THE digital currency known as bitcoin looked like it could be the next big thing in finance. Today, it looks like the next big, really bad thing.

Think of bitcoin as a new type of money…. …

In recent days, the value of bitcoin has plunged. It may be on its way to zero.

On Friday, the largest exchange set up to deal in bitcoin, Tokyo-based Mt Gox, filed for bankruptcy protection. Four days earlier, Mt Gox had pulled the plug on its website, reportedly after moving its corporate headquarters to a nonexistent address. The company says hackers swiped all the bitcoin. … Those losses reportedly amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in real, old-school money.

Red flags have been flying for some time. … … If bitcoin ever is to take a place among legitimate financial industries, it will need a trustworthy, empowered regulator — not just the FBI swooping in to investigate after something has gone terribly wrong. That will spoil some of its lure, but it is the only way bitcoin will retain trust. … — (March 1)