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The most widely used bitcoin [[currency exchange]] market<ref>2011-06-07 on #bitcoin-otc: "you could use the count of users on mtgox (went over 30k recently)"</ref>.  Bitcoins are bought on using funds from the trader's MTGUSD balance with Mt. Gox and when bitcoins are the funds from the proceeds are added to the trader's MTGUSD account with Mt. Gox.
{{infobox company|name=Mt. Gox|image=[[File:MtGox.png|256px]]
|industry=[[Exchange|Fiat exchange]]
|foundation=July 18, 2010
|defunct=February 25, 2014
|location=Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
|founder=[[Jed McCaleb]]
|owner=[[Mark Karpeles]]
|parent=[[Tibanne Ltd.]]
|assets_btc={{steady}} 300,000
|assets_usd={{steady}} $67.6 million
|assets_year=2015
|equity_btc={{steady}} -644,408
|equity_usd={{steady}} -$183 million
|equity_year=2015
|pairs=USD/BTC<br/>EUR/BTC<br/>CAD/BTC<br/>GBP/BTC<br/>CHF/BTC<br/>RUB/BTC<br/>AUD/BTC<br/>SEK/BTC<br/>DKK/BTC<br/>HKD/BTC<br/>PLN/BTC<br/>CNY/BTC<br/>SGD/BTC<br/>TBH/BTC<br/>NZD/BTC<br/>JPY/BTC
|website=https://mtgox.com
|subreddit=mtgox
|twitter=MtGox
}}'''Mt. Gox''', called "Mount Gox" or simply "Gox", was the most widely used bitcoin [[currency exchange]] market from shortly after its inception in 2010 to its insolvency late 2013.<ref>2011-06-07 on #bitcoin-otc: "MagicalTux: you could use the count of users on mtgox (went over 30k recently)"</ref> The market was closed February 25, 2014 and has since filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the United States, after [[Collapse of Mt. Gox|losing 640 thousand bitcoins]].


Trades on Mt. Gox's execute from balances on deposit with the exchange which in turn makes trading on the market instantaneous, compared to some other Bitcoin markets where a subsequent settlement occurs manually between the trading partners.
A registrant on Mt. Gox had at least two sub-accounts: one for bitcoins (BTC), and one for fiat currency. Bitcoins were bought using funds from the trader's fiat account, and the proceeds from the sale of bitcoins were deposited into the same account. Trading always involved bitcoins as trading between different national currencies was not offered.


==Trading==
Trades on Mt. Gox's executed from balances on deposit with the exchange which in turn made trading on the market instantaneous, compared to most other Bitcoin markets of 2010 where a subsequent settlement occurred manually between the trading partners. The disadvantage of this was that a third party had to be trusted with keeping the money safe.
===Buying===
A buy order is executed partially or in full when the price bid can be matched against a sell order that is at or below the bid amount.


===Selling===
Mt. Gox was originally started by [[Jed McCaleb]] in July 2010, and was sold to [[Tibanne Co.]] in Japan in March 2011.
A sell order is executed partially or in full when the price asked can be matched against a buy order that is at or above the ask amount.


===Dark Pool===
==Trading==
A dark pool allows large quantities to be sold without the orders being visible.  This helps to lessen the price moves that would likely result when the price and size of a large order is known.
===Buying and selling===


====Dark Pool Only Orders====
A buy order was executed partially or in full when the price bid could be matched against a sell order that was at or below the bid amount.  A sell order was executed partially or in full when the price asked could be matched against a buy order that was at or above the ask amount.  Orders that could not be matched immediately remain in the orderbook.
Can be filled only by other dark pool orders or a single normal order that is larger than the dark pool order. This means that if there is a single normal order that would fill the dark pool order both will be filled.


====Dark Pool + Normal Orders====
Unfunded orders did not appear in the order book, but were automatically inserted when a deposit was credited.  For example, Mt. Gox allowed the entry of a "buy" order even if the account had insufficient funds.  If possible, Mt. Gox would execute a portion of the order if it could be partially funded.  If a deposit was later credited and the deposit resolves the insufficient funds status of an outstanding order, the order would be immediately activated, and if possible, executed.
Can be filled either partially from the normal orders or the dark pool.  


