UPDATE - Match 17, 2014

The latest version of the LMB Holdings (Neo & Bee, Easycoin, Neo Xchange) prospectus has been posted at https://www.lmb-holdings.com

The document is currently accessible using Google Docs at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1khGADbJeu0efCNZ13lnz8BucG7PfS5Cl9lBZ1sncY-4/edit

Please note that an updated link to a PDF version will be posted at lmb-holdings.com soon.

Also, additional updated information will be provided later this week.

OFFICIAL UPDATE FEBRUARY 26, 2014
Also posted here: https://www.lmb-holdings.com/index.php?cID=181

Neo Branch Opening
This week’s branch-opening received a terrific response from the general public. Attendees were amazed with the quality of the space and appreciated how much more educated they became after learning more about Bitcoin from our team. We opened many customer accounts, however, due to the MtGox situation, we withheld the sale of bitcoins temporarily to avoid immediate “loss” for customers that day and to keep focus on Neo and the benefits of Bitcoin.

This decision is not something that will be repeated in the future, it was a decision taken because we had not commenced operations at the time of the uncertainty surrounding MtGox.

Here are some photos from the event:

http://imgur.com/a/IrZck#0

Videos:

http://youtu.be/9vfWtINsLdk

http://youtu.be/rwVGlVEThjs

http://youtu.be/vTm0LUT_NCw

The Bee Payment Terminal Demonstration http://youtu.be/oRUM75oyI-g


Merchant Interest

Our merchant conferences and marketing efforts have resulted in an overwhelming amount of interest from businesses wanting to accept bitcoins. The variety of these businesses is excellent, and a future where Cypriots will be in a position to only use euros to pay government institutions is within sight.

Many of these businesses want to pass on some of the savings from using Bee payment services to their customers. Some businesses do not want to convert their bitcoins into Euros at the point of sale, this will help us to target those businesses who do not service end users. These are positive steps toward a closed-loop Bitcoin economy.

SoEasy Stores are kiosks (mini markets, convenience stores). They are the largest chain on the island with 40 stores and they will enable Neo wallet holders to buy bitcoins and sell them via a Bee terminal at every SoEasy location. This agreement essentially means that we now have 40 additional locations across the island where people can access our services and Bitcoin.


International Coverage

Many international media outlets have contacted us for interviews surrounding what we are doing here in Cyprus with Bitcoin and we are going to be featured in many upcoming publications.


International Expansions

There is significant interest from individuals and groups to expand the Neo and Bee brand internationally, as well as interest from others who wish to emulate what Neo has started. We are willing to help anyone who wants to build professional services in the Bitcoin space, including those that wish to emulate what we are doing here. More professional businesses aimed at the masses will only serve as good thing for Bitcoin.


Multi-Signature Wallet Implementation

We have had a delay on the integration of the multi-signature wallets. This will be resolved soon with further development. All of our customers will be briefed on this delay. We are satisfied with our level of network security and continued monitoring of this infrastructure and we should have this service available soon.


MtGox Statement

What we are witnessing now with MtGox is further cleansing of the Bitcoin ecosystem. The odds are that MtGox is beyond repair in every aspect. Whether the coins are missing or not remains to be seen, as little solid information has been released. Luckily the Bitcoin space is now witnessing serious investors and business people developing infrastructure to utilize the technology in a more professional capacity. The time of garage companies, shady operators and teenage hackers has passed. The time of seriously funded, professionally operated, responsibly executed, carefully planned and diligently tested businesses is here. This new crop of businesses is more transparent, more secure and more professional than those of the first generation. Here at Neo and Bee and Neo EasyCoin, we are making great progress towards higher levels of transparency and professionalism. The willingness of other businesses such as Coinbase, Bitstamp, Coinkite, Circle and Blockchain.info to provide transparency and accountability is encouraging.

Our customers can always independently verify their Bitcoin holdings on the blockchain. We voluntarily subject ourselves to external audit with one of the Big Four audit firms, and we make painstaking efforts to remain on the forefront of physical and software security to ensure we do not become the next MtGox.

Bitcoin is here to stay and it will only become stronger through more professional infrastructure.


Thank you!

