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Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

online.wsj.com

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Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#31

Post by pakitan »

ck2 wrote: 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…

I would have some sympathy for them, if they had shut down immediately after realizing they would not be able to pay their debts. Instead we were fooled with "everything is ok, we are reopening soon" PRs while massive insider trading was going on. Victims or not, the way they handled this is probably criminal.

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#32

Post by nemof »

ck2 wrote: 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…

Not really.

When someone gets mugged it's simple to be sympathetic to what's happened.

When someone gets mugged and you gave them assets to hold and/or transfer, and they didn't take due care of the security of these assets, this makes them culpable and negligent.

Yes, MtGox are probably having a really shit time right now, and yes I'd feel sorry for anyone who'd just fucked up this royally (assuming there was definitely no intent to defraud on their part), but that sympathy is tempered by a recognition that they've made the world vanish from under thousands of peoples feet as they see assets they trusted with the exchange float away into the ether.

This is why managing risk and having rules that protects consumers is so useful. Everyone's a hedgefund investor until suddenly the rug gets pulled out from under their feet.

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#33

Post by [deleted] »

bodski wrote: post #12
ck2 wrote: 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...

[deleted]

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#34

Post by ivanca »

hanswesterbeek wrote: post #18
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #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…

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

You think gold being stolen reduces its value? If not, why do you think it would happen here?

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#37

Post by mtgoxloser »

In 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.net/public/resources/images/BN-BS458_mtgox0_G_...) the sign of a Bitcoin logo waiting to be unraveled.

Bigger than all the victims (no pun intended) was Mark himself. He lost more Bitcoins than any of us, and it's likely he'll be going to jail. Not to mention the death threats he has and will be receiving.

--

One of the (features?) of Bitcoin is its inherent irreversibility. You only have one chance to get things right. Combined with Murphy's Law, something like this was bound to happen.

I've been a Bitcoin enthusiast and have been mining since early 2011, and Bitcoin has been a huge part of my life, but I will admit my confidence in Bitcoin ever _practically_ succeeding has diminished a little.

Re: Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#39

Post by ivanca »

interstitial wrote: post #8
mcphilip wrote: post #3

>One Japanese small-business owner that accepts bitcoin as payment said Japanese banks had expressed skepticism toward the payment method, and that the business's lenders this week asked that the company wouldn't use bitcoin in the wake of Mt. Gox's stopping all transactions on Tuesday. "They're approaching bitcoin very conservatively," the owner said. I don't think that the demise of mtgox will destroy the ecosystem…

And is this because it will make you rich with your bitcoin stash, or because somehow "Society Needs This" and you'll just happen to get rich while being so magnanimous. It's a new paradigm, I know.

Everything you use for your benefit made someone else rich, from your toothbrushes till the banks you use... and you know this to be true, so your discourse is only an attempt to be rude and cynical.
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