I was selling a significant amount of Bitcoins in January. I wanted to use Mt Gox because of higher rate. I did not think there was a real possibility of the whole exchange going down. However, I did not pass identity verification because of some minor problem. So I sold the Bitcoins on Bitstamp and had money in the bank a day later. I was really really lucky.
Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
121–130 of 305 posts
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> hindsight I'm only making this comment because you used the term "hindsight". Let me first start off by saying I feel very, very sorry for all the people who lost funds in MtGox. It'll take awhile before you get over the pain of losing a life-changing amount of money. But let's be very clear about this; hindsight wasn't needed here. The warning signs that MtGox was a house of cards became visible a long time ago.…
I will say that the article you linked is almost garbage. It glances over the "clues" very quickly which I will assume due to lack of knowledge. The complaint that passwords were displayed in plain text is not anywhere near recent. Even in 2011 when I started using MtGox, passwords were hashed. Granted, early on the passwords were only hashed with 1 pass of SHA256, but later on passwords were stored to much better st…
>Most people who call us idiots for not connecting the dots earlier are those who haven't been here long enough.
I've been a spectator for quite a few years and after their first hack I was out of MtGox. It was tempting to go back, but time-and-time again they proved their incompetence to a degree that I was not going to risk my holdings. They are amateurs and I have my doubts as to whether they've properly applied any knowledge they've gained over the years.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#123When you make a deposit you are extending credit. In the case of Mt. Gox, or any other Bitcoin exchange, that credit is secured by nothing and insured by noöne. Advice, going forward, for managing counterparty risk: (1) Split a $100 transaction into 10 $10* transactions executed incrementally (send $10 of BTC to Mt. Gox, exchange it, transfer it out, and only then send the next $10 of BTC over). This keeps exposure a…
How would you transfer out $10 from an exchange? My bank charges more than that in fees for any transfer at all... Also, it always took weeks to get anything out, so you'd be waiting for months to transfer $100.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
I believe your understanding if the situation is flawed, if you are a US citizen. The $3000 per year applies to capital losses. You did not suffer a capital loss. You suffered a loss due to bank insolvency. If you realized your gains in 2013, you actually owe taxes on $500,000 for your 2013 taxes, which is roughly $250k. I believe your losses due to bank insolvency will apply to your income for 2014. But you may be o…
Lets see if I understand this (I am not in the US) - the bitcoins count as an asset, you sell these bitcoins for dollars at MtGox and at this point the tax is due regardless of whether you actually get the dollars out of MtGox? So any time between you selling bitcoins and actually getting the cleared funds out of an exchange leaves you with the risk of a fairly serious tax liability if the exchange can't actually giv…
That's more or less the rule: the gain is taxed when it is "realized" which is roughly when it becomes "yours." It doesn't actually have to be cash in your hand (otherwise it would be quite easy to get around tax laws simply by trading assets on accounts without taking cash out). See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realization_%28tax%29.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#125In this incident I lost a bit more than $500,000 USD that was in my MtGox account. I sold my Bitcoins a few months back, but the USD have been sitting in my account waiting to be withdrawn. This was a massive fuck up by MtGox, but I really do feel sorry for Mark Karpeles. He seemed really enthusiastic about Bitcoin. Right by MtGox's offices in Japan was a Bitcoin Cafe being built. You can [see here]( http://si.wsj.ne…
I got mugged last night, and gave the mugger a little extra because he was just so darn enthusiastic about mugging.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#126When you make a deposit you are extending credit. In the case of Mt. Gox, or any other Bitcoin exchange, that credit is secured by nothing and insured by noöne. Advice, going forward, for managing counterparty risk: (1) Split a $100 transaction into 10 $10* transactions executed incrementally (send $10 of BTC to Mt. Gox, exchange it, transfer it out, and only then send the next $10 of BTC over). This keeps exposure a…
It's a pity your post isn't at the top of the thread. It is sound advice.
I find it fascinating that there are (apparently) people in this thread who lost $500k at MtGox and despite the loss would still have no problem paying $250k in taxes on it if they were required to do so.
I would hope if you're making that kind of money you'd either have a sound sense of financial risk management, or the wisdom to hire somebody who does to manage it on your behalf.
Of course, it's easy to criticise with the benefit of hindsight.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#127Is this the largest heist in history?
I don't think the numbers even reach the low billions, so no Madoff still takes that award.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lets see if I understand this (I am not in the US) - the bitcoins count as an asset, you sell these bitcoins for dollars at MtGox and at this point the tax is due regardless of whether you actually get the dollars out of MtGox? So any time between you selling bitcoins and actually getting the cleared funds out of an exchange leaves you with the risk of a fairly serious tax liability if the exchange can't actually giv…
That's more or less the rule: the gain is taxed when it is "realized" which is roughly when it becomes "yours." It doesn't actually have to be cash in your hand (otherwise it would be quite easy to get around tax laws simply by trading assets on accounts without taking cash out). See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realization_%28tax%29 .
That's pretty much the same as the UK (and presumably everywhere else).
Pretty ghastly situation to be in if you do end up with a tax liability because of something like this.
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are running an antique accessory business. You have a van to carry all the valuable stuff you borrow from people to sell in their name. Your van starts to leak oil. You figure out how to fix it yourself. Check engine light of the van is still blinking though, but you happened to put a post-it in your dashboard blocking it. By the way, you also never have it serviced. You keep driving for years while the situation…
Sounds like customers should have judged by themselves it wasnt a safe van to put your valuable antiques in.
Hindsight is 20/20
Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Zero. Bitcoins are worthless.
Just like everything, until we decide to give it value. Gold is completely and absolutely worthless to us humans, we don't need it to function and it serves no biological function in our organisms whatsoever. But because we like it and there is a scarcity of it, we will trade goods for it. Just like with bitcoins.
I get what you're saying, but gold is not 'completely and absolutely worthless'. It conducts electricity very well and does not corrode very easily. It is used on satellites to reflect electromagnetic radiation. It can be used as a glass coating to help prevent ice formation (airplanes). A gold isotope is used for cancer treatment. It can be used to tint glass red. It can be put into cinnamon schnapps...