Mt Gox, once the biggest Bitcoin exchange, said on Wednesday that it is most likely to be liquidated, following the denial of bankruptcy protection by a Tokyo court.
Earlier this year, the exchange collapsed after disclosing that around $454 million worth of the virtual currency is missing and filed for business rehabilitation.
“The Tokyo District Court decided today to dismiss the application for commencement of a civil rehabilitation and at the same time, an order for Provisional Administration was issued and Attorney-at-law Nobuaki Kobayashi (Supervisor and Examiner under the Civil Rehabilitation Procedure) was appointed Provisional Administrator,” read the statement on Mt Gox website.
The move to liquidate Mt Gox “will create great inconvenience and concerns to our creditors for which we apologize,” the statement read. Mark Karpeles, the exchange’s chief executive, had “lost his authority” over the company’s assets.
“I will strive to fairly and equitably administer the company’s assets, both domestically and internationally, by attempting to utilize certain foreign procedures, including a Chapter 15 filing in the United States of America,” said Nobuaki Kobayashi.
Citing sources close to the situation, Wall Street Journal reports that the Bitcoin exchange has given up hopes of restarting operations, but still retains some hope of a last-minute fire sale. The report also notes that Mt Gox’s creditors will likely receive even less ROI.
Back in February, Mt Gox went offline without warning, after which Karpeles said 850,000 Bitcoins worth several hundred million dollars were unaccounted, claiming it to be stolen.
On February 28, the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection saying it lost 850,000 Bitcoins – 750,000 Bitcoins belonging to the customers and more than 100,000 of its own coins.
Later, Mt Gox revealed that 200,000 of the Bitcoins were discovered in an unused wallet, resulting in a change in the estimate for the lost virtual currency to 650,000 Bitcoins. However, the exact amount is still under investigation.
