Homeland Security stops Dwolla transactions with Mt. Gox
Users of the online payment network Dwolla began reporting Tuesday afternoon that an order from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was preventing them from transferring funds to and from Japan-based Mt. Gox, the world's largest bitcoin exchange. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Dwolla lets users send and receive money to and from their bank accounts without incurring costly transaction fees. Most Dwolla transactions are completed for a $0.25 fee, and many bitcoin buyers and traders use the service to send payments to Mt. Gox. As of press time, Dwolla had not responded to an email....
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So exactly what is in that court order that the US Department of Homeland Security used this week to clamp down on Dwolla-Mt. Gox transactions? It appears the feds have decided there's reason to believe Mt. Gox and a subsidiary are operating as unlicensed money transmitting businesses in violation of US law. Ars Technica obtained a copy of the seizure warrant issued in US District Court in Maryland and signed by US Magistrate Judge Susan K. Gauvey. The seven-page warrant cites an affidavit made by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) stating there is probable cause....
The world's largest Bitcoin exchange, MtGox, had its account with Dwolla closed down by the order of the Department of Homeland Security. The fact was first discovered on Monday when OKCupid cofounder Chris Coyne posted a screenshot of an email from Dwolla saying that his deposit to MtGox could not be processed because of "recent court orders by the Department of Homeland Security and US District Court for the District of Maryland seizing the account of Mutum Sigillum LLC (Mt. Gox)" The next day, DHS officials provided the warrant used to shut down the account, exposing the reason why the....
Dwolla has announced it can no longer work with virtual currency exchanges and other bitcoin-related services. The online payment system provider emailed its customers who operate companies related to bitcoin and other virtual currencies to inform them it is withdrawing its services as of 28th October at 16:00 CT. Dwolla's reasons for doing so aren't exactly clear, with the email stating: "Recent interest involving virtual currency and its exchanges has created uncertainty and confusion around virtual currency, and Dwolla's relationship with a small number of its exchanges. This has forced....
Mt. Gox has just announced it is temporarily suspending withdrawals of US dollars. It states it has had to take this measure in response to a growing volume of deposits and withdrawals from what it calls "established and upcoming markets interested in Bitcoin". In turn, it says this has made it difficult for its bank to process the corresponding transactions in a timely manner. The announcement from the bitcoin exchange goes on to say improvements are being made to the way USD transactions are processed and that the current suspension will last for just two weeks. Furthermore, the company....
Article updated on August 20 at 18:46 BST. The US government seized over $2.9m from Mutum Sigillum LLC, a subsidiary of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, a court document has revealed. Published yesterday by GigaOM, the seizure warrant issued by the district court in Maryland details that the contents of a Dwolla account registered in the name of Mutum Sigillum LLC were to be seized. The warrant was issued on 14th May, however, it was only filed on 19th August by US magistrate judge Susan K. Gauvey. The inventory of property taken reads: "Contents of Dwolla account #812-649-1010 registered in the....