Mt. Gox will finally answer frustrated Bitcoin users with a Japanese hotline

After losing $473 million worth of Bitcoins, failed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is finally offering a way for former users to ask questions about what remains of their digital currency.

The site announced today that it’s opening up a hotline in Japan tomorrow to field concerns. It’s unclear what Mt. Gox will be able to do for people who lost money on its site, but the posting noted that there will be an update on its situation tomorrow.

Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection last week, where it revealed it had $63.6 million in debt and lost a boatload if Bitcoins from customers as well as its own stash. While the bankruptcy filing may help the company’s debt issues, I can’t imagine that it would be able to offer much to users who lost significant amounts of Bitcoins.

There’s already one class action lawsuit filed against Mt. Gox, and we can expect to hear even more from disgruntled users over the next few weeks. And while it’s still unclear what brought down the site, one recent report based on an account from a former Mt. Gox employee points to gross mismanagement, not hacker attacks, as the ultimate culprit.

Here’s the full text from Mt. Gox’s announcement:

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING AN APPLICATION FOR COMMENCEMENT OF A PROCEDURE OF CIVIL REHABILITATION

An overview of the situation should be published here shortly (probably on March 3, 2014 (Japan time)).

Contact information

A call center has been established to respond to all inquiries. The call center is planned to start on March 3, 2014. All inquiries to MtGox Co., Ltd. should be made to the following telephone number:

Telephone number +81 3-4588-3921
Working hours Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm (Japan time)

Please refrain from contacting the office of the supervisor/investigator.

Via Ars Technica