nullic is gregory maxwell - a bitcoin developer.....

Mt Gox problem discussions....

MTGox still authoring invalid transactions (self.Bitcoin)

submitted 1 hour ago* by nullc

The MTGox transaction API (https://data.mtgox.com/api/0/bitcoin_tx.php) shows transactions MTGox authors.

Throughout the outage— e.g. as early as the 8th— they've been making a small number of what looks like dust sweeping transactions.

One shown right now is TXID ed7ffa58fef651adaf1281ad10e98a4399eb2be40950345c7ccb7c8f76f067e1 which spends 45d45286bac04311684ab7716ab170b50781cde6b094d9a644fb89ca07ae6888:31 which is the coinbase transaction of block 0000000000000000da75e32e941537e00bd2e752527adba6193f35ccaa6da293. At the moment it only has 62 confirmations.

Because the rules of the Bitcoin protocol prohibit spending coinbase txn with under 100 confirmations this transaction is currently invalid and will remain invalid for another 38 blocks.

So after all this outage time, MTGox has still not fixed their software to stop authoring invalid transactions.

[–]paleh0rse 6 points 32 minutes ago

[–]nullc[S] 11 points 20 minutes ago

A bit longer than a month:

--- Day changed Mon Sep 02 2013
05:25 < gmaxwell> MagicalTux: hey fool, https://blockchain.info/tx/591b0102531b69879ef6474a5ec64cdc96bf775e0b15e0ee91ee136bba01253b
05:25 < Title> [ Bitcoin Transaction 591b0102531b69879ef6474a5ec64cdc96bf775e0b15e0ee91ee136bba01253b ]
05:25 < gmaxwell> MagicalTux: you are sending immature coins!
05:25 < gmaxwell> MagicalTux: this may be the reason people are complaining to you about transactions not forwarding.
05:26 < gmaxwell> MagicalTux: newly generated coins need to mature for at least 100 blocks before the network will relay any spends of them.
05:26 < gmaxwell> at the moment this transaction a customer of yours is complaining to me about spends an input from height 255610 and it is now 255702
05:27 < gmaxwell> fixy fixy

(for just one example)

[–]paleh0rse 1 point 17 minutes ago

[–]nullc[S] 2 points 14 minutes ago

[–]danknug 1 point 36 minutes ago

[–]nullc[S] 1 point 24 minutes ago

[–]danknug 1 point 16 minutes ago

[–]specialenmity 1 point 16 minutes ago

[–]nullc[S] 1 point 8 minutes ago

[–]pa2013 2 points 54 minutes ago

[–]paleh0rse 3 points 28 minutes ago

[–]hpshout 11 points 1 hour ago

[–]lifeboatz 3 points 46 minutes ago

[–]blazedforever 1 point 25 minutes ago

[–]Sterlingz 1 point 3 minutes ago

[–]HTL2001 3 points 24 minutes ago

[–]Kurdish-Nationalist 5 points 22 minutes ago

[–]Verdeckter 1 point 16 minutes ago

[–]nullc[S] 1 point 5 minutes ago

[–]kcbitcoin 1 point 3 seconds ago

http://www.coindesk.com/documents-goldman-sachs-discussing-bitcoin/

( Vampire squid sees bitcoin as too volatile at this time ...... another bankster kick while bitcoin issues are afloat ! )

New Documents Show Goldman Sachs is Discussing Bitcoin

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on February 21, 2014 at 22:52 GMT | Companies, Investors, News

New York-based global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has completed an initial assessment of digital currencies that concluded they are currently too volatile for serious investors.

The news comes from noted online news source TechCrunch, which says it obtained a copy of an internal discussion document from a contact at Goldman Sachs.

The excerpts posted by the media outlet provide evidence that Goldman Sachs is currently looking into the currency, though it is uncertain about its benefits. The bank even went so far as to suggest that it remains confused by the uproar surrounding virtual currencies.

Said one excerpt:

“2013 was the year when Bitcoin became a mainstay in mass media, to the extent that it has become hard to separate the effect of hype surrounding the currency from its fundamentals.”

