The failed Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, received court approval yesterday to begin chapter 15 proceedings in the U.S. as it awaits approval of a settlement with U.S. customers and a sale of its business, Reuters reported yesterday. Mt. Gox was once the world's leading exchange for trading the digital currency, but shut its website earlier this year after saying that it lost some 850,000 bitcoins — worth more than $500 million at current prices — in a hacking attack. It subsequently said it found 200,000 bitcoins. The company filed for chapter 15 protection in March to prevent U.S. customers who had filed a class action lawsuit from seizing its U.S. assets, such as computer servers, and demanding evidence and access to Mt. Gox executives. Since then, the company and the class action plaintiffs reached a settlement, which is awaiting final approval by a federal court in Chicago. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey Jernigan granted recognition of the chapter 15 case, which allows Mt. Gox's foreign representative to file lawsuits and pursue potential funds to repay creditors.