===Fees===
===Fees===
Mt. Gox subtracts a 0.65% trading fee from each party of successful trades made through the market.  The fee is drawn from the amount received as the result of the trade.


==Adding Funds==
Mt. Gox charged a trading fee of up to 0.6% from each party of successful trades made through the market.  The fee appeared in the account history next to each trade.  The trading fee was discounted for larger customers based on volume, which was calculated as a sliding window over the last 720 hours (30 days).


===BTC===
The fees were, by default, subtracted from the proceeds of each trade (e.g., a buy of 1.0 BTC will add to the account balance 0.994 BTC when the exchange fee is 0.6%).  An account setting would allow fees to be added to the purchase amount instead (e.g., buying 1.0 BTC at $5 will cost about $5.03 when the exchange fee is 0.6%).
There are no fees incurred when transferring bitcoins to a Mt. Gox account.  Funds are available once [[confirmation|confirmed]] (6 blocks)<ref>[http://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=3851.msg55220#msg55220 How long does it take to Deposit bitcoins to MtGox?]</ref>, a process that can take roughly an hour.


Note: Even though the site displays no ads, some browser ad-blocking utilities will interfere with the exchange's web site, specifically with the Add Bitcoins function.
==History==
 
The exchange went online on July 18, 2010.<ref>[http://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=444.0 MtGox announcement on forum]</ref>
===LRUSD===
There are no fees incurred when adding [[Liberty Reserve]] LRUSD funds to an account.  Funds are available in minutes.
 
===Dwolla===
This option is among the fastest and least expensive methods for adding funds to a Mt. Gox account.  The transaction fee on [[Dwolla]] costs just $0.25. The process is automated and the funds are available for trading shortly after the payment is sent. [Update: From a matter of minutes to as much as multiples of hours.]
 
===International USD Bank Wire===


Funds in USD may be wired to the exchange's bank in Japan. Each wire is subject to a per-wire fee plus any intermediate fees.
On October 10, 2010 the exchange switched from [[PayPal]] to Liberty Reserve as the main funding option as a result of chargeback fraud. Former PayPal customers still had the possibility to withdraw their USD using alternative methods.


===Direct Deposit===
On March 6th, 2011 ownership of the exchange changed hands.<ref>[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4187.0 Mtgox is changing owners]</ref> Mt. Gox's new parent, Tibanne, publishes their [http://legal.tibanne.com/docs/20110801_company_certificate.pdf company certificate] from the Japanese government.
====EU====
Funds in EUR may be added using SEPA Direct Debit for free, with funds convert to USD at the current ECB rate at the time the funds are received<ref>[]http://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=5461.0 MTGox: Euro deposits]</ref>.


====U.S.====
On July 19, 2011 a press release announced that Mt. Gox had acquired [[MtGox Live]], a price tracker.<ref>[https://mtgox.com/press_release_20110719.html World's Leading Bitcoin Exchange, Mt.Gox, acquires MtGoxLive.com]</ref>
Adding funds to Dwolla from a bank account will use ACH though. The bank wire funding method has been temporarily disontinued due to difficulties in processing. Another banking relationship is being pursued.  


====Australia====
Announced on March 6, 2012 was the Merchant Solution and API<ref>[https://mtgox.com/press_release_20120306.html Mt.Gox launches the definitive bitcoin checkout solution]</ref>
Funds may be sent using direct deposit (BPay) for a AU$2.00 per-deposit fee. The funds will be converted to USD at the current rate.


