Create an account on an exchange like BitFunder, buy shares of TU.SILVER, and redeem them for physical silver.
You can also do this with physical gold on BTC-TC with the GOLD and BTC-GOLD funds IIRC.

Then you can take your physical and sell it or trade it for whatever you want. Just one idea.

In the words of Wayne Gretzky, you have to skate to where the puck is going, not to where it's been. For now, the volatility you would normally price into these assets has been canceled out. How I've done this is a trade secret, and involves a special technical analysis indicator I've invented which I call the triangle trending chart.

So accounting has to be done in bitcoins because bitcoins are the unit of account on the exchange. But we're not really dealing with bitcoins, we're dealing with silver denominated in bitcoins. Both of which can be denominated in a third currency. Both bitcoins and silver are hard assets in that they cannot be created by fiat. So they both follow the laws of supply and demand. That means that priced against each other they will create a much more stable figure. The third factor is currency. The triangle trending indicator links three independent figures together -- like points on a triangle. The center of this triangle is the relation between each figure. This center moves towards one or the other figures more or less quickly (with more or less force) over a certain time period. This tells me what the market is looking at, and reveals to me much information.

Right now I have been watching the trend using my special trending triangle indicator and the market action looks like a straight line. This is telling me where the market is going to be. That's how I price my silver. Like Wayne Gretzky, my hero.

2 @ 4.5

Actually this is an interesting point you're making. How do you write 月野うさぎ in English? The problem is, people who don't speak Japanese can't pronounce Japanese. Romaji is only useful to people who are learning Japanese. A classic example is "Doraemon". In English, you want to say "Do-ray-mon" (3 syllables). But in Japanese it is "Do-ra-e-mo-n" (5 syllables). This is why as a general rule Japanese names are rewritten. It's for your convenience.

You're welcome, and you can feel free to redeem whenever you want I'm still looking at how we are shipping and the costs, but for now shipping is 1 share per 5oz, or about 2%. That is, I believe, the cheapest shipping option of any precious metals fund right now. You can also pay shipping in bitcoins if you want. For example someone just redeemed 1oz and I quoted him 0.1BTC (the actual price was .146). So 1 share per 5oz (i.e. 2%) works out okay for me.

This is actually a cheap way to buy silver, since our price is a little less than most online coin shops. I have no idea how I managed that especially since all we buy are 1/2oz rounds. But there it is. The competition just stepped up a notch.

Actually about that, once we get a little bigger I can start buying poured bars and industrial silver ingots (cut from long bars and such) and it's super cheap. Nearly spot. But you won't be getting nice 1/2oz rounds like that, just chunks of silver or maybe silver shot. I'd probably run a motion to see how much of that people want us to buy, but it could lower the price of shares by 5% to 10%. Nice huh. Well, let's see how big the fund gets first. I just locked in a price for 25oz (fifty 1/2oz rounds). They'll probably be here on friday

Note: spot price + coin premium for silver in BTC is currently 1.860/BTC/oz, so this bid wall represents a cash premium of between 3.4% and 7.3% for anyone who is selling shares. Of course, investors are still welcome to redeem shares for metal. In fact, I just mailed 1oz to a shareholder this afternoon.

Thankfully doing the books is not something I really need to worry about, as I've hired someone else to worry about the books. I just need to worry about making sure there's documentation (disclosure) for everything I do. But I will make sure our advisor gets this information and does a reasonable job. I think the worst that will happen is that we will publish all the important information, but it will be in a nonstandard format. Then we'll take advice and criticism and do it better the next time around. All that really needs to be reported is what the total value is that we hold and the amount and nature of the risks. I'd like to keep it as simple and easy to understand as possible. Your other advice was valuable too, thanks.

I'll be asking our accountant/advisor to present net asset value in terms of AG/unit + cash position.

So if we have 13 oz. of silver and 6.5 bitcoins over 130 issued shares, the fund will be worth 1/10th of an oz. per share plus 0.05 cash per share.

As an interesting aside, to properly value a fund like TU.SILVER you need to know what added value is present besides "silver". For example, I guarantee investors will be able to withdraw a minimum of 5 shares (1/2oz) at a time, as brand-new, sealed 1/2oz rounds. This means we must charge a $2 to $3 premium to the spot price, since that is the coin premium on 1/2 oz. rounds. For more info on that you can check out apmex.com -- I like apmex.com because they list the price as "spot + premium", which is more interesting to me than other stores which just list the compbined price.

