The fact that MtGOX filed for (and got?) "bankruptcy protection" rather than "bankrupcty" is very depressing.
If I understand correctly, it means that no one will be looking into MtGOX books and files for months, maybe years. We will not know what really happened, as Mark will be free to continue lying as he has in the past. Any other people who may also have been involved in the loss will walk away free and unsuspected. The police will not be called to investigate the "theft", and MtGOX clients will probably get no additional information from Mark that could help them track down the thief. We will not know whether any other exchanges of bitcoin-based enterprises were involved, or may have fallen into the same trap.
By the way, I applaud all the other exchange owners who, realizing the importance of public trust for the survival of bitcoin and hence of their business, have promptly disclosed their financial positions, and proved that they do own enough bitcoins to cover all the BTC account balances of their clients. I am anxiously waiting for the reports of the external auditors that they have hired to check their books.
<---[ note the smiley ]