The response from the BitcoinTalk forum, Reddit and Twitter has been amazing. Everyone here fully understands this is just the beginning for us, but we are excited by the future. Your continued support is extremely appreciated and we are all working towards making this a long-lasting business that is beneficial to everyone involved.

Just a quick update regarding transfers from LMB directly held profit-shares to Havelock.

1. There is a higher volume of requests than normal, but they'll hopefully get caught up tonight/tomorrow.

2. Free transfers to Havelock are provided to shares purchased directly from LMB-holdings.com

3. If you purchased shares at Bitfunder or BTCT originally, there currently is a 0.2btc fee to transfer to Havelock. This fee may be waived for people owning less than 1000 shares.*

4. Free transfers are limited to once per week per shareholder.

5. All transfers from Havelock to LMB-Holdings.com are subject to the current 0.2btc fee.


Please specify where you originally purchased your shares in your emailed transfer request . This will be verified before processing and you will receive a custom payment address for any applicable fees.

This info has also been posted here: https://www.lmb-holdings.com/transfer-shares/havelock/


* Don't try any funny stuff with transferring shares between LMB accounts to game this, we can see everything. Any abusive requests will be subject to the full transfer fee, regardless of size or orientation.

Official response regarding the CBC announcement surrounding Bitcoin:

Date: 10th February 2014

"As the CEO of a leading company that is building the infrastructure surrounding the Bitcoin technology (Neo), I believe the announcement made by The Central Bank of Cyprus surrounding the dangers of using Bitcoin was reasonable. Innovation is always upsetting, not innovating and being left behind as the world evolves has historically proven to be far more dangerous though; if not for vested interests, then for the future generations.

As a responsible company we naturally agree that anything to do with personal or corporate finances should be treated with extreme caution, including financial products offered by traditional financial institutions. That is why our business offers free education to everyone on what we offer and the Bitcoin technology, to enable individuals to make an informed decision for themselves. We do not and will never set any sales targets within our business, because we believe this practice should be avoided when handling the individual and corporate financial needs of our customers.

The fact that the Wall Street Journal, which is one of, if not the most respected financial publications in the world, responded to the Central Bank warning in a comical fashion speaks volumes of the warning's content:

“So, is the institution – accused of failing to control the economy on the tiny Mediterranean island and allowing rampant tax avoidance and money laundering - saying Bitcoin is illegal? Not quite. Instead it warns that there are big risks associated with using the currency.”

The response made by The Wall Street Journal echo’s the issues that we have faced when engaging with international banking partners; they have never expressed an issue with Bitcoin, however they have all considered Cyprus as a high risk country.

Regardless of the reluctance of both the Central Bank and CySEC to regulate the businesses surrounding this new technology, Neo are still committed to establishing a clear regulatory framework for Bitcoin based businesses to operate within. We are proposing a full regulatory framework to both of these regulators and directly to the government. Some work will be required from these regulators to act upon this proposal and no single entity understands this technology better than ourselves, that is why we are offering our resources to help the regulators fulfill their mandate and regulate businesses to protect the consumer.

Neo are already subjecting ourselves to internal policies for Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer that are more strict than any European legislation which surrounds these matters. We have taken these steps to ensure that we build a transparent institution. Due to the nature of the technology we utilize throughout our business, this higher level of transparency is more achievable than anything that has come before us.

If people want to use Bitcoin they will find their own way to obtain them in an unregulated manner, even if Neo didn’t exist. Isn’t it better for them to acquire them via a regulated market, that offers some level of protection?



Kind regards,

Danny Brewster
CEO - LMB Subsidiaries Limited"

IPVO End Date Announcement

Currently, one can purchase NEOBEE shares directly from LMB Holdings at 0.003 bitcoins each. However, on February 23, 2014, any remaining unsold NEOBEE shares at LMB-holdings.com will be taken off the market, bringing the original IPVO to a definitive end.

Shares will remain tradable at HavelockInvestments.com at market prices. Transfer services will remain available between LMB-holdings.com and HavelockInvestments.com by emailing tat.investments@gmail.com and paying any applicable fees.

We will provide another update that will detail what will happen to any unsold shares, how dividends are affected, and under what conditions shares may be made available for sale in the future.

Future share releases would be under a new class of shares, and would not include the 0.0035btc of priority payments of dividends that the current shares have. We do not have any current plans to re-release the unsold shares. Any offerings will be announced at least 30 days in advance.

