Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox says withdrawals to resume soon

After announcing on February 7 that it was shelving all Bitcoin withdrawal requests because of a glitch in its system, Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox finally apologized to its customers Monday and promised them that its withdrawals will resume soon.

Mt. Gox said it had developed a workaround for the glitch with the help of Bitcoin wallet service Blockchain.info.

The exchange said in a statement, “Thanks to our friends at Blockchain.info, MtGox now has a workaround that will use a unique identifier created by Blockchain to show whether transactions have been modified or not. This will prevent any fraudulent use of the malleability issue and protect the assets of our customers. “

The exchange also said that in an attempt to add an extra layer of security to its system it had installed a new login system that will send an email alert to customers whenever they successfully access their accounts.

“With this new system in place, Mt. Gox should be able to resume withdrawals soon,” said the exchange, adding, “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.”

It should be noted here that after the glitch occurred, Mt. Gox said that the malfunction stemmed from the Bitcoin network itself. They claimed the problem should be dealt with by the Bitcoin Foundation, the Washington, D.C.-headquartered charitable organization that administers the crypto-currency. The Bitcoin Foundation, however, said that the glitch came from Mt. Gox’s “wallet service, customer support procedures, and an unpreparedness for transaction malleability.”

Mt. Gox’s announcement is not the only good news that Bitcoin enthusiasts have heard lately. Over the weekend, Slovenia-based bitcoin exchange Bitstamp also announced it had reinstated automatic withdrawals. Bitstamp postponed withdrawals last Tuesday on account of a “transaction malleability bug,” which enabled hackers to build false transaction data. Moreover, Bitcoin exchange BTC-e, whose managing company is based in Cyprus, has also announced resumption of withdrawals.

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