UPDATE: See our analysis of this DDoS in our newer post: Have We Reached A Turning Point For Bitcoin Exchange DDoS?
Quite a day already for Bitcoin exchanges, but I want to remind anyone reading this: exchanges and other private companies are not bitcoin. We are in the infancy of what may be the greatest fundamental shift for human society of the 21st century. There are going to be hiccups as the market develops, that does make the underlying bitcoin protocol any less viable. In fact, there are even some glimmers of hope in the darkness. See below for an analysis of today’s developments:
Deja Vu: Gox DDOS’d
You can view live updates here: https://www.facebook.com/MtGox/posts/458672157550530
Gox has been DDOS’d again. For a more detailed analysis of what and how this is caused, see our post from the last time this happened. A Gox DDOS is barely news at this point, but I would like to draw your attention to something very different about today’s attack: the patience with which the market handled the news. Consider the B/A spread during the last DDOS vs. today’s. Objectively speaking, the latter looks like a far more mature market with less influence from buy-and-fly speculators.
Bitcoin-24 Trading Halted, BitFloor Shutters Operations
As you’ll see from the images below, Bitcoin-24 isn’t exactly living up to it’s name at the moment and has temporarily suspended operations. Not to be outdone, BitFloor has closed operations indefinitely and hopefully will settle all cash and BTC accounts with their users.
Not only will this cause a headache for the users of these exchanges, but we’re now also looking at a strong consolidation of trading volume to Mt. Gox, which is clearly a negative for the market in general, given their instability. Gox is already doing ~80% of total market volume. The other exchanges were doing just over 3% combined of the total market. That may not sound like much, but it’s 15% of the remaining market not currently on Gox – a far more disconcerting figure.
Ruh roh.
Update: Blockchain.info – one of the most robust sites for tracking bitcoin transactions, as well as a great host for a web wallet, is also down due to DDoS attacks (thank you to Reddit user BlacksmithTM for pointing this out and for those of you who brought it to our attention – we appreciate whomever is sharing our articles and readers keeping us informed). Blockchain.info is aware of the situation and working with their service provider to update their server.
Great article!!
Happy to be of service.
Looks like a nice article though its hard to read since it forces perspwctive and cuts 1/4th of the page off.
Both boat and the built in browser on 4.2.2seem to have this issue.
Thank you for pointing this out. We’re looking into it. In the mean time, turning your Android mobile device sideways will allow you to view the full content.
Similar problem here, not with the mobile version though. Using Firefox on (x)ubuntu, text isn’t wrapped properly and is hidden under the pictures.
“exchanges and other private companies are not bitcoin. We are in the infancy of what may be the greatest fundamental shift for human society of the 21st century.”
Agree 100%. This is the thesis of an article I posted recently giving historical perspective by comparing growth of railroads in 19th century to growth of Bitcoin now: http://www.247btc.com/bitcoins/138/bitcoin-railroads-exchanges-ticket-booths/
It’s important to make sure people understand that Bitcoin is different from Bitcoin Exchanges!
I’m glad this is happening. These tests will pass, making Bitcoin stronger with each one. Right now, many people are learning for the first time how to secure their wallets as a result of Blockchain.info being down
Bitcoin has a long way to go. Yet, it stands at $100 now. Imagine what the price will be in the future when we have stable exchanges and support from lots of merchants!
Wanting to purchase bitcoins but unable to bank transfer funds to my verified mt gox account. Submitted a support request but have not heard back. Any advice ? Thanks
@coastlife,
It is important to recognize the growth of the number of accounts at Mt Gox and all other 3rd party Bitcoin businesses. Bitcoin has grown so much over the past few months and a lot of these companies are experiencing growing pains.
That being said, I have been in your shoes and it is very frustrating trying to transfer money into the exchanges to purchase bitcoins. It is extremely frustrating when your money is stuck in limbo and you have no idea where it is. And the 3rd party companies are swamped with a backlog of orders and don’t have time to respond to everyone in a timely manner.
My advice would be to be patient first. Give Mt. Gox 24-48 hours to respond to your support request. After 24-48 hours, I would try becoming the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. Reach out to Mt Gox via Facebook and Twitter, maybe even Reddit.