While the bank’s major findings noted a laundry list of the virtual currency’s shortcomings, it acknowledged some of the potential benefits of bitcoin. In particular, it noted bitcoin’s ability to remove processing costs from micropayments and to provide “anonymity, security and a natively digital experience to online transactions for consumers”.

The news comes just weeks after JPMorgan weighed in on bitcoin with a more formal report that labeled digital currencies as “vastly inferior to fiat currencies“.

Notable findings

Ultimately, the report concluded that bitcoin is not yet suitable for merchant use due to its price volatility. This was a criticism also held by JPMorgan, which suggested that this risk outweighed the benefits of any potential savings.

On the matter of consumer use, Goldman Sachs determined that “there are more speculators in bitcoin versus participants in e-commerce”. The comments indicate the bank believes bitcoin needs to attain a greater level of liquidity before it becomes useful as a currency, though reports suggest that this shift may already be occurring.

Indeed, the bank found that bitcoin lacks a number of other attributes that could make it attractive to investors:

“There is no liquid derivative market for Bitcoin; nor a large market of B2B suppliers which companies can use for spending Bitcoin.”

Opportunities

The report summaries suggest that Goldman Sachs believe bitcoin to be far from a point of mass adoption, but that significant opportunities could one day exist in the ecosystem for investors.

The document said:

“As a full suite of financial services build up around Bitcoin, there will be numerous (mostly commission- based) revenue opportunities investors can focus on, including providing exchanges, wallets, payment processing, lending, derivatives and other services.”

http://www.coindesk.com/has-company-found-workaround-mt-gox-withdrawals/

( an escape route for Mt Gox roach motel members ? )

Has This Company Found a Workaround for Mt. Gox Withdrawals?

Joon Ian Wong (@joonian) | Published on February 21, 2014 at 18:42 GMT | Companies, Exchanges, Mt. Gox, News

A new market will allow Mt. Gox customers to trade funds in their exchange accounts for bitcoin, effectively allowing bitcoin withdrawals despite an official freeze.

The service, Bitcoin Builder, has also created an arbitrage opportunity for traders who wish to exploit the growing spread between the price of bitcoin on Mt. Gox and other major exchanges.

According to the market’s founder Josh Jones, some 14,500 BTC (about $8.1m) worth of trades have been executed since it was set up on 11th Feb.

A widening spread

Bitcoin Builder works by taking advantage of the widening spread between the price of bitcoin on Mt. Gox and other exchanges. The spread has grown as Mt. Gox’s withdrawal freeze stretches on. At the time of writing, for example, 1 BTC was trading for $123.56 on Mt. Gox compared to $566.20 on BitStamp.

Traders on Bitcoin Builder can sell bitcoins in their Mt. Gox accounts on the Bitcoin Builder market at the prevailing price. One bitcoin in a Mt. Gox account was trading for 0.38 BTC on Bitcoin Builder at the time of writing.

If the same bitcoin from Mt. Gox could theoretically be traded on another exchange, like BitStamp, it would be worth just 0.22 BTC. In other words, selling Mt. Gox bitcoins on Bitcoin Builder yields a 73% premium over the theoretical open market rate. Jones said:

“I was in the withdrawal queue for Mt. Gox when all this happened. I was basically a user who wanted an exchange like this to exist myself.”

Bitcoin Builder works because Mt. Gox is still allowing transfers between accounts on the exchange. To sell bitcoin, users must therefore send coins to Bitcoin Builder’s Mt. Gox account. They will then receive bitcoin in a wallet of their choice.

Only users with ‘verified’ or ‘trusted’ accounts at Mt. Gox can make transfers to another account on the exchange. The new exchange charges 2% for each transaction.

Bitcoin Builder also allows traders to buy the discounted Mt. Gox bitcoins. These traders must deposit coins with Bitcoin Builder and then receive Mt. Gox bitcoins that are held in Bitcoin Builder’s account on the exchange.

Traders on Bitcoin Builder must also submit identity documents before they can start making transactions.

