Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes offline

Mt. Gox, a major bitcoin exchange market based in Tokyo, Japan, recently went offline. amid reports that it suffered a debilitating theft, a new setback for efforts to gain legitimacy for the virtual currency, according to the Associated Press news agency Tuesday.

Mt. Gox was once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency introduced in 2009.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com