Why didn't MtGox halt trading like they've done in the past?

[traderCJ]

What I find really strange and I am surprised nobody picked up on that. Why did the Gox price tank 2 hours prior to the announcement concerning the security issues. If this is not some insider trading I do not know what is.

Could have just been traders front running, knowing with a high probability that the announcement would indicate no progress. Then, it's just a matter of feedback looping.

Possible, but more likely the work of insiders who had advance knowledge of the content of the official statement.

[Cluster2k]

Right now MtGox reminds of a casino poker table where no one can add or subtract money.  All the players are madly playing away and wondering why everyone is going broke: all the money's going in the rake no matter what happens.

MtGox would be stupid to halt trading.  For one thing, it's still a massive profit center for them.  It would also cause instant panic as it would look like MtGox has stolen all the funds.  Keeping GoxCoins trading is the best they can do at this point.

[byronbb]

Because they have turned the corner and become scammers.

[MAbtc]

Because they have turned the corner and become scammers.

90% drop and no trade halt? That tells you something about Mark's mindset.

[fluidjax]

Trading curbs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_curb

"Since over 50% of all trades on the NYSE are program trades, this curb was supposed to limit volatility by mitigating the ability of automated trades to drive stock prices down via positive feedback."


Regulation can be good. Fear creates illogical behaviour, which can do irreparable damage. A little time will allow people to see some sense.

A good analogy is someone impulsively trying to commit suicide, though it is their free will and right to do it, sometimes it would be desirable to forcibly stop them trying to do it, in order that they have some time to become rational and make a more considered decision.

[Oldminer]

Because Mark gotta buy all up all his customers coins. Then he will stop trading & shut up shop.

[dg2010]

It's fucking criminal.

Their trading platform is fundamentally broken the minute they stopped withdrawals. Allowing trading to continue was only going to end up one way, that is the price is going to plummet. Guess who's in a position to buy them up and make a huge profit when the price jumps back up?

If you can't withdraw your coins for more than 24hrs the platform should be suspended. Simple.

[thelema93]

There's a million and one conspiracy theories on this forum.
How about this one...

1. Gox really did have a bug in their bitcoin software.
2. They need to fix it like they said they do - and need to stop withdrawals to fix it.
3. 99% of bitcoin investors are either paranoid freaks or paranoid fat cats and so they all freaked and decided to sell loads of their coins - because they all read way too much into the hype and hysteria.
4. The price on Gox therefore tanked.
5. They will fix the bug and go right back to where they were before this happened.

Hmmm... almost tooooo simple?

[billington.mark]

There's a million and one conspiracy theories on this forum.
How about this one...

1. Gox really did have a bug in their bitcoin software.
2. They need to fix it like they said they do - and need to stop withdrawals to fix it.
3. 99% of bitcoin investors are either paranoid freaks or paranoid fat cats and so they all freaked and decided to sell loads of their coins - because they all read way too much into the hype and hysteria.
4. The price on Gox therefore tanked.
5. They will fix the bug and go right back to where they were before this happened.

Hmmm... almost tooooo simple?

So there ARE people on here who have the same train of thought as me!
to coin a phrase, "A watched pot never boils". In this case though, its damn hard not to stare, and I have to admit, the price drop is slightly stomach churning In a couple weeks time, hopefully, all of this will be fixed and the only thing in tatters will be gox's reputation and not users $ or BTC.

[raid_n]

There's a million and one conspiracy theories on this forum.
How about this one...

1. Gox really did have a bug in their bitcoin software.
2. They need to fix it like they said they do - and need to stop withdrawals to fix it.
3. 99% of bitcoin investors are either paranoid freaks or paranoid fat cats and so they all freaked and decided to sell loads of their coins - because they all read way too much into the hype and hysteria.
4. The price on Gox therefore tanked.
5. They will fix the bug and go right back to where they were before this happened.

Hmmm... almost tooooo simple?

So there ARE people on here who have the same train of thought as me!
to coin a phrase, "A watched pot never boils". In this case though, its damn hard not to stare, and I have to admit, the price drop is slightly stomach churning In a couple weeks time, hopefully, all of this will be fixed and the only thing in tatters will be gox's reputation and not users $ or BTC.

Gox has the benefit of uncertainty but their behaviour should ring alarm bells with anyone.
If they really cared about customers they'd do anything in their power to stop the FUD.
If indeed they are solvent and all is "fine" their current price level may severely damage customers selling at that price point.
As you state this whole fiasco will damage gox's reputation, probably beyond repair.

The question is how will the gox team handle this sinking ship (because thats whats happening here regardless of whether the funds are there or not).
During times of crisis the worst can be brought out in people

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

Gox is out of touch and bad at communicating, but I see no reason at all to suspect insolvency or any underhandedness. They may have gotten some money stolen, and it could be a lot, but there's no particular reason to believe it's to the point of insolvency, any more than that it's trivial. They would need to carefully recount everything in either case before reopening access.

Note that SEPA and yen withdrawals seem to be working basically fine. It seems like 90% of the hysteric posts are unaware of this basic fact. MtGox isn't a black hole; plenty of money is flowing out, even if a few weeks delayed.

The market places odds at 75 to 80% that they'll never reopen BTC withdrawals, but that seems ridiculously low to me. Time to make some money on people's hysteria

[sgbett]

Gox is out of touch and bad at communicating, but I see no reason at all to suspect insolvency or any underhandedness. They may have gotten some money stolen, and it could be a lot, but there's no particular reason to believe it's to the point of insolvency, any more than that it's trivial. They would need to carefully recount everything in either case before reopening access.

Note that SEPA and yen withdrawals seem to be working basically fine. It seems like 90% of the hysteric posts are unaware of this basic fact. MtGox isn't a black hole; plenty of money is flowing out, even if a few weeks delayed.

The market places odds at 75 to 80% that they'll never reopen BTC withdrawals, but that seems ridiculously low to me. Time to make some money on people's hysteria

I knew I wasn't the only one with an under developed panic gland.