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

[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.  

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.

Yea, the main difference being that fiat is a established currency and Bitcoin the new technology trying to disrupt it. Every time a MtGox or a BitPay happens, the shills and

the media jump onto this like flees on a dog. This definitely has a impact on the community.. like it or not... it's a fact. 

[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.

Yea, the main difference being that fiat is a established currency and Bitcoin the new technology trying to disrupt it. Every time a MtGox or a BitPay happens, the shills and

the media jump onto this like flees on a dog. This definitely has a impact on the community.. like it or not... it's a fact. 

It's a fact that intelligent people who would consider Bitcoin as an investment can see this drama for what it is: market participants incompetence.

If that scares a couple of Jims & Sallies on the street from buying Bitcoin that does not bother me one bit because they wouldn't be buying for the right reasons in the first place and it is likely the value they would bring to Bitcoin wouldn't move the needle one bit anyway.

[worhiper_-_]

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.  

Well, you can't nessecerely blame the CEO for wanting to cut costs. It seems as though the profit wasn't enough, he alone probably couldn't stop this from coming. I'm sure that laying off people was the last resort, probably investors played a role in this.

[favdesu]

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.

this exactly. I still don't get how a company dealing with crypto currency is too incompetent to use the most basics like PGP encryption/signing of emails. I would never trust bitpay for a single cent.

[dothebeats]

It's kinda sad on the part of the employees whether this news is true or not. Losing almost $2m in one instance is a big blow to the company. Saying it is hacked by someone or whatsoever shouldn't be enough on the part of the CEO--he should give more thorough explanations as to why this happened.

[ikydesu]

It's kinda sad on the part of the employees whether this news is true or not. Losing almost $2m in one instance is a big blow to the company. Saying it is hacked by someone or whatsoever shouldn't be enough on the part of the CEO--he should give more thorough explanations as to why this happened.

This news is true,
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort/
Also this is effected to merchants: http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-cut-free-unlimited-processing-merchants/

[brg444]

Well who needs merchants anyway?

Who Needs Merchants Anyway?
Hoarders are more important than merchants. If a restaurant downtown starts accepting bitcoins, this does not necessarily create an incentive for anybody to buy more bitcoins. Why would anyone bother if they can still just use a credit card? If you can convince a merchant to accept bitcoins and stop accepting dollars, then I’ll be impressed.

Unless a merchant is offering something that cannot be bought for dollars, or at least offering a discount, he is only benefiting Bitcoin to the extent that he encourages more hoarding. If he immediately converts the bitcoins he receives as payment into dollars, and if his customers only buy bitcoins so as to spend them at his shop shortly thereafter, then neither has much direct effect on Bitcoin’s demand. The real hero is the hoarder behind the scenes who buys from the merchant and enables him to convert his payments into dollars.

http://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/im-hoarding-bitcoins-and-no-you-cant-have-any

[dothebeats]

It's kinda sad on the part of the employees whether this news is true or not. Losing almost $2m in one instance is a big blow to the company. Saying it is hacked by someone or whatsoever shouldn't be enough on the part of the CEO--he should give more thorough explanations as to why this happened.

This news is true,
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort/
Also this is effected to merchants: http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-cut-free-unlimited-processing-merchants/

So the article that I've read about BitPay's employees crying is true? No wonder they'd be crying because they lose their jobs and it's hard to find a new job nowadays. What I'm doubting is that whether they're really hacked or not (but I know there is much more than just 'hacked').

[brg444]

It's kinda sad on the part of the employees whether this news is true or not. Losing almost $2m in one instance is a big blow to the company. Saying it is hacked by someone or whatsoever shouldn't be enough on the part of the CEO--he should give more thorough explanations as to why this happened.

This news is true,
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort/
Also this is effected to merchants: http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-cut-free-unlimited-processing-merchants/

So the article that I've read about BitPay's employees crying is true? No wonder they'd be crying because they lose their jobs and it's hard to find a new job nowadays. What I'm doubting is that whether they're really hacked or not (but I know there is much more than just 'hacked').

It has been confirmed that they have lost 2M$ in an email phishing scam/hack.

