Indeed. However, the whole point of crypto-currencies is decentralization: you give up both (some of) the constraints and (most of) the protection that goes wit

Indeed. However, the whole point of crypto-currencies is decentralization: you give up both (some of) the constraints and (most of) the protection that goes with government-backed currencies. Choosing who you trust then becomes your own problem, your fully personal responsibility. So yes, MtGox is at least criminally negligent, and maybe simply criminal. But the (largely libertarian) crowds who chose to trust them are fully responsible for their own poor assessment of MtGox' trustworthiness. That's the flip-side of choosing deregulation.