The Japanese bankruptcy trustee handling the Mt. Gox case has announced a six-month extension for creditors to register claims.

Nobuaki Kobayashi’s decision also means there will be an additional six months before any formal investigation into the bankrupt exchange is completed.

An email sent to those with Mt. Gox accounts read:

“On July 24, 2014, the Tokyo District Court 20th Civil Division issued an order to change the period for filing proofs of claims and the date for investigation of claims as follows (please refer to the attached file). Detailed information for the filing of proofs of claims, including the form of the filing document and the process of the filing will be disclosed through the website of MTGOX Co., Ltd. at a later date. Your patience would be very much appreciated.”

The previous deadline for filing proofs of claims was 28th November, with investigation findings due to be delivered on 25th February next year.

Gox creditors now have until 29th May 2015 to file their claims, with the new investigation findings set to be announced four months later on 9th September.

Not much comfort

While the extension gives extra time for news of Mt. Gox’s bankruptcy to propagate to creditors in all corners of the world, it is unlikely to impress those who have been following developments from Tokyo closely.

100 creditors from Japan and around the world attended a court hearing with Kobayashi and Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles in July, with most leaving dissatisfied with the lack of answers or details of any investigation into the company’s still-missing 650,000 bitcoins. Another hearing is scheduled for late November just before the filing deadline, and no notification has been received yet altering that date.

Even at today’s reduced rates, several creditors have reportedly lost six-figure sums too large to recover through regular business earnings or trading. Others have lost their life savings.

Looking for other alternatives

Some in Japan have since taken to internet forums to ask about the possibility of removing Kobayashi from the case, claiming he is not serving creditors’ interests by spending big on consultants and administrative costs, while lacking sufficient knowledge of the technical matters involved in a digital currency theft.

Kobayashi did say, however, that he was keen to talk to any parties with an interest in taking Mt. Gox’s remaining assets (including 200,000 ‘found’ bitcoins) and using them to start a new business.

Newly-formed company BitOcean Japan is one such group, promising to grant creditors shares in any Gox-derived business. The SaveGox.com campaign, backed by Sunlot Holdings, had also showed interest in reviving the exchange. However, it has not updated its website since May.

Image: Jon Southurst