Bitcoins are officially donkdown

[Sandwich]

Who is this kid? Like nationality, background, age,etc.? Hard to find a comprehensive bio of him. Never heard of him until I was reading through the calls for his public stoning yesterday. I assumed he was American because I think that MtGox had something to do with that Magic game, which I think is American as it seems all the poker players I've seen associated with it are Americans, but I'm just guessing.

One of the recent news articles (CNN I think) has a video of him being interviewed from a year ago... He speaks English with a heavy accent and doesn't sound American... french? south african?

[Sandwich]

Mark Karpeles appears at 1:19 to the end of this video: http://www.coindesk.com/ceo-of-mt-go...tcoins-future/

Fat French computer nerd, imo.

[BCR]

Mark Karpeles appears at 1:19 to the end of this video: http://www.coindesk.com/ceo-of-mt-go...tcoins-future/

Fat French computer nerd, imo.

I agree, sounds French. I thought we had the market cornered on fat, badly dressed financial miscreants. Glad he isn't one of ours.

[Baron Von Strucker]

Mark Karpeles appears at 1:19 to the end of this video: http://www.coindesk.com/ceo-of-mt-go...tcoins-future/

Fat French computer nerd, imo.

I agree, sounds French. I thought we had the market cornered on fat, badly dressed financial miscreants. Glad he isn't one of ours.

Well that's the problem there, shiftiest fuckers on the planet.

[blueodum]

I thought it was common knowledge he was French. I bought some BTC, DOGE and LTC last night (just a bit) when the market was panic selling.

[NaturalBornHustler]

SecondMarket knew about Mount Gox troubles

FORTUNE -- Not everyone was surprised last night when documents leaked about a pending collapse at Bitcoin exchange Mount Gox.

Last week, I got a tip that SecondMarket was planning to launch what would be the first-ever New York Bitcoin exchange. SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert declined to comment, except to say that he would be ready to talk after the company's March board meeting. It seemed that plans still needed to be formally approved by the company's board of directors.

Then, on Sunday night, Silbert emailed to suggest we talk on Monday. When we connected at 2pm yesterday afternoon, he told me that the announcement was being accelerated due to some events outside of his control. He declined to provide further information, except about his own company's plans (which we detailed here). Our only restriction on publishing the story was that the outside event first had to become public (he expected it to happen within 48 hours) and that the NY Times also had to hit publish on their own piece (seems they had learned about SecondMarket's plans shortly before I had, and had made a similar arrangement).

News of the Mount Gox troubles broke at around 10pm last night, courtesy of confidential documents posted by Bitcoin blogger and entrepreneur Ryan Selkis. The NY Times would publish shortly after midnight -- in a piece that refers to Selkis by his Randian pseudonym, Ryan Galt -- and we were up a few hours later.

What all of this means, of course, is the SecondMarket was aware of something amiss at Mount Gox by Sunday evening. It's unclear if the company only suspected trouble, or if it already had a copy of (and had authenticated) the "crisis strategy" documents Selkis published.

In a subsequent interview this morning, Silbert declined to discuss when he first heard about the Gox issues or his original source of information. What he did say, however, was that he immediately told all SecondMarket employees that they were prohibited from buying or selling any Bitcoin until further say-so. He also put a hold on any incoming participation in the company's Bitcoin Investment Trust, which effectively works as a currency ETF for the cryptocurrency.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that SecondMarket did anything untoward here. But I am illustrating how word of the Mount Gox collapse had already begun to circulate nearly an entire day before it became public, and that it's entirely possible that certain people did, indeed, trade on that information.

[Walter Sobchak]

Dear MtGox Customers,

In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly.

Best regards,
MtGox Team


These fuckers can't even word things correctly

"In the event of recent news reports"

Sounds Nigerian to me

Also decisions aren't taken they are made....so fuck them too

Not if they speak British English. Where are they from?

[unchainedghost]

I'm trading In my 2 iphone for some btc via Glyde. I'm looking forward to getting some action on seals.

[superallah]

Joint Statement Regarding Mt. Gox
Posted on February 25, 2014 by Blockchain Team
For immediate distribution: February 24th, 2014 — 10:00 PM ET

The purpose of this document is to summarize a joint statement to the Bitcoin community regarding Mt.Gox.

This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt.Gox was the result of one company’s abhorrent actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry. There are hundreds of trustworthy and responsible companies involved in bitcoin. These companies will continue to build the future of money by making bitcoin more secure and easy to use for consumers and merchants. As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today.

We are confident, however, that strong Bitcoin companies, led by highly competent teams and backed by credible investors, will continue to thrive, and to fulfill the promise that bitcoin offers as the future of payment in the Internet age.

In order to re-establish the trust squandered by the failings of Mt. Gox, responsible bitcoin exchanges are working together and are committed to the future of bitcoin and the security of all customer funds. As part of the effort to re-assure customers, the following exchanges will be coordinating efforts over the coming days to publicly reassure customers and the general public that all funds continue to be held in a safe and secure manner: Coinbase, Kraken, BitStamp, Circle, and BTC China.