==Withdrawing Funds==
===Trading incidents===
MtGox imposes a $1,000 USD limit for withdrawals per 24 hours and a $10,000 USD limit for withdrawals per month. and Bitcoins withdrawn are counted toward this limit as well and the USD value is calculated at the market rate at the time of the attempted withdrawal. Any [[MtGox#Transfers_to_Other_Customers|account-to-account transfers]] made also count toward this limit as well.
On 19 June 2011, a security breach of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange caused the nominal price of a bitcoin to fraudulently drop to one cent on the Mt. Gox exchange, after a hacker allegedly used credentials from a Mt. Gox auditor's compromised computer illegally to fabricate a large number of bitcoins for himself. He used the exchange's software to sell them all nominally, creating a massive "[[Ask price|ask]]" order at any price. The price eventually corrected to its correct user-traded value.<ref>[https://support.mtgox.com/entries/20224998-huge-bitcoin-sell-off-due-to-a-compromised-account-rollback Huge Bitcoin sell off due to a compromised account - rollback]</ref><ref>{{cite press release | last=Karpeles | first=Mark | title=Clarification of Mt Gox Compromised Accounts and Major Bitcoin Sell-Off | date=30 June 2011 | url=https://mtgox.com/press_release_20110630.html | publisher=Tibanne Co. Ltd. | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919162635/https://mtgox.com/press_release_20110630.html | archivedate=19 September 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|people= |date= 19 June 2011 |time= |medium= |url= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1X6qQt9ONg |accessdate= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |title= Bitcoin Report Volume 8 - (FLASHCRASH) |publisher=YouTube BitcoinChannel |id= |quote= |ref= }}</ref><ref name="mick">{{cite news|last= Mick |first= Jason |title= Inside the Mega-Hack of Bitcoin: the Full Story |date= 19 June 2011 |url= http://www.dailytech.com/Inside+the+MegaHack+of+Bitcoin+the+Full+Story/article21942.htm | work=DailyTech }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Timothy B.|last=Lee |date=19 June 2011 | url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/06/bitcoin-price-plummets-on-compromised-exchange.ars | title=Bitcoin prices plummet on hacked exchange | work=Ars Technica | publisher=[[Condé Nast]] }}</ref><ref>Mark Karpeles, 20 June 2011, [http://bitgear.co/blogs/news/13602537-huge-bitcoin-sell-off-due-to-a-compromised-account-rollback Huge Bitcoin sell off due to a compromised account – rollback], Mt. Gox Support</ref><ref name="register1">{{cite news|title= Bitcoin collapses on malicious trade – Mt Gox scrambling to raise the Titanic |url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/19/bitcoin_values_collapse_again/ |date=19 June 2011 |author= Chirgwin, Richard | work=The Register }}</ref> Accounts with the equivalent of more than $8,750,000 were affected.<ref name="mick" /> In order to prove that Mt.Gox still had control of the coins, the move of 424,242 bitcoins from "cold storage" to a Mt.Gox address was announced beforehand and executed in Block 132749.<ref>{{cite block|132749|hash=00000000000004bea72d0f390194b08162665a4fc99469c576338cd37164a15a|year=2011|month=06|day=23}}</ref> It was later revealed that the coins may have never been in cold storage, as the proof-of-solvency transaction was broadcast through a remote Linux desktop and a single hot wallet.<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/ctnuo6u}}</ref>


Those in the EU may contact the exchange to arrange for a significantly higher withdrawal limit.
In October 2011, about two dozen transactions appeared in the block chain (Block 150951)<ref>http://blockexplorer.com/b/150951</ref> that sent a total of 2,609 BTC to invalid scripts. As they were impossible to satisfy/redeem, these Bitcoins were effectively destroyed.


===Dwolla===
On 22 February 2013, following an introduction of new anti-money laundering requirements by [[Dwolla]], some Dwolla accounts became temporarily restricted. As a result, transactions from Mt. Gox to those accounts were cancelled by Dwolla. The funds never made it back to Mt. Gox accounts. Mt. Gox help desk issued the following comment: "Please be advised that you are actually not allowed to cancel any withdrawals received from Mt. Gox as we have never had this case before and we are working with Dwolla to locate your returned funds." The funds were finally returned on May 3, more than 3 months later, with a note "Please be advised never to cancel any Dwolla withdrawals from us again".
This option is among the fastest and least expensive methods for withdrawing USD funds from a Mt. Gox account. The transaction fee to do so is just $0.25.


===BTC===
In March 2013, the new 0.8.0 version of Bitcoin Core temporarily forked off the main blockchain using differing rules on how transactions could be accepted. The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange briefly halted bitcoin deposits. Bitcoin prices briefly dipped by 23% to $37 as the event occurred<ref name=ArsFork>{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Timothy|title=Major glitch in Bitcoin network sparks sell-off; price temporarily falls 23%|url=http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/03/major-glitch-in-bitcoin-network-sparks-sell-off-price-temporarily-falls-23/|work=Ars Technica| publisher=[[Condé Nast]]|accessdate=12 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=VergeFork>{{cite news|last=Blagdon|first=Jeff|title=Technical problems cause Bitcoin to plummet from record high, Mt. Gox suspends deposits|url=http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/12/4092898/technical-problems-cause-bitcoin-to-plummet-from-record-high|work=The Verge|accessdate=12 March 2013}}</ref> before recovering to their previous level in the following hours, a price of approximately $48.<ref>{{cite web| title=Bitcoin Charts | work=Bitcoin Charts | url=http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg60zczsg2013-03-12zeg2013-03-15ztgSzm1g10zm2g25zv}}</ref>
Bitcoins may be withdrawn at no charge.


