Mt. Gox

Mt. Gox was once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, handling over 70% of all Bitcoin transactions at its peak. Founded in 2010, it quickly became the primary platform for buying and selling Bitcoin. However, in 2014, Mt. Gox abruptly collapsed after revealing it had lost approximately 850,000 bitcoins—worth hundreds of millions of dollars at the time—due to theft or mismanagement. This massive loss shook the cryptocurrency world and led to the exchange filing for bankruptcy, leaving many users unable to recover their funds.

The Mt. Gox incident remains one of the most significant events in Bitcoin’s history, underscoring the inherent risks associated with centralized exchanges. It highlighted critical issues such as poor security practices and lack of transparency, demonstrating how centralized control can expose digital assets to vulnerabilities. The fallout from Mt. Gox prompted the Bitcoin community to rethink asset security, reinforcing the importance of self-custody—meaning users control their own private keys rather than relying on third-party platforms.

This event popularized the mantra “not your keys, not your coins,” emphasizing that holding private keys personally is the safest way to protect Bitcoin holdings. As a result, the collapse of Mt. Gox accelerated the adoption of hardware wallets, cold storage, and other non-custodial solutions that allow users to maintain full control over their crypto assets. Today, Mt. Gox serves as a cautionary tale and a foundational lesson in the ongoing development of secure cryptocurrency practices and infrastructure.