Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Files For Bankruptcy In U.S.

Weeks after its financial troubles forced it to file for bankruptcy protection in Japan, Mt. Gox has obtained similar protection in the U.S. The Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange suffered a collapse after a reported theft of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mt. Gox had been the most active bitcoin exchange before it announced the loss of hundreds of thousands of units of the cryptocurrency in an attack by hackers. The company said its own bitcoins were stolen along with those of customers.

At least two lawsuits have been filed in U.S. courts against Mt. Gox, including a class-action suit in Chicago federal court, as Reuters reports.

From Japan's NHK:

"The federal court in Texas granted temporary Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection to the Tokyo-based Mt Gox. "The exchange has not disclosed the amount of its assets in the country. But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized 5 million dollars' worth of its assets last May for unlicensed fund transfers."

At the end of February, Mt. Gox "filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, saying it had lost track of nearly $480 million worth of the virtual currency," as Mark reported for the Two-Way.

The current price for a bitcoin stands at $621 today, according to the CoinDesk site – a price that's slightly above the levels seen on the day Mt. Gox announced the theft. The currency had hit highs of more than $1,000 in the months before that news came out