Bitcoin News of the Week: Mt Gox and Dark Web Markets

Despite some high-profile developments in the Bitcoin and blockchain industries this summer, mainstream media outlets have mostly been repeating the same old stories.

That said, the notoriety these reports have generated is still worth noting. This week, the New Yorker and Rolling Stone also reported on Bitcoin, exploring the ongoing battle over Bitcoin forks and the fall of Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox.

Elsewhere, darknet markets and controversial international marketplaces took the remainder of the spotlight.

A Bitcoin Protagonist

The disgraced bitcoin exchange Mt Gox is the subject of an exposé in the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine, the second time the US magazine has written about the bitcoin industry following its February report on Silk Road.

In the final section, author David Kushner, in typical Rolling Stone style, comments on Mt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles:

“A bullied geek who built an empire with digital currency ended up being a suspect in a $500 million robbery.”

Kushner further described Kepler as “the accidental king of Bitcoin,” continuing:

“An unfortunate geek who became the most powerful lord of the digital cash world. During his reign, Bitcoin rose from about $250 to over $1,200.”

In addition to mentioning the early success of the bitcoin exchange, the author also quoted Tyler Winklevoss as saying that "Mt Gox was the most powerful and influential exchange in the bitcoin space."

Kushner also added:

"During my visit to Tokyo, Kepler maintained his innocence, which left me with two possible conclusions: either he was the biggest criminal manipulator of the digital age, or he was a fool who was blinded by profit, or perhaps he was desperate to get out of this."

There have been new developments on this story, and some of the content described in this article may be outdated.

For example, the article emphasizes that Keplers believes he will have a chance to make a comeback in the digital currency market.

“Whether he is found guilty or not guilty, he hopes to learn from Mt Gox and create a more secure form of digital cash,” the authors wrote.

Darknet Markets

This week, mainstream media reported on a clear uptick in illegal Bitcoin-related activity, with some journalists making a big deal about the temporary closure of darknet marketplace Agora.

The first and most widely cited report, written by Andy Greenberg of Wired, alluded to Agora’s predecessor, Silk Road, when he wrote:

“From the lessons of the Silk Road collapse, the largest dark web market seems to have learned something: when cracks start to appear in your anonymity armor, it’s time to exit, or at least choose to retreat or reorganize.”

Bitcoin trading comes to Iranian rial

Generally speaking, it is difficult for a new Bitcoin exchange to get much attention from the mainstream media. However, the launch of the Iranian trading platform BTXCapital is an exception.

The exchange, which went online on August 24, is not the first Bitcoin exchange in the Middle East, but its establishment has unexpectedly won the attention of the global community.

The exchange’s application services company, Draglet, told International Business Times that BTXCapital’s efforts in the region could fall through at any time.

"From a Western perspective, this is a cool way to spread bitcoin," said Ganesh Jung, the company's chief executive. "We don't have any legal issues, but the Iranian government can block such services."

Although the company’s description was very cautious, the mainstream media’s reports still came with their own “BGM”, even the two websites, the venture and IBTimes, exaggerated the headlines of the reports as usual, emphasizing that Iran is a “huge untapped market” and that the exchange may be able to unlock Bitcoin.

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