My (uneducated) guess is Gox. issues, uncertainty over china, apple ban (minor). Also there was some kind of statement in Russia that no one seems to be talking about...I read that it was an actual ban on Bitcoin, but I've not seen it corroborated. I saw $730 briefly, now it's back up mid $740's. I don't have cashflow to buy in right now so I'm a little frustrated watching this opportunity slip by.  |
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Alts that build functionality on the blockchain may have a place. Alts that are simple clones probably wont.
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I'm very interested in the new Counterparty technology given the successful burn period of XCP. I've been reading everything I can find on it, and I understand how it's an information layer built on top the BTC protocol, and can be used for betting and issuing "shares", etc. However I'm still foggy on a lot of details and I can't seem to find a clear, dummies style explanation of the tech. Could someone help an idiot like me with some basic questions?
One thing I don't understand is how the value of an individual unit of XCP is determined. I know right now it's trading at a certain amount relative to BTC based on scarcity since the burn period is over. Down the road will it trade on utility (i.e. I need one intact unit of XCP to issue shares in my company) or will the value be determined by the assets that it backs?
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1k XCP for 5btc, won't last long.
Purchased a somewhat smaller quantity from Patel; good transaction, trustworthy seller, much appreciated! |
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I have 1340 Thai Baht laying around from a trip I took to Thailand a few years ago. No plans to return anytime soon. Will sell it for $30 in BTC.
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I guess this is one of those things I am going to end up saying 100 times.
29,000 BTC dumped on the market will do nothing, It is highly improbable they will dump them anyway. There are 14 million coins. Daily volume has exceeded 100k on any one exchange many times. It doesn't matter.
I will not be the slightest bit surprised if the first day the ETF is up and running they bring in 1 billion or more. If not the first day, the first week for sure. There is ~100,000 in new demand. Probably will exceed 10 billion the first year.
29k coins is a rounding error, just forget about them they don't matter. The department of justice annual budget is $27 billion. I.e the silkroad stash is 1 thousandth of their revenue. Treasury's is, well.. lol. Not finite.
Let it go man, they're gone.
Great post man. Good perspective. |
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Eh, I just sent .001 btc. If this is a scam I'd say he's working pretty hard for minimal result  |
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WalletBit was not a scam. I asked for my balance to be transferred months after the service closed and they did it immediately. |
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I have been in touch with Kris and while I cannot share any details, he has convinced me that he is taking this very seriously. I retract my earlier implications that he stole the coins himself. I'm convinced now that they were hacked, and that he is working hard to fix things and make them right. That's all I got, but I thought I would let you guys know. This is a shit situation for everyone  |
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No i think people should stay calm and assess things clearly. However that's not easy to do when services fail you one after the other.
I think staying calm is a relative thing given the history of these sites being hacked or turning out to be scams. Certainly the management at BIPS has done little to help assuage the fears of those affected. In fact I would argue that their lack of communication has exacerbated them.I have been in touch with Kris and while I cannot share any details, he has convinced me that he is taking this very seriously. I retract my earlier implications that he stole the coins himself. I'm convinced now that they were hacked, and that he is working hard to fix things and make them right. That's all I got, but I thought I would let you guys know. This is a shit situation for everyone |
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Message (presumably from Kris) on my helpdesk ticket: "I am on my fifth day without sleep doing data recovery as to find more server logs.
Please allow us patience."  Sorry, but when you put restoring the ability to process transactions above getting my thousands of dollars of BTC back, I can't find much patience to spare. Reminder that there's still no evidence whatsoever that a hack occurred. I'm amazed at the people here who are willing to walk away from their balances on the flimsy word of someone they have never met. |
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On November 15th BIPS was the target of a massive DDoS attack,
All good so far, it happens to everyone. which is now believed to have been the initial preparation for a subsequent attack on November 17th that overloaded our managed switches and disconnected the iSCSI connection to the SAN on BIPS servers.
huh, what ? who is the idiot that setup this network ? Regrettably, despite several layers of protection, the attack caused vulnerability to the system, which has then enabled the attacker/s to gain access and compromise several wallets.
Wait wait wait. There is some huge step missing there, what are you omitting ? How do go you from DDoS, to network failure, to XXX, to access breach ? Please don't get into the same territory as TF. Agree. I do woodworking now but I used to be in IT. I sent this to a buddy of mine who ran pen testing for a large security corporation...I'll let you guys know what he says. |
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Who the hell puts 90 BTC in a web wallet?