The Gox question

Trades on Bitcoin Builder hinge on Mt. Gox’s future. Customers who are selling their Mt. Gox bitcoins on Bitcoin Builder are taking a 78% discount on the price of their coins in exchange for the certainty of holding funds that are not subject to Mt. Gox’s withdrawal restrictions.

Although the exchange has said the withdrawal freeze is due to technical problems and that it will be lifted soon, customers appear to be losing their confidence that the exchange will do as it says. This is reflected in the plummeting price of bitcoin to US dollars on Mt. Gox.

Then there are the arbitrageurs who are able to exploit the spread between prices at Mt. Gox and other exchanges so long as the withdrawal freeze stays in place.

These traders may be depositing fiat into a Mt. Gox account in order to buy more discounted bitcoins and then offloading them on Bitcoin Builder. With bitcoins in hand, they can then make a profit selling on another major exchange.

However, if Mt. Gox were to announce more serious problems — such as insolvency, for example — then Bitcoin Builder’s trading volume would vanish. Jones said:

“If Mt. Gox really is insolvent, or if they somehow freeze Bitcoin Builder’s account, or if they say that some of these bitcoins turned out to be fake because of transaction malleability, then there’s going to be a lot of angry people [on Bitcoin Builder].”

Jones himself is betting that Mt. Gox is solvent and that it is indeed suffering from the technical problems it claims it is experiencing.

“There is a saying, ‘never attribute to malice that which can adequately explained by incompetence’. Mt Gox is not Google or Apple. But they are a real company and Karpeles has made loads of money over the last few years. So he’s not just going to shut it down,” Jones said.

http://www.coindesk.com/mt-gox-bitcoin-price-falls-100-lowest-level-since-july/

Mt. Gox Bitcoin Price Falls Below $100, its Lowest Level Since July

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on February 21, 2014 at 04:15 GMT | Exchanges, Mt. Gox, Prices

The price of bitcoin on Mt. Goxdropped below $100, hitting a low of $91.50 on 20th February.

Data from Bitcoincharts indicates it was the lowest total observed on the exchange since 22nd July when the lowest price was $89.80.

The announcement comes amid increasing criticism from the bitcoin community about the exchange and its questionable behavior that has included ignoring protestors, blaming the Bitcoin protocol for its implementation issues and somehow managing to create an aura of suspicion and uncertainty around even its physical address.

Earlier this week, Blockchain.info chief security officer Andreas Antonopoulos went so far as to label Mt. Gox “clownish” and “incompetent” as part of the latest episode of the popular podcast Let’s Talk Bitcoin, which was dedicated to dissecting problems at the exchange.

The developments are just the latest in a string of setbacks that have spawned community outrage at both the exchange and CEO Mark Karpeles in the last few weeks. Some community members have even called for Karpeles resignation from the Bitcoin Foundation in light of the recent developments, though the organization has not yet weighed in on the gathered petitions.

Prices stable elsewhere

At press time, the uncertainty around Mt. Gox and its solvency seemed to be affecting other exchanges, though only marginally.

Prices at both BTC-e and Bitstamp were roughly $400 greater than those at Mt. Gox. The figures are particularly stunning, given the exchange’s reputation for high prices compared to other exchanges.

BTC-e opened at $542 on 20th February and at press time had fallen to $539. Similarly, Bitstamp dropped from a high of $561 to $553 at press time.

Community reaction

News that Mt. Gox had fallen under the $100 mark was quick to arrive on reddit, with many community members debating the right investment strategy as well as the motives of Mt. Gox in the wake of the most recent setback.

Some maintained that the market would soon rebound sharply once the situation was resolved, while others suggested the resulting negativity surrounding the market would push fringe bitcoin users away, perhaps for good.

However, notably there seemed to be a growing opinion that Mt. Gox’s low bitcoin prices may actually be a better reflection of bitcoin’s value.