Also of note, like BTC-GOLD and similar funds, TU.SILVER charges a small markup to pay for vault storage and company operations. We also need to pay for shipping on any new silver we add to the fund.

For example; today we are looking at silver spot/10th oz of .1759. After a $2 premium that price rises to .1871. Then we add 6% to pay for vault storage fees and to match our existing cash position. Finally, shipping costs tend to push the price another 7%. This gives us a target sale price of about 0.212 today. This may sound expensive but buying shares of TU.SILVER is still cheaper than most online BTC silver stores, and the coin premium is very nice. This makes TU.SILVER and other funds convenient, inexpensive alternatives to holding the metal yourself. In fact, now that I have your attention, I might as well go full tilt here.

The following is my opinion only. ;-)

A comparison of Bitcoin-based Precious Metals Investments
January 27th, 2013

Dear investor; it is our pleasure to present the following free report. Today’s date is Sunday, January 27th, 2013. First let’s run down today’s price action in the markets:
Source   Gold   Silver
kitco.com   $1659.30   $31.18
24hgold.com   $1658.20   $31.13
Mt. Gox Weighted Average   $17.23207   $17.23207
Average Price in Bitcoins   96.2595 BTC/oz   1.8080 BTC/oz

The Crystal Ball says:
Spot price for Silver today is down about 0.03 BTC from last session, as cheap metal continues to flood the markets. Gold continues to hold the mid-90 range as investors recover from the holiday season.
Today’s special is a series on the various Precious Metals vehicles available to cryptocoin investors.
Here’s the list of funds we will discuss today:
Exchange   Symbol   Manager   Redeemable   1Y/5Y/10Y EROI   Advantage
BTC-TC   GOLD   John Galt   S&H +5%   -1% -5% -10%   trust, low fee
BTC-TC   BTC-GOLD   Carnth   S&H +3%   -13% -13% -13%   backed by gold
LTC-TC   LTC-SILVER   SaltySpitoon   S&H +3%   -2.5% -12.5% -25%   trust, backing
BitFunder   TU.SILVER   TU group   S&H +2%   +3% +14% +25%   income, backing

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Investing in a Precious Metals fund has many benefits over storing the metals yourself. Besides increased liquidity (since BTC exchanges are open 24 hours), lower fees, and convenience, these funds offer a way to hedge against drops in the value of BTC.
It is important to understand the differences between each fund and choose the fund that meets your investment objectives. Do not blindly throw money into a precious metals fund; you may end up making less money than you expected, and maybe even losing money. In such a case you would only have yourself to blame.
This report exists to compare some of the more important risks and rewards of four gold and silver funds across three popular exchanges: GOLD, BTC-GOLD, LTC-SILVER and TU.SILVER. We hope that you learn something from this report but the most important take-away is that you should investigate any investment before you buy it. Please consult a registered investment advisor before investing. 
Let’s begin with John Galt Asset Management’s GOLD fund (also known as LGT on LTC-TC). John Galt’s funds exist to represent beneficial ownership of the underlying gold, according to the full contract. In return for storing shareholder’s gold, John Galt operates a spread and charges a 1% annual fee. John Galt has also agreed to absorb the first $1,000 (~58 bitcoins) worth of fees and legal expenses generated by the fund. This is exemplary. The main advantage with GOLD vs. BTC-GOLD is probably the fact that gold is added at the spot price. With no premium on gold added, we expect the majority of short-term investors to hold GOLD versus other funds.

BTC-TC
GOLD
John Galt
Our first impression is that GOLD is a rock-stable issue representing the “gold standard”, if you will, of what a gold backed security should be.
•   Redeemable in bullion by unitholders
•   Trust Advantage & easy to contact John personally
•   Adds value (stores gold on behalf of customers)
JUSTIFICATION
John Galt is one trustworthy guy. He put his name behind his fund and that is to be respected. He also seems to know what he is doing, based on his extensive and well-worded contract. The premium on GOLD is very low due to John Galt Asset Management operating a tight spread of +/- 3.75%. This keeps the market liquid -- you will be able to enter or exit at a decent price within a reasonable time. John Galt adds gold to GOLD at spot price. So the fund pays any purchase premium for you. This is ideal for short term and medium term (1 to 10 years) investors. Additionally, we had no problem contacting John with questions about his fund. He responded right away and was very patient and pleasant to deal with. If one were interested in holding a gold position for the short or medium term, GOLD is an excellent choice.
CONCERNS
There are no outstanding issues we can see. When we asked John about the safety of his gold, he told us that it was kept in the vault of a bank. Although it is not insured against theft, we feel it is secure enough for our purpose.
CONCLUSION
We like GOLD for short-term trading or as a vehicle for buying gold bullion using cryptocoins. We would look for a less-expensive long-term position if we wanted to invest in precious metals for say 7 years or longer.
Pro Tip: GOLD is ideal for short term investors. It has a 3.75% spread and adds gold at spot price!
-----
Our next stop on the list is Carnth’s BTC-GOLD fund (and it’s version on LTC-TC, LTC-GOLD). There are important differences between GOLD and BTC-GOLD, but the most visible difference is that each share in BTC-GOLD is backed by 1/100th gram of physical gold. The small denomination may surprise, but at $1700 gold conveniently works out to just under 0.001 BTC per share.

