Mark Karpelès on the Collapse of Mt. Gox

Mr Obnoxious - Un pódcast de Peter McCormack

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Interview location: Tokyo
Interview date: Saturday 16th Feb, 2019
Company: Mt. Gox
Role: CEO

The shadow of Mt. Gox still hangs over Bitcoin some five years after it collapsed. At the time it held 7% of all Bitcoin in circulation and was the primary exchange for Bitcoin traders. It was reported that 850,000 Bitcoins had been stolen, of which 750,000 were customer coins and 100,000 were owned by Mt. Gox, though 200,000 were later found.

In the five years since, more and more information, research and analysis has pointed at a chaotic operation with poor security procedures, yet opinions range. Some label Mark anything from incompetent to a straight up fraudster while others sympathise with the challenges faced by running the worlds first Bitcoin exchange.

In this interview, I talk to Mark about the collapse of Mt. Gox, how he acquired it from Jed McCaleb, the process of civil rehabilitation and how Brock Pierce and Coinlab are holding up the distribution of funds to the creditors.

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Timestamps:

00:03:00: Introductions
00:04:12: Why is Mark talking publically now?
00:04:44: What have the last 5 years been like for Mark?
00:09:42: What was it like for Mark personally?
00:13:48: Mark’s dealings with the police and the interrogation process.
00:16:47: Mark’s first conversations with Jed McCaleb and the takeover of Mt. Gox
00:18:54: Mt. Gox due diligence prior to takeover
00:20:52: Was Mark qualified to take over at Mt. Gox?
00:24:20: Challenges after the takeover and growing pains as Bitcoin adoption increases.
00:27:05: Who was responsible for the failure and bankruptcy of Mt. Gox
00:29:23: Why were the balances of cold wallets not known at Mt. Gox
00:32:51: Is there a combination of responsibility in the failure of Mt. Gox?
00:38:08: Has Mark taken enough responsibility?
00:40:41: Escalating problems due to a broken system and various hacks.
00:46:48: Was Mark at all concerned when running the exchange?
00:48:07: Willy Bot
00:49:04: The first time Mark was of the missing Bitcoins.
00:50:23: The start of the audit process.
00:54:29: Beginnings of the bankruptcy process and stopping transfers at Mt. Gox
00:57:34: The Japanese bankruptcy process
01:00:52: Could Mark claim the surplus from the bankruptcy?
01:01:42: The background to CoinLab’s lawsuit
01:07:08: The status of CoinLab’s lawsuit in the present day.
01:08:40: Brock Pierce – what is the background with him and Mark?
01:12:54: Brock coming back into the Mt. Gox picture in 2018
01:15:46: Mark’s thoughts on Brock’s goals for Mt. Gox and civil rehabilitation
01:20:10: What changed Brock’s mind so drastically about Mark and Mt. Gox
01:23:22: Does Mark think that he has been misjudged or misrepresented?
01:27:39: How is this all going to end and what does the future hold for Mark?
01:31:03: Final comments

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Helpful Links:

Connect with Mark:
- On Twitter @magicaltux
- On Wikipedia
- On Reddit

Mentioned in the interview:
- Mt. Gox
- Mt. Gox Wikipedia page
- The History of the Mt Gox Hack: Bitcoin’s Biggest Heist
- Mark’s Reddit AMA
- WizSec report
- Brock Pierce plan
- Coinlab claim
- Alexander Vinnik
- Mark’s charges
- Gox Rising
- Tweets between Mark and Brock

Other relevant WBD podcasts:
- WBD075: Jed McCaleb on the Creation of Mt. Gox
- WBD058: Trace Mayer on Why You Must Own Your Bitcoin Private Keys

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