This minority cited that fact that prices were at or near current prices before China’s influence on the market and the swell of optimism that came with bitcoin’s rising prices toward the end of 2013.

http://www.coindesk.com/bitstamp-restores-withdrawals-following-security-scare/

Bitstamp Restores Withdrawals Following Security Scare

Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on February 20, 2014 at 21:00 GMT | Bitstamp, Crime, Exchanges,News

Bitstamp is in the process of restoring full services to all accounts following an issue that prompted the bitcoin exchange to disable withdrawals to some users.

The move was a security precaution and the affected accounts have been notified of the problem.

Nejc Kodrič, Bitstamp’s CEO, told CoinDesk that some accounts have already regained withdrawal functionality.

Phishing fears

The decision to halt the withdrawals was made after Bitstamp detected an increased number of phishing attempts over the last few days.

Bitstamp says some clients had reported receiving suspicious emails. The correspondences were examined and were found to contain malware, so Bitstamp then took the ‘better-safe-than-sorry’ approach and temporarily disabled the accounts.

At the time of writing, no Bitstamp user has reported any missing funds. It is possible that the attack was completely unsuccessful, although it is still too early to say with certainty.

Bitstamp believes the attack was targeted at bitcoin users only, and its sole intent was to steal bitcoins.

Warning message

In an email sent to affected clients, the Bitstamp team stressed that the tech team’s response to the phishing attack was a necessary precaution given the risks of the situation, and gave advice on how to deal with any malware.

“As a precaution we have also applied this security measure to your account,” the exchange wrote. “If you have received any emails with suspicious content and have opened links or attachments, we highly recommend that you immediately contact a computer expert.”

Even if you think your computer is clean, it is probably best to play it safe, Bitstamp says:

“If you consider that your system was not affected, we kindly suggest you contact our support staff for further assistance.”

The company added that the decision to disable withdrawals is an inconvenience, but it should be viewed as part of the exchange’s important security measures, which were put in place to safeguard users’ accounts – and their funds.

Attractive targets

The Mt. Gox debacle is still in the news, and other exchanges – including Bitstamp – have also faced related and unrelated problems in recent days.

Last week, Bitstamp was targeted by a massive DDoS attack, along with a few other exchanges. As with the current issue, it was forced to suspend processing bitcoin withdrawals, but it quickly recovered and resumed regular service.

On a more positive note, most exchanges appear to be very resilient to the frequent DDoS and targeted phishing attacks. It comes with the territory, it seems, and it is reassuring to see that most sites spring back to full service in a matter of hours.

http://www.coindesk.com/italian-money-transfer-law-threatens-bitcoin-businesses/

Italian Money Transfer Law Threatens Bitcoin Businesses

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on February 20, 2014 at 17:00 GMT | Europe, Exchanges,Regulation

Update 17:00 GMT: Responding to pressure, Italy has announced it will delay the law’s implementation untilJuly, 2014. It was previously enacted retroactively.

When Italy announced last week that it would implement a 20% withholding tax on all inbound wire transfers to domestic personal bank accounts, some members of the global bitcoin community suggested the country could embrace bitcoin as a means to avoid payment.

However, despite the optimism that bitcoin would not be affected by the move, which was aimed at cutting down on money laundering and tax evasion, representatives of Italy’s bitcoin community say the tax is actually likely to have a negative impact on bitcoin business and trade.

Franco Cimatti, President of the Italian chapter of the Bitcoin Foundation, explained that withdrawals from bitcoin exchanges would be affected by the tax, and suggested that legitimate businesses would be the most harmed.

Cimatti said the law is not good for those for moving large amounts of money around or opening legitimate businesses using bitcoin technology.

Italian newspaper Il Sole reported that the 20% tax will be applied to all transfers to individual domestic bank accounts from abroad, starting 1st February, unless the recipient can prove that the money is not income. All eligible transactions need to be reported to the government and those affected have one year to pay the appropriate tax.

Notably, business accounts are not affected by the new rule. Personal exceptions to the law include the return of a previous loan or the return of a deposit.

Widespread confusion

Despite those facts, however, members of Italy’s bitcoin community stress that many questions about the new law cannot yet be answered.

