoing-lawsuits-on-hold/ | work=Ars Technica | title=MtGox files for US bankruptcy protection to put lawsuits on hold | first=Cyrus | last=Farivar | date=2014-03-10 }}</ref> also sometimes known by his online alias '''MagicalTux''', was the CEO of [[Mt. Gox]].<ref name=copainsdavant>{{cite web|url= http://copainsdavant.linternaute.com/p/mark-robert-karpeles-4285933 |title= Mark Robert KARPELÈS, 28 ans (TOKYO, CHATILLON SUR MARNE, PARIS) |work= Copains d'avant – L'Internaute |publisher= CCM Benchmark Group |language= French |accessdate= 2014-02-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2014/02/26/mt-gox-ceo-mark-karpeles-i-am-still-in-japan/ |title= Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles: 'I am still in Japan' |date= 2014-02-26 |work= Forbes |last= King |first= Leo |accessdate= 2014-02-27}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Karpelès was born in Chenôve, France in 1985, the child of Anne Karpelès, a geologist.<ref name=lejsl>{{cite news|url= http://www.lejsl.com/saone-et-loire/2014/03/01/un-qi-superieur-a-la-moyenne |work= Le Journal de Saône et Loire |date= 2014-01-03 |first= Vincent |last= Gautronneau |language= French |title= Le génie côte-d'orien qui fait trembler le net }}</ref> He was raised in Dijon.<ref name=lejsl/><ref name=mick2014>{{cite news|last= Mick |first= Jason |date= March 5, 2014 |title= Bitcoin King: Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès' History of Arrests, Firings |url= http://www.dailytech.com/Bitcoin+King+Mt+Gox+CEO+Mark+Karpels+History+of+Arrests+Firings/article34442.htm |newspaper= DailyTech |location= |publisher= |accessdate= March 9, 2014 }}</ref> Between 1995 and 2000, Karpelès was educated at Collège Prieuré de Binson in Châtillon-sur-Marne and Prieuré De Binson in Dormans.<ref name=copainsdavant>{{cite web|url= http://copainsdavant.linternaute.com/p/mark-robert-karpeles-4285933 |title= Mark Robert KARPELÈS, 28 ans (TOKYO, CHATILLON SUR MARNE, PARIS) |work= Copains d'avant – L'Internaute |publisher= CCM Benchmark Group |language= French |accessdate= 2014-02-27}}</ref> He then spent one year at Lycée Claude Bernard in Paris, before completing his education in 2003 at Lycée Louis Armand in Paris.<ref name=copainsdavant/>

According to Jason Mick of Dailytech, Karpelès was found guilty of a financial computer crime and of money transfer fraud when he was a teenager. The court apparently gave him a 3 month suspended sentence and no criminal record.<ref name=mick2014/> This was later confirmed by [[Ashley Barr]], a former [[Mt. Gox]] employee.<ref>{{cite reddit|r=Bitcoin|id=3fe92x|title=I'm Ashley Barr, A.K.A "Adam Turner", the first Mt.Gox employee, and alleged DPR (:/). AMA|date=1 August 2015|post=https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3fe92x/im_ashley_barr_aka_adam_turner_the_first_mtgox/ctnwmr1}}</ref>

In 2009, Karpelès moved to Japan.<ref>{{cite news|work= The Wall Street Journal |title= Bitcoin's Mt. Gox: a look at the man in charge |first= Eleanor |last= Warnock |first2= Takashi |last2= Mochizuki |date= 2014-02-28 |url= http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304071004579407022025451070 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.20minutes.fr/high-tech/1309930-20140227-mtgox-mark-karpeles-entrepreneur-francais-coeur-scandale-bitcoin |title= MtGox: Mark Karpèles, un "supergeek" français au cœur du scandale bitcoin |work= 20 Minutes |language= French |date= 2014-02-27 |last= Philippe |first= Berry |accessdate= 2014-02-27}}</ref>

==Career==
According to Karpelès' LinkedIn page, he worked from 2003 to 2005 at Linux Cyberjoueurs as a software developer and network administrator.<ref name=li>{{cite web | url=http://jp.linkedin.com/in/karpeles | title=日本 Mark Karpelès | publisher=LinkedIn | last=Karpeles | first=Mark | accessdate=2014-02-27}}</ref> Karpelès is a PHP developer, and has contributed to the language's official repository of extensions with proctitle,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pecl.php.net/package/proctitle|title=PECL :: Package :: proctitle|publisher=|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref> which allows the name of the current process to be changed on Linux systems.

