Bitcoin Forum

This is a message I got from bitfloor today...Also there's a notice on there site now that things will suspend at 6PM EST.


Due to circumstances beyond our control, the BitFloor USD bank account will be closed. As a result, BitFloor will be unable to continue operations until this matter is resolved.

In order to facilitate an orderly return of your funds, I ask that you cancel all of your open orders, stop any and all deposits into BitFloor and withdraw the BTC you have which are not on hold.

This email is being sent to groups of account holders to avoid a widespread panic and affect market conditions.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to respond back via email for further followup.

I appreciate your understanding in this challenging period for BitFloor.

~Roman
founder - bitfloor.com



----

I received this early this morning, but per Roman's requests to help avoid widespread panic that could effect market conditions, I waited until now to post it. I think its only fair that a few hours before they suspend trading and potentially shut down, it should be more publicly known.

This was one of my favorite exchanges, Roman it'll be sad to see ya go.

Related threads:

bitfloor issues?
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=179135.0

bitfloor needs your help!
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=105818.msg1868333#msg1868333

Bitflloor: " Trading will be suspended at 6 PM EST on 2013.04.17."
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=179168.0

well, that would have been nice to know a few hours ago - you know, immediately BEFORE I just sent in a new deposit.

Looks like I'll be funding the takedown.

Bastards.  How hard would it have been to disable deposits? I mean, really?

Seems very crooked to me to tell some people but no all "to avoid panic".
That sounds like BS.   Given the other "theft" because it "never occurred to us that someone might hack us and that we should take precautions with others' monies", and now a secret message to some that everything will freeze but NOT to everyone and still accepting deposits can anyone tell me how I should see this as not more bitcoin scammers?
Or, is the argument that these are just more incompetent business people like Josh and Sonny and we should not pass judgement because they have no idea what they are doing?

Permanently, apparently:
   
Bitfloor trading suspended
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=179198.0

You're getting a bit over the top.

Nobody at bitfloor has said permanently.  The thread you link to doesn't say that.

bitfloor says: "All trading is currently suspended."

You're not helping...

Actually,


I am sorry to announce that due to circumstances outside of our control BitFloor must cease all trading operations indefinitely. Unfortunately, our US bank account is scheduled to be closed and we can no longer provide the same level of USD deposits and withdrawals as we have in the past. As such, I have made the decision to halt operations and return all funds.

Over the next days we will be working with all clients to ensure that everyone receives their funds. Please be patient as we process your request.

- Roman

And?

Indefinitely is not permanently.  Why don't we wait for further expansion of what's happening, from the horses mouth?  bitfloor's history in times of trouble is very good - better than most.

And even Tradehill arose from the ashes.

Edited

I hope Bitfloor works their way through this.  I had about 4 trades problem free with them.  There is some USD there that was waiting for a buy opportunity but I am quite sure we will get that back.    

ACH (direct deposit)

ACH withdraw is free and takes about 1-3 business days before the funds are available in your bank account. Before you can withdraw funds via ACH you must fill out the form below with the required information. A member of our support staff will review your request and respond once ACH is setup.

Just follow the procedure.  They must have thought it through and damn their fiat bank that stopped supporting them.  

And it's gone...


wow that was fast.

Roman is an honorable fellow.  Reminds me of Jared Kenna.

Slowly but surely the real bitcoin 'web of trust' is making itself clear.  I'll go with anything Roman starts in the future.

I'm not saying the owner/operator is untrustworthy. Basing your exchange in the US will net you bullshit like this.

Seen this movie before.

What would be a good replacement for bitfloor.  I used them because it was easy, a simple bank transfer and the funds were there within hours.  Placed my trades at my price and they fulfilled.  Quick withdrawal of bitcoin to a local and cold wallet.  As open and transparent as possible when problems showed up.  So now, I don't wanna touch MtGox on account of not wanting to hurt myself and I'm not a big trader.  10 bitcoin is my limit at any one time.  

I hate bitcoin and the compulsion to have it.  Which exchange please?  As simple and reliable as Bitfloor given that the landscape is mad unsettled?  

Well, the context being that they knew this was happening in advance, and made no effort to stop me from making a deposit anyway, and I wasn't notified anywhere else either. So, yeah, they're bastards for that. As a credit to them now, the deposit page is not linked any more from the site menu, although the page still exists and old links to the page will still allow you to generate a deposit amount as if nothing were wrong... but all that could have been done much earlier in the day.

Assuming what they say is true, then I do feel bad that their baby is being killed in front of their eyes, but that doesn't mean I can't be upset that my money is in limbo. I do feel *slightly* better that there's a promised path for return of my deposit, (have to get ACH "verified" first) but I'll believe it when I see it.

Everything else you said about the vast global conspiracy nonsense is non-sequitur.

Hey smoothie?

Yeah, I've seen this movie too - and I'm not talking about just in the bitcoin world.

Why hasn't somebody bought a bank yet, somewhere where there's easy-to-bribe officials and nice weather?

All this bullshit about P2P exchanges, Ripple, and all the rest is just that:  bullshit.

We need a bank...

you understand what happens when a "rouge" bank in a protected country refuses to abide by AML rules?  They are blackballed and no other bank allows their depositors to send or receive from that bank. 

I wonder (and yes, I'm aware of that)...

There are more-or-less attached but distant countries that might work around that.  Venezuela comes to mind.

And if there were a Bank of Bitcoin that could only deal with its own customers, that would still be something.  Dunno.  Just a thought.

I'd be surprised if the closure of Bitcoin24's and Bitfloor's bank accounts within a week of each other was just a coincidence.

Two is rather a small number of incidents to generalize from. If Bitfloor's account was generating an inordinate number of suspicious cash transactions reports I am not surprised the bank decided they didn't want their business.

For what it's worth, I was able to withdraw BTC from my BitFloor account with no difficulty. Luckily I had no USD in my account (well, 34¢ actually). I imagine it will be a tense couple of days for anyone who had a large amount in there, but for the moment I see no reason to worry you won't get your money back.

Very disappointing though, IMHO this was the easiest exchange to use.

You don't think the tremendous increase in interest in bitcoin over the last few weeks might not have translated into a tremendous increase in the amount of cash deposits going into exchanges' accounts which might have lead to a lot of red flags going up, quite independently?

well, I'm feeling better about this now - they verified my ACH withdrawal method within hours, and my cash withdrawal request is now "pending". Looks like they are, indeed, taking care of cash deposits as best they can. Still skeptical, but I'm no longer writing it off as a total loss. We'll see in a few days if it shows up at the bank.

I just hope they took no profits in cash so it's not a "first come first served" situation for withdrawals.

I have stopped receiving replies to my emails to support. Still no ACH deposit corresponding to my withdrawal request.

Lack of info is disheartening. The least they could do is say "we're still waiting", but it looks to me like they ran off with the money.

Ouch that is not good to hear. Have you considered calling Roman on the phone?

didn't know there was a number to call... I've kinda written it off as a loss now, but if you happen to know of a way to get a hold of them another way, that'd be great