Former Mt.Gox CEO launches new Bitcoin exchange

The former head of the Mt.Gox affiliate, Mark Karpelès, plans to launch a new crypto exchange.

The former head of the Mt. Gox affiliate, Mark Karpelès, plans to launch a new crypto exchange. The French-born man, who migrated to Japan in 2009, told The Block. According to him, EllipX’s focus, the exchange’s name, will be on “usability and transparency.” "If you look at the top 100 exchanges, the first few are very large exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, but when you go down the list five or six names, you don’t even know which companies run the exchanges," said Karpelès.

EllipX set up as a traditional stock exchange

He also wants to split the company into separate divisions. There will be a broker and a separate trading desk. This will structure the exchange like a traditional stock exchange. “The actual trading of cryptocurrencies will take place through clearinghouses, basically through firms like BitGo, which still operate independently of brokers,” said Karpelès in the interview.

The company is currently seeking a MiCA license in Poland, where the exchange will be based. In addition to EllipX and the accompanying wallet, the former crypto manager Ungox announced. This is a kind of rating agency for crypto projects and exchanges.

It remains to be seen whether Karpelès can win back the trust of the crypto community. After all, the Mt.Gox hack, the largest crypto hack in history to date, happened under his watch. A total of 850,000 BTC were lost. In the subsequent lawsuit, Karpelès was acquitted of nearly all charges and the former CEO received a suspended sentence. The curator is currently distributing large sums from the failed estate to creditors.