Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of the infamous Mt. Gox exchange, is set to launch a new cryptocurrency platform named EllipX later this month. Speaking at the Korea Blockchain Week event in Seoul, South Korea, Karpeles emphasized that EllipX will prioritize transparency and user-friendliness—key elements he believes are currently lacking in the industry.
EllipX, based in Poland, will initially launch in Europe and aims to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations. Karpeles, who will serve as the chief technology officer, intends to use his experience from the Mt. Gox era to build a platform that offers more security and transparency to users.
Karpeles noted that many cryptocurrency exchanges currently operate without clear visibility into who controls them, especially outside of major names like Binance and Coinbase. To tackle this, EllipX plans to divide the exchange’s functions—such as customer service, trade matching, and crypto storage—into separate entities. This approach is inspired by traditional stock exchanges like the NYSE, where distinct organizations handle trading, brokerage, and clearing.
A key innovation of EllipX is its dedication to offering complete transparency to its users. Karpeles intends to share technical data and conduct third-party audits for each aspect of the exchange’s operations. He aims for this level of openness to establish a new industry standard, especially in light of the FTX collapse, which has made many investors cautious about the opaque practices of some exchanges.
In addition to transparency, EllipX will focus on user-friendliness, particularly through the EllipX Wallet, which was introduced last month. The wallet employs multi-party computation technology, allowing users to manage their crypto assets without the hassle of writing down recovery phrases, making it more accessible to everyday users.
Karpeles is also working on another project called Ungox, a non-profit organization that will provide ratings on various crypto projects and exchanges, further contributing to the transparency and accountability in the crypto space.
Through EllipX and Ungox, Karpeles aims to restore trust in the cryptocurrency industry, drawing on the hard lessons he learned from the Mt. Gox disaster.