Karpelès founded [[Tibanne Co.]] in 2009. He is CEO.<ref>http://www.cnbc.com/id/101486280</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-31/a-bitcoin-exchange-goes-for-respectability|title=A Bitcoin Exchange Goes for Respectability|author=David Meyer|work=Businessweek.com|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref> He was a founding member of the [[Bitcoin Foundation]], created in 2012 with a mission to standardize and promote Bitcoin, and served on its board until February 2014.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/mtgox-bitcoinfoundation-idUSL3N0LT15X20140224 | work=Reuters | date=February 23, 2014 | title=Mt. Gox resigns from Bitcoin Foundation | accessdate=25 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/2100720/mt-gox-quits-bitcoin-foundation-board.html|title=Mt. Gox quits Bitcoin Foundation board|date=24 February 2014|work=PCWorld|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/09/27/bitcoin-foundation-launches-to-drive-bitcoins-advancement/|title=Bitcoin Foundation Launches To Drive Bitcoin's Advancement|author=Jon Matonis|date=27 September 2012|work=Forbes|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref>

According to a joint report by Cyrus Farivar of Ars Technica and Pierre Alonso of Le Monde, Karpelès was found guilty of fraud when he was tried in absentia in France in 2010. He also admitted to having "pirated" a server to French authorities. He was sentenced to a year in jail but has not yet served his sentence.<ref>{{cite news |last=Farivar |first=Cyrus |date=August 1, 2014 |title=Why the head of Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange should be in jail |url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/why-the-head-of-mt-gox-bitcoin-exchange-should-be-in-jail/ |newspaper=Ars Technica |location= |publisher= |accessdate=August 1, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Alonso |first=Pierre |date=August 1, 2014 |title=En France, le passé trouble de l’ancien " baron du bitcoin " |trans_title=Old bitcoin baron's old trouble in France |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2014/08/01/en-france-le-passe-trouble-de-l-ancien-baron-du-bitcoin_4464044_4408996.html |language=French |newspaper=Le Monde |location= |publisher= |accessdate=August 1, 2014 }}</ref>

[[Ross Ulbricht]], while on trial for operating the undercover [[Silk Road]] marketplace, claimed that the pseudonymous "Dread Pirate Roberts" behind Silk Road was not him but Mark Karpelès.<ref name=ccnews2015>{{cite web|title=UNDERCOVER SILK ROAD AGENT BELIEVED DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS (DPR) TO BE MARK KARPELES OF MT. GOX|url=https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/undercover-silk-road-agent-believed-dread-pirate-roberts-dpr-to-be-mark-karpeles-mt-gox/|accessdate=16 January 2015}}</ref> Karpelès publicly denied the claim on Twitter,<ref>{{cite web
| title =Mark Karpeles on Twitter: "This is probably going to be disappointing for you, but I am not and have never been Dread Pirate Roberts."
| url = https://twitter.com/MagicalTux/status/555892860654862337
| date = January 15, 2015
| accessdate = January 28, 2015}}</ref> and Ulbricht was eventually found guilty.<ref name="ars-conviction">{{cite web|date=4 February 2015|accessdate=4 February 2015|first=Joe|last=Mullin|work=Ars Technica|title=Ulbricht guilty in Silk Road online drug-trafficking trial|url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/02/ulbricht-guilty-in-silk-road-online-drug-trafficking-trial/}}</ref>

