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Bitcoin plunges 50% on Mt. Gox to hit USD230 as troubles continue

Published 02/16/2014, 08:46 AM
Updated 02/16/2014, 08:46 AM
Bitcoin plunges 50% on Mt. Gox to hit USD230

Investing.com - Bitcoin prices lost half their value to hit USD230 on the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox Exchange on Sunday, as traders shied away from the virtual currency amid ongoing concerns over withdrawal issues.

BTC/USD fell to a session low of USD220.30 on Mt. Gox, before trimming losses to trade at USD253.90 during U.S. morning hours, down 45.1%.

Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox was forced to halt all Bitcoin withdrawals on February 7 due to a technical issue, with the issue yet to be fully resolved.

Mt. Gox was once the world's largest Bitcoin trading exchange, with volume topping 1 million trades a day at its peak. It is now the third-largest Bitcoin exchange.

Meanwhile, sentiment remained jittery after Bitcoin marketplace Silk Road 2 was hacked over the weekend, with hackers stealing approximately 4,500 Bitcoin worth nearly USD2.7 million in the latest development to roil the virtual currency.

The hackers exploited the transaction malleability bug, the same bug that forced Mt. Gox to halt all withdrawals.

Elsewhere, the price of a Bitcoin last traded at USD631.95 on Slovenia-based BitStamp, while prices on BTC-e traded at USD596.20. BitStamp is the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, while Bulgaria-based BTC-e is the second-biggest.

BitStamp allowed redemptions to resume on Friday, three days after the exchange halted customer withdrawals to deal with cyber attacks against its platform.

According to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, which averages prices from the major exchanges, prices of the crypto-currency dropped 5.2% to hit USD611.75.

Bitcoin is digital cash for the internet and it is not backed by a government or central bank to regulate or issue it. It can be used to purchase goods and services from stores and online retailers.

Prices of the virtual currency soared to an all-time high of USD1,241.10 on November 29. It was trading at USD100 in early October.

Latest comments

Journalism is dead. I can't even call them writers because nobody has any ideas of their own. All faux writers do now is read other bogus articles on the internet and write more bogus articles. Regurgitated FUD .Get on the bitcoin train you lemmings.
The media really must be desperate for attention if they're letting journalism go this yellow. Anyone who knows anything about Bitcoin knows that Mt.Gox is going down the gutter. Bitcoin's price took a dip, sure, it's currently sitting at 610, but as far as I'm concerned it's a good thing. Mt Gox has been troubling Bitcoin for a long time now, I hope they die so we can finally move forward.
+1 . Media is completely oblivious to how strong Bitcoin is. Tide will turn and I will have fun watching them eat crow.
It is very clear in the article that this price refers to MtGox.. It also mentions:. "Elsewhere, the price of a Bitcoin last traded at USD631.95 on Slovenia-based BitStamp, while prices on BTC-e traded at USD596.20". So the article is accurate.. As I know Investing.com experts, they will probably shortly add more Bitcoin feeds to their offering..
That was FASTTTTTTTTTT. BitStamp and BTC-e feeds are now available !!!
Please for the love of god take down this article until you do some proper research. Most of whats written here is pure baloney. Talk to some devs, talk to people who actually know the truth and are not con-artists trying to save themselves from years in prison for massive fraud. . Gox is dead. Gox is done. Gox has been withholding customers funds for nearly a year now. Gox has stopped withdrawals on BTC and Fiat. Gox has been knowingly and willing using a broken Bitcoin wallet code for over a year claiming to be too busy to fix it. Lied to the media about it. Blaming Bitcoin when it was their own incompetence and laziness that caused their downfall. Nothing to do with Bitcoin. Absolutely nothing.. . .At this time we need the powers that be to step in and seize Mt. Gox, arrest its executives for fraud and seize any documents before they are destroyed. Massive fraud is taking place here. On an international level, in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars. Gox may as well be Enron or Bernie Madoff. . .
Yeah.. They are probably being paid by the BIG banks to post this garbage. LOL
The problem is the public will still associate the arrests with BTC in general, further tarnishing the reputation of a good monetary exchange system, while simultaneously reinforcing why it is NOT, nor was it designed to be, a speculative play.... at $15 MILLION a day in electricity costs (not including ever updated hardware) The price of BTC is only attempting to reclaim the costs already incurred by "miners" - another problem - when the govt relizes all these "miners" are using public internet/power to do this mining, as it's the only way to be profitable, is to basically have "free" power..
If people are buying from MtGox at a very low price compared to the market average and then selling them back into the open market for tremendous profit (via another exchange), then that calls into question the other "legitimate" exchanges because it does not fit the economics 101 of supply and demand. If the market is being flooded with cheap bitcoins via MtGox, then the price must go down unless the other exchanges are artificially inflating the value to avoid losing money on their side.. . That would call into question more than just MtGox honoring trades, but every other exchange out there for price fixing.
^this. The trading at MtGox right now might as well be some trading sim as it is working in a vacuum. I think the interesting thing is that right now the price is pretty much holding up despite all the madness. If it comes out of this intact it actually will be a case of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
You do understand the exchanges don't set the values, right? Their function is to connect buyers with sellers, and they charge a flat fee. If you want to talk about Economics 101, you first have to get out of this Central Banking mindset and realize price-setting systems are man-made and not a given. As some of the comments here accurately pointed out; Mt. Gox is a toxic exchange whose proprietors are long overdue for a visit from the prosecutors' office and the coins held there are hence becoming worthless. However, the effect of this on Bitcoins worldwide has been moderate at best, because there isn't a corrupt Bitcoin central bank to distribute those losses to Bitcoin holders in other exchanges in the name of "equity" and "preventing a collapse". Welcome to the free market, please check your Keynesian fantasies at the door. :}
Economics 101 - supply and demand - dependent on the NEED for the good/service - Gold and Silver aren't valuable because their USED in Jewelry and historically as Money... They're used in Jewelry and as Money Because of their ELEMENTAL PROPERTIES - they Don't rust, corrode or burn.. They are both excellent electrical conductors and used as such (In ALL BTC mining hardware at that!)
Yes the Value at MTGox maybe 220$ but this is more of an indication of MTGox's value rather than Bitcoin itself, all other trading platforms the value is more like $600+ . MTGox is just in a difficult place at the moment with members not knowing what to do.......
Yeah, whoever wrote this article is a liar. Plenty of other exchanges, plus altcoins are hotter than ever. Get your facts straight and quit hating on Bitcoin. At least know the proper information about a topic before you write about it. Nobody cares about the SIlk Road either. Its a globalist scheme created by the bankers to make Bitcoin look bad. Plenty of illegal money transactions happen using the Fiat USD.
Very much agreed. This so called journalist should start looking for a different career. My 5 yr old can do better fact checking than this bozo.
I would contend that virtually ALL crime uses cold hard cash... Only an idoiot would use electronic means for crime, unless you're referring to state crimes; false flag attacks/espionage programs, and of course all the counterfeit money called "debt"..
220$? This is an outright lie!! Go on tiger direct add something to your cart and click pay in Bitcoin THAT is what a Bitcoin is worth, more like 650$
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