“There are still doubts about how this new law works, even in the banks,” said Cimatti.

For instance, he said it is unclear if SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) transfers are subject to taxation, and if so, whether such action would be lawful.

Furthermore, Francesco Cittadini, a consultant who represents local bitcoin entrepreneurs, suggested that the higher authorities could eventually block the law.

Cimatti agreed, saying:

“The European Commission has placed this measure under investigation [and] is considering the compatibility of this measure with the principles of free movement of goods and capital.”

Impact on exchanges

Though the full impact of the law is not yet known, members of Italy’s bitcoin community said the regulation would likely impact the withdrawal of funds from major bitcoin exchanges, most of which are located outside the country.

Notably, the reporting burdens implemented by the new tax would fall on the consumer, not the exchanges.

“The taxpayer must provide all necessary information to identify the possible nature of the income flow, as well as [...] its tax base. In the absence of such information, the withholding tax must be applied to the whole amount of [the] payment,” Cittadini said.

Cimatti suggested that, under the new law, private bitcoin users who wanted to withdraw fiat funds would be best served by so-called over-the-counter (OTC) solutions such as LocalBitcoins.com.

“If [SEPA transfers are taxable], then it’s good for all Localbitcoins and private users,” Cimatti said.

Burden of proof

Marco Barulli, co-founder of the Italy-based password management company Clipperz, suggested that avoiding the tax would be onerous for bitcoin users. He said:

“I asked my financial consultant [Cittadini], who said that, to avoid the 20% tax, you should prove the payment is [neither] a ‘compensation’ [nor] money subject to capital gain taxes. This will probably require documentation about the history of deposits and transactions on the BTC exchange.”

Cittadini, later provided clarity on how this process would work:

“The taxpayer can attest [...] that [payments] do not constitute capital gains or other income arising from investments abroad or foreign activities of a financial nature.”

Possible solutions

For now, Cittadini suggests that Italian bitcoin users abide by the new regulation until its impact is clarified.

“My advice is to operate within the law, working with your own Italian financial intermediary, to provide any relevant information that lets you avoid the withholding tax.”

However, founder and CEO of Italy-based bitcoin exchange BitBoat, Thomas Bertani, indicated that foreign bank accounts were already becoming the preferred option for the country’s bitcoin users:

“The easy way out for bitcoiners, and this is what they are actually doing, is to open a bank account outside the country, so that they are not affected.”

Bertani further suggested that Italians could use prepaid cards to transition the funds to fiat, although such a step would undoubtedly add another level of hassle to the withdrawal process.

http://www.coindesk.com/ben-lawsky-demonstrates-evolution-bitcoin-issues-reddit-ama/

Ben Lawsky Demonstrates ‘Evolution’ on Bitcoin Issues in Reddit AMA

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on February 20, 2014 at 19:36 GMT | News, Regulation, US & Canada

Ben Lawsky: Friend or Foe? It’s a question CoinDesk recently posedregarding the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) superintendent, and one that is understandably concerning to the wider virtual currency community as New York state seeks to enact regulation in 2014.

Speculation aside, on 20th February, the bitcoin community got its chance to seek an answer when Lawsky participated in a much-anticipated Ask Me Anything session on reddit.

Here's my "Proof" picture for @reddit_AMA on #Bitcoin at 1230pm EST today. P.S. The SNES refs cracked us up. pic.twitter.com/6svPO3akNF

11:56 AM - 20 Feb 2014

Starting at 17:30 GMT, Lawsky received more than 200 questions over the course of the more than hour-long session. Many attempted to glean more insight into the lawmaker’s understanding of virtual currency, his views on how government should pursue financial regulation and his plans for bitcoin in New York.

True to his past demeanor, Lawsky was careful in his answers, letting ample pass time between responses and sprinkling his comments with lighthearted remarks. However, perhaps most notably, he was largely positive when speaking about bitcoin and its innovative technology.

Wrote Lawsky:

“My hope is that if we can get appropriate guardrails in place to prevent money laundering, we can take a deep breath and really focus on trying to ensure that virtual currency firms flourish and continue to develop and innovate.”