BTC-TC
BTC-GOLD
Carnth
Our first impression is that BTC-GOLD is a low-cost alternative to GOLD with strong competitive advantages.
•   Redeemable in bullion by unitholders.
•   Backed by gold (1/100th of a gram per share).
JUSTIFICATION
With 0% annual fees, BTC-GOLD is structured for the long-term investor, yet contains some very attractive features for short term traders. In contrast to John Galt’s GOLD fund, BTC-GOLD is backed by gold on a per-share basis, which aids in establishing a value. We also feel the small denomination per-share will tend to increase liquidity which is also more attractive in the short term.
CONCERNS; COMPARISON WITH “BTC-TC.GOLD”
From the contract we see that the gold is likely to be held in Carnth’s possession . If the gold is not in secure storage there is a risk of loss due to theft or damage. Secondly, while Carnth is a trusted community member, in comparison to John Galt his personal contact information is not provided. Finally, short term traders beware; while the 0% annual fees are attractive in the long term, the fund sells new shares at a small premium to the spot price. Anyone holding for the short term should be aware of this when buying shares of LTC-GOLD.

CONCLUSION
We like BTC-GOLD for medium and long-term exposure to the gold price and we love it’s small denomination shares because it promotes liquidity without being obtuse. We are slightly concerned about the safety of the gold, however we grant trust to Carnth because he is a respected forum member.

Pro Tip: BTC-GOLD has the lowest fees for long-term storage!
-----
We now come to LTC-SILVER. The major initial concern was the contractual similarity to BTC-GOLD, and assets like LTC-PLATINUM and LTCCOPPER. Why are there so many similar contracts run by anonymous forum unknowns? Is it a scam?
SaltySpitoon helped us get to the bottom of this issue quickly. SaltySpitoon is the original author of the contract, and has authorized Carnth to use it as well. That makes us feel a lot safer about investing in LTC-SILVER.

Litecoinglobal.com
LTC-SILVER
SaltySpitoon
The advantages of LTC-SILVER are:
•   Trust (issued by a Staff member at bitcointalk.org)
•   You can redeem your shares for physical for about 3% plus shipping and handling.
•   Backed by 1 gram per share of physical silver.
JUSTIFICATION
At the time LTC-SILVER was founded, there were no Silver funds in the community. SaltySpitoon is a trusted community member. He is a Staff member at bitcointalk.org. We also feel LTC-SILVER’s long history has proven its ability to redeem physical silver. We were able to get in touch with SaltySpitoon easily to ask questions about the fund, so it has excellent customer service. Finally, it has low fees, and SaltySpitoon offers free UPS tracking numbers when you redeem your silver. All in all, it is one of the oldest and most trustworthy precious metals funds available.
CONCERNS; COMPARISON WITH “BTC-TC.BTC-GOLD” AND OTHER LTC-TC FUNDS
There are no outstanding concerns with LTC-SILVER. The initial concern was the large number of similar-looking funds. This turned out to be a non-issue. The second issue was security. When we asked SaltySpitoon how the silver was stored, he told us the silver was kept in a military-grade walk-in safe. We think this is novel, and that thieves will not be getting away with this silver any time soon.
CONCLUSION
We like LTC-SILVER because it offers a novel storage solution compared to GOLD and BTC-GOLD. SaltySpitoon’s contract is very well-written and oft-copied. Finally, each share is backed by one gram of silver in secure storage. We like LTC-SILVER for both long term and short term trading, and can only recommend the fund.
Pro Tip: SaltySpitoon said demand is up and he will be adding more silver. Look for a deal on new shares soon! 
-----
TU.SILVER is the newest Precious Metals fund in the community. How does it stack up against the others? Like all the funds reviewed so far, its job is to store metal for its unit holders. Like most funds it guarantees the metal backing its shares – in this case, 1/10th of an ounce of silver (versus 1 gram of silver for LTC-SILVER). Where TU.SILVER really shines however is in its positive EROI (expected return on investment). Where other funds can only guarantee a long-term loss when indexed to the price of the metal, TU.SILVER expects a long-term gain.

