MtGox finds 200,000 missing bitcoins in old wallet

Bankrupt Japanese firm MtGox said in a filing that it has found 200,000 lost bitcoins.

The firm said it found the bitcoins - worth around $116m (£70m) - in an old digital wallet from 2011.

That brings the total number of bitcoins the firm lost down to 650,000 from 850,000.

MtGox, formerly the world's largest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy in February, after it said it lost thousands of bitcoins to hackers.

"MtGox had certain old-format wallets which were used in the past and which, MtGox thought, no longer held any bitcoins," said Mt Gox chief executive Mark Karpeles in the filing.

However, "on March 7, 2014, MtGox confirmed that an old-format wallet which was used prior to June 2011 held a balance of approximately 200,000 btc

MtGox finds 200,000 missing bitcoins in old wallet

Well this is a very strange turn of events. Only a week ago we found out that hackers had revealed the mt.Gox had more money than they were letting on.

mt.Gox CEO account hacked : Reveals the truth about Gox finances

and now Gox is admitting the existence of as further 200000 btc. Did the hackers force their hand or did they really not know about the extra coins?

I get the feeling that they are going to offer people a deal where they take a percentage of what they are owed or just wait for Gox to earn back the money to repay them.

One interesting fact i found out about bitcoins and crypto currencies today. When coins are created they join the giant public ledger called the 'block chain'. Everyone who has a bitcoin wallet has a copy of the public ledger listing all the coins in existence on their computer. If you then buy a bitcoin you dont actually get the virtual coin on your computer or in your virtual wallet. All that really happens is the ownership of the coin changes on the ledger.

Well, as to the block chain, that is what keeps it entirely open and secure. you can't lie about what you ahve or don't have, everyone is there to check.

you don't need to be an entity, you just need to be part of the block chain. You lose your wallet tho, you lose your coins.

200 000 coins? No way they had no idea. I'm not even interested in gox, but it's not like you can find a wallet and just open it and go WOOHOO!! There was a thinkg recently where there was 30.2 coins floating around in a secured wallet. Attached to an Email asking for someone to pay them something for it.

It was a real wallet, a real amount. but .. you can't just crack it. those coins are lost, I know the guy who lost them. or his brother anyway lol.

bitcoin is that secure, in that way, you just don't find 200 000 coins...

PhoenixOD

Bankrupt Japanese firm MtGox said in a filing that it has found 200,000 lost bitcoins.

The firm said it found the bitcoins - worth around $116m (£70m) - in an old digital wallet from 2011.

That brings the total number of bitcoins the firm lost down to 650,000 from 850,000.

MtGox, formerly the world's largest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy in February, after it said it lost thousands of bitcoins to hackers.

"MtGox had certain old-format wallets which were used in the past and which, MtGox thought, no longer held any bitcoins," said Mt Gox chief executive Mark Karpeles in the filing.

However, "on March 7, 2014, MtGox confirmed that an old-format wallet which was used prior to June 2011 held a balance of approximately 200,000 btc

MtGox finds 200,000 missing bitcoins in old wallet

Well this is a very strange turn of events. Only a week ago we found out that hackers had revealed the mt.Gox had more money than they were letting on.

mt.Gox CEO account hacked : Reveals the truth about Gox finances

and now Gox is admitting the existence of as further 200000 btc. Did the hackers force their hand or did they really not know about the extra coins?

I get the feeling that they are going to offer people a deal where they take a percentage of what they are owed or just wait for Gox to earn back the money to repay them.

One interesting fact i found out about bitcoins and crypto currencies today. When coins are created they join the giant public ledger called the 'block chain'. Everyone who has a bitcoin wallet has a copy of the public ledger listing all the coins in existence on their computer. If you then buy a bitcoin you dont actually get the virtual coin on your computer or in your virtual wallet. All that really happens is the ownership of the coin changes on the ledger.

edit on 22-3-2014 by PhoenixOD because: (no reason given)

I don't get this bitcoin thing. I saw pictures that it can be physically minted, but how do you use a physical bitcoin in vending machines? Where do you spend the physical bitcoins?

I have never used bitcoin, so I am behind the times on this. Is bitcoin different than paypal?

reply to post by WarminIndy


Bitcoin is making something from nothing. Just like regular currency.

Above a poster mentioned that it is nothing but ledger exchange. There is nothing there, other than the magic of accounting mathematics combined with the perception of value.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Yes but now we the people can start printing our own, not just the banks. Up to you if you want to pay the tax on a currency conversion, idealy find someone who sells physical gold for bitcoins or any other virtual currency, no VAT on gold in the UK.

There are shops now that will take payment in bitcoin, via a mobile phone app, so it basically works for the user exactly like paypal.

bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by WarminIndy

 

Bitcoin is making something from nothing. Just like regular currency.

Above a poster mentioned that it is nothing but ledger exchange. There is nothing there, other than the magic of accounting mathematics combined with the perception of value.