There have been sporadic reports where withdrawing the entire bitcoin balance results in an error message. This could the be the result of a possible error where the amount available for withdrawal gets miscalculated due to a rounding error. In at least one instance, a subsequent attempt to withdraw all but the last 1 BTC completed successfully.
===Suspension of trading 2013===
Mt. Gox suspended trading on 11 April 2013 until 12 April 2013 2 am UTC for a "market cooldown".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/MtGox/status/322355614414147588 |title=Twitter / MtGox: Trading is suspended until |publisher=Twitter.com |date= |accessdate=2014-02-17}}{{dead link|date=February 2014}}</ref> The value of a single bitcoin fell to a low of $55.59 after the resumption of trading before stabilizing above $100. Around mid May 2013, Mt. Gox traded 150,000 bitcoins per day per Bitcoin Charts.<ref name=titan />


===LRUSD===
Mt. Gox suspended withdrawals in US dollars on June 20, 2013.<ref>{{cite news | title=Bitcoin’s Big Bank Problem: Why Did Mt. Gox Halt U.S. Payouts? | url=http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/06/mt-gox-stops/ | last=McMillan|first=Robert | work=Wired | publisher=[[Condé Nast]] | date=20 June 2013}}</ref>  The Mizuho Bank branch in Tokyo that handled Mt. Gox transactions pressured Mt. Gox from then on to close its account.<ref name=titan /> On July 4, 2013, Mt. Gox announced that it had "fully resumed" withdrawals, but as of September 5, 2013, few US dollar withdrawals had been successfully completed.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/07/05/bitcoin-operator-mt-gox-resumes-withdrawals/ |
There are two fees incurred when withdrawing LRUSD.  Mt. Gox themselves subtracts 1% of the transfer amount as a fee before transferring away.  Liberty Reserve then subtracts as a transfer fee 1% from the amount they've received.
title=Bitcoin operator Mt. Gox resumes withdrawals |
last=Vigna|first=Paul |
date=5 July 2013 |
work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |
url=http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/07/30/bitcoin-exchange-mt-gox-still-grappling-with-slowdown/ |
title=Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox still grappling with slowdown |
last=Vigna|first=Paul |
date=31 July 2013 |
work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |
url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2013/09/03/how-bitcoin-spreads-violate-a-fundamental-economic-law/ |
work=Forbes |
date=3 September 2013 |
title=How Bitcoin spreads violate a fundamental economic law |
author=Marron, Donald}}</ref>


For example, to withdraw $100 LRUSD, Mt. Gox will send $99 ($100 less a 1% fee)<ref>One member of [[Bitcoin-otc]] reports that this appears to be a 0.99% fee, not a 1.0%.</ref> Liberty Reserve will subtract $0.99 ($99 less a 1% fee) leaving a net amount at Liberty Received of $98.01.
On August 5, 2013, Mt. Gox announced that they incurred "significant losses" due to crediting deposits which had not fully cleared and that new deposits would no longer be credited until the funds transfer was fully completed.<ref>{{cite press release | title=August 2013 Mt. Gox Status Update | publisher=Mt. Gox Co. Ltd. | date=5 August 2013 | url=https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20130805.html | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805084259/https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20130805.html | archivedate=5 August 2013}}</ref>


