Mt. Gox，once the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange，filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday，saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system.
曾是世界最大比特幣交易平臺的Mt. Gox于2月28日在日本申請破產(chǎn)保護(hù)，并稱可能因黑客入侵其問題系統(tǒng)而造成近5億美元的損失。(路透社)
Details of the bankruptcy are scant but the application for protection has been accepted by a district court in Tokyo，reported AFP. At the court hearing，the company said it had outstanding debts of about 6.5bn yen.
據(jù)法新社報道，已知的破產(chǎn)相關(guān)細(xì)節(jié)不多，但破產(chǎn)保護(hù)申請已由東京地方法院受理。在法院聽證會上，這家公司稱其未償付債務(wù)高達(dá)65億日元。(英國廣播公司)
The defunct exchange is the target of an investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The scope of the probe isn’t clear，but prosecutors have subpoenaed the company，ordering it to preserve certain documents，according to a person familiar with the matter.
美國紐約南區(qū)檢察官辦公室已對這家停止運(yùn)營的交易平臺展開調(diào)查。調(diào)查范圍尚不清楚，但據(jù)知情人士透露，檢察官已向其發(fā)出傳票，命令其保存相關(guān)文件。(《華爾街日報》)
Mt. Gox also faces lawsuits from customers. On Thursday，a customer who claims to have $25，000 worth of bitcoins tied up at Mt. Gox filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the exchange. The claim alleges that Mt. Gox，its holding company and Mr. Karpelès are guilty of consumer fraud by engaging in “unlawful，deceptive，and unfair conduct that is immoral，unscrupulous，and causes substantial injury to consumers.”
Mt. Gox也同樣面臨來自客戶的法律訴訟。上周四，一名聲稱其價值25000美元的比特幣被困Mt. Gox平臺的客戶向該交易平臺提起訴訟，并正尋求走集體訴訟渠道。該訴訟指控Mt. Gox的控股公司和首席執(zhí)行官Karpelès通過參與“不合法的、具有欺騙性的和不公平的行為”來欺騙消費(fèi)者，其行為“不道德、寡廉鮮恥，對客戶造成了巨大的傷害”。(《華爾街日報》)
Senior members of the Bitcoin community have claimed that the theft has exposed nothing more than the expulsion of a poorly run operator，pointing to the relative resilience of the Bitcoin price on other exchanges. Prices slipped about a third in February，but Bitcoins are still trading at about 4 times the rate of six months ago.
比特幣圈內(nèi)的資深人士聲稱，此次被盜事件只是暴露了這家管理不善的平臺的沒落，并表示其他交易平臺的比特幣價格有所回升。比特幣價格在二月份價格下跌約三分之一，但目前的交易價格仍然是6個月以前水平的四倍。(《金融時報》)
Yet others argue that the troubles at Mt. Gox reveal flaws at the core of the Bitcoin movement. In particular， they say，the absence of a central issuing authority means that holders of virtual currencies lack support when things go wrong.
不過另一些人則爭辯稱，Mt. Gox的問題反映了比特幣發(fā)展的核心缺陷，尤其是中央機(jī)構(gòu)監(jiān)管的缺失就意味發(fā)生問題時虛擬貨幣持有者將孤立無援。(《金融時報》)
Federal regulators have encouraged bitcoin companies to follow money-laundering rules，but beyond that have generally been silent on whether they have legal authority to regulate companies like Mt. Gox in the future or set up rules that would protect bitcoin users. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have held meetings in recent weeks to study the issue.
美國聯(lián)邦監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)鼓勵比特幣公司遵守與洗錢相關(guān)的規(guī)定，但除此之外，在其是否具有法定權(quán)力在未來監(jiān)管Mt. Gox等公司或者制定保護(hù)比特幣用戶的條例方面一直未給出答復(fù)。美國消費(fèi)者金融保護(hù)局和聯(lián)邦貿(mào)易委員會近幾周已召開會議研究這一議題。(《華爾街日報》)
Japan’s deputy finance minister said any regulation of bitcoin would have to involve international cooperation to avoid opening up loopholes that traders could exploit.
日本財政部副部長表示，無論對比特幣采取何種監(jiān)管措施都必須加強(qiáng)國際合作，以避免暴露可能被交易員利用的漏洞。(英國廣播公司)