Though the session was far from conclusive, the AMA gave Lawsky a platform to address major issues for the community, and provided more evidence to suggest that he intends to craft legislation that strikes a balance between the needs of law enforcement and bitcoin entrepreneurs.

Money laundering concerns remain

Echoing concerns mentioned in New York, community members were upfront about wanting to know more about the potential compliance burden Lawsky would look to put on state businesses. Likewise, Lawsky remained firm on this point, invoking terrorism when speaking about the importance of money laundering controls.

Despite this drawing of the lines, Lawsky did suggest a middle ground would likely be needed on this issue.

In particular, Lawsky said he would draw lessons from the US government’s Dodd-Frank Act, which he faulted for putting an undue compliance onus on smaller banks.

Said Lawsky:

“We’ve had some success in getting these regulations amended so they don’t crush smaller community banks. Any regulations we issue for virtual currency firms will have to be carefully tailored with this in mind.”

Further, he stated that he wants to provide this clarity “sooner rather than later”, acknowledging the difficulty today’s entrepreneurs face from the current lack of legal clarity. For example, Lawsky noted that the state has not yet determined how to regulate bitcoin ATMs, despite their increasing presence nationally.

Improving Wall Street relations

Lawsky was also asked about his treatment of Wall Street, with some members of the community raising pointed questions about what they consider to be the imbalance with which New York has dealt with criminal actions from both camps.

Lawsky did no address these critiques, but did clarify that he believes regulation should help bring banks and virtual currency firms together. He said banks will become “more comfortable with bitcoin-related activity over time”, but that itsprice volatility and criminal associations are likely deterrents now.

Further, he suggested that regulation should be viewed as a way to bring about better relations between both financial sectors, a point he stressed in two responses.

“We do hope that regulation will create a level of certainty that could incentivize banks to promote not stifle these innovations.”

Concluding remarks

Reaction from the community seemed mostly positive, with even Bitcoin Financial Association member Bruce Fenton, a critic of New York’s handling of January’s hearings, acknowledging that the discussion was beneficial.

“Mr. Lawsky seems to be taking less of a hard line than he has in the past, hopefully the feedback from investors and the community has been helpful,” Fenton said.

Indeed, later in the session, Lawsky confirmed that his attitude toward virtual currencies had changed since the NYDFS hearings.

“I’ve personally evolved a lot on the issue the more I have learned,” he said.

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-price-hits-135-mt-gox-office-move-verification-demand/

( In contrast to prior updates , the latest stall job didn't even bother to state when the next update would be provided , let alone address any of the open issues and concerns of Mt Gox customers stuck in this roach motel...with uncertanty being the only certain thing , not a shocker MT Gox USD price fell from 261 to a 91.50 low in less than 24 hrs . )

Bitcoin Price Hits $135 on Mt. Gox Following Office Move and Verification Demand

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on February 20, 2014 at 12:02 GMT | Companies, Exchanges,Mt. Gox, News

Updates and rumors related to Mt. Gox this week include: a possible company relocation, a requirement for users to hold verified accounts to withdraw bitcoins and a fall in Gox’s listed price of bitcoin.

A user contacted CoinDesk to tell of the verification requirement this morning, saying it “suddenly appeared” on the site. There hasn’t been an announcement of any change on Mt. Gox’s website, however, and other sources said the condition had been there for a while now.

The “Verifying Your Account” section of the website says: “All MtGox user accounts are required to be verified in order to perform any deposits or withdrawals.”

Verification has always been a requirement for depositing and withdrawing fiat currencies. The process involves supplying photo ID and proof of residence, similar to that of other exchanges. Some Mt. Gox customers have reported waits of several months to become verified.

Moving out?

Earlier this week, Mt. Gox also posted a notice on their user support page under the title “MtGox Co., Ltd Location and Address Change – February 19″ with the one-line message “MtGox Co., Ltd. (Japan) has moved to the address below”.

