In 2014, Mt Gox, a bitcoin exchange based in Japan, was the largest bitcoin exchange in the world, handling over 70% of all bitcoin transactions worldwide. By the end of February of that year, it was bankrupt. The victim of a massive hack, Mt. Gox lost about 740,000 bitcoins (6% of all bitcoin in existence at the time), valued at the equivalent of €460 million at the time and over $3 billion at October 2017 prices. An additional $27 million was missing from the company’s bank accounts. Although 200,000 bitcoins were eventually recovered, the remaining 650,000 have never been recovered. Cryptocurrency Regulations in Japan Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has stepped up efforts to regulate trading and exchanges: amendments to the Payment Services Act now require cryptocurrency
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