HYPE and Fear - Revelations 16

Bitcoin Hit By 'Massive' DDoS Attack As Tensions Rise.- Forbes
Bitcoin's endgame? A second firm suspends withdrawals - The Economy Hub
The Glitch That Will Help Kill Bitcoin - Bloomberg
Bitcoin plunges as major exchange halts withdrawals - CNN Money
Two more Bitcoin exchanges hit by DDoS attacks
Bitcoin: A new rip in the fabric as another firm suspends withdrawals
Bitcoin exchanges buckle under strain of phantom transactions
Hackers Launch Massive Attack Against Bitcoin Exchanges
Bitcoin exchanges halt withdrawals as "massive" attack spreads
Lots Of Major Bitcoin Exchanges Are Under A 'Concerted And Massive Attack' Right Now

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FACT and Freedom

Dear MtGox Customers and Bitcoiners

As you are aware, the MtGox team has been working hard to address an issue with the way that bitcoin withdrawals are processed. By "bitcoin withdrawal" we are referring to transactions from a MtGox bitcoin wallet to an external bitcoin address. Bitcoin transactions to any MtGox bitcoin address, and currency withdrawals (Yen, Euro, etc) are not affected by this issue.

The problem we have identified is not limited to MtGox, and affects all transactions where Bitcoins are being sent to a third party. We believe that the changes required for addressing this issue will be positive over the long term for the whole community. As a result we took the necessary action of suspending bitcoin withdrawals until this technical issue has been resolved.

Non-technical Explanation:
A bug in the bitcoin software makes it possible for someone to use the Bitcoin network to alter transaction details to make it seem like a sending of bitcoins to a bitcoin wallet did not occur when in fact it did occur. Since the transaction appears as if it has not proceeded correctly, the bitcoins may be resent. MtGox is working with the Bitcoin core development team and others to mitigate this issue.

Conclusion
To put things in perspective, it's important to remember that Bitcoin is a very new technology and still very much in its early stages. What MtGox and the Bitcoin community have experienced in the past year has been an incredible and exciting challenge, and there is still much to do to further improve.

MtGox will resume bitcoin withdrawals to outside wallets once the issue outlined above has been properly addressed in a manner that will best serve our customers.

More information on the status of this issue will be released as soon as possible.

We thank you for taking the time to read this, and especially for your patience.

Best Regards,

MtGox Team