Although this definitely did not help their cause this obviously is not the reason for the current layoff.

[randy8777]

always when you think there won't be anymore bad news from important bitcoin companies or exchanges, you'll realize that we'll never have a year or at least 6 months without troubles. i hope it won't damage the reputation of bitpay.

[dothebeats]

It's kinda sad on the part of the employees whether this news is true or not. Losing almost $2m in one instance is a big blow to the company. Saying it is hacked by someone or whatsoever shouldn't be enough on the part of the CEO--he should give more thorough explanations as to why this happened.

This news is true,
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort/
Also this is effected to merchants: http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-cut-free-unlimited-processing-merchants/

So the article that I've read about BitPay's employees crying is true? No wonder they'd be crying because they lose their jobs and it's hard to find a new job nowadays. What I'm doubting is that whether they're really hacked or not (but I know there is much more than just 'hacked').

It has been confirmed that they have lost 2M$ in an email phishing scam/hack.

Although this definitely did not help their cause this obviously is not the reason for the current layoff.

I've also read that they reduced the number of their employees to 'cut costs' and I wonder how would they still deliver an effective operation given that they have less numbers of employees compared to what they have before. By any means, do you have a link on where you've read that they lost $2M because of the scheme you posted above?

[tiggytomb]

This is a shame, it's always hard to see people losing their jobs and from the sound of it there wasn't any prior notice although after the recent hack news people may have been thinking that there would be some cutbacks.

I hope this is just to save some cash and streamline their workforce and not the downfall of this company, it is true that cutbacks happen in non Bitcoin companies, but I am sure this will get some media attention and a negative spin put on Bitcoin.

[brg444]

It's kinda sad on the part of the employees whether this news is true or not. Losing almost $2m in one instance is a big blow to the company. Saying it is hacked by someone or whatsoever shouldn't be enough on the part of the CEO--he should give more thorough explanations as to why this happened.

This news is true,
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-processor-bitpay-reduces-staff-in-cost-cutting-effort/
Also this is effected to merchants: http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-cut-free-unlimited-processing-merchants/

So the article that I've read about BitPay's employees crying is true? No wonder they'd be crying because they lose their jobs and it's hard to find a new job nowadays. What I'm doubting is that whether they're really hacked or not (but I know there is much more than just 'hacked').

It has been confirmed that they have lost 2M$ in an email phishing scam/hack.

Although this definitely did not help their cause this obviously is not the reason for the current layoff.

I've also read that they reduced the number of their employees to 'cut costs' and I wonder how would they still deliver an effective operation given that they have less numbers of employees compared to what they have before. By any means, do you have a link on where you've read that they lost $2M because of the scheme you posted above?

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html

[dothebeats]

always when you think there won't be anymore bad news from important bitcoin companies or exchanges, you'll realize that we'll never have a year or at least 6 months without troubles. i hope it won't damage the reputation of bitpay.

The hack itself damaged BitPay more than anything else. This proves that even though how secure a service can be, there would certainly be some exploits available to be performed on such a service.

[coinpr0n]

Well this is a pity. Not sure about their business model, but their open source contributions have been great. Can't help but think this is all because of the "hack".

[Mickeyb]

So what would happen to all of the companies that accept Bitcoin through Bitpay if Bitpay is to cease its existence? Would we all of the sudden stay without almost half of our merchants? This would suck and it would surely cause the blow to whole Bitcoin economy!

I am sure this is all connected to the recent news on how they have been hacked for almost $2 million. Nothing good will come out of this I am afraid!

[brg444]

So what would happen to all of the companies that accept Bitcoin through Bitpay if Bitpay is to cease its existence? Would we all of the sudden stay without almost half of our merchants? This would suck and it would surely cause the blow to whole Bitcoin economy!

I am sure this is all connected to the recent news on how they have been hacked for almost $2 million. Nothing good will come out of this I am afraid!

Nonsense. Pure nonsense

Bitcoin doesn't exist to buy game credits on Microsoft store.

The reason why they have to cut costs is that barely any of their merchants are seeing any sale from Bitcoin acceptance and therefore they aren't generating any revenue whatsoever.

