Share this article
Mt. Gox bans anonymous currency deals
Mt. Gox will no longer accept anonymous accounts - the company is determined not to end up the next target of US secret service action.
By John Oates
Updated Sep 10, 2021, 10:47 a.m. Published May 30, 2013, 10:23 a.m.
In this article
The world's biggest Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox will no longer accept anonymous accounts - the company is determined not to end up the next target of US secret service action.
The Japanese exchange, which claims 80 per cent of all Bitcoin trades, said it would continue to allow Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals but any currency transaction will need ID checks. It has taken on more staff to verify accounts and hopes to clear new accounts within 48 hours.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The news follows the arrest of five people connected to Liberty Reserve in recent days.
The Feds said Liberty Reserve's 200,000 US customers made 55m transactions, almost all of them illegal.
Mt.Gox's said:
The Bitcoin market continues to evolve, as do regulations and conditions of compliance for Mt. Gox to continue bringing secure services to our customers. It is our responsibility to provide a trusted and legal exchange, and that includes making sure that we are operating within strict anti-money laundering rules and preventing other malicious activity.
As a result, beginning May 30th, 2013 all Mt. Gox user accounts are required to be verified in order to perform any currency deposits and withdrawals. Bitcoin deposits do not need verification, and at this time we are not requiring verification for Bitcoin withdrawals.
In the past two months Mt. Gox has invested in more than doubling our verification support staff, and we are currently able to process most verifications within 24~48 hours.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please visit the Security Center in your Mt. Gox account if you are not already verified, and keep in mind that being careful to submit the proper documents will result in a much faster processing time.
You can read this on the Mt.Gox website.
The decision will send shockwaves through the bitcoin community which has so far prided itself on protecting anonymity and not co-operating with any government agencies.
We predicted major fall-out from the Liberty Reserve raids, just not as fast as this.
More For You
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
What to know:
2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
More For You
Bitcoin rises above $89,000, showing rare gain in U.S. trading
Open interest data suggests the advance is likely short-covering, rather than fresh longs entering the market.
What to know:
- Bitcoin was trading higher during U.S. market hours, marking a notable shift after a month in which BTC fell roughly 20 percent cumulatively while American stocks were open.
- Declining open interest suggests the move is driven by short-covering rather than fresh leveraged longs.
- Broader crypto markets remain fragile as ETF outflows, tax-related positioning, and light holiday liquidity pressure prices.
Top Stories
