Mt. Gox Website Updated, Allows Users to Check Balances

Mt. Gox has apparently updated its website, now allowing users to log in and confirm exactly how much money they have locked away. The otherwise plain page shows balances both in unobtainable BTC and fiat currency, with no explanation given for the change. It also does not list the exchange's current bitcoin value. Mt. Gox's customer call center confirmed the login page is genuine. A post earlier in the day on Reddit had claimed the site was compromised and someone was collecting login credentials, but this now appears to be a hoax. The call center representative did, however, mention that....

Troubled and now-defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox updated their website on Tuesday morning with what they're calling a 'balance confirmation service', allowing users to log in with a username and password to view their balances at the time the exchange shut down late last month. Already on social media, speculation is rampant, with some even suggesting the login form is a scammer's way of harvesting usernames and passwords. Several users have reported on this Reddit thread that their balances are reported correctly. The login form is accompanied with the following statement: Important....

DuckDuckGo, the search engine for privacy lovers, has implemented a new feature that allows bitcoiners to check their balances simply by dropping their public address in the search box. While finding your latest balance can be done via your wallet or block chain explorer services such as Blockchain, DuckDuckGo, which requires no login, can make the process far quicker and simpler. For users that make DuckDuckGo the default search engine in their browser, checking a balance is as simple as pasting the address into the search box and hitting the 'return' key. One further, and possibly useful....

What could be called a partial alternative to Blockchain.info has launched this weekend dubbed Blockr.io, a 'block reader' which offers an appealing interface for examining the bitcoin block chain, addresses, and more. It does not, however, offer wallet services. It's what you would expect, and carries a pretty intuitive interface. You can check address balances, view charts, and even view network facts (referred to as trivia) on the site. There's even an alternate side of the website dedicated to litecoin, in which you can do the same as noted above. It goes without saying that it appears....

Mt. Gox's landing page, with log-in access. Early in the morning Japan time, Tuesday, MtGox.com suddenly began allowing former users to log in to their accounts in order to check their wallet balances. Without warning, the following message appeared on the website, below two input boxes: Important announcement to all users confirming their account. This balance confirmation service is provided on this site only for the convenience of all users. Please be aware that confirming the balance on this site does not constitute a filing of rehabilitation claims under the civil rehabilitation....