===Direct Deposit===
===CoinLab lawsuit and Homeland Security seizure of US funds===
====U.S.====
On 2 May 2013 CoinLab filed a $75 million lawsuit against Mt. Gox alleging a breach of contract.<ref name=chen2013>{{cite news|last=Chen | first=Adrian | work=Gawker Media | date=2 May 2013 | title=Massive Bitcoin Business Partnership Devolves Into $75 Million Lawsuit|url=http://gawker.com/massive-bitcoin-business-partnership-devolves-into-75-487857656|accessdate=8 June 2013}}</ref> The companies had formed a partnership in February 2013 under which CoinLab handled all of Mt. Gox's North American services.<ref name=chen2013/> CoinLab's lawsuit contends that Mt. Gox failed to allow them to move existing U.S. and Canadian customers from Mt. Gox to CoinLab.<ref name=chen2013/>
There is currently no option for withdrawing funds through a direct deposit bank transaction. Funds withdrawn to Dwolla may then, in turn, be withdrawn with bank funds deposited as an ACH transaction. The direct ACH withdrawal method has been temporarily disontinued due to difficulties in processing.  Another banking relationship is being pursued.


====EU====
On 15 May 2013 the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a warrant to seize money from Mt. Gox's US subsidiary's account with payment processor [[Dwolla]].<ref name=dillet2013/> The warrant suggests the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an investigative branch of the DHS, felt that the subsidiary, which was not licensed by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), was operating as an unregistered money transmitter in the US.<ref name=dillet2013>{{cite news|last=Dillet|first=Romain|title=Feds Seize Assets From Mt. Gox’s Dwolla Account, Accuse It Of Violating Money Transfer Regulations | work=TechCrunch | publisher=[[AOL|AOL Inc.]] | date=16 May 2013 | url=http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/16/mt-gox-dwolla-account-money-seizure/ | accessdate=10 February 2014 }}</ref><ref name=msblic>{{ cite news | title=MtGox Gets FinCEN MSB License | work=Bitcoin Magazine | publisher=Coin Publishing Ltd. | first=Vitalik | last=Buterin | date=29 June 2013 | url=http://bitcoinmagazine.com/5560/mtgox-gets-fincen-msb-license/ | accessdate=10 February 2014}}</ref> Between May and July more than $5 million were seized. <ref name=titan /> On 29 June 2013, Mt. Gox received its money services business (MSB) license from FinCEN.<ref name=msblic/>
You may withdraw any amount as a direct deposit to your bank. There is a 2% fee on these withdrawals. Contact the exchange by e-mail for this service.


==Transfers to Other Customers==
===Withdrawals delayed or refused===
Mt. Gox funds, either USD or BTC, may be sent to another Mt. Gox customer using the Send Money form. The button that links to the form is made visible when an account has "Merchant Services" option enabled.
''Wired Magazine'' reported in November 2013 that customers were experiencing delays of weeks to months in withdrawing funds from their accounts.<ref name=mcmillan2013>{{cite news | title=The rise and fall of the world's largest Bitcoin exchange | last1=McMillan | first1=Robert | last2=Metz | first2=Cade | work=Wired | publisher=[[Condé Nast]] | date=6 November 2013 | url=http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/11/mtgox/ | accessdate=8 February 2014 }}</ref> The article said that the company had “effectively been frozen out of the U.S. banking system because of its regulatory problems”. Customer complaints about long delays were mounting as of February 2014, with more than 3300 posts in a thread about the topic on the BitcoinTalk online forum.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.coindesk.com/poll-mt-gox-withdrawal-issues/ | title=Poll: Are you having Mt. Gox withdrawal issues? | last=Wong | first=Joon Ian | date=4 February 2014 | work=CoinDesk | accessdate=9 February 2014 }}</ref>


==Wallet/Banking==
===Bankruptcy and shutdown===
An account at this exchange can be considered to be an [[eWallet]]. This service also offers [[:Category:ECommerce|eCommerce]] merchant [http://mtgox.com/merch/about payment services].
{{main|Collapse of Mt. Gox}}
 
==API==
Mt Gox offers a [http://mtgox.com/support/tradeAPI trading API] which can be used to automate operations described above.  There is also a [http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Finance::MtGox Perl module] for interacting with the API.
 
==History==
The exchange went online on July 18, 2010.<ref>[http://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=444.0 MtGox announcement on forum]</ref>
 
On October 10, 2010 the exchange switched from [[PayPal]] to Liberty Reserve as the main funding option as a result of this attack. Former PayPal customers still had the possibility to withdraw their USD using alternative methods.
 
On March 6th, 2011 ownership of the exchange changed hands<ref>[http://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=4187.0 Mtgox is changing owners]</ref>.


