Mark Karpeles, former CEO of the infamous Mt. Gox, will soon launch EllipX, a new crypto exchange based in Europe. The project, according to the announcement, will focus on transparency and ease of use.
Will Karpeles be able to regain the trust of the sector?
The ex-CEO of Mt. Gox presents EllipX, a crypto platform that promises maximum transparency and ease of use
Mark Karpeles, known for having led Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, is ready to make his return to the cryptocurrency scene with the launch of a new platform called EllipX.
After the traumatic experience of the failure of Mt. Gox, which in 2014 lost 850,000 BTC due to a massive hack, Karpeles decided to try again. This time with a very specific mission: making transparency the cornerstone of his new project.
EllipX will be launched at the end of this month in Europe, based in Poland, a country that Karpeles knows well from the days of Mt. Gox. The main objective of the new exchange is to distinguish itself from the main operators in the sector, such as Binance and Coinbase.
Therefore offering an unprecedented level of transparency, an aspect that, according to Karpeles, is missing in most of the platforms currently operating.
Karpeles emphasized how transparency is crucial to gaining users’ trust, especially after the FTX scandal, where billions of dollars of customers were managed illicitly by the exchange’s executives.
EllipX promises not to repeat these errors, and to do so it plans to clearly separate the different functions within the platform.
The peculiarities of the new crypto exchange
Unlike many exchanges that handle both customer transaction management and the storage of criptovalute and fiat currencies, EllipX will adopt an approach similar to that of the New York Stock Exchange for the stock market.
The management of trading will be separated from brokerage, while the storage of cryptocurrencies will be entrusted to third parties, such as BitGo, specialized in security.
This approach will allow the creation of a more secure and transparent system, in which every entity will be subject to independent checks by third parties.
Karpeles stated that one of the objectives of EllipX is to establish new standards of transparency in the sector, hoping that other platforms will follow his example.
“By creating this type of transparency and environment, we hope that transparency becomes a standard throughout the industry.”
Another distinctive feature of EllipX will be the ease of use. To attract even the less experienced users, the platform will introduce the EllipX wallet, already presented last month.
This portfolio has been designed to be simple and intuitive, eliminating the need for complicated backup processes, such as writing recovery phrases on paper, which often discourage cryptocurrency newcomers.
Equipped with multilateral computing technology, the EllipX portfolio aims to combine security and convenience, making the user experience more accessible.
Furthermore, Karpeles announced the creation of Ungox, a non-profit organization that will evaluate the security and reliability of crypto projects and exchanges.
This rating system will provide users with valuable information to navigate a market often full of pitfalls.
The intentions for the future of Karpeles
Despite his efforts to rebuild the trust lost with the failure of Mt. Gox, Karpeles is aware that the road ahead will not be easy.
However, he believes that the lessons learned from the past have been fundamental in developing an exchange that can truly make a difference in the sector.
“My commitment to transparency is strongly influenced by my experience with Mt. Gox”,
explained, recalling the long process of refunding the funds to creditors that finally began at the beginning of this year, after a decade of work.
As a sign of reconciliation with the old Mt. Gox customers, Karpeles also announced that holders of NFT related to Mt. Gox will be entitled to special discounts on trading fees on EllipX.
Furthermore, all those who used Mt. Gox between 2010 and 2014 will be able to receive the NFT for free.
While EllipX prepares for its debut, Karpeles looks to the future with optimism, convinced that his new platform can set new standards of transparency and security in the world of cryptocurrencies.
“Today, I don’t believe that a security breach like the one at Mt. Gox would be possible. And even if something similar were to happen, we would notice it immediately.”
With EllipX, Karpeles seeks not only to redeem himself in the eyes of the crypto community, but also to leave an indelible mark in the history of cryptocurrencies.
Promoting therefore a business model based on ethical principles and on a transparency that, it hopes, will soon become the industry standard.