The address supplied is in the same neighborhood, but is possibly a virtual officespace only. As yet, there has been no other indication the company has moved staff or equipment there.

The owner of Mt Gox’s office building is said to be annoyed at the attention the company has been getting lately, especially with protestors near the front door and various images of the building appearing on the web. This is not surprising in real-estate conscious and superstitious Tokyo, where even the most premium office space can attract a bad reputation that sticks for years.

Another statement was issued by the company today, which read:

“Thank you for your patience this week while we are working on re-initiating bitcoin withdrawals. In addition to the technical issue, this week we have experienced some security problems, and as a result we had to relocate MtGox to our previous ofﬁce building in Shibuya (details can be found here https://support.mtgox.com/home). The move, combined with some other security and technical challenges, pushed back our progress.

As much as we didn’t want to only provide an ‘update on an update’, this is the current status. We are committed to solving this issue and will provide more information as soon as possible to keep everyone in the loop.

We are very sorry for the delays and deeply appreciate your kind understanding and continuous support.”

Looking at the building’s floor guide in reception, it has few tenants other than Mt. Gox and its parent company, Tibanne.

Protestors, their friends and reporters for various financial media were asked several times by staff and security to step off the building’s premises, and stand only on the public street.

The attention began long before the current protest, with Wired sending a teamthere for the original unsuccessful doorstop interview attempt last November, and posting pictures of the building.

Also on the ground floor of Mt. Gox’s Shibuya headquarters is the ‘Bitcoin Cafe’, which Wired reported to be a Mt. Gox project due to open in December last year. Since Wired’s visit, some signage (covered) has been installed and several vans stopped to make deliveries during the day on Monday.

Price fall

The price on Mt. Gox last night and early this morning (GMT) hovered around $250 but started to decrease swiftly at around 06:45, falling to $135 by 08:00.

At the time of writing, the price on Gox is just under $150, while the CoinDesk BPI is much higher at $587.

coindesk-bpi-chart (1) — The price of bitcoin is much lower on Mt. Gox (in orange) than on the CoinDesk BPI (in black).

The last time the price of bitcoin on Mt. Gox was this low was back in early October, shortly after black marketplace Silk Road was shut down.

What do you think will happen to the price of bitcoin on Mt. Gox over the next few days? Let us know in the comments.

http://www.coindesk.com/watch-bitstamp-btc-e-mt-gox-prices-real-time-coindesk/

Watch Bitstamp, BTC-e and Mt. Gox Prices in Real-Time on CoinDesk

CoinDesk (@coindesk) | Published on February 21, 2014 at 16:37 GMT | Exchanges, News

We have updated our bitcoin price data page so you can now not only track the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index in real-time, but you can also check out the up-to-the-minute prices from the world’s largest exchanges: Bitstamp, BTC-eand even Mt. Gox.

While exchanges have come and gone from the CoinDesk BPI over time, we understand a single average doesn’t suit everyone. Once on the price page, just check the boxes of the exchanges you want to view, click ‘Update Chart’ and data from the relevant exchanges will appear on the graph.

At the moment, you can view individual prices from Bitstamp, BTC-e and Mt. Gox, but we plan to add more exchanges in the future.

When you hover your cursor over the chart, a box will appear detailing the price on each exchange at that particular time/on that particular date.

The graph enables you to view price data from any period in bitcoin’s history since July 2010, when the price on Mt. Gox was a mere $0.07. You can also see when the CoinDesk BPI came into effect (1st July, 2013) and when the price on Gox plummeted way below that recorded on the other exchanges and the CoinDesk BPI (earlier this month).

gox-falls-below-bpi — The bitcoin price on Mt. Gox fell below that on Bitstamp, BTC-e and the Coindesk BPI earlier this month.

If you want to download the price data you are looking at, just hit the yellow ‘Export’ button and you can select your preferred format from the drop-down list, for example a PNG image or a PDF document.

Make sure you check out our Bitcoin Price Ticker Widget too. We welcome any feedback you have in the comments, or feel free to email contact@coindesk.com.

Catharsis Ours

Friday, February 21, 2014