Merchants do. The people who are concerned with running a business and don't have the time to spend hours upon hours pouring over the arcane intricacies of cryptocurrencies. The people who put their heart, soul and product out there on a very risky newfangled thing called Bitcoin. The people who you need to move this whole circus forward into the mainstream. So maybe a little less derision? Put yourself into their shoes? |
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In my mind, it's 'either or' - either I get my bitcoins back, or bips.me takes their website down and opens up under a completely new name. But not both. With this in mind, I'm seeking out other 'whales' - people who lost significant numbers of bitcoin on bips.me. If there's enough of us, what we do is get together and hire a lawyer in Denmark, and start from there. It will be worth it. Here is a signup form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1v8AL3scMErzSLPRSOhGuGXn9pzHjWNTrSE2YWEQIpxs/viewformI am the first person to sign up, with my 90 missing bitcoins. If nobody else signs up, or if the total number of signups doesn't add up to more than 250 bitcoins, I'll give up. Also. I very much doubt that this was an 'inside job' or some kind of fraud. Danish people don't do those sorts of things. They just don't. Goddamn right. Even if they actually did get hacked (which I'm not willing to accept without proof), the security of their site was nothing like they advertised. I'd bet they won't give technical details on the hack because it would reveal negligence. Also. I very much doubt that this was an 'inside job' or some kind of fraud. Danish people don't do those sorts of things. They just don't. However, that doesn't mean that these guys shouldn't have to start from scratch again.
May be doubtful, but I'm not willing to walk away from my BTC on the strength of a cultural stereotype. Prove it or I'm assuming they stole it. No offence, but I think any other affected users would be foolish to take any other stance. |
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It is imperative to understand that everything was wiped out from our servers and getting functionality back is priority #1.
Maybe to YOU. MY #1 priority is you getting my BTC back! The wallet part of BIPS was a free service to make payments easier for users.
Web Wallets are like a regular wallet that you carry cash in and not meant to keep large amounts in.
You never said that before you lost my BTC. As someone who pursues and gets merchants to sign up for your service, you surely realize that many if not most of them are not well versed in Bitcoin. At NO point did you EVER say hey you shouldn't keep your BTC with us. In fact, your website said: Your data is secure at BIPS
BIPS was built by passionate bitcoiners and talented developers. BIPS is hosted in our private server facilities. Passwords are stored with a double salted SHA-512 hashing algorithm. Our entire website is protected with AES RIJNDAEL 256 encryption and we have encryption of data traffic with 2048-bit, highest assurance Extended Validation SSL certificate, with 99.9% Browser Recognition.
Bitcoin Security
BIPS protects your payment information with industry-leading security and fraud protection.
On top of this, our server/database is regularly stored on tape backups. For added security you can also enable Secure Card and Google Authenticator at any time for up to 3 levels of authentication.So yeah, I felt pretty goddamn secure leaving my BTC balance there. Those who were not affected and have a bitcoin balance will also be contacted.
Most balances left are minuscule, but if you had more than a few satoshi’s in your wallet you are affected, and will be contacted.
So basically ALL balances are gone? Why don't you speak in plain english and quit giving us the runaround? Because it makes me think you're a liar and have something to hide. Technical information will not be disclosed for security reasons.
Wrong. You need to convince me and others you didn't simply transfer out the funds yourself. Given the silence, poor communication, delays etc you are not looking very trustworthy. If you think people are going to simply take your word for it and walk away from thousands of BTC you're dead wrong. |
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So sorry! Hope you recover it all!
Thanks man. Don't suppose you want to buy some really nice puzzles? I take BTC www.cubicdissection.com |
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Dominic, not so far. Kris Henrikson is the owner and he's not saying much at all. I had literally that day (the 15th) written in my planner to move my BTC to a more secure place. I got home that night, researched paper wallets, set one up, went to log in to BIPS and boom they're down. I earned those BTC selling puzzles on my website back when they were around $100. Can't afford to replace them at todays prices. Feel sick...this is a loss of more than just BTC, it's my hopes for the long term value that's down the drain. I'm gonna go smoke a Rocky Patel I've been saving and see if that helps :-/
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I've emailed and PM'd them with no reply. The silence is disconcerting, as is the timing of the "hack". It would be foolish to simply take things on their word and and walk away from thousands in BTC. Who's to say they didn't simply walk away with the funds?
I'm not saying "theft" yet, but if BIPS wants me to believe they got hacked, the burden of proof is going to be on them to prove it. If they will not, or if they continue this silence, I and others will get law enforcement involved. I'm already in touch with other BIPS users, some of whom are in Denmark and have easy access to the police there.
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Kris, it's nice to hear you are working 24/7. That said, it's been days since we have been able to access our balances, all during a period of great volatility.
The information that some wallets were compromised is alarming. Combined with the vague communications, I think you can see why we're worried.
Perhaps you could take a couple moments to comment on how many wallets were compromised (a handful? most of them?) and how your company plans to make whole those who lost what they entrusted you with.
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