⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Heads for Liquidation Mt. Gox isn't rising from the ashes after all and its customers will likely never see the hundreds of thousands of bitcoins the shattered exchange lost.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Don't hold your breath for a comeback (or for your missing bitcoins). Mt. Gox will never rise from the dead. Not unless some brave soul buys it that is.

If you were one of the unlucky customers who still had bitcoins on Mt. Gox during its epic meltdown, chances are you're not getting your BTC back. Probably ever.

The Tokyo District Court has officially shot down the collapsed Bitcoin exchange and trading platform's bankruptcy application, its CEO Mark Karpeles said in an announcement on the company's defunct website today.

Instead, Mt. Gox is calling it quits and heading for liquidation, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Related: Mt. Gox Mysteriously Finds $114 Million Worth of 'Missing' Bitcoins

"People familiar with the situation" told the Journal that the complicated nature of a possible Mt. Gox recovery was unfeasible due to the challenges of meeting with creditors scattered throughout the world and the Tokyo-based company's "lack of realistic rehabilitation plans."

If the court green lights Mt. Gox's request for liquidation, Karpeles will hand the reins over to a trustee who will handle -- and likely attempt to sell off -- the company's assets. Who'd be brazen enough to buy (and somehow resuscitate) the failed company, we wonder?

Related: 6 Bitcoin Basics for Beginners

Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection back on Feb. 28. Karpeles blamed hackers for his company's demise, claiming they preyed on a "transaction malleability" vulnerability within its system that enabled them to swipe almost half a billion U.S. dollars worth of the virtual currency.

During its collapse, the company lost some 750,000 of its customers' BTC and 100,000 of its own. A month later, Karpeles announced that the discovery of 200,000 "missing" bitcoins.

Karpeles likely won't be prosecuted in Japan because Mt. Gox isn't entirely subject to current regulations there.

Meanwhile, news broke today that he'll be a no-show at a hearing in Washington, D.C., this Friday, despite being ordered to by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. According to a statement filed by his lawyers, Karpeles is "not willing travel to the U.S." not until he can "get up to speed" on the case and gather additional legal advice.

Related: Bitcoin Millionaire Charlie Shrem Under House Arrest Following Indictment

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.