Who remembers Mt. Gox?
The japanese exchange platform that went bankrupt in 2014, resulting in a loss of 850,000 Bitcoins (worth $500 Mio. back then, and almost $2 Million now) as well as $28 million of user money.
Today, the trial for former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès began in Tokyo.
He is facing charges for embezzlement and data manipulation, including charges for accessing the Mt. Gox system to inflate his account by $1 million and for transferring $3 million from a Mt. Gox bank account holding customer funds to one of his own accounts.
Karpelès had been arrested in autumn 2015 and was released on bail in 2016.
The 32 year-old frenchman pleads not guilty and "swears to god he is innocent".
He claims that the funds got lost due to unknown 3rd parties and an error in the computer system.
If Karpelès should be found guilty anyway, he could face up to 5 years in prison and a fine.
The Mt. Gox crash caused a huge uproar in 2014 and had a very negative effect on Bitcoin's reputation.
It symbolizes the weaknesses in the bitcoin system and many critics referred to this case to highlight the supposed "dangers" of cryptocurrencies.
I even knew someone who had funds worth $4 million in Mt. Gox and lost it - that's why I still get shivers whenever I hear the name of this platform.
Many users are still waiting to recover their funds, and hoping that this trail will give some more evidence to clear up the case.
Today, the news of the Mt. Gox trial might have influenced the cryptocurrency prices once again.
If you are following the events on coinmarketcap, you will have noticed that there was a major crash in the cryptocurrency prices last night.
All major cryptocurrencies experienced a sudden crash - some were hit harder than others, but all in all, the numbers are showing RED.
While Bitcoin crashed "only" 6.6% and is now on around $2360, other currencies like Ethereum, Ripple, NEM, IOATA or EOS experienced a crash of over 20% !
Now you might assume that these are bad news - but actually, this is an OPPORTUNITY!
This is the perfect time to invest, following the oldest rule of trading: buy red, sell green.
And even if you have invested in one of these currencies that crashed - don't panic sell, hold your coins, and if possible invest some more in other currencies so that you'll have a double profit once the prices rise again.
Do you know of any other reasons for the price crash? Tell us in the comments below!
© Sirwinchester