The Everything Bearish Thread

[ElectricMucus]

Good News, Everyone!
From our burgeoning 'Let's get sushi... and not pay!' department.

The GAW scam is 100% a bitcoin thing, in the sense that about ever last sucker comes from this community.

Bitcoiners are the most scammable people out there, except perhaps the ones responding to Nigerian prince spam.
But not by much.

[Bamsed]

Good News, Everyone!
From our burgeoning 'Let's get sushi... and not pay!' department.

The GAW scam is 100% a bitcoin thing, in the sense that about ever last sucker comes from this community.

Bitcoiners are the most scammable people out there, except perhaps the ones responding to Nigerian prince spam.
But not by much.

It is actually good news for bitcoin if all those scammers are removed from the bitcoin world. There are too many scams out there.

[ahpku]

Bitcoin Businessman Nabbed in Thailand
From our burgeoning 'Let's get sushi... and not pay!' department.

Stealthy Canadian and pillar of the Bitcoin business community Variety Jones, A.K.A. Roger Thomas Clark, arrested in Thailand. Thailand is a country on Southeast Asia’s Indochina peninsula known for tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins and ornate temples displaying figures of Buddha, a revered symbol. In Bangkok, the capital, an ultramodern cityscape rises next to quiet canal and riverside communities. Commercial hubs such as Chinatown consist of labyrinthine alleys crammed with shophouses, markets and diners.

http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-and-unsealing-charges-against-senior-adviser

[hunnaryb]

Bitcoin Businessman Nabbed in Thailand
From our burgeoning 'Let's get sushi... and not pay!' department.

Stealthy Canadian and pillar of the Bitcoin business community Variety Jones, A.K.A. Roger Thomas Clark, arrested in Thailand. Thailand is a country on Southeast Asia’s Indochina peninsula known for tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins and ornate temples displaying figures of Buddha, a revered symbol. In Bangkok, the capital, an ultramodern cityscape rises next to quiet canal and riverside communities. Commercial hubs such as Chinatown consist of labyrinthine alleys crammed with shophouses, markets and diners.

http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-and-unsealing-charges-against-senior-adviser

This is actually some what good for Ross. And probably somewhat good for bitcoin.

[ahpku]

Bitcoin Foundation 'Close To Running Out of Money'
From our 'There is no joy in Mudville' department
The Bitcoin Foundation is broke, claims the foundation's alleged child molester chairman Brock Pierce.

Foundation executive director Bruce Fenton said at the October meeting:
"We need to do serious fundraising ... Revenue is key, we can't do much more to cut expenses."
The foundation currently employs two part-time staff.
Pierce tried to rally his board, underlining the seriousness of the foundation's financial problems:
"We are the Foundation, we have no resources, this is us, if you don’t like the foundation as it stands, you don’t like yourself ... each board member should be prepared to do the work themselves, to keep the Foundation going."

BITCOIN FOUNDATION CHIEFS BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Gavin Andresen Board Member

Bobby Lee Board Member

Meyer Malka Board Member

Brock Pierce Foundation Board Chairman

Elizabeth Ploshay Board Member

Jim Harper Board Member

Olivier Janssens Board Member

Bruce Fenton Executive Director

INDIANS STAFF:
The foundation currently employs 2 (two) part-time staff.

[ahpku]

Bitcoin Isn’t Eliminating Intermediaries, They Said
Or how banksters waste your money to 'research' shit any child could have told them for free.

A new Deutsche Bank Research report suggests the bitcoin network is in some ways failing to live up to its original vision.

"The original idea of bitcoin – to create a peer-to-peer scheme that is independent of intermediaries and central agents – is to some degree being overhauled by real life. The bitcoin ecosystem now includes a number of financial intermediaries, like wallet providers and exchanges, and these show a trend towards concentration."

[ahpku]

Two [more] Board Members Exit as Bitcoin Foundation Seeks Funding

Bitcoin Foundation board members Jim Harper and Olivier Janssens have resigned and been removed from the trade organization, respectively, following a disagreement over the future of the advocacy group. The Bitcoin Foundation is the oldest and largest group in the Bitcoin industry. Our focus is to foster education, engage in advocacy, increase adoption and encourage development of bitcoin and blockchain technology worldwide. Our membership includes a who’s who of prominent individual and corporate members with several international chapters.

