The Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange has filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, according to an AFP report, days after it went offline.
HumanIPO reported earlier this week the website of Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox had been taken down amid rumours of a hack or security breach resulting in the theft of Bitcoins, while six major Bitcoin exchanges released a statement distancing themselves from the troubled Tokyo-based exchange.
Earlier this month a number of Bitcoin exchanges – including Mt.Gox – temporarily suspended operations after a series of denial of service (DoS) attacks taking advantage of Bitcoin’s transaction malleability and relaying mutated versions of transactions.
Mt.Gox has now made an application for protection which has been accepted by a district court in Tokyo, saying it had outstanding debts of US$63.5 million.
Meanwhile, United States (US) Manhattan attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other Bitcoin exchanges and businesses dealing in Bitcoin, seeking information on how they handled recent cyberattacks, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters, while the Japanese government’s top spokesman has said Japan’s police and Finance Ministry are also looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox.
In a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website, chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Karpeles said: “As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt. Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues.”
