[Rising on Reddit] Bitpay Reportedly Lays Off Most of Entire Staff

[MicroGuy]

This is an interesting development if true, I'm trying to reach Bitpay now to confirm.



https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3m7rj1/did_bitpay_lay_off_most_remaining_employees_today/

[Lauda]

Interesting story. Let's all first wait for evidence before we jump to conclusion. I have no idea why they would lay off people today because the day has no particular meaning. I hope that this turns out to be false news, else we would need another company to take their place as soon as possible.

[worhiper_-_]

This is nothing more but speculation at this point but it's important to remember that it'c coming from the guy that 'announced' that bitpay will be halting their free service a month before it was official.

[LiteCoinGuy]

hopefully that is just a rumor. it is a great company (with a great wallet by the way: Copay!)

[MicroGuy]

I tried calling their offices multiple times, but no one is answering the phone?



And this was just posted on Reddit a little while ago ...



https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3m7rj1/did_bitpay_lay_off_most_remaining_employees_today/cvd0fsr

I'll update this thread if I learn more.

--

EDIT: Yet another 'source': http://qntra.net/2015/09/eyewitness-people-walking-out-of-bitpay-office-in-tears/

[GermanGiant]

Well I wonder if this has to do with them losing 2million(USD) in Bitcoin, looks like a single stupid CEO can ruin a company no matter what Business they're in.

He is not a 'stupid' at all. He has done it intentionaly. Their plan was to cry foul for hack and get the money back through insurance coverage. Now, as the insurance company is denying, they're in trouble.

[knowhow]

Well pretty sure those were proposed to make someone cover the loss ,by the way has the fight over ?The dispute to recover the money lost,before when bitcoin started i would believe that were easy to scam but now with soo many securities systems why a ceo make a milionaire transaction and the boss isnt around ,makes no sense hey deposit 2000 bitcoins at xxx account i confirm .

[Gleb Gamow]

Well I wonder if this has to do with them losing 2million(USD) in Bitcoin, looks like a single stupid CEO can ruin a company no matter what Business they're in.

He is not a 'stupid' at all. He has done it intentionaly. Their plan was to cry foul for hack and get the money back through insurance coverage. Now, as the insurance company is denying, they're in trouble.

Let's say your company had ten obsoleted typewriters. You put them up for sale and someway, somehow, some dude swooped and conned you out of a hundred bucks that you were asking for the typewriters. You're out the hundred bucks, but still maintain possession of the of obsolete typewriters. You sell the typewriters anyway regaining that hundred bucks lost.

Now, instead of a hundred bucks worth of obsolete typewriters that still had some value, the scenario above played out for ~$1.8M worth of typewriters.

Now, replace the word "typewriters" with "Bitcoin Magazine". All that was lost was an asset that had some value which increased over the years, of which at one point wasn't worth much.

The hopeful revenue that was lost shouldn't have put BitPay in dire straits, but if they truly needed to liquidate Bitcoin Magazine for $1.8M+ to stay afloat, then I'm beside myself, for even though I'm been somewhat critical of BitPay, I really love/d this company and praised their name every chance I could off- and online.

[MicroGuy]

Coindesk finally chimes in: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort

[bitwhispers]

This is an interesting development if true, I'm trying to reach Bitpay now to confirm.

http://puu.sh/kmSrn/6ff27ed316.png

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3m7rj1/did_bitpay_lay_off_most_remaining_employees_today/

This would be an interesting story. Will try my sources also.

edit: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort/

[gogxmagog]

News like this again and again. And people wonder why there's no mass adoption...

It seems like there are no success stories.

Gloomy

[brg444]

News like this again and again. And people wonder why there's no mass adoption...

It seems like there are no success stories.

Gloomy

There are no success stories in broken business plans indeed.

The writing was on the wall as to BitPay's eventual demise.

They could only ride to coattail of the 2013 bubble for so long until people realized there was no point to buying stuff with BTC and everyone with brains recognized that the whole retail mass adoption was never happening. Why you ask? Well obviously because Bitcoin has a piss poor value proposition from a mainstream consumer standpoint.

[worhiper_-_]

With coindesk covering we can be more than certain that this is no longer speculation. What's up with BitPay though? Did the 30m USD investment they received more than a year ago start running out? Just too much bad news for them lately.

[onewiseguy]

looks like bitcoin companies are loosing everything little by little.

bitcoin needs a new edge to get e better foot.

[brg444]

With coindesk covering we can be more than certain that this is no longer speculation. What's up with BitPay though? Did the 30m USD investment they received more than a year ago start running out? Just too much bad news for them lately.

The problem for them is a two years bear market. No one can be bothered spending Bitcoin right now hence they have no business.

The more general concern is that it is pretty clear by now that mainstream consumers are not interested in Bitcoin and perfectly fine with their fiat and credit cards.

[onewiseguy]

With coindesk covering we can be more than certain that this is no longer speculation. What's up with BitPay though? Did the 30m USD investment they received more than a year ago start running out? Just too much bad news for them lately.

The problem for them is a two years bear market. No one can be bothered spending Bitcoin right now hence they have no business.

The more general concern is that it is pretty clear by now that mainstream consumers are not interested in Bitcoin and perfectly fine with their fiat and credit cards.

well who wouldn't  since fiat and credit cards are easier to use at the moment. 
bitcoin still has a long way to go form buying and selling instantly.   

[brg444]

With coindesk covering we can be more than certain that this is no longer speculation. What's up with BitPay though? Did the 30m USD investment they received more than a year ago start running out? Just too much bad news for them lately.

The problem for them is a two years bear market. No one can be bothered spending Bitcoin right now hence they have no business.

The more general concern is that it is pretty clear by now that mainstream consumers are not interested in Bitcoin and perfectly fine with their fiat and credit cards.

well who wouldn't  since fiat and credit cards are easier to use at the moment.  
bitcoin still has a long way to go form buying and selling instantly.  

Fortunately commercial retail adoption is a marginal aspect of what makes Bitcoin great and useful and is absolutely not necessary for it to succeed.

Bitcoin doesn't need a "killer app". It will grow organically as it has since its inception. The greatest driver of adoption will be socioeconomic and geopolitical events.

[smoothie]

I guess we can expect more downside in the price?

Pretty big news that bitpay layed off 20 employees on pretty much 0 notice.

If they got a bunch of funding you would think that they would be good to go for a while no?

Or did the squander it somehow?

[Kprawn]

The CEO fucks up and the staff gets laid off... how typical... punish someone else for his incompetence and lack of a proper business procedures. They have to make up for the

$ 2 000 000 they lost, and the easiest way is to trim the least important people in the business. Their main problem is not the $ 2 000 000 ...It's their reputation that is

shattered and how this once again taints the Bitcoin community with another scandal.  

[brg444]

The CEO fucks up and the staff gets laid off... how typical... punish someone else for his incompetence and lack of a proper business procedures. They have to make up for the

$ 2 000 000 they lost, and the easiest way is to trim the least important people in the business. Their main problem is not the $ 2 000 000 ...It's their reputation that is

shattered and how this once again taints the Bitcoin community with another scandal.  

This has nothing to do with Bitcoin. I thought we had moved away from such broken logic after Mt.Gox.

Fiat businesses go bankrupt and squander money all the time, this is no an indictment on the form of money itself.