Mt Gox files for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo: media reports

Mt Gox, once the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange, has filed for bankruptcy protection at the Tokyo District Court, Japanese media reported on Friday. The website of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox went dark on Tuesday, raising concerns about the future of the unregulated virtual currency.   The exchange’s CEO Mark Karpeles appeared before Japanese TV news cameras Friday, bowing deeply for several minutes. He said a weakness in the exchange’s systems was behind the massive loss of the virtual currency. Speaking in Japanese at a Tokyo court, he apologised for the troubles he had caused so many people. Kyodo News said debts at Mt Gox totaled more than 6.5 billion yen ($65 million), surpassing its assets.   The exchange’s unplugging this week drew renewed regulatory attention to a currency created in 2009 as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks.   Mt Gox was one of the biggest exchange forums for the digital currency. However a recent Reuters report , showed that insiders believed that Mt Gox’s  downfall began nearly a year ago as the virtual currency exchange faced issues with regulators, split from former business partners and grappled with cyber attacks.   US federal prosecutors also subpoenaed Mt Gox – and other bitcoin businesses – to seek information on a spate of disruptive cyber attacks.   The  Bankruptcy news comes after  Mark Karpeles, the chairman of Mt Gox had reportedly said that he was working hard to solve the problems that forced the exchange to halt trading this week after suspending withdrawals on 7 February.     Mt Gox was founded in 2009 by American software hacker Jed McCaleb. It was originally a site for people to trade cards for a game called “Magic: The Gathering.” Mt Gox is short for “Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange."   McCaleb turned the site into a bitcoin exchange and sold the fledgling business in 2011 to Karpeles. Under the Frenchman, Mt Gox became the face of bitcoin – where investors regularly checked the price of the digital currency and where the largest volume of trades occurred.   Reuters and Associated Press