'The money was essentially frozen": Karl Kloppenborg, 22, lost $47,000 in the Mt.Gox collapse. Photo: The Border Mail

Former Macquarie banker Joe Lee and Wall Street investment adviser George Samman suspected something was wrong with Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox in the closing months of 2013.

The founders behind Singapore-based derivatives trader BTC.sx had begun withdrawing money as early as December, fearing the premium Mt.Gox users paid for Bitcoins was a sign of liquidity issues at the Tokyo-based exchange.

But it didn't stop Lee andSamman from sustaining a six-figure loss when Mt.Gox finally went under last month.

"We were one of Mt.Gox's biggest customers but we got no inside information from them at all," says Samman, chief operating officer at the trader. "They couldn't answer any questions so it was useless. We were lucky to get off what we needed to get off before the whole thing went down."

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In Melbourne, 22-year-old Bitcoin trader Karl Kloppenborg was also burned by the fall of Mt.Gox.

An IT entrepreneur who is building his own Bitcoin exchange, Kloppenborg lost $47,000 in the collapse.

"I realised something was wrong much earlier on I threatened legal action, and said I'd call the banks," hesays. "It became a waiting game when I realised that the money was essentially frozen."

Series of Bitcoin problems

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Bitcoin traders hit by Mt.Gox crash