Mt. Gox was one of the earliest and most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges that operated between 2010 to 2014. It was based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, and owned by Mark Karpeles at its peak. The exchange handled 70% of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide in 2013 before suffering a major security breach which led to the closure of Mt. Gox in February 2014 after nearly 850,000 Bitcoins were stolen from customers’ accounts over a period of two years.
The incident is considered the biggest loss for any cryptocurrency exchange since then, leading to more stringent regulations being imposed on exchanges since then as well as greater awareness about cybersecurity practices among crypto users.
Customers who had funds stored with Mt. Gox have been able to claim back their lost coins through an ongoing creditors’ rehabilitation process overseen by the Japanese court system where they can submit claims against assets held by Karpeles who has not accepted responsibility for any wrongdoing so far or reimbursed customers directly.
Although there are many other cryptocurrencies out there now with better security features and measures than those seen during Mt Gox’s time, it is still important to be aware of potential risks when storing funds on any kind of online platform or exchanging them with others online – even if it seems secure!
