Embattled Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is filing for bankruptcy protection with liabilities of ¥6.5 billion (US$63.6 million), according to Japanese media reports.
A lawyer for the exchange, which had suspended bitcoin withdrawals weeks ago, made the announcement at a press conference at the Tokyo District Court.
CEO Mark Karpeles also apologized for the exchange's collapse, according to media reports.
The fall of Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest exchange for the digital currency, came amid reports that about 744,000 bitcoins had gone missing, either due to criminal fraud or theft.
Its website went offline this week as U.S. and Japanese authorities began looking into the situation surrounding the Tokyo-based exchange.