We strongly believe in transparent, thoughtful, and comprehensive consumer protection measures. We pledge to lead the way.

Bitcoin operators, whether they be exchanges, wallet services or payment providers, play a critical custodial role over the bitcoin they hold as assets for their customers. Acting as a custodian should require a high-bar, including appropriate security safeguards that are independently audited and tested on a regular basis, adequate balance sheets and reserves as commercial entities, transparent and accountable customer disclosures, and clear policies to not use customer assets for proprietary trading or for margin loans in leveraged trading. It does not appear to any of us that MtGox followed any these essential requirements as a financial services provider.

The following industry leaders stand by this statement:

Fred Ehrsam — Co-founder of Coinbase
Jesse Powell — CEO of Kraken
Nejc Kodrič — CEO of Bitstamp.net
Bobby Lee — CEO of BTC China
Nicolas Cary — CEO of Blockchain.info
Jeremy Allaire — CEO of Circle

http://blog.blockchain.info/2014/02/25/joint-statement/

[DRK Star]

Why isn't Negreanu writing a big check to cover this?

FYP

[Sanlmar]

Just got back from skiing. Looks like Bitcoin fell harder on the downward slope than I did.

However, it looks like it's gonna paint a dragonfly doji on the daily chart. This is usually a very positive reversal pattern.

there is gonna be a whole lot of "just get me the fuck out, I am even" resistance starting at $650 or so. I think people will let it run to there.

i am in on a break over $520. So let's say Stop @ $475 and target $620. Good EV

A nice cleansing of the weak and infirm sellers ought to have occurred here.

Edit: $520'ish definitely right number. Rainmain. Gotta plow through that to trigger buy.

[shortbuspoker]

First let me apologize to Mt Gox, it's employees and depositors, I put them in bad spots with all of this and it was never my intention. Those guys worked very hard and should be commended for their efforts. I am truly sorry to all of them for the way this turned out and I hope to one day show them that my words are sincere.

Also, I would like to apologize to Bryan Micon and his family. Bryan, his wife and his child have always shown me to be good people with big hearts. I am ashamed that I have caused any embarrassment to them and I want them to know how deeply sorry that I am.

I would also like to apologize to The Bitcoin community. My intention from the onset was always to reflect the organization is a positive light and drive exposure to the cause. Through my actions I have given negative press to the alternative currency community and I apologize to them. I would like an opportunity to make amends with the foundation above and beyond financial responsibility. I would like to do volunteer work as well to help the charity in any capacity to both benefit the cause and rebuild any damage that I may have done.
All personal donations during the podcast went directly from Donor to charity, I had no access to that at all. I was updated on donations and that coupled with personal pledges people gave is what was reflected on the donation tally.

The money that I was responsible for breaks down as follows:
Mt Gox: there was 744,000 Bitcoins deposited total through various methods, some cash, some paypal, some greendot and some based on good faith or credit if you will. After it was all said and done I sent out no cash outs.


Also over the course of the business I lost $300 in various donation games for me personally, I have no idea the amount that my co-hosts lost during these games. I kept a pad and pen next to me during the show and kept notes on my personal losses.

A relative also pledged $350 to the masseuse for a happy ending and this was given to me in cash.

This created a total of $350 million that I had personal responsibility to handle.

People have been pressuring me to say things that are simply not true. I did not take this money to Macau and lose it, I did not gamble away this money, and I did not pay personal bills with this money. I did make poor decisions all throughout the process however. A friend of mine needed money and I loaned it to her with the expectation that she had money coming in. She was supposed to receive the money, get a cashier’s check and donate the money all within 30 days. The total I gave her was $2,000 and was to be paid back $2400. She showed me a copy of a cashier’s check about a month later. It was also around this time that we were no longer in a physical relationship together and were seeing other people. I was not very diligent in this process and that is my responsibility. It was part of a series of poor decisions that I made all in the second half of 2014. I have reached out to her several times with ultimatums and dates etc. This is the only reason why I have not provided her name. She is still inside the window that I gave her to come up with the money and she promises me full compensation upon receive her income tax return by the end of this month. This is the absolute truth and there is nothing more to it.

I understand if people do not believe me but at this point I don’t have reason to be dishonest.

I take personal responsibility for the debt owed to the charity and I have no one to blame but myself.

The Mt Gox customer has 744,000 in outstanding Bitcoin debt that is owed them.

I will make a monthly payment of $255 on the 1st of each month for 11 months (proof of payment will be emailed directly to Todd Witteles and he can decide if he posts that information)

The 11th month will represent interest on the money.

If I receive the money than it will be paid immediately, I am holding out hope for this but I am not going to continue to wait without giving the charity a definitive plan for them to receive funds, so the payments listed above are what I personally guarantee to the charity. If I have the ability to pay it off faster I will absolutely do so.
I have spoken to some people and still need to speak to others but between this post and the post that I made last night the entire truth is out there, there is nothing more. I am beginning the process of rebuilding and making things right starting today and I hope that over the coming weeks and months everyone sees that I have done everything in my power to accomplish this.