[jertsy]

So what would happen to all of the companies that accept Bitcoin through Bitpay if Bitpay is to cease its existence? Would we all of the sudden stay without almost half of our merchants? This would suck and it would surely cause the blow to whole Bitcoin economy!

I am sure this is all connected to the recent news on how they have been hacked for almost $2 million. Nothing good will come out of this I am afraid!

Nonsense. Pure nonsense

Bitcoin doesn't exist to buy game credits on Microsoft store.

The reason why they have to cut costs is that barely any of their merchants are seeing any sale from Bitcoin acceptance and therefore they aren't generating any revenue whatsoever.

It's quite a coincidence they decided to cut costs by sacking most of their staff straight after news of the hack got out. They must know they will lose business because some merchants will lose their trust in Bitpay. Its reputation has been damaged so badly I wonder if it can survive in the long term. According to coindesk the average daily volume of Bitpay was $435,000 in 2014. However, I can't find any information on what the average daily volume of Bitpay was in 2015, but they must still have been generating some volume before the hack was exposed.

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-on-the-dark-web-the-facts/

[brg444]

So what would happen to all of the companies that accept Bitcoin through Bitpay if Bitpay is to cease its existence? Would we all of the sudden stay without almost half of our merchants? This would suck and it would surely cause the blow to whole Bitcoin economy!

I am sure this is all connected to the recent news on how they have been hacked for almost $2 million. Nothing good will come out of this I am afraid!

Nonsense. Pure nonsense

Bitcoin doesn't exist to buy game credits on Microsoft store.

The reason why they have to cut costs is that barely any of their merchants are seeing any sale from Bitcoin acceptance and therefore they aren't generating any revenue whatsoever.

It's quite a coincidence they decided to cut costs by sacking most of their staff straight after news of the hack got out. They must know they will lose business because some merchants will lose their trust in Bitpay. Its reputation has been damaged so badly I wonder if it can survive in the long term. According to coindesk the average daily volume of Bitpay was $435,000 in 2014. However, I can't find any information on what the average daily volume of Bitpay was in 2015, but they must still have been generating some volume before the hack was exposed.

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-on-the-dark-web-the-facts/

They have been laying off employees for some time now, this is not the first occurrence nor is it the last.

It's obvious their business is struggling. The recent move to depart from the "always free, forever" transaction fees model is another example of this. I can't prove any numbers but I'm confident their 2015 numbers must be miserable.

[1Referee]

So what would happen to all of the companies that accept Bitcoin through Bitpay if Bitpay is to cease its existence? Would we all of the sudden stay without almost half of our merchants? This would suck and it would surely cause the blow to whole Bitcoin economy!

I am sure this is all connected to the recent news on how they have been hacked for almost $2 million. Nothing good will come out of this I am afraid!

Nonsense. Pure nonsense

Bitcoin doesn't exist to buy game credits on Microsoft store.

The reason why they have to cut costs is that barely any of their merchants are seeing any sale from Bitcoin acceptance and therefore they aren't generating any revenue whatsoever.

It's quite a coincidence they decided to cut costs by sacking most of their staff straight after news of the hack got out. They must know they will lose business because some merchants will lose their trust in Bitpay. Its reputation has been damaged so badly I wonder if it can survive in the long term. According to coindesk the average daily volume of Bitpay was $435,000 in 2014. However, I can't find any information on what the average daily volume of Bitpay was in 2015, but they must still have been generating some volume before the hack was exposed.

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-on-the-dark-web-the-facts/

They have been laying off employees for some time now, this is not the first occurrence nor is it the last.

It's obvious their business is struggling. The recent move to depart from the "always free, forever" transaction fees model is another example of this. I can't prove any numbers but I'm confident their 2015 numbers must be miserable.

It's a business after all. I don't mind them raising the fees as long as they are able to keep it fair and well below the fees of Visa, MasterCard and so on. This only opens the doors to new services to convert Bitcoin sales into fiat for merchants. The more companies we have like BitPay, the better. It's a free market, so let them try to snoop a certain percentage of the market with a better business model that suits both the company itself and the merchants.