Please feel free to ask questions here, and we'll try to make sure everything pertinent is addressed in the update.

It's likely a summing error due to not clearing the tickets properly. The tech team has been notified to sort it out.

I'll have some updates tomorrow.

No, the "locked" shares were simply unlocked, as they were unsuccessful purchase attempts that needed to be cleared.

NeoBee Update 01/21/2014

Flagship Branch
We are pleased to announce that Neo's flagship branch is scheduled to launch on February 24, 2014. 

As part of the launch, we will also release the following three products:

Instant-Access BTC Wallet – This wallet will function as a standard Bitcoin wallet which utilizes the multi-signature process. Neo will earn revenue from these accounts through the fees paid when exchanging Euros for Bitcoin. Account holders will receive a Bee card, allowing them to make purchases at retailers around the island of Cyprus, and through existing Bitcoin payment gateways.

Time-Locked Wallets – This wallet will allow the customer to hold Bitcoins over a predetermined time period in their own wallet with multi-signature functionality. These wallets will enable the customer to execute an exchange back to Euros on the predetermined date for either the original Euro amount or for the value of the Bitcoin that is held in the wallet at the time of the exchange, however the maximum amount of gains the customer will receive will be limited to an agreed level. Neo will derive income from this type of wallet through gains made in the value of Bitcoin over an above the agreed percentage.

Merchant Wallet – This wallet will enable merchants to accept Bitcoin payments from anyone. Merchants will have the ability to determine the exact percentage of revenue they wish to retain as Bitcoins and how much they wish to convert instantly to Euros as settlement. Merchants may accept payments into their bank account through electronic transfer, or collect as cash from one of the Neo branches. Should the merchant choose to access their money through one of our branches, they will have access to those funds within one minute of accepting the payment.

We have decided to delay the second branch in Nicosia to ensure the flagship branch opening goes smoothly. The second branch will tentatively launch within the first quarter of 2014.

Bee Payment Network
We have taken delivery of the first batch of POS terminals. We are now finalizing the integration with Neo applications.

Bee will not charge transaction fees to merchants. This ensures the lowest barrier to entry. Bee will instead derive income from the rental of POS terminals and monthly fees for online payment gateways.

We have been working closely with a number of POS and Stock Management System developers to ensure compatibility and ease of integration with their systems and the Bee network. This will enable thousands of Cypriot and international merchants to easily integrate our terminals with existing infrastructure.

Neo EasyCoin
Neo EasyCoin is nearing the completion of beta testing. We are waiting for some locations to go online with different payment service providers. We are also working with other payment service providers in Europe to enable Neo EasyCoin to service additional European countries.

Neo EasyCoin will provide service to the United States once we are in possession of a written clarification from FinCEN regarding our business model. Our lawyers are working on this daily. While we are confident in our plan, we also want to ensure long-term stability.

Media Exposure
We have received consistent and positive attention from local news outlets, including newspapers, television, magazines and news websites.

Here are some examples:



























We held a dinner event with the management and owners of several media companies based in Cyprus.

http://youtu.be/KvuR1EESj3Y

http://youtu.be/0jadqRIAb5E

http://youtu.be/928lKeOybls

Marketing
Neo's first advertising campaign is now underway. The first television advertisement will premiere on February 1st. Radio advertisements and a new Neo & Bee website will be launched in support of this campaign. The website will include detailed information about our personal and merchant wallet service offerings.

Regulations
We continue to make progress in establishing clear regulations for the operation of Bitcoin-based businesses in Cyprus. We have taken the necessary steps to obtain a Cyprus investment firm license, which would enable us to offer time-locked wallets to customers. We will offer these wallets when we open the first branch.

Neo Xchange


Neo Xchange is a new venture in which Neo will act as a brokerage and trade on a new Bitcoin exchange under development. The Neo Xchange platform will offer trade derivatives and other financial instruments. This requires the platform to be regulated. We are working towards obtaining the required licenses from CySEC to operate this platform. More information will be provided as available.

Once this platform has been launched, Neo will have greater ability to hedge the  instant-access pegged wallets.

Neo Portals
We are now developing our own ATM hardware that will enable customers to have access to all subsidiaries in many countries. This development will enable global expansion. By increasing our footprint in this manner, we can assess the data from these portals to determine optimal locations for expansion of the Neo network of branch locations.

