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Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

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11–20 of 305 posts

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#11
post #9

It's easy to be angry at them and/or see how stupid they were about accounting, security, etc. But I guess on the other hand we do have to realize they are victims of massive theft, as far as we know this massive loss was not due to their own profiteering or internal theft, it was an organized outside force targeting them. It occurs to me it is like blaming someone for getting mugged, although they were stupid enough…

The word you are looking for is negligence.

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#12
post #9

It's easy to be angry at them and/or see how stupid they were about accounting, security, etc. But I guess on the other hand we do have to realize they are victims of massive theft, as far as we know this massive loss was not due to their own profiteering or internal theft, it was an organized outside force targeting them. It occurs to me it is like blaming someone for getting mugged, although they were stupid enough…

It seems it is too early to state with any certainty that MtGox are also a victim here.

http://falkvinge.net/2014/02/28/the-gox-crater-crowd-detecti...

http://letstalkbitcoin.com/the-ghost-in-the-machine-at-mtgox...

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#13

> The company's lawyer also said at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court that Mt. Gox had outstanding debt of about ¥6.5 billion ($63.6 million) with assets worth ¥3.84 billion. This implies a debt ratio of 170%. Assume: (1) no outside debt (only customer deposits) and (2) only 100% liquid assets (only currency). Even in that case, a depositor would recover no more than 59 cents to the dollar (the maximum re…

They're also staring down the barrel of last year's taxes, which are due in two weeks. (For filing - they might get an extra month to pay them.) They're almost certainly going to miss that deadline and the National Tax Agency is going to make some guesses as to their situation.

It would not be out of character for the NTA to say "You had $50 million in incoming wires? In the absence of a timely return accompanied by an income statement and balance sheet prepared in accordance with Japanese GAAP, we are forced to impute $50 million in income. Your bill comes to $20 million. Thank you for banking in Tokyo; we do so love not having to call the international desk to do collections."

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#14
post #9

It's easy to be angry at them and/or see how stupid they were about accounting, security, etc. But I guess on the other hand we do have to realize they are victims of massive theft, as far as we know this massive loss was not due to their own profiteering or internal theft, it was an organized outside force targeting them. It occurs to me it is like blaming someone for getting mugged, although they were stupid enough…

[deleted]

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#15
Should the owner Mark Karpeles go to jail?

On one hand, there may be a chilling effect if Karpeles is sent to jail, because fewer companies may be willing to participate in an area where the penalty for failure is time behind bars.

On the other hand, it feels very inequitable and unjust that Karpeles made millions off of MtGox, lost our money and then is free to enjoy life. But that's a vengeful mindset, and it seems counterproductive. Is it really just a bad situation with no recourse? Karpeles walks, MtGox shuts down, and everyone's money is gone. Poof.

The most persuasive argument for jailtime seems to be that if he's not penalized, then others may attempt to orchestrate similar disasters. Bitcoin has a very, very small chance at becoming the next gold standard, but it's a chance nonetheless. Therefore whoever is willing to flaunt the law and steal >5% of all bitcoins that will ever be created has a very, very small chance at becoming extremely powerful in the future, and wealthy in the short term.

I don't know. There's probably nothing to be done, and taking away years of a person's life out of a sense of retribution probably isn't the best answer.

What does everyone think?

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#16
post #9

It's easy to be angry at them and/or see how stupid they were about accounting, security, etc. But I guess on the other hand we do have to realize they are victims of massive theft, as far as we know this massive loss was not due to their own profiteering or internal theft, it was an organized outside force targeting them. It occurs to me it is like blaming someone for getting mugged, although they were stupid enough…

Isn't it more like walking down the same bad street every night with other people's cash in their hands, getting mugged repeatedly, not telling anyone and still taking more money?

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#18

Should the owner Mark Karpeles go to jail? On one hand, there may be a chilling effect if Karpeles is sent to jail, because fewer companies may be willing to participate in an area where the penalty for failure is time behind bars. On the other hand, it feels very inequitable and unjust that Karpeles made millions off of MtGox, lost our money and then is free to enjoy life. But that's a vengeful mindset, and it seems…

After this, you still say "Bitcoin may be the next gold standard"?

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#19

Hilarious. Can't wait to hear from the choir of libertarian crypto-currency-zealots, who will sing the praises of the Ponzi scheme that is Bitcoin. On a serious note: who benefits?

I hear there is a coin launching soon that may interest you, SchadenCoin!

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#20

Should the owner Mark Karpeles go to jail? On one hand, there may be a chilling effect if Karpeles is sent to jail, because fewer companies may be willing to participate in an area where the penalty for failure is time behind bars. On the other hand, it feels very inequitable and unjust that Karpeles made millions off of MtGox, lost our money and then is free to enjoy life. But that's a vengeful mindset, and it seems…

After this, you still say "Bitcoin may be the next gold standard"?

My observation is simply that the future is unknown, and therefore a greedy actor would benefit greatly from stealing >5% of a currency. The most straightforward way to do this is to set up a popular exchange and orchestrate a disaster which is secretly a theft. Since there's no way to prove it, and since bitcoin wallets can lay dormant for decades, there's at least some incentive to do this. Should jailtime be on the table for gross negligence? I'm just interested in everyone's thoughts on the matter.
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