The troubled Japanese Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has announced it is now filing for liquidation instead of trying to rebuild the company under bankruptcy protection.

The exchange released a statement this Wednesday (16) explaining the decision: “the Tokyo District Court recognized that it would be difficult for the company to carry out the civil rehabilitation proceedings and dismissed the application for the commencement of the civil rehabilitation proceedings, and at the same time, issued an order for provisional administration”, Mt. Gox announced.

The attorney-at-law Nobuaki Kobayashi has been nominated provisional administrator and will be replacing the company’s CEO, Mark Karpelès. The attorney will administer the assets of the company under the supervision of the Tokyo District Court.

“I will strive to fairly and equitably administer the Company’s assets, both domestically and internationally, by attempting to utilize certain foreign procedures, including a Chapter 15 filing in the United States of America“, Kobayashi said.

Although the possibility of Mt. Gox being bought is not completely out of the table, going from bankruptcy protection to liquidation at this stage means that the creditors will recover less of their investment initially, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In the meantime, Mark Karpelès is still refusing to set foot in American soil. Mt. Gox’s lawyers told a US federal judge that Mr. Karpelès will not be appearing in court this Thursday (17) to answer questions about the company’s US bankruptcy case.