...
After blowing through all teh doh and some high-profile resignations,^[1][2][3][4] the Bitcoin Foundation is effectively bankrupt...
1. "Effective immediately, Mark Karpeles has submitted his resignation from the board of directors."
2. "I can no longer have even the smallest association with the Bitcoin Foundation"--Andreas M. Antonopoulos
3. "I am guilty of nothing and have never been convicted, or even charged, with a crime."--Brock Pierce
4. "I resigned within 2 hours of returning home from prison."--Charlie Shrem, back in prison

Bitcoin Foundation 'Close To Running Out of Money'
From our 'There is no joy in Mudville' department
The Bitcoin Foundation is broke, claims the foundation's alleged child molester chairman Brock Pierce.

...
BITCOIN FOUNDATION CHIEFS BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Gavin Andresen Board Member

Bobby Lee Board Member

Meyer Malka Board Member

Brock Pierce Foundation Board Chairman

Elizabeth Ploshay Board Member

Jim Harper Board Member RIP

Olivier Janssens Board Member RIP

Bruce Fenton Executive Director

INDIANS STAFF:
The foundation currently employs 2 (two) part-time staff.

Update:
Kenyan Court Upholds Bid to Keep Bitcoin Startup Off M-Pesa
SFYL Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and co-founder of BitPesa!

Money Launderer Sues Real Company in Kenyan High Court.
Safaricom takes its toys and goes home; BitPesa cries like a little girl, runs to Nanny State to make it all better.

Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and co-founder of BitPesa, said in a statement to CoinDesk: "I do not wish to comment much on a matter in court. BitPesa has been wronged, which is why we have referred the matter to court. I am deeply disappointed that the media continues to publish incorrect information that diverts from the evidence submitted to the court, but we will let the court determine the matter. We remain confident that even a small company like BitPesa will gain a fair trial and look forward to the court's decision."

[ahpku]

Update to update:
Chairman Bruce Loses Faith In Public Elections.
"I used to believe that public, open elections were a great thing.  I'm not as convinced now."

After shitcanning dissenting members and [url=http://bitcoinfoundation.org/forum/index.php?/topic/1366-board-seat-appointments/#entry14451]canceling elections[/url], Fearless Leader waxes philosophical:

"Let's take a step back and challenge our assumption that public elections are the best governance method:  Do we have evidence that public elections lead to better effectiveness in organizations?  Do we have evidence that our format works or has worked better than other formats?  Has our structure served us and Bitcoin as effectively as it could?  Are the other organizations in our industry or other industries benefited by public elections?  Has our format helped us do more for btt than any other format would have?  Most non-profits do not have elected boards.  Are they doing the right thing or is our method better than theirs?"

Shit you not, friends, that's a direct quote.

Two [more] Board Members Exit as Bitcoin Foundation Seeks Funding

Bitcoin Foundation board members Jim Harper and Olivier Janssens have resigned and been removed from the trade organization, respectively, following a disagreement over the future of the advocacy group. The Bitcoin Foundation is the oldest and largest group in the Bitcoin industry. Our focus is to foster education, engage in advocacy, increase adoption and encourage development of bitcoin and blockchain technology worldwide. Our membership includes a who’s who of prominent individual and corporate members with several international chapters.

...
After blowing through all teh doh and some high-profile resignations,^[1][2][3][4] the Bitcoin Foundation is effectively bankrupt...
1. "Effective immediately, Mark Karpeles has submitted his resignation from the board of directors."
2. "I can no longer have even the smallest association with the Bitcoin Foundation"--Andreas M. Antonopoulos
3. "I am guilty of nothing and have never been convicted, or even charged, with a crime."--Brock Pierce
4. "I resigned within 2 hours of returning home from prison."--Charlie Shrem, back in prison

Bitcoin Foundation 'Close To Running Out of Money'
From our 'There is no joy in Mudville' department
The Bitcoin Foundation is broke, claims the foundation's alleged child molester chairman Brock Pierce.

