Seems like almost everyone assumes that the 200k btc is the property of MtGox. Not sure why though. If not they cant liquidate it.
Probably because the court seemingly authorized the statement regarding the 200k BTC.
BTW, does anyone know why the liquidator would convert the BTC to fiat? Assuming 50% of the fiat and 75% of the BTC is lost, a pro-rata payout in kind would still screw the BTC creditors harder than corresponding fiat creditors. It would actually make more sense to buy BTC for some 30% of the remaining fiat and then doing something like a 35% pro-rata distribution. Converting all to fiat equals horrible capital destruction, is that really how liquidation should be done? Maybe I'm naive, but isn't the liquidator supposed to equitably protect the interests of the creditors? Pretty much all of GOX's debt should be account balances, so why screw the holders like this?
A liquidator cannot buy BTC since his job is to pay all fiat debts. BTC isn't a currency in many countries.
So a BTC debt possibly has a lower (or zero) priority when liquidating.
Owning a BTC in Gox would be like having bought a product and payed upfront, you simply will never receive the product or your money.