The Neo Portals project is being managed by Brad Vaivoda. Brad Vaivoda graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.Sc in mechanical engineering. After beginning his career performing brake rotor design and analysis in Formula 1, he accepted a position aiding orthopedic surgeons during operations whilst working for Zimmer Holdings Inc., a medical device manufacturer in the orthopedic industry. Most recently, Brad was employed by The Boeing Company as a Test & Evaluation Engineer working across Boeing's commercial aircraft product lines.

Brad has since turned his focus to Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related ventures. He has considerable experience  with bleeding-edge technology and is familiar with working in fast-paced environments.

Just a quick note to let everyone know the update is almost done with editing and should be posted later tonight.

Thank you, and apologies for the delay.

LMB-Holdings.com Update

Transferring Shares from Havelock
The LMB-Holdings.com shareholder site now has updated info and fee rates posted for transferring shares from HavelockInvestments.com to directly held shares. The current fee is 0.2 btc per request, with no limit on the quantity of shares per request.

Transferring Shares to Havelock
Similar info will be posted to the "Transfer Shares to Havelock" page soon as well. As mentioned in the past, any shares purchased directly from LMB-Holdings.com are allowed one free transfer to Havelock. Any previously imported shares will carry the same 0.2 btc fee per request.

Transferring Shares from Bitfunder
The current batch has been a bit delayed due to the holidays and some server reconfigurations. Things are almost back on track and the current batch should be processed this week.

Why can't I set an avatar for this account yet? It was whitelisted for business purposes.

It is not required, there is a fee to do so, and you would have no ability to sell shares easily.

Havelock asset holder lists are sent privately twice per day currently.

You should have received several emails reminding you to migrate weeks/months ago. Have you checked your spam?

That info is available any time by logging into your LMB account and visiting this link https://www.lmb-holdings.com/transfer-shares/buy-shares/

Bitfunder > Direct Shares

All currently claimed NEOBEE shares from Bitfunder.com have been rendered to their owners at LMB-Holdings.com.

Next week, we will re-open fee-based transfer options. Current instructions and current fee rates to move shares back and forth from HavelockInvestments.com and LMB-Holdings.com will be provided and posted at the website.


Forum Questions

Please note that while Danny enjoys interacting with the forum and answering questions when he can, he is still the CEO of the company, and thus is quite busy most of the time.

I will remind everyone that this is not a support thread in any reliable capacity.

If you have serious questions, you should contact Neo directly via the posted emails and phone numbers.

If you want the latest official updates, they are posted at LMB-Holdings.com.

Bitfunder.com does not send email notifications; it never finished creating the feature for the website.

However, news was posted to the news area at Bitfunder.com, to the official forum thread, and all stranded shareholders were sent an email from TAT Investments with instructions on how to migrate your shares to Direct Shares with LMB Holdings. If you do not see the email, check your spam please.

Direct Shares Update

Just a quick update to confirm that we've received claim verification info from about half of the people stranded on BitFunder.

We've logged all the data so far and will begin checking wallet signatures tomorrow.

It's possible the current batch of migrations will be totally completed tomorrow, but definitely this week.

Neo & Bee Update Dec 13, 2013

Public Presentations
Danny Brewster, CEO of Neo, will be presenting Bitcoin at a conference organized by The University of Nicosia. Members of the government, political parties, media and the central bank have all been invited. Nondas Medaxas, Chairman of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and Dr. Christos Vlachos, CFO of The University of Nicosia, will also be speaking at the event.

Danny Brewster's presentation will help to educate attendees with accurate information about Bitcoin is, and the social and economic changes this technology can bring to Cyprus and the world.


Cyprus Investors Show
The feedback from the Cyprus Investors Show 2014 has been great. Neo & Bee was the main sponsor of the event, which provided many opportunities and increased interest into Neo’s services and plans.

The live demonstration of the Bee POS terminals, left many observers open mouthed at the speed and ease of the transaction.


EasyCoin Customer Referral Program
We are going to be introducing a customer referrals program to enable people to earn money themselves for promoting the use of EasyCoin to obtain crypto-currencies. The referral program will be designed to ensure abuses of the system cannot take place.