...
BITCOIN FOUNDATION CHIEFS BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Gavin Andresen Board Member

Bobby Lee Board Member

Meyer Malka Board Member

Brock Pierce Foundation Board Chairman

Elizabeth Ploshay Board Member

Jim Harper Board Member RIP

Olivier Janssens Board Member RIP

Bruce Fenton Executive Director

INDIANS STAFF:
The foundation currently employs 2 (two) part-time staff.

[ahpku]

The Belated Awakening
[Ex]Bitcoin core dev Mike Hearn is done with Bitcoin. But not you. Oooh no, YOU know better

Why has Bitcoin failed? It has failed because the community has failed. What was meant to be a new, decentralised form of money that lacked “systemically important institutions” and “too big to fail” has become something even worse: a system completely controlled by just a handful of people. Worse still, the network is on the brink of technical collapse. The mechanisms that should have prevented this outcome have broken down, and as a result there’s no longer much reason to think Bitcoin can actually be better than the existing financial system. Think about it. If you had never heard about Bitcoin before, would you care about a payments network that: Couldn’t move your existing money Had wildly unpredictable fees that were high and rising fast Allowed buyers to take back payments they’d made after walking out of shops, by simply pressing a button (if you aren’t aware of this “feature” that’s because Bitcoin was only just changed to allow it) Is suffering large backlogs and flaky payments … which is controlled by China … and in which the companies and people building it were in open civil war? I’m going to hazard a guess that the answer is no.

Before the fiddlers have fled..

[ahpku]

Bitstamp Bans Access from Russia "Temporarily"
"Russian users of popular Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp are struggling to gain access to their trading accounts, due to the company’s decision to temporarily [Hahahahaha -ed] block access from all Russian IP addresses. According to the database of FSSCIM, as of January 18, 2016, Bitstamp is granted full access and there are no pending attempts to restrict access to the site."

“To ensure compliance with the new regulatory regime, protect affiliate service providers, and most importantly – protect our valued customers in Russia – Bitstamp has decided to temporarily block access to its website from Russian IP addresses until we can assess the situation with more clarity.”

It has begun!

Russian Bear Fed Up With Bitcoin Bullshit

Russia's Ministry of Finance has developed a new version of its proposed law that would seek to both outlaw and apply criminal penalties for activities involving digital currencies, according to a report by Russian news source Interfax.

Citing sources from within the Russian government, Interfax reports that acquiring, selling and distributing cryptocurrencies would be punishable with fines of 300,000 rubles ($4,574) or through up to 360 hours of correctional labor under the new bill.

Should such infractions be committed by an agency or group, the fines for such activities would increase to 500,000 rubles ($7,623).

[ahpku]

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!
Coinbase US Government Liaison Leaves for Banking Role

"It's been a fantastic opportunity working with each of you on some of the more interesting and timely issues in tech and finance today."

Hahahahaha

[ahpku]

Not Funny, Misleadingly Titled, Not Bearish And, Worst Of All, Long.
Rad it anyhow. All the way trough.
http://www.coindesk.com/danger-blockchain-monoculture/

[zby]

Chinese government warned about MMM: http://english.caixin.com/2016-01-19/100901352.html

[ahpku]

Bitcoin Helps The Really, Really Ill
Yet the $10,000 a month BTC limit remains a stumbling block for the critically ill sufferers who routinely smoke $10,000 of life-saving weed per week.
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-atms-gray-areas/

"Bitcoin seems just as popular as a payment method for marijuana purchases in Colorado. According to an associate at a dispensary in Colorado Springs, a city that only allows medical marijuana sales, one customer comes in weekly and purchases marijuana using bitcoin.

Another sales associate was unclear what merchant processor the dispensary uses to accept the bitcoin payments, but she said that there’s a $10,000 limit for bitcoin transactions per month.

Notably, she said the customer routinely spends this amount in a given week."

One could only hope ObamaCare covers the $40,000 per months