February 14, 2015

MtGox investigation update and preliminary release

WizSec has been investigating the MtGox crash since soon after it occurred, making us probably the longest running non-official investigation. In this time, as we slowly discover more things, it has become more and more important to be careful in what we disclose, both in order not to jeopardize other investigations and also not to needlessly get any of our sources into trouble. In line with our intent to investigate responsibly, we have also signed several non-disclosure agreements.

However, it has now been a full year since MtGox, and the then customers, now creditors still don't have much to go on. There was the release of The Willy Report last May, then there was the encouraging news that Kraken was appointed as an additional official investigator in November (but as such they will also have to work mostly in silence), and later we heard speculations of MtGox involvement being tossed around in the Silk Road trial.

We wanted to share at least something publicly to help keep attention on MtGox alive, and after some consideration we think the following information is "safe" without betraying any trust or causing any trouble. This is an adaptation of a report we prepared last summer, documenting one of the things we focused on early in the investigation: a deeper look into the activities of the Willy trading bot. This is information we've already shared with official investigators and is not too sensitive, as it represents an early stage of our investigation.