Television Appearances
George Papageorgiou, COO of Neo, appeared live on Sigma News and Antenna news to answer questions on Bitcoin and about Neo & Bee. This is part of an effort to position Neo and its representatives as knowledgeable experts on Bitcoin in Cyprus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBwZO1-5pV0


Central Bank of Cyprus’ Position on Bitcoin
An anonymous source from the The Central Bank of Cyprus issued a statement on the telephone stating that using Bitcoin can be dangerous because it has no oversight from the government.

Danny Brewster issued the following statement, which was presented to the public in every newspaper that published the news from the Central Bank:

We were informed today, that the National Νews Αgency contacted the Central Bank of Cyprus for a statement regarding digital currencies. The alleged response from sources withheld was that digital currencies are unregulated and therefore "dangerous". This spurred interest in the media and ambiguous responses.

As the CEO of the largest business in the world that is building infrastructure around the Bitcoin technology, I'd like to disclose that we have been trying over the last two weeks to reach and arrange a meeeting with the CBC so that can operate under the regulatory framework that they deem appropriate. I am happy with the fact that as the People's Bank of China, the Central Bank of Cyprus has confirmed its agreement that the use of Bitcoin by individuals is welcome and holds potential. This statement from the Central Bank is no different to any other Central Bank in the world.

The use of Bitcoin carries risks like any other financial instrument. However, because Bitcoin is still only 5 years old, the infrastructure is still being developed. Bitcoins have value because they are useful, they can travel immediately and they cannot be reproduced by fiat, by anyone. I sincerely wish such transparent and free protocols were available by voluntary consensus to everyone.

The release from the People's Bank of China, was heavily misinterpreted and this resulted in a temporary drop in the exchange rate of Bitcoin, which today is again approaching $1000. Said statement, explicitly states that individuals and non-government businesses can transact freely with Bitcoin. In addition, Switzerland is soon holding the discussion at a parliamentary level, as to whether or not they should recognize Bitcoin as a currency.

On the topic of Bitcoin as a potential facilitator of illicit activities, it is only right to quote Jennifer Shasky Calvery, Director of the United States Treasury Department, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, who said "Cash is still the best medium for laundering money" during the congressional hearing regarding Bitcoin on November 17th. This is due to the fact that every Bitcoin transaction is registered and visible on a publicly available ledger. Cash is far more anonymous than Bitcoin will ever be.

The largest company that is developing the infrastructure to make the use of Bitcoin safer, easier, more accessible and more stable is based in Cyprus. This company has already created many jobs and has outsourced even more with a structured plan to create hundreds more jobs over the months ahead. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Cyprus to become an innovative leader within the global financial services industry.

The only positive global news coverage surrounding Cyprus in 2013 was due to the fact that a private University accepts Bitcoin as a payment method, to enable everyone access to cheaper education, including those who are part of the 5bn un-banked statistic. These people are essentially extorted by the legacy payment industry. As National Geographic said, the Payment Industry makes and spends billions to accomplish what Bitcoin essentially does for free.

To realize these advantages, the authorities and regulators need to be fully and thoroughly communicated with all the details, challenges, potentials and benefits of this truly innovative technology, by those who have studied it further already.

We will keep trying to approach the Central Bank in an effort to explain our operations' model and provide all the necessary information to evaluate our business and the underlying technology.

We do not need permission from the Central Bank to operate any aspect of our business, however we are continuing to lobby for a clear set of regulations that we can operate within.


Office Space
We have now taken delivery of another 250sqm of office space within the 7 Stars Tower, which will be home to all of our customer support operations.


Advisory Board
Andreas Antonopoulos is providing advisory services to Neo & Bee across multiple areas of the business. Andreas is a long standing, highly respected and knowledgeable member of the Bitcoin community and we are extremely lucky to have him on board in this advisory position. More information about our Advisory Board will be provided in the future.

That is the correct sending address, and also the address you should send the verification info to.

If you look at the trust for this account, you will see the trust comment from ThickAsThieves here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=182236

You can also view the original whitelist request here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=15911.msg3852938#msg3852938

UPDATE

Bitfunder provided the final shareholder list, along with contact email addresses.

All shareholders that are currently stranded on Bitfunder.com were sent an email containing instructions on how to claim your shares.

Thank you!