It seems what we need here is to voice the overall feeling of the community when it comes to whether a business is a scam or not, so I will begin generating community polls to reflect this over the color coded method.

I will simply otherwise only add relevant facts to the database as we come across them supporting both sides of scam or legitimate.

This should do away possible bias from me personally in deciding what status is declared.

Does this sound like the direction we should go?

EDIT the forum poll won't work for this, Im looking at another option

At this point interest in this seem high enough, I am putting together a volunteer dev team to work with me. If you are an interested FPGA/Microcomputing engineer, software engineer, or have otherwise relevant skill in bringing such a product to market, please PM me.

Project Overview

Design Goals:

Modular Scrypt FPGA system
USB Connectivity
Stand alone/Rack convertible casing for scalability
Associated software package

I have had a few PMs and have seen questions regarding pre-orders for this project:


On Pre-Orders

Any pre-order campaign will be associated with the current stage of development. Unlike other producers there will be no pre-orders until a certain capital requirement is met meeting the estimated costs associated with that stage. At this stage it would be in generating a working prototype device. I am taking a community approach for complete transparency, every transaction would be made public knowledge as I think if you are willing to take a chance on us, you should know exactly what your money is funding and see it develop before your eyes.

This approach minimizes risk and gives a linear progression of development that is seen by the whole community.

I don't believe it is fair to hold pre-orders in a way that in a way fakes it as if it is a real product sold online, knowing full well it does not exist. I think this practice itself is fraudulent in nature itself.

Prototype Stage

Proto-adopters would be taking the bulk of the risk, as such we would work out some other kind of benefit to funding assistance at this stage. I am open to ideas on what you would like to see if you opted to be a proto-adopter.

A known price point will be known before any pre-order campaing begins with a known cap to hit, all pre-order capital going into third-party escrow until the needed amount is reached. Otherwise it would be returned to you. This could be receiving a prototype device to help with testing or some kind of future revenue sharing.

Production Stage Once a working prototype is created, we will then move on to casing actual production costs, and much like the Proto stage, will have a certain goal needed before any capital is invested.

To do this will require a crowd-sourced effort, which would be conducted through various forums as well as things like Kickstarter campaigns and the like.

Been seeing this floating around the web lately:

http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/04/14/2234251/is-bitcoin-mining-a-real-world-environmental-problem?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed

Apparently since Bitcoin didn't completely crash they have nothing better to attack.

So, how does a bunch of computers (the only thing Bitcoin needs to function), which could be powered by any matter of wind, geothermal, solar, and other clean means that are already available right now, compare to:

Deforrestation for fiat note creation
Mining of precious metals often with toxic byproducts and land errosion that are mismanaged at great environmental cost (at a loss as the copper used to mint pennies is more valuable than the penny is as currency, for example)
All of the fuel and manpower needed to do both, maintenance of the big machinery, etc

The time and energy impact to continuously mint new fiat currency as it is lost or destroyed
Environmental impact of all of the trucks and armored cars needed to transport it
Human manpower required to transport and maintain it

You tell me which one is the real disaster environmentally. Bitcoin would free us of all of this infrastructure and the need to feed it real world materials, effort, and energy in place of something that could be done in a sustainable way with green energy sources (again, the tech is already here for this). Sure, there is a certain cost in creating new computers as well, though in the long run Bitcoin would do far less damage, at least once in place with the backing of renewable energy, all the computer has to do is be turned on after that and lasts much longer than the creation/destruction cycle of fiat currency which is unsustainable. It is true that the power demand will only increase, however one point not covered is these machines are about to get much more efficient as well with ASICs and the like.

Sad the media has to spin things like that when they are so completely untrue.

Bitcoin has never been tried at such a wide scale in a single country, this is probably bupkiss though given their hyperinflation problems making their existing money absolutely worthless I could see this happening in some country sometime soon.

Why is deflationary a bad thing? Is it bad your money continues to appreciate in value over time instead of losing it like the Euro of Dollar never to recover their spending power? People need to disconnect fiat currency from crypto-currencies, they do not work the same and cannot be compared in an economic way. Bitcoin's deflationary nature ensure hyperinflation never occurs which I think has been proven to be infinitely worse for an economy.

