Mt. Gox
Largest crypto hack in history — collapse of Bitcoin exchange in 2014 and its aftermath.
Mt. Gox was the world's leading Bitcoin exchange from 2010 to 2014 — at its peak handling 70% of all Bitcoin transactions. Its collapse in 2014 marked crypto history.
History:
•2010: Jed McCaleb bought domain (originally Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange)
•2011: Sold to Mark Karpeles
•2011: First hack crisis — private key stolen, 2,000 BTC
•2013: At peak, 1M users, 70% BTC volume
•February 2014: Withdrawals suspended
•February 28, 2014: Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy
What happened:
•Stolen: ~850,000 BTC (value then ~$450M, today ~$85B)
•Hacked over YEARS — not noticed because they were filling holes with internal BTC
•Hot wallet + cold wallet compromised
•Management concealed losses
Aftermath (2024):
•10 years of court proceedings
•~141,000 BTC found in bankruptcy estate
•Creditor repayment began July 2024
•~$9 billion distribution to crypto creditors (BTC + BCH)
•"Mt. Gox dump" was market fear — passed without major crash
Lesson:
•"Not your keys, not your coins"
•Exchange is a custodian, not your vault