Oh, it's the ILLUSION of money.

Well, I've said all along that our financial market was nothing more than an illusion.

Has anyone else realized yet that bitcoins are just a fed-OP to 'prove' alt/e-currency is a joke?

I just found this :

However, Chris Dore, a partner at Edelson law firm, isn’t exactly buying Mt. Gox’s version of the events.

Dore, whose firm represents the US class action against the insolvent exchange, suggested that the announcement is closely tied to matters it is currently investigating.

Dore summed up his opinion on the news, telling CoinDesk:

“Their statement that they found [these bitcoins] in a random wallet and failed to tell anyone for two weeks is highly suspect.”

Instead, Dore indicated he believes that the funds may be connected to his firm’s ongoing investigation of 180,000 bitcoins that were said to have been moving through the blockchain on or around 7th March.

“We believe we were on the right trail. It appeared that these 180,000, 200,000 bitcoins were being tumbled, that they were being broken down and reconstituted, so our goal was to find this out.”

Dore suggested that the announcement may have been a move by Mt. Gox to make it harder for information to be uncovered about the funds.

Source

reply to post by WarminIndy


Paypal is a bank. Bitcoin is the money.

you can't use them interchangeably.

When you mine bitcoins (or any crypto currency) you receive what you earn into your wallet. For instance, I earned 1000 feathercoins a long time ago, and when bitcoin became super awesome, I exchanged them, on btc-e, for bitcoins, I got almost 2 bitcoins for it at the time. I then exchanged the bicoins for real money at a local exchange anf.. as dumb as I was, got $300 for it. had I waited, I'd be a lot better off, but I'm not a player. I am a panic merchant.

$300 a btc was WOAH!!.. when it hit $1300 a coin, I cried a little.

You own the coins you earn, or purchase. they exist in a specific wallet you maintain. So you give a coin away, or a part of a coin, and you are then seen on the blockchain as having that transaction. It needs to be verified before a valid transaction happens. This is the only draw back I know of. usually, 6 people on the blockchain need to be in the system and see your transaction as valid, before you can proceed. it's usually instant. DDOS attacks make it a crapfest at times, especially with lesser known and highly unstable cryptos.

Sort of taking a cheque to the bank and saying "gimme 100000 dollars now!" -- tey say "no, lets check this a bit first, in 2 days you can get it.".. but less banks, less hassle.

bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by WarminIndy

 

Bitcoin is making something from nothing. Just like regular currency.

Above a poster mentioned that it is nothing but ledger exchange. There is nothing there, other than the magic of accounting mathematics combined with the perception of value.

Well it costs me a crapload in electricity. I EARN my coins.

Bellor
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Yes but now we the people can start printing our own, not just the banks. Up to you if you want to pay the tax on a currency conversion, idealy find someone who sells physical gold for bitcoins or any other virtual currency, no VAT on gold in the UK.

You cant. Unless you own more money than you want to make now.

It's beyond the printing stage. Look into other cryptos that are verified as legit, and convert them.

You cant make money mining bitcoin any more.

gardener
Has anyone else realized yet that bitcoins are just a fed-OP to 'prove' alt/e-currency is a joke?

Stick to plants dude.. you are one.

reply to post by sn0rch

sn0rch

Bellor
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Yes but now we the people can start printing our own, not just the banks. Up to you if you want to pay the tax on a currency conversion, idealy find someone who sells physical gold for bitcoins or any other virtual currency, no VAT on gold in the UK.

You cant. Unless you own more money than you want to make now.

It's beyond the printing stage. Look into other cryptos that are verified as legit, and convert them.

You cant make money mining bitcoin any more.

edit on 22-3-2014 by sn0rch because: (no reason given)

www.coindesk.com...

Dont know about that to be honest.

reply to post by sn0rch

You cant make money mining bitcoin any more.

That's not strictly true. You just need to spend a hell of a lot of money to do it. KNC's new machine is supposed to get to 3000mh/s

I just bought myself the latest KNC Titan scrypt miner. It wont do Bitcoin but it will do litecoin,feathercoin, dogecoin, etc. Though certainly not a cheap toy at $10000.

1.Mt.Gox closes in the heat of another Bitcoin crash scare.
2.Mt.Gox files for bankruptcy.
3.Mt.Gox claims all Bitcoins were stolen by hackers.
4.Hackers reveal that about 900,000 bitcoins are sitting idle as if nothing happened.
5.Mt.Gox claims to find an old leather wallet in their rain coat with 200,000 Bitcoins.

Bullocks, simply bullocks.

reply to post by AnarchistoOfTheNorth


Im not saying there isnt anything dodgy going on here but Mt.gox hasnt filed for bankruptcy its filed for bankruptcy protection.

Its applied for Civil rehabilitation which i think means they want to continue trading so they can pay everyone back.