Repentance, you have consistently been a bastion of reason here and I commend you for that.

I'd humbly ask you allow for the possibility that start-up investors, VCs and otherwise, do sometimes act outside own best interests. I do this work -- when I could do anything -- because I like helping young companies.  Maybe it’s selfish because I used to be them.

I don't do this because I enjoy 1) breaking up squabbles among children, 2) watching disaster unfold in slow motion, 3) grinding through legal red tape to clean up the mess, 4) enduring a (botched) character assisination for my troubles.

I will get -nothing- for having entered this bloody fray, and you know well what I have risked to do so.  I will not see a second of my life back or a single satoshi. But by God the customers will.

At the end all anyone will remember is: Bitcoinica. Bad. Wasn't that Tihan guy involved?

I accept this as the cost of doing the right thing and I'm not asking any favors. But it'd be really nice if you'd consider assuming the best, for just one second, before assuming the worst.

Donald, you're a sad and troubled individual. I hope in time you find peace.

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I'd first assumed any rational person reading Donald's rant would dismiss it entirely. Since may not be the case, I'll add just this...

1) Company name registrations are required to be unique only within a given state. There are at least half a dozen companies named "Smash Clicks". Searching Google reveals a lot of consumer complains about one such company in Florida. I have no affiliation at all with that company.

2) If you've never been involved a lawsuit... lucky you. If you have, then you know that "fraud" is routinely alledged as part of almost any civil dispute. (If it's not obvious why, ask a lawyer.) In the matter referenced by Donald, the judge ruled in our favor.

3) I've guided investments in over two dozen start-ups, including Bitcoinica and CoinLab. I have no management role at either company. I got my hands dirty to guide Bitcoinica into liquidation because nobody else would have. Hopefully the liquidator will get the other cooperation they need to repay customers soon. 

Donald is clearly angry and ashamed. I take issue with his terrible choices but I'm not here to bash on him. If there's some other myth you want addressed, send me a private message.

Transisto, that is an understandable misinterpretation of what I said but not 100% accurate. It is for this reason that we will be communicating with the liquidator on an factually-verifiable basis going forward.

As alluded to elsewhere, Wendon Group's petition to the New Zealand High Court to commence formal liquidation was approved on Nov 1. This comes after significant effort and legal expense for which Wendon Group has donated 100% of the cost.

The court appointed the principals of PKF Corporate Recovery & Insolvency to administer the liquidation. It will be their job to return funds to customers to the full extend possible. They will require the cooperation of MtGox and Bitcoinica's managing partners to accomplish this.

My expectation is that the liquidator will reclaim all records and assets, including the Bitconica.com domain name held by Mr. Strateman and make further updates available there.

Among Bitcoinica's managing partners, Patrick Stratemen has been the least uncooperative. As he makes good on his promise to assist the liquidator, please extend him the degree of respect he deserves.

Donald, Patrick and Amir have not signed the resolution to appoint a liquidator. They have provided no reason for refusing to do so.

Bitcoinica's investors have been forced to file an action with the High Court of New Zealand. A hearing has been scheduled for Nov 1.

It is likely that this must be the first of several hearings, separated by weeks or months. Unfortunately there is little that can be done to expedite the process without cooperation from Bitcoinica's managing members.

On behalf of the Bitcoinica investors and customers, I direct this message to Donald Norman, Patrick Strateman and Amir Taaki.

Gentlemen, I do not have to remind you of the calamities that have befallen Bitcoinica since April 24. The universal dissatisfaction surrounding the events has been discussed at length elsewhere.

In your absence, Bitcoinica's investors and others have been pursuing options to minimize loss and move the refund process forward. Unfortunately, there are no efficient ways to do this without your cooperation.  

I'm writing now to ask you to support the needs of the customers.

Attached you will find a company resolution that authorizes formal liquidation under New Zealand law. As you know, your legal authorization as owners is required to take this step.

If you continue refusing to act, the only way forward is court. This will add months of additional delay and drain significant funds that would otherwise go toward repaying customers.

I thank Patrick Strateman in advance for your promise to assist the liquidator. Words are a good start. What's needed right now is action, from each of you.

It's important that you return the signed resolution before the weekend.

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I too hoped things would be further along by now. The lawyers are looking at skipping receivership and proceeding directly to liquidation. This is intended to save time but nothing in the legal world is fast by bitcoin standards. With luck, the Court will approve a liquidator in September.

Zhou Tong is exactly who he says he is.

Please understand that I have no authority over the payout process past, present or future.

I'm only updating the community on the actions initiated by the investment group to move that process out of the hands of the Consultancy and into the hands of a legally appointed receiver.

This should remove roadblocks to recovering additional funds.

When the hacker was ready to return 15,000 BTC, that transaction was delayed for days because the Consultancy would not provide a receiving address.

Thankfully, Mr. Murck stepped in as a licensed attorney to broker their receipt. He was subjected to a lot of hazing and invasion of privacy here for doing so. Without him, the coins might never have been recovered.

Those funds and any additional recovered funds will be placed under control of a receiver. This is a formal legal process that will allow Mt Gox et al to release funds to the receiver for distribution.