==See Also==
==See Also==


* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox Mt. Gox Wikipedia article]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Karpel%C3%A8s Mark Karpelès Wikipedia article]
* [[Buying bitcoins]]
* [[Buying bitcoins]]
* [[MtGox Matrix]]
* [[Selling bitcoins]]
* [[Sierra Chart MtGox Bridge]] trading and charting tool.
* [[ToyTrader]] command line trading tool
 
==External Links==
 
* [http://mtgox.com MT. Gox exchange] website
* [http://mtgox.com/merch/about Mt. Gox Merchant Services]


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>


[[Category:Mt. Gox]]
[[Category:Exchanges]]
[[Category:Exchanges]]
[[Category:eWallets]]
[[Category:eWallets]]
[[Category:Shopping Cart Interfaces]]
[[Category:Shopping Cart Interfaces]]
[[ru:MtGox]]
{{wp|MtGox}}
{{good}}

Latest revision as of 18:38, 2 August 2015

Mt. Gox
IndustryFiat exchange
FoundedJuly 18, 2010
DefunctFebruary 25, 2014
HeadquartersShibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Founder(s)Jed McCaleb
Key peopleMark Karpeles
ParentTibanne Ltd.
Websitehttps://mtgox.com
 Reddit  Twitter 

Mt. Gox, called "Mount Gox" or simply "Gox", was the most widely used bitcoin currency exchange market from shortly after its inception in 2010 to its insolvency late 2013.[1] The market was closed February 25, 2014 and has since filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the United States, after losing 640 thousand bitcoins.

A registrant on Mt. Gox had at least two sub-accounts: one for bitcoins (BTC), and one for fiat currency. Bitcoins were bought using funds from the trader's fiat account, and the proceeds from the sale of bitcoins were deposited into the same account. Trading always involved bitcoins as trading between different national currencies was not offered.

Trades on Mt. Gox's executed from balances on deposit with the exchange which in turn made trading on the market instantaneous, compared to most other Bitcoin markets of 2010 where a subsequent settlement occurred manually between the trading partners. The disadvantage of this was that a third party had to be trusted with keeping the money safe.

Mt. Gox was originally started by Jed McCaleb in July 2010, and was sold to Tibanne Co. in Japan in March 2011.

Trading

Buying and selling

A buy order was executed partially or in full when the price bid could be matched against a sell order that was at or below the bid amount. A sell order was executed partially or in full when the price asked could be matched against a buy order that was at or above the ask amount. Orders that could not be matched immediately remain in the orderbook.

Unfunded orders did not appear in the order book, but were automatically inserted when a deposit was credited. For example, Mt. Gox allowed the entry of a "buy" order even if the account had insufficient funds. If possible, Mt. Gox would execute a portion of the order if it could be partially funded. If a deposit was later credited and the deposit resolves the insufficient funds status of an outstanding order, the order would be immediately activated, and if possible, executed.

Fees

Mt. Gox charged a trading fee of up to 0.6% from each party of successful trades made through the market. The fee appeared in the account history next to each trade. The trading fee was discounted for larger customers based on volume, which was calculated as a sliding window over the last 720 hours (30 days).

The fees were, by default, subtracted from the proceeds of each trade (e.g., a buy of 1.0 BTC will add to the account balance 0.994 BTC when the exchange fee is 0.6%). An account setting would allow fees to be added to the purchase amount instead (e.g., buying 1.0 BTC at $5 will cost about $5.03 when the exchange fee is 0.6%).

History

The exchange went online on July 18, 2010.[2]

On October 10, 2010 the exchange switched from PayPal to Liberty Reserve as the main funding option as a result of chargeback fraud. Former PayPal customers still had the possibility to withdraw their USD using alternative methods.

On March 6th, 2011 ownership of the exchange changed hands.[3] Mt. Gox's new parent, Tibanne, publishes their company certificate from the Japanese government.

