Alleged Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright May Have Lost Bitcoin in Mt Gox Collapse

UPDATE (9th December 21:50 BST): This article has been updated with additional information.

Craig S Wright, the Australian entrepreneur identified in new reports from Gizmodo and WIRED as the creator of bitcoin, may have lost money in the collapse of now-defunct bitcoin exchange Mt Gox, newly surfaced documents show.

A piece of the evidence cited by WIRED included a liquidation notice hosted on the website for corporate advisory firm McGrathNicol. The notice focuses on Hotwire, a venture of Wright’s that backed a stalled attempt to create a bitcoin-based bank.

The document outlines the business venture’s various aspects, financial details as well as reasons for its failure. Notably, it suggests that the firm failed, in part, due to Wright’s exposure to the collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of Mt Gox.

The document states:

“Dr Wright, as the major shareholder no longer being able to provide financial accommodation to the Company due to the collapse of the Mount Gox Bitcoin registry where we understand Dr Wright had a significant exposure.”

The document does not provide exact numbers for Wright’s losses, which came amid the hundreds of thousands of bitcoins believed to have been stolen from the exchange.

Another reference to Wright’s involvement with Mt Gox is contained within an unconfirmed transcript of a meeting with the Australia Tax Office published by Gizmodo. In addition to Wright, the meeting’s attendees included ATO representative Des McMaster and attorney Andrew Sommer.

During the meeting, McMaster refers to “issues overseas” related to Gox. In the transcript, the exchange – mistakenly called “Mount Cox” – is allegedly holding funds belonging to Wright.

If the document is authentic, the meeting, which took place on 18th February, came just over a week before the Tokyo-based Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy.

CEO Mark Karpeles has been arrested twice by local police authorities, and faces embezzlement charges amid a widening investigation.

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