BitFunder
TU.SILVER
TU group
The advantages of TU.SILVER are threefold: Income, Security, and Silver backing each share.
JUSTIFICATION
No other precious metal issue can expect a positive EROI. For many investors, the choice between a fund which is guaranteed to lose money and one which can expect a positive return is easy. Secondly, with TU.SILVER, your Silver is guaranteed against loss by theft or damage by storing it in a vault. Vault services such as VIA MAT and G4S will store the bulk of the silver. Additionally, the fund operates in Asia. We feel that this is an attractive option to investors seeking geographic diversity.
CONCERNS
If there is a sudden and dramatic increase in the price of silver, the fund would lose its risked capital. This means that TU.SILVER must never issue calls against its position which would cap the majority of gains in the price of silver. A rule of thumb is that the fund aims to retain up to 80% of the gain in any end-game of the silver market. Estimates show that by risking 20% of the silver position, the fund can expect to earn approximately 3.8% per year. This is expected to be realized by shareholders as a distribution of approximately 0.25% per month. In this case, were silver to experience a sudden gain of 1,000% (for example, a violent short squeeze over a holiday weekend) the fund would only be able to cover an 800% return. Although this presents a risk compared to other funds, we feel that it is a risk which investors will find acceptable.
CONCLUSION
TU.SILVER is decidedly a medium-term prospect. It aims to pay a stable dividend in the short term, while in the long term it is guaranteed to get stopped out of any eventual moon-shot in the price of silver. We feel that investors will judge this risk to be acceptable due to the ability to pay dividends and the security offered by vault storage. At the very least, investors have been given the information to decide for themselves whether or not this is a risk worth taking.
Pro Tip: TU.SILVER is the only silver fund available today which expects a positive EROI!
-----
WRAP UP
Regardless of which precious metals fund you choose, one thing to keep in mind is diversification. All of the funds above (and even those we may have missed) represent an investment into physical metal. But there’s a big difference between gold held in New York and gold held in Switzerland; A big difference between silver held in Australia or silver held in Japan. Diversification in precious metals does not just mean a little gold and a little silver, some in long-term vehicles and some in short-term vehicles. It also means making sure that if Gold is confiscated, like it was in the USA in 1933, or declared illegal for trade, like it was in Vietnam in 2010, that your money is safe and you don’t get sent to the poorhouse. A cursory analysis shows that all the funds we’ve looked at operate in the USA, except for TU.SILVER which operates in Asia. Depending where you live, geographic diversity may be even more important to you than fee structure.
Furthermore, the relative anonymity of the fund operator must be considered. While no one is truly anonymous, it is to be respected that John Galt Asset Management has put his name and reputation on the line with GOLD and LGI. Others who do the same can expect greater degrees of trust as well. Consider carefully the track record of each fund manager and ask yourself; Is this someone you trust to hold your money? Have they done the right thing in the past?
We also advise investors to consider carefully the implications of low-denomination funds like Carnth’s BTC-GOLD fund or SaltySpitoon’s LTC-SILVER. These funds are often more liquid because it is easier to trade small value amounts and operate a spread.
Finally, you will want to decide what your opinion is on the precious metals markets themselves. If you believe gold and silver will experience a sudden and violent price increase within the next few years, funds like TU.SILVER will not be able to capture the full return of any giant leap up by the precious metals. In a currency collapse event like in Argentina in the 1990s or in modern-day Zimbabwe, TU.SILVER would be the worst performing asset of the four we looked at today.
In conclusion there are many precious metals vehicles to choose from, but the safest and easiest is probably just buying the physical metal yourself. Gold and silver have alloidial title; it’s owned by whoever is holding it in their hand. Keep this in mind when investing in any silver fund; if they cannot secure the value of your silver as you yourself can by holding it in your hand, then perhaps the risk is greater than the reward. Please consult a registered investment advisor before investing.

The spreadsheet lists the ASICs as online, but the BTC per month at about 0.95. It looks like the spreadsheet is under construction so I guess this isn't too big of a deal. Hoping those ASICs arrive soon

Proposal. Please implement a new rule:

For any scam accusation to be considered, a 1 BTC deposit must be paid. This deposit will not be refunded if, for any reason, the person who is being accused does not receive a scammer tag as a result of the thread against him.