On July 19, 2011 a press release announced that Mt. Gox had acquired MtGox Live, a price tracker.[4]

Announced on March 6, 2012 was the Merchant Solution and API[5]

Trading incidents

On 19 June 2011, a security breach of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange caused the nominal price of a bitcoin to fraudulently drop to one cent on the Mt. Gox exchange, after a hacker allegedly used credentials from a Mt. Gox auditor's compromised computer illegally to fabricate a large number of bitcoins for himself. He used the exchange's software to sell them all nominally, creating a massive "ask" order at any price. The price eventually corrected to its correct user-traded value.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Accounts with the equivalent of more than $8,750,000 were affected.[9] In order to prove that Mt.Gox still had control of the coins, the move of 424,242 bitcoins from "cold storage" to a Mt.Gox address was announced beforehand and executed in Block 132749.[13] It was later revealed that the coins may have never been in cold storage, as the proof-of-solvency transaction was broadcast through a remote Linux desktop and a single hot wallet.[14]

In October 2011, about two dozen transactions appeared in the block chain (Block 150951)[15] that sent a total of 2,609 BTC to invalid scripts. As they were impossible to satisfy/redeem, these Bitcoins were effectively destroyed.

On 22 February 2013, following an introduction of new anti-money laundering requirements by Dwolla, some Dwolla accounts became temporarily restricted. As a result, transactions from Mt. Gox to those accounts were cancelled by Dwolla. The funds never made it back to Mt. Gox accounts. Mt. Gox help desk issued the following comment: "Please be advised that you are actually not allowed to cancel any withdrawals received from Mt. Gox as we have never had this case before and we are working with Dwolla to locate your returned funds." The funds were finally returned on May 3, more than 3 months later, with a note "Please be advised never to cancel any Dwolla withdrawals from us again".

In March 2013, the new 0.8.0 version of Bitcoin Core temporarily forked off the main blockchain using differing rules on how transactions could be accepted. The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange briefly halted bitcoin deposits. Bitcoin prices briefly dipped by 23% to $37 as the event occurred[16][17] before recovering to their previous level in the following hours, a price of approximately $48.[18]

Suspension of trading 2013

Mt. Gox suspended trading on 11 April 2013 until 12 April 2013 2 am UTC for a "market cooldown".[19] The value of a single bitcoin fell to a low of $55.59 after the resumption of trading before stabilizing above $100. Around mid May 2013, Mt. Gox traded 150,000 bitcoins per day per Bitcoin Charts.[20]

Mt. Gox suspended withdrawals in US dollars on June 20, 2013.[21] The Mizuho Bank branch in Tokyo that handled Mt. Gox transactions pressured Mt. Gox from then on to close its account.[20] On July 4, 2013, Mt. Gox announced that it had "fully resumed" withdrawals, but as of September 5, 2013, few US dollar withdrawals had been successfully completed.[22][23][24]

On August 5, 2013, Mt. Gox announced that they incurred "significant losses" due to crediting deposits which had not fully cleared and that new deposits would no longer be credited until the funds transfer was fully completed.[25]

CoinLab lawsuit and Homeland Security seizure of US funds

On 2 May 2013 CoinLab filed a $75 million lawsuit against Mt. Gox alleging a breach of contract.[26] The companies had formed a partnership in February 2013 under which CoinLab handled all of Mt. Gox's North American services.[26] CoinLab's lawsuit contends that Mt. Gox failed to allow them to move existing U.S. and Canadian customers from Mt. Gox to CoinLab.[26]

On 15 May 2013 the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a warrant to seize money from Mt. Gox's US subsidiary's account with payment processor Dwolla.[27] The warrant suggests the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an investigative branch of the DHS, felt that the subsidiary, which was not licensed by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), was operating as an unregistered money transmitter in the US.[27][28] Between May and July more than $5 million were seized. [20] On 29 June 2013, Mt. Gox received its money services business (MSB) license from FinCEN.[28]

Withdrawals delayed or refused

Wired Magazine reported in November 2013 that customers were experiencing delays of weeks to months in withdrawing funds from their accounts.[29] The article said that the company had “effectively been frozen out of the U.S. banking system because of its regulatory problems”. Customer complaints about long delays were mounting as of February 2014, with more than 3300 posts in a thread about the topic on the BitcoinTalk online forum.[30]