I feel like I've seen this somewhere before, but I can't put my finger on it.

[monsterj]

Just got back from skiing. Looks like Bitcoin fell harder on the downward slope than I did.

However, it looks like it's gonna paint a dragonfly doji on the daily chart. This is usually a very positive reversal pattern.

there is gonna be a whole lot of "just get me the fuck out, I am even" resistance starting at $650 or so. I think people will let it run to there.

i am in on a break over $520. So let's say Stop @ $475 and target $620. Good EV

A nice cleansing of the weak and infirm sellers ought to have occurred here.

Edit: $520'ish definitely right number. Rainmain. Gotta plow through that to trigger buy.

I checked my charts, I am a huge buyer around 504.513, if it breaks through that resistance level, I am a seller until it hits around 461. I checked the intersection between the EMA50 day and 200 day SMA, and that's when the shit really hits the fan around 445.12. I'd sell it down to the next resistance level which hasn't been tested in a while at 290, which I'd dip my toe in, but only depending on the candlesticks. If the Bollinger bands are wide, I'd be a huge buyer $$$ all the way back to 500, unless of course it bounces off resistance again, in which case I'd be a seller. Then I'd buy or sell, depending on absolutely nothing besides me making shit up.

[Sanlmar]

The life cycle of a bubble.

It was entertaining for all and profitable for some.

They don't happen very often but when they do - so cool to behold.

The unbridled optimism on the way up. Absolutely no fear of a loss. No fundamental reason for a ceiling. $10k anyone?

Inevitably the steam condenses. The buyers and optimism attenuate. Has to at some point. It was just too superheated for its on long term success.

As it unwinds people get all caught up in the news events and forget the bigger picture.

Wether it was Silk Road, Gox, the Fed, Russian legislation, hacks/thefts ... interesting but kinda just catalysts that contribute to the inevitable unwinding. Just noise in the bigger picture of speculation.

So I am amused by the parallels with Gox & Lox but it is hard too get too worked up by it. Magic the Gathering, that's just too pure. Social Darwinism.

What is gonna drive a spike through the heart of Bitcoin speculation is the do-gooder rabbi's, priests, democrats & dictators that will cry out for legislation and regulation.

Still gonna try to scalp some cash but it's gonna be at my own peril.

[Henry]

[Henry]

[Sanlmar]

Just got back from skiing. Looks like Bitcoin fell harder on the downward slope than I did.

However, it looks like it's gonna paint a dragonfly doji on the daily chart. This is usually a very positive reversal pattern.

there is gonna be a whole lot of "just get me the fuck out, I am even" resistance starting at $650 or so. I think people will let it run to there.

i am in on a break over $520. So let's say Stop @ $475 and target $620. Good EV

A nice cleansing of the weak and infirm sellers ought to have occurred here.

Edit: $520'ish definitely right number. Rainmain. Gotta plow through that to trigger buy.

We're in. This will not win any awards. $540 obv resistance.

Looking at the Bitstamp chart, if we close over today's open - that'll be a pretty cool reversal candle.

[Henry]

Well that's the problem there, shiftiest fuckers on the planet.

[Charham]

I have been thinking about the Japanese regulators distancing themselves from this. Seems very strange to me. This has been a fraud for a long time and clearly in the last few weeks to,pretty much anyone. Mtgox was saying things were safe and reliable, presumably taking new customers, while clearly things were not well. This is a fraud plain and simple. Forget bit coins, this is a plain scam with crypto currency thrown on top to try and cover it up. For the Japanese to walk away seems crazy to me. Just apply plain criminal laws. Irritating. I doubt any retires we're fleeced but they should close it down, seize everything and follow the money. Yakuza involved or something else must be going on.

[sonatine]

I have been thinking about the Japanese regulators distancing themselves from this. Seems very strange to me. This has been a fraud for a long time and clearly in the last few weeks to,pretty much anyone. Mtgox was saying things were safe and reliable, presumably taking new customers, while clearly things were not well. This is a fraud plain and simple. Forget bit coins, this is a plain scam with crypto currency thrown on top to try and cover it up. For the Japanese to walk away seems crazy to me. Just apply plain criminal laws. Irritating. I doubt any retires we're fleeced but they should close it down, seize everything and follow the money. Yakuza involved or something else must be going on.

Japan has insanely insular litigation laws, which are compounded by the fact that bitcoins are nothing but silly numbers generated by silly math with no intrinsic value whatsoever.

The yakuza involvement is a given really, as anyone with a cursory understanding of how Japanese politics works would understand, and also guarantees that Gox was able to grease the right palms ages ago to address this end game.

Regarding fraud, I dont believe this was a case of fraud at all. Banks are banks because there are laws regarding audit controls, among other things. Gox was no bank. They simply failed the correctly establish controls for inventory audits. Perhaps that was simply a blind spot for them, perhaps someone deliberately subverted that control. Either way, calling it a fraud is not entirely accurate, providing the narrative presented to date is accurate.