===Bitcoin Wiki===
In 2010, Karpelès reopened the [[Bitcoin Wiki]] with MediaWiki. Karpelès's MediaWiki and [[Martti Malmi]]'s dokuwiki sites coexisted briefly before it was evident that the community preferred MediaWiki.<ref>[https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Taras&diff=55065&oldid=54906 Post to User talk:Taras by theymos]</ref> All pages on the dokuwiki instance were copied to the MediaWiki one in 2010 and in 2015 the a project to import the complete history of those pages began.<ref>[[Bitcoin Wiki:dokuwiki]]</ref>

Karpelès also created [[CryptoPayment]], a MediaWiki extension that was used by the Bitcoin Wiki for several years. The extension granted editing rights to users who paid a small anti-spam fee.{{citation needed}}

Shortly after reopening the Bitcoin Wiki, Karpelès added a [[Bitcoin Map]] tool to it.<ref name="bm">[https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?title=Bitcoin_Map&diff=600&oldid=579 Bitcoin Map] on the [[Bitcoin Wiki]] in 2010</ref> The map plotted nodes geographically<ref name="bm"/> and a still of it was featured on the [[Main Page]] for years.

===Mt. Gox===
Karpelès acquired 88% of the Tokyo-based company [[Mt. Gox]] from programmer [[Jed McCaleb]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/mt-gox-files-for-bankruptcy/|title=Erosion of Faith Was Death Knell for Mt. Gox
|author= Rachel Abrams Matthew Goldstein and Hiroko Tabuchi |work=The New York Times|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| date=April 1, 2013|last=Jeffries|first=Adrianne|title=Barons of Bitcoin|url=http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/1/4154500/mt-gox-barons-of-bitcoin|work=The Verge|accessdate=13 March 2014}}</ref><ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140310-712183.html</ref> Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in Japan on February 28, 2014 and for [[wikipedia:Chapter 15, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 15]] bankruptcy in the United States (Texas) in March 2014.<ref name="US Bankruptcy Court case 14-31229-sgj15">{{cite document|title=Declaration of Mark Marie Mark Karpeles |url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/211626536/Karpeles-Declaration|publisher=US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division|accessdate=13 March 2014|page=1|format=PDF}} The document, signed by "Robert Marie Mark Karpeles", was published by ''Ars Technica'' on the Scribd website, and according to ''Ars Technica'' is a court document filed in US Bankruptcy Court.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/03/gox-texas/|title=Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Files for U.S. Bankruptcy as Death Spiral Continues|work=WIRED|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mt. Gox files for Chapter 15 in U.S.|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mt-gox-files-for-chapter-15-in-us-2014-03-10|work=Market Watch|accessdate=13 March 2014}}</ref>

Karpelès was subpoenaed by the [[wikipedia:United States Department of the Treasury|United States Department of the Treasury]]'s [[wikipedia:Financial Crimes Enforcement Network|Financial Crimes Enforcement Network]] to appear in Washington, D.C. to provide testimony on April 18, 2014. Karpelès, in a court filing by Mt. Gox lawyers, responded that he does not have a lawyer for this matter and therefore declined to appear.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/15/us-bitcoin-mtgox-idUSBREA3E02S20140415|title=Mt. Gox founder won't appear in U.S. for questions about bankruptcy case|work=Reuters|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/mt-gox-founder-wont-attend-bitcoin-exchanges-bankruptcy-hearing/|title=Mt. Gox founder won't attend US bankruptcy hearing|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=CNET|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref> Karpelès instead sought to appear in D.C. to testify on May 5, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9247673/Mt._Gox_seeks_postponement_of_CEO_s_U.S._court_deposition?taxonomyId=17|title=Mt. Gox seeks postponement of CEO's U.S. court deposition|author=John Ribeiro|date=15 April 2014|work=Computerworld|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27032221|title=BBC News - MtGox chief refuses to go to Bitcoin bankruptcy hearing|work=BBC News|accessdate=24 February 2015}}</ref>{{clarification needed}}

==References==
<references/>
{{Mt._Gox}}
{{article}}
[[Category:Mt. Gox]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Criminals]]
{{wp|Mark_Karpelès}}