Mt Gox, which handles 80% of Bitcoin trades, sees its trade engine freeze as interest in Bitcoin soars.
Well this didn’t take long. Just hours after we reported that Bitcoin prices were crashing after a fast and frenzied run up from $25 to over $200 in just two months, comes word that Mt Gox — which operates the most popular Bitcoin exchange — has shut down trading until at earliest 2am GMT Thursday night / Friday morning.
Mt Gox stated that “people started to panic, started to sell Bitcoin in mass (Panic Sale) resulting in an increase of trade that ultimately froze the trade engine!”
In the meantime, Bitcoin prices continue to slide. On rival exchange BitStamp, which appears to still be up and operating, prices were reported at 19:15 GMT at around $75 — down 54% for the day.
We’re sure to have more to say about Bitcoins over the coming days and weeks as this story develops. Stay tuned…
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.