Mt.Gox Protest Sign Auctioned At $383,000

On a cold morning in February 2014, Kolin Burges stood outside the Mt. Gox office in Tokyo's Ginza district, holding a hand-written cardboard sign. The sign demanded that the exchange's CEO, Mark Karpeles, explain the missing bitcoins. This event marked the beginning of the first major cryptocurrency financial scandal. Eleven years later, this iconic sign has become a symbol of that scandal and is now being auctioned on Scare.City, with a starting bid of 4.5 BTC, approximately $383,000. The auction will start this Friday and end on April 3rd.

During an interview, Burges reflected on the significance of the sign, stating, "At the time, I never thought it would become valuable. I had thought that perhaps one day I would write a book, but the sign itself never seemed that important. It's really hard to imagine how things have evolved to this extent."

After the mysterious freeze of withdrawals at Mt. Gox, Burges flew from London to Tokyo. The auction of the signboard represents a poignant moment in the history of cryptocurrency, highlighting the enduring impact of the Mt. Gox incident on the industry. The signboard, now a piece of history, is expected to attract significant interest from collectors and enthusiasts alike, given its symbolic value and the historical context it represents.