Talking to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan on Wednesday, The Mainichi reports, Karpeles said his new startup will develop a secure operating system based on blockchain that will outdo current systems in terms of speed.
Mark Karpeles has revealed he’s “starting from zero” with a new blockchain project soon after escaping most charges in a court case over the collapse of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.
Karpeles will act as as chief technology officer of the new Japan-registered firm, Tristan Technologies Co.
In comments that seem aimed to repair his reputation in the country, Karpeles said he hopes the tech will help restore Japan as a global tech leader after its advantage had been lost to U.S. giants like Apple, Amazon and Facebook in recent years.
He said:
“Japan used to be engineering superpower in terms of its PCs but right now, taking the cloud for example, it’s the U.S. that dominates. But I still believe in the potential Japan has and I would like to develop that.”
According to the report, the former Mt. Gox CEO indicated he currently does not hold any cryptocurrencies and that they are a high risk asset. “I wouldn’t say I’m rich today”, he added.
Just three months ago, Karpeles was cleared in a Tokyo court on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. However, he was found guilty of manipulating the exchange’s data, receiving a suspended sentence of 2.5 years. He later indicated he will appeal the conviction, saying in late March:
“During the opening of my trial in 2017, I swore to God that I am innocent of all charges. I believe appealing to the judgment is appropriate so that I can be judged again in full consideration of all the facts.”
In early 2014, Mt. Gox revealed it had previously suffered a massive hack involving 850,000 bitcoin, some of which was later found. The exchange officially filed for liquidation in April of that year.