They are versatile though some are more optimized in architecture for certain things. At the moment I am looking into FPGAs with Scrypt in mind over a more generic type such as the Spartan 6.

I have added the link to this chain on the Scam Alert panel 

Thank you GPU Rigs for the clarification and information as to your current status. Ill change your status on my other thread to "awaiting shipping" status.

To note, admit to being totally wrong on that point, DragonASIC is moved to Under Review status. There are still a few fishy things about it to look into.

I have just implemented several changes, including thread name change to avert any company included in the list feeling accused of being a scam.

I don't have enough time right now to reply to your responses entirely, however you have all made very valid points.

Namely: what qualifies me to be the one organizing this at all, and on what basis is trust established that I am not hashing out backroom deals with the scammers myself for a cut, etc.

And am I a scam myself in requesting hardware for review.

The goal here is:

A fair review process to determine the nature and legitimacy of a hardware producer.

Full transparency in conducting this review with respect to the privacy of that business. (In Cloudhashing's case, I was presented with transaction logs and the like, I cannot reveal it without their direct authority, but that presents a problem in sharing it with all of you, I know, something to think about)

Establishing some level of trust that I am only a third-party individual only serving a role as a whistleblower on obvious scams, the end goal being protecting people against being defrauded in a highly lucrative and explosive new industry full of parasites who want to take advantage of it at our collective expense.

Yes, there is more work to be done here and I can see that, and I will respond in detail to your replys later today somewhere. This is a work in progress and I welcome your ideas and input to make it better and more transparent in a way that we can all agree upon is fair, and these ideas will be implemented. I would absolutely like to include others to help review officially as to not be a solo act. But someone had to start the process somewhere and no one else had, so I elected myself to take it on for the betterment of the community. 

Anything on here is not here because I think it is a scam, only as a database of up and coming vendors and some kind of verification they are not scammers that can generally be trusted. Though I have no influence or connection to these enterprises, and cannot be held accountable for their actions either.

Avalon and BFL have both shipped products that are confirmed in the hands of end users, making them a safer bet than most. Again, safer. Not irrefutable proof they wont screw you. This is opposed to some random Easybake website registered by random people with no proof at all what they claim is true or ever will be. BFL has some issues with their new line, but they have shipped in the past, have a real office people on these forums have been to, etc.

As noted this page is informational only, if you choose to use it to influence your buying decisions I am not liable for the end result. This is to gather up all speculation and fact in one spot, make your own judgement.

This is largely opinion based by me, I agree. As noted any of these companies can contact me directly to clear themselves.

It isnt perfect but better than letting speculation run wild and be completely confusing to everyone, and mitigate "is it a scam?" posts.
It is not the registrar itself that raises plenty of suspicion, it is the real address it is attached to. A web search of it digs up a few examples of scam sites being generated by whatever it is, based on that I would not give them your money over BFL or Avalon at present.

I am looking at the linear path Bitcoin took. GPUs are power intensive and generate a lot of heat, at some point these two factors will outweigh any benefit to mining LTC as it scales up. GPUs represent lowest hardware cost/highest operating cost generally, where FPGA generally costs a little more up front, but you save in the longer run with less energy needed to power it and superior heat efficiency negating the need for A/C units or other cooling, increasing your keep long term.

Current FPGAs used for Litecoin are geared toward Bitcoin more, I am looking at one that is optimized for Scrypt for superior hashpower.

A review is currently conducted by searching out whatever information I can obtain about the company to find proof or not of their legitimacy. This includes WHOIS information, business registrations, wide web search, and looking into the people behind the scenes and if they have been attached to other frauds.

In the case of DragonASIC, I found underneath that the domain registration address was tied to other known scams or very fraudulent looking sites, earning it a red status unless they want to step forward.

An objective, fact based approach. I am not after a witch hunt, just separating the good ones from the bad based on available facts so no one gets bilked out of their money and discouraged. This is just a guide to what is known, and general community consensus on these companies.

