By 2014, Bitcoin was just about ready to hit the mainstream in Japan. Mt. Gox was a Tokyo based bitcoin exchange which boasted 70% of the global turnover of Bitcoin trading. However, in February of 2014 Mt. Gox suddenly closed its website and shut down its exchange when it was discovered that it had been hacked. Approximately 850,000 bitcoins worth about $450 million at the time was missing and presumed to be stolen. The CEO Mark Karpeles was eventually arrestedin Japan and charged with fraud and embezzlement, and the saga was widely broadcast throughout Japan. The true nature of the incident is still a mystery and due to the widely publicized saga, the word “Bitcoin” in Japan continued to have a strong association with fraud, theft, and ponzi schemes for many years to come. Right around the same time, however, there were some new developments in Japan. Bitflyer was a bitcoin exchange that was started by a group led by an ex-Goldman Sachs trader. QUOINE was another Singapore based company that opened an exchange in Japan. As these exchanges slowly gained a quiet following, some homegrown Japanese cryptocurrencies also emerged.