I guess it was just a matter of time, but it is now official. MtGox has filed for bankruptcy protection stating the it did indeed lose 750,000 of its customers' Bitcoins along with 1,000,000 of its own – together worth about £283m.

Lawyers told Tokyo District Court that MtGox had debt of ¥6.5bn yen (£38.1m, $63.8m).

MtGox founder Mark Karpele told the court that the loss was "due to weaknesses in the system.”

The exchange collapsed this week, with customers left to stare at a blank website.

Alistair Cotton, a corporate dealer at Currencies Direct, said: “This is the beginning of the end of Bitcoin in its current form. These are growing pains as the currency evolves in front of our eyes and the MtGox bankruptcy is part of that.

“Amateur hour is now over. There is massive investment in Bitcoin industries and Bitcoin itself by very some serious businesses who are not in the habit of losing money and will want to safeguard their stake in the currency."

Bitcoin will never be the same again.