Let me know how your interactions with ASICRigs are.

Awesome guys 

I am still researching into it and sourcing out an appropriate FPGA board that is more optimized for Scrypt than previous FPGA Bitcoin offerings.

I am very much interesting in persuing this further.

On the pre-order end, it would be the only way I could feasibly do it (banks wouldn't touch me with a 10 ft cattleprod...). I am working to get some pricing for a viable prototype to know where the cost to get started would stand, and following production. I assume as others they can be built on site easy enough.

Some of you have expressed deep knowledge of FPGA, I may be contacting you to build a dev team. Let me know if you might be interested in helping.

I am hoping by approaching a new company like this right here with all of you before just building some shady looking website populated with products for pre-order that in no way exist will alleviate scam concerns as we keep moving. We can all see this from the ground up. Nothing will be done at all without some realistic figures on the cost from prototype to production. Only in that case would I open it up, with you knowing 100% what your money is being used for with total transparency. Still that is a lot of trust in some random avatar on a forum, I agree. In roping in established and trusted community members and building my own credibility as well we can quench the scam alert and build a by-community for-community device.

A little more about me personally:

I am a long time computer and networking tech, primarily operating small-medium size IT infrastructures of all kinds. Over the last few years I have also added web development and graphic design work to my portfolio, as well as business tech consulting (aligning businesses with streamlined presence online and in house). My position in this would be mostly business logistics and organizing, though providing my technical expertise where needed as well to build the business support infrastructure.

My new company known as BlockBurner is just as new as any other, currently building my own Bitcoin/Litecoin mining farm as a 100% bootstrap effort on it's own that is in its infancy. Unlike most however, I have no pricing or products or services listed because I am realistic, and don't believe in what other mining operations are doing in this regard. If a product or service appears on my page, it will be because it actually exists and is ready to ship to the public at large as soon as you click "buy". I have no unrealistic expectations when it comes to trust, especially when there are so many scammers out there trying to cash in on enthusiast mania. (Im helping track these fly-by-night scam sites in fact because these people hurt the community and discourage adoption, which sucks) https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=176262.msg1835276#msg1835276

More to come soon

Operatr

DragonASIC added

15 April 2013 Update

I know we're all waiting, but every one of these "what's the deal with BFL" posts is more useless than the last.

Lets also keep in mind that AvalonASIC is the ONLY one to have shipped anything at all so far. So chill, this is a brand new industry just getting off the ground. There are a lot of logistics to overcome.

http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

http://www.thebitcointrader.com/2011/10/day-bitcoin-was-declared-dead.html

...hmm where have I seen reports of Bitcoin's flaming spiral of death into the ground before...

I await the rise to $500 

I don't get your logic. ZTEX and Enterpoint are not Bitcoin ASIC specific vendors, just generic FPGA/ASIC producers. These are the companies that Bitcoin ASIC vendors would work with to produce their chips, they don't sell Bitcoin ASIC units directly. This is just focusing on Bitcoin ASIC hardware vendors for scam/legit viability as so many new ones are emerging.

New entries added.

ztex and enterpoint are both ASIC/FPGA design specialists, but not Bitcoin specific vendors, addition has been excluded

BLUE status added for companies that show more signs than not they are legitimate, but still awaiting confirmation that someone has an actual product in their hands to verify their integrity.

As noted, my objective is not to baselessly attack anyone, simply analyze available facts and draw a conclusion as to the nature of your business and it's overall credibility to weed out the scams from the real deal.

I appreciate you are speaking to everyone and making things more clear.

You are not the only one under my microscope, as noted in the Scam Alerts and Review Panel. I will say if everything you are saying is true (lets be fair, there is still nothing here directly proving or disproving what you are saying), if you want your company to not be labeled as a scam I would take down the BFL Photoshops and have no image until there is something to show, or a unique mockup your company designed. Seeing these images over 3 sites that sprung up out of nowhere was a big red flag to me.

You also didn't answer my other question, do you know what GXMINING.COM is and does it have any relation to your company as well? It uses very similar themes and images.