Thousands of investors have benefitted from the Bitcoin boom that has seen the cryptocurrency surge in value.
Bitcoin started 2017 worth $997, but stands at $17,156 on today’s trading.
But spare a thought for the creditors of Mt Gox.
Mt Gox was the world’s leading Bitcoin exchange when hackers breached the exchange’s security systems in 2014 and got away with a huge haul of the online currency.
Since then, creditors have tried to get their money back.
Then, Bitcoin was worth $450 and a court in Japan has just granted them the right to claim compensation using a Bitcoin rate of no more than $480.
The creditors are annoyed because Mt Gox has recovered 200,000 Bitcoin, worth almost $3.5 billion at today’s exchange rate.
The exchange’s former CEO Mark Karpeles will take the balance between the compensation and the value of the Bitcoin he holds – a cool 41.76 billion.
The creditors want the authorities to stop Mt Gox’s bankruptcy so they can demand repayment in Bitcoin rather than Japanese yen that will give them significantly more money.
A decision is expected early in 2018.
Government may tax cryptocurrency profits
The government in South Korea looking at a crackdown on trading virtual currencies by levying capital gains tax on any profits.
The tightening up of trading rules will also ban minors from opening virtual currency accounts and restrict official exchanges to those that promise investor protection and hand over the details of all transactions to the tax authority.
The proposal will go to a vote in parliament.
Don’t buy Litecoin, warns founder
Online currency Litecoin is blazing a trail almost as bright as Bitcoin’s for investors.
Litecoin, the world’s fifth largest cryptocurrency by market value, has doubled in price from $148 to $309 in 48 hours – passing a falling back past an all-time high of $341 on the way.
But currency founder Charlie Lee is warning investors not to buy.
“Ok, sorry to spoil the party, but I need to reign in the excitement a bit,” he said.
“Buying LTC is extremely risky. I expect us to have a multi-year bear market like the one we just had where LTC dropped 90% in value ($48 to $4). So, if you can’t handle LTC dropping to $20, don’t buy.”
