Bingo. The Feds seized their cold wallet somehow.
Mark has said repeatedly that Mt. Gox is under investigation and that he can't talk about it. There's a supposed IRC log from two days ago where he let it slip that he's under a gag order, saying two days ago "le gouv US ne veut pas qu'on disclose" (the US gov. doesn't want us to say anything)[0]. And he's said in public that he can't discuss the matter since he's under investigation.
So my guess is that the feds have seized his cold wallet as part of the Silk Road investigation, or even as part of the case against Mt. Gox itself, which was probably in a safety deposit box. They've already seized 5 million USD last year from Gox, why wouldn't they go after the Bitcoins, too?
And yes, the seized Bitcoins would not equal the number owed, but my guess is that they're the majority of them, say 80%.
If that's the case, account holders would have to petition the USD to prove they're not drug dealers and or tax evaders to get their money back.
Mark has said repeatedly that Mt. Gox is under investigation and that he can't talk about it. There's a supposed IRC log from two days ago where he let it slip that he's under a gag order, saying two days ago "le gouv US ne veut pas qu'on disclose" (the US gov. doesn't want us to say anything)[0]. And he's said in public that he can't discuss the matter since he's under investigation.
So my guess is that the feds have seized his cold wallet as part of the Silk Road investigation, or even as part of the case against Mt. Gox itself, which was probably in a safety deposit box. They've already seized 5 million USD last year from Gox, why wouldn't they go after the Bitcoins, too?
And yes, the seized Bitcoins would not equal the number owed, but my guess is that they're the majority of them, say 80%.
If that's the case, account holders would have to petition the USD to prove they're not drug dealers and or tax evaders to get their money back.