Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox hopes to resume withdrawals “soon” after developing a fix for a vulnerability that allowed users to alter transaction details and make it seem like a payment was never completed.
Mt. Gox suspended withdrawals on February 7, before explaining the “transaction malleability” to its users only a few days later. The loophole affects the virtual currency for other payment processor too – Bitstamp, the largest Bitcoin exchange – reinstated withdrawals last week after it was forced to implement a similar suspension.
In a statement, Mt. Gox said the workaround will use a “unique identifier” developed by the team at blockchain.info to show whether a transaction has been modified or not. The worry is that this would create a loophole where the payment was sent a second time, incorrectly.
“With this new system in place, Mt. Gox should be able to resume withdrawals soon,” it said. “At the beginning we will do so at a moderated pace and with new daily and monthly limits in place to prevent any problems with the new system and to take into account current market conditions.”
The <3 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Mt. Gox is now re-indexing the Blockchain – the public database for that records all Bitcoin transactions – and testing a new withdrawal queue system for the digital currency. While a concrete timeframe wasn’t given, the Bitcoin exchange says it’ll issue a further update by this Thursday (February 20).
Read Next: Bitcoin: It’s the platform, not the currency, stupid!
Image Credit: George Frey/Getty Images
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.