The Bitcoin Foundation has just announced that Mt. Gox has resigned their industry member board seat. The exchange’s CEO, Mark Karpeles, represented his company on the board.
The news was announced by Jon Matonis on Sunday evening, who notes that the folks at the Bitcoin Foundation “are grateful for [Mt. Gox’s] early and valuable contributions as a founding member in launching the Bitcoin Foundation”.
The news comes amidst crippling issues the exchange has been having, chief of which are withdrawals, of lack thereof. With widespread speculation that the exchange has become insolvent, members of the online bitcoin community have been calling for Karpeles to resign his/his company’s board seat for a while now.
Matonis indicated election information is forthcoming, as the Foundation will be looking to fill Gox’s place.
With a tarnished reputation, it no longer makes sense for the exchange to service on the board, acting on behalf of the Bitcoin Foundation. It’s important for Tokyo-based Mt. Gox to focus on getting back on track, and whilst doing so, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to effectively carry out their duties on the board.
A bad omen?
The news is likely to worry Gox customers with money trapped in the exchange even more so than they already are. It makes us wonder whether or not the exchange will be starting the week with some not-so-good (or even downright bad) news.
Mt. Gox themselves have not made any public statement on the matter, as of this juncture.