Perhaps they are all going to be working from home, either to reduce exposure to physical threats, or to reduce expenses? It doesn't really seem like their business would require a lot of physical office space.
I suppose there is also the possibility that they are getting ready to liquidate, though you would think they would just go ahead and do that, rather mess around with the virtual office.
My guess, based on Karpeles previous actions, would be that they are nervous with all the negative attention (an employee on the #mtgox IRC reported that some of the employees "felt threatened" with the protests) and will simply work from home or from another location.
If they are just trying to use this to cover another physical location, that would seem quite silly, as I imagine any good private investigator can figure out where they are actually located.
It seems that more and more companies are going to virtual office route. In a situation like this, they could be doing it in an effort to not be tied down to one location. With virtual offices, you can get everything you'd need in an office space but have no obligations what so ever. Even if you want to change locations each month you can do that; but I'm not sure what the availability in Japan is like. But here in the USA, there are endless amounts of options out there in big cities, not to mention if you're moving state to state. Just look at some of the locations
these guys have on their site, covering the USA and Canada.
WHat a cowardly move to run and hide now to a new "virtual" office. Sure they could have hired a security guard or two but come on. What they need to try now is honesty (I'm sure they won't) and say approximately how much got stolen. If they said "2000 btc were stolen" and that's why they will limit withdrawals, and they'll limit them for 2 months, then the panic might wear off a little. It's just like the stock market - uncertainty is what hurt it.
Yea... like I said, a lot of damage can be done jumping around from office to office. Hopefully this isn't an indication of them planning to take advantage of their clientele. Does anyone have an update on what's going on lately?
