From the beginning of Mt. Gox, claims have run rampant that tracing Bitcoin transactions offers more transparency than any other currency. Oh yeah? So who would be named in a criminal complaint for the hack attack that stole half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoins at Mt. Gox? Answer: We don’t know. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-bitcoin-mtgox-bankruptcy-idUSBREA1R0FX20140228
So, instead of pushing a criminal complaint, Mt. Gox will be hit with civil law suits, meaning suits for money, by frustrated investors who want their money back. One class action suit in Illinois by investor Greg Greene for consumer fraud, negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty exemplifies what will be coming next week and after. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/illinois-man-files-class-action-lawsuit-against-bitcoin-exchange-mtgox/
The obvious technical question: Why can’t the hack attack at Mt. Gox be traced? That’s what Japanese, US, and other investigators want to know. http://gigaom.com/2014/02/27/us-and-japan-authorities-probe-bitcoin-attacks-as-leak-blogger-claims-theres-no-buyer-for-mtgox/
And the rest of us want to know the answer to that question, too. So stay tuned. Analysts at http://hamiltonfinanceservices.com forecast a full slate of reports about just what happened and who did it as the investigations unfold. If you have insights, particularly about how it might have been done, people want to know your thoughts.
Indeed… why can’t it be traced? I’ve often wondered about things like that but a half billion dollar heist one would think should be traceable. I’ll stay tuned.