Well you can’t say that Mt. Gox is unfamiliar with how to make a quick exit. Overnight the beleaguered company went offline, leaving behind little online presence after even deleting its Twitter posts and contacts.
Rumors of a massive hack began to circulate, with up to nearly three quarters of a million Bitcoins making up roughly six percent of the world’s supply being swiped. At $420 per, that would net someone $315 million in one shot.
That would certainly be ironic, given the cryptocurrency’s covert beginnings and its reputation as a favorite of the drug trade. Sort of like Cheech and Chong meet Swordfish.
Other fears included a ploy to drive down the price, buy on the cheap and reap the benefits, more in the James Bond realm.