Bankruptcy and shutdown

Main article: Collapse of Mt. Gox

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 2011-06-07 on #bitcoin-otc: "MagicalTux: you could use the count of users on mtgox (went over 30k recently)"
  2. ↑ MtGox announcement on forum
  3. ↑ Mtgox is changing owners
  4. ↑ World's Leading Bitcoin Exchange, Mt.Gox, acquires MtGoxLive.com
  5. ↑ Mt.Gox launches the definitive bitcoin checkout solution
  6. ↑ Huge Bitcoin sell off due to a compromised account - rollback
  7. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  8. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mick, Jason (19 June 2011). "Inside the Mega-Hack of Bitcoin: the Full Story". DailyTech. http://www.dailytech.com/Inside+the+MegaHack+of+Bitcoin+the+Full+Story/article21942.htm.
  10. ↑ Lee, Timothy B. (19 June 2011). "Bitcoin prices plummet on hacked exchange". Ars Technica (Condé Nast). http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/06/bitcoin-price-plummets-on-compromised-exchange.ars.
  11. ↑ Mark Karpeles, 20 June 2011, Huge Bitcoin sell off due to a compromised account – rollback, Mt. Gox Support
  12. ↑ Chirgwin, Richard (19 June 2011). "Bitcoin collapses on malicious trade – Mt Gox scrambling to raise the Titanic". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/19/bitcoin_values_collapse_again/.
  13. ↑ Block 132749. Main chain. 2011-06-23. Hash 00000000000004bea72d0f390194b08162665a4fc99469c576338cd37164a15a. Block explorer
  14. ↑ /r/Bitcoin thread 3fe92x. I'm Ashley Barr, A.K.A "Adam Turner", the first Mt.Gox employee, and alleged DPR (:/). AMA 1 August 2015. This post
  15. ↑ http://blockexplorer.com/b/150951
  16. ↑ Lee, Timothy. "Major glitch in Bitcoin network sparks sell-off; price temporarily falls 23%". Ars Technica (Condé Nast). http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/03/major-glitch-in-bitcoin-network-sparks-sell-off-price-temporarily-falls-23/. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  17. ↑ Blagdon, Jeff. "Technical problems cause Bitcoin to plummet from record high, Mt. Gox suspends deposits". The Verge. http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/12/4092898/technical-problems-cause-bitcoin-to-plummet-from-record-high. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "Bitcoin Charts". Bitcoin Charts. http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg60zczsg2013-03-12zeg2013-03-15ztgSzm1g10zm2g25zv.
  19. ↑ "Twitter / MtGox: Trading is suspended until". Twitter.com. https://twitter.com/MtGox/status/322355614414147588. Retrieved 2014-02-17.Template:Dead link
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named titan
  21. ↑ McMillan, Robert (20 June 2013). "Bitcoin’s Big Bank Problem: Why Did Mt. Gox Halt U.S. Payouts?". Wired (Condé Nast). http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/06/mt-gox-stops/.
  22. ↑ Vigna, Paul (5 July 2013). "Bitcoin operator Mt. Gox resumes withdrawals". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/07/05/bitcoin-operator-mt-gox-resumes-withdrawals/.
  23. ↑ Vigna, Paul (31 July 2013). "Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox still grappling with slowdown". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/07/30/bitcoin-exchange-mt-gox-still-grappling-with-slowdown/.
  24. ↑ Marron, Donald (3 September 2013). "How Bitcoin spreads violate a fundamental economic law". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2013/09/03/how-bitcoin-spreads-violate-a-fundamental-economic-law/.
  25. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Chen, Adrian (2 May 2013). "Massive Bitcoin Business Partnership Devolves Into $75 Million Lawsuit". Gawker Media. http://gawker.com/massive-bitcoin-business-partnership-devolves-into-75-487857656. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Dillet, Romain (16 May 2013). "Feds Seize Assets From Mt. Gox’s Dwolla Account, Accuse It Of Violating Money Transfer Regulations". TechCrunch (AOL Inc.). http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/16/mt-gox-dwolla-account-money-seizure/. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Buterin, Vitalik (29 June 2013). "MtGox Gets FinCEN MSB License". Bitcoin Magazine (Coin Publishing Ltd.). http://bitcoinmagazine.com/5560/mtgox-gets-fincen-msb-license/. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  29. ↑ McMillan, Robert; Metz, Cade (6 November 2013). "The rise and fall of the world's largest Bitcoin exchange". Wired (Condé Nast). http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/11/mtgox/. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  30. ↑ Wong, Joon Ian (4 February 2014). "Poll: Are you having Mt. Gox withdrawal issues?". CoinDesk. http://www.coindesk.com/poll-mt-gox-withdrawal-issues/. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
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