Potential Mt. Gox Buyer: Exchange Has Important Role in Bitcoin's Future
The latest attempt to bring bankrupt Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox back to life appears to be a serious one.
William Quigley, managing director of Santa Monica-based venture capital firm Clearstone Venture Partners, is part of a group of investors aiming to resuscitate the collapsed exchange. He recently appeared on CNBC to talk about the bid.
Quigley's fellow investors include John Betts, a former Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs executive, and venture capitalist Brock Pierce. The proposal, which offered to purchase Mt. Gox for just 1 BTC, first surfaced on 10th April.
Said Quigley:
As part of the plan put forth by Quigley and his fellow investors, Betts would serve as the new Mt. Gox CEO.
Mt. Gox's precarious state
In the interview, Quigley acknowledged that Mt. Gox had losses that amounted "to the tune of several hundred million dollars". However, he said he believes that the reason why the exchange was plagued by so many problems can be attributed to its own lax practices.
He explained:
Quigley said that the 1 BTC payment for the failed exchange is simply a token, stating:
Investments in bitcoin
The amount of VC investment in bitcoin has made Quigley take an interest in reviving Mt. Gox.
He added:
Quigley went on to compare the amount of investment in the bitcoin industry to the early days of the Internet, a popular comparison that has been widely invoked by bitcoin supporters.
Further, Quigley believes the current legal proceedings in Japan will allow his group of investors to bring the exchange back to life. "I want to point out that Mt. Gox is not in a traditional bankruptcy liquidation process: it’s in a civil rehabilitation process," he said.
His course of action to reboot Mt. Gox was simple:
To learn more about Quigley's bid for Mt. Gox, watch the full CNBC interview below.
DISCLOSURE
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
