Mt. Gox has recently shut down and filed for bankruptcy, claiming that it has an outstanding debt of $63.6 million.1 The company, which was the largest Bitcoin exchange, disclosed that it had lost 850,000 units of Bitcoin, including 750,000 that belonged to customers.2 That amount is worth about $477 million, based on current exchange rates,…
Author: Takayuki Matsushita
VCs Think Spotify Streams Revenue
In the early years of the digital music industry, entrepreneurs were passionate about music but had no understanding of how the music business actually worked.1 The entrepreneurs were, nevertheless, easily able to raise funds from venture capitalists due to the dot-com bubble.2 However, after the dot-com bubble burst, it became very difficult to attract venture…
The Line for Food Is Getting Longer for Venture Capitalists
Recently, there has been a surge of interest in food among Americans. More people obsess about particular superfoods, check which farms certain ingredients come from, and become fans of certain celebrity chefs.1 Packaged gourmet foods, as well as foreign foods, are being sold at an unprecedented rate, and food co-op membership is at an all-time…
Legal Barriers to Japan’s Venture Capital Industry
Although Japan is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of GDP, the success of its venture capital industry is questionable, especially when compared to that of the US. In Japan, there are about 1,500 venture capital deals annually, valued at $1.9 million per deal, whereas in the US, there are about…