Mark Karpelès, former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, has re-entered the bitcoin space with a new venture called EllipX. Karpelès announced this development today via a x.com/MagicalTux/status/1826932937599914083″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>mail On June 15, EllipX Wallet will be launched, a product aimed at transforming the security and accessibility of cryptocurrency management.
Karpelès' new bitcoin company
The first announcement about EllipX appeared on August 6th on x, with a post encouraging the crypto community to follow its progress. Today, Karpelès provided a deeper look at the company’s first product via a detailed blog post. EllipX Wallet is described as an innovative solution that employs Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to improve security by splitting a user’s private key between multiple custodians: the user, their device, and the secure EllipX environment.
The wallet uses a Threshold Signature Scheme (TSS), an advanced cryptographic method for managing digital signatures. This technology allows multiple parties to jointly sign transactions without exposing their entire private key, minimizing the risk of theft or loss. “This launch marks a significant step towards our mission to develop products that shape the future of cryptocurrencies and make them accessible to everyone,” EllipX’s blog stated.
EllipX Wallet is touted as the world’s first user-facing MPC-based mobile cryptocurrency wallet, notable for eliminating the need for traditional seed phrases typically required for wallet recovery. The wallet will support ethereum (eth) at launch, with plans to add bitcoin (btc), bitcoin Cash (BCH), ERC-20 tokens, and other assets.
The wallet’s design allows users to manage multiple cryptocurrencies, send payments without transaction fees, and securely interact with decentralized applications (dApps) through an upcoming in-app browser.
An important aspect of EllipX Wallet is its focus on security. The wallet uses the hardware security of the user’s device, combined with biometric data and EllipX’s own authentication technology to protect private keys. Karpelès highlighted x’s innovative approach: “With the goal of making cryptocurrencies more accessible and secure, the first step comes with EllipX Wallet, an MPC wallet that splits private keys into 3 parts between you, your device and EllipX.”
Community reaction
This venture marks a decisive comeback for Karpelès, whose career was marred by the collapse of Mt. Gox in 2014, after a massive attack led to the loss of 850,000 bitcoins. The incident had far-reaching consequences on the global perception of the security of cryptocurrencies.
In light of the catastrophic end of Mt. Gox, the community's reactions were mixed. While many wished him every success with his business, there were also some critics. Users commented, for example, “Congratulations Mark, but I hope you didn't miss the irony :-)” and “You've got guts. I'll give you that.”
It is worth noting that Mark Karpelès played a central and controversial role in the demise of Mt. Gox, which was once the largest bitcoin exchange in the world, handling 70% of all bitcoin transactions. Under his leadership, Mt. Gox suffered multiple security breaches. Karpelès attributed the 2014 attack to a software glitch, although investigations suggested poor security practices and possible internal fraud.
In 2015, Karpelès was arrested in Japan on charges of embezzlement and data manipulation, leading to a trial where he was found guilty of falsifying financial records but received a suspended sentence. His role in the collapse of Mt. Gox is controversial and is seen by some as the result of negligence.
At the time of writing, btc was trading at $61,068.
Featured image from The Seatle Times, chart from TradingView.com