No, pretty much this entire thread (and the other two) are just you manufacturing circumstantial evidence.

When others (like smoothie) got involved it became obvious that no-one was willing to do a real investigation of Butterfly Labs, which would include visiting the fab and taking pictures. All this was about was your personal campaign against Josh. You said it in your video you were going to go after him because you didn't like him. That moment cast a doubt over everything you've done so far and it looks to me like that doubt was validated last week.

The onus of proof is on you, since Butterfly Labs has delivered in the past. Do you have any actual evidence to show that they can not deliver this time? If not, this entire thread reads more like a flame troll than anything else.

This bid will not be considered valid unless a 0.1 BTC (or greater) deposit is sent to: 16eqDDNoYJDihvZwdhpH8HpdF4SCxEbU7P.

I sincerely appreciate that.

Thank you,




My duty as custodian here is simply to get a statement. As you have not been provided with any lists from Nefario, it's clearly not your fault and I have updated the information about BITCOINRS to reflect that. While it's probably my fault for not contacting you earlier, I've just been so busy with the payments and talking to 20 other asset issuers, I was mistaken and I thought you had a list. Well, anyways. I'll try to make a payment for my shareholders on your behalf since I believe one day you will get the list from Nefario. I may be wrong but who really cares, as long as this gets wrapped up in a neat little package that's all that really matters to me.

Good luck with your company in the future.

I was under the impression BTC-bear changed his username.

Also what happened to copumpkin? I talk to him now and then.

It's true. And FWIW I think it belongs on the cover of a fashion magazine.

Many updates have been posted today and I will continue to post updates throughout the day.

-----

Letter to Shareholders of all my companies:

In response to some recent enquirers I'd like to remind people that I DO NOT HAVE PERSONAL LIABILITY. The contracts were all very clear. NYAN.A was insured by CPA and CPA existed to expose investors to both the rewards -- and the risks -- of insurance. You knew that before you invested, so it's a little late to start complaining. Do not bother to try and shift the scam accusations from "usagi is responsible for the mining crash" to "usagi has personal liability". I will simply ignore you.

You have to understand. If I invest in a company like BitVPS, and the boss (rg) dumps his WoT/OTC key on pastebin, sells his company and moves to timbuktu -- that I am not responsible for covering investor's loss. Some people seem to think that taking 5% of investment dividend qualifies me to shoulder 100% of the risk. That's just not going to happen on many levels, least of all the contract stating I am not responsible.

This is very important to understand because I will be, breathtakingly, assuming personal liability for NYAN.A.

Yes, you heard it here first. I will be paying what is remaining on NYAN.A out of my personal salary over a period of months because so many companies blew up that all of the value in NYAN.B and most of the value in NYAN.A has disappeared. BITVPS is gone. That was our gem. We're not on the list of BITCOINRS (fancy that). And so on. I've also sold $4,000 worth of my personal gold and silver in order to make bids on BMF securities (see auction) and to buy out the JAH and RSM positions so that my shareholders can receive full value. I've done this in auction or on the market so shareholders know they are getting a better deal than if I didn't do this. I've also relinquished my personal stake in these companies back to shareholders to increase their value.

It's sad that I won't be able to save any money during this time but I believe that contractual obligations be damned -- it's the right thing to do.

In a better world the people who owe me money (as listed in the claims thread) would do the same thing. But they aren't. They're running and hiding and pretending they don't owe me any money.

That makes me sick. And what's worse is a handful of very confused individuals who believe it's all my fault.

Well there's nothing I can really say to anyone over this, because actions speak louder than words.

At any rate, Chinese New Year is coming up soon so let's enjoy ourselves

An update has been posted with all recent bids taken out by a very nice snipe by usagi. There's still a few days left to bid:

ALL AUCTIONS END ON JAN 30TH. Not the 28th. I've extended it. Sniping period is, you have to make a bid within 1 hr of the last bid to out-snipe after the auction closes (I believe that is a reiteration of the rule I posted earlier).

Gentlemen...

Updates:
1. The current high bids are all held by usagi, summary is below:
2. Only 1,000 DMC shares are remaining.

The remaining 14oz. has been sent to TU.SILVER on BitFunder.

Thanks for buying my silver guys!

I'll lock the thread as there's no use for it anymore. Happy stacking~