MtGox, one of the biggest exchanges of the virtual currency Bitcoin, has gone offline following technical issues, in a setback for supporters of the scheme.
The exchange has not issued any statement giving the reasons for going offline, but there have been reports that the exchange had become "insolvent" after losing 744,408 Bitcoins - worth about $350 million (£210 million) at Monday's trading prices.
Bitcoins are not regulated by a central institution or bank and has increased in popularity due to the anonymous nature of payment methods and because the transaction fees for merchants are lower than those typcally imposed by credit card processor.