There will be legal action against Consultancy members for applicable acts of civil and criminal wrongdoing.

I am an investment scout for Wendon Group. Part of my role is to monitor past investments.

I facilitated Bitcoinica Consultancy's take-over of Bitcoinica and made my knowledge of the business available to them.

Bitcoinica Consultancy had exclusive responsibility for Bitcoinica's daily operations in all respects, including hot wallet management.

It is August 2012 and 80 days have passed since Bitcoinica was taken offline following the Rackspace hack. Many of you have followed developments since that time with interest and frustration. The company's investors and I have also been extremely disappointed.

Donald Norman, Patrick Strateman and Amir Taaki accepted responsibility for Bitcoinica on April 24 as Bitcoinica Consultancy and have retained the -only- legal authority to act on behalf of the company. At this time it appears they have abandoned their legal duty.

They now refuse to reply to communication, refuse to acknowledge their responsibility, refuse to resign voluntarily, and refuse to act. In particular they have refused to do anything to recover stolen funds, even where the required action is as simple as providing a payment address. This is now hindering the efforts of others to minimize loss to Bitcoinica's customers.

Clearly, this must end.

Acting in its capacity as creditor to Bitcoinica LP, the Wendon Group investment fund will appoint a receiver under New Zealand law. This has been an option of last resort which is now unavoidable. Under receivership, a licensed and insured specialist will replace the Consultancy as the designated authority. Upon satisfaction of secured creditor interests, the company will proceed to liquidation in which remaining funds are distributed. Without Consultancy cooperation, this is the only ready way forward.

Wendon Group intends to donate any funds it obtains via receivership in favor of Bitcoinica customers. Complete liquidation will likely take place over a matter of months.

While this is not the outcome any hoped for, it is certainly an improvement over the deadlock resulting from Donald, Patrick and Amir's untimely abandonment.

Many have suffered because of the Bitcoinica disaster. Everyone is right to be upset. Since no one in charge has seen fit to offer an apology, let it be me instead. To all those affected, I'm very sorry.


Tihan Seale

It would suprise me greatly if Zhou is responsible for this.

I do not have access to any first-hand evidence that would implicate Zhou.

I work on behalf of the fund that invested in Bitcoinica. I have no position of authority with Bitcoinica LP.

When it was made known to me that some suspected Zhou, my recommendation was to confront him privately for his explanation.

Hi Phin

It's "Wendon Group" with a "d".

You can continue this if it entertains you, but it will all be a matter of public record upon court action against the Consultancy. The investment fund has nothing to hide. Nor do I.

Suffice to say that Mr Taaki's statement grossly misportrays circumstances of the theft and fails to acknowledge his ultimate responsibility.

As a rep for the limited partner, I don't have a vote in this process. I do hope my input has been helpful, but the decision on how to proceed belongs to Donald, Patrick and Amir alone. I'm happy to hear they'll soon be ready.

Hi all. I'm making my first post here to offer my heartfelt apology to those affected by the security breach at Bitcoinica.

The investment fund I work with first put money into Bitcoinica because I had identified it as a promising start-up in this exciting space. It is my job to find potential investments and conduct related due diligence. In doing so, I learned a lot about bitcoin trading and Bitcoinica.

Like many early stage companies, Bitcoinica experienced growing pains as its success outgrew the capacity of its initial founder to handle alone. It was I who sought out expanded management to help take Bitcoinica forward.

I chose the Bitcoin Consultancy team due to their early involvement with bitcoin, their experience operating an exchange, and their reputations for expertise in online security.  

Bitcoin Consultancy was first retained to perform a comprehensive security audit on March 27 and they became owners and operators of Bitcoinica LP on April 24*. As General Partner, they have exclusive legal authority to manage the company.

Because their time with the company is relatively short, the present situation is especially challenging. Zhou Tong has continued to assist in an unofficial capacity. I've offered what insights I can based on my knowledge of the business. In spite of the challenges, I know the Bitcoin Consultancy team would like to bring about the best possible outcome.

Per standard practice, Bitcoin Consultancy entered into a non-disclosure agreement which extends to Bitcoinica's proprietary systems and processes. They are free to discuss their role and history with the company.

For those who wish to blame someone, blame me. Perhaps if I'd pushed for expanded management sooner or in a different way, the incident might have been avoided.

For avoidance of confusion, I wish to reiterate Bitcoinica Consultancy's prior statement: Mr. Heaslip is an accounting professional who assisted with company formation. He has his own business interests in New Zealand which are otherwise unrelated. I have facilitated investments in dozens of other companies, including some in the bitcoin space. Those companies are also unrelated.

I’m unable to follow most public postings here, but you can reach me through this forum by private message. Questions about processing of funds should be directed to Bitcoin Consultancy as they alone control that process.

I've advised Bitcoin Consultancy to focus their efforts on processing claims rather than public debate. Please extend them your continued patience.


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*The members of Bitcoin Consultancy operated Bitcoinica via a separate New Zealand Ltd company formed for this purpose.