Peter R
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March 16, 2014, 09:16:29 PM


Whatever happened at MtGOX, it is certain that some 500,000 BTC now belong to a thief or scammer. 


This isn't certain at all.  Personally, I think the most likely explanation is that the coins were stollen many years ago and sold off explaining the bitcoin bear market of 2011.  MtGox has been running a fractional reserve ever since [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=497289.0].  It's also possible that many of the missing coins have gone to bitcoin heaven (lost private keys), or have been seized by an authority.  

I think that all 750,000 BTC currently belonging to a single thief of scammer is the least likely scenario.