Good morning, Steemians!
I just watched a video of jsnip4's on YouTube in which he reads this article: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/29/16060344/btce-bitcoin-exchange-takedown-mt-gox-theft-law-enforcement
Supposedly the feds took down the BTC-E exchange because the owner, Alexander Vinnik, was thought to be laundering money
"As some suspected, Vinnik’s alleged crimes go beyond just operating the exchange. Feds believe he played a role in the theft of more 800,000 bitcoin — about $400 million at the time — from Mt. Gox, a staggering loss that ultimately shuttered the exchange. According to the indictment, 530,000 of those bitcoin ended up passing through wallets controlled by or associated with Vinnik, although his role in the larger scheme remains unclear."
"Feds believe he played a role in the theft of about 800,000 Bitcoin."
These statements are troubling... Do we really know the owners and operators of the exchanges on which we trade our cryptos?
There are obviously better exchanges than others, but the same thing could essentially happen to any of them. The feds could simply come in and say that this happened, though it may not have. This is why I will never keep any amount of cryptos on an exchange. They might not be able to prove that it was he who did the money laundering. It could've been one of the many people who use his exchange. Who knows? All we know is what they tell us.
We should all think twice before we leave cryptos on an exchange. It's much safer on a paper wallet or other digital wallet where we have our personal keys.
