ASICMINER: board seat (equivalent of 5000 shares) for sale

[zefir]

LainZ: update to 100 @ 0.43
PM.3: 2800 @ 0.43

[zefir]

I think this bid should has been ended till February 16, 2013, 8:00:00 PM

No, the last bid before that minimum auction time ended was #127 that prolonged the ending to 2013-02-17T06:39Z, the bid was therefore valid.

Plus right at that time bitcointalk was unreachable for most. If someone wanted to DDOS, he'd need to do it for at least 12h

With the now last valid bid in #135, the ending time moved to 2013-02-17T14:40Z (note that PMd bids will not prolong the ending time).


PS: having still massive problems with bitcointalk, sorry for delayed responses / updates.

[asnonmous]

5000 @ 0.44

[zefir]

Cross post from Chaang's thread:

I would hope with the doubts raised about your trustworthiness in the other thread [...]

Dear goat, dear interested bidders,

I am sorry that my comment was understood in an unintended direction. That's what I posted in my auction thread:

Ah, that's Chaang who also posted his offer in IRC. He is going to sell those 2k only as a whole.

Just in case you have not been in the Bitcoin community for at least half a year, it is worth to check his history (which is long and fascinating) before you take that offer. Not going to post allegations here, just saying that whoever does should insist on escrow (that anyhow should become a general rule).

Writing it at the ending time of my auction I did not cross-read it before posting and failed to realize that it can be interpreted in a wrong way. Now it is there and can't be edited any more (auction forum rule). Reality is, I did some business with goat (or Chaang) in the past and he was one of the few that always kept his word.

The reason I put my note was a) the one bidding for my shares was a newbie, and b) that when I tried to contact Chaang not long ago, his account was banned from bitcointalk, so I assumed something went wrong behind the curtains. Now this is not the case anymore, if there were disputes they are obviously gone and I need to say sorry for raising dust  .

That said and given the fact that he is selling his shares in blocks of 25, please consider bidding there.

[zefir]

PM.6: 100 @ 0.45

[zefir]

Questions for zefir:
1) New ending time for the auction?
2) Clarify if asnonmous 5000 @0.42 is "All or None" or that type of bid is not accepted.

1) time of last valid counter-bid + 12h, right now given by #143: 2012-02-17T20:00Z
2) no, there is no all-or-nothing bidding mode. I understand asnonymous wanted to clarify his motivation for the bid and hint to the option I offered in #58.

[watertech666]

paid

[zefir]

paid

what? where? wrong thread?

[HorseRider]

paid

what? where? wrong thread?

Yes, it must be put in the Namworld's thread.

[zefir]

Current bidding state (2012-02-17T08:30Z) up to post #145:

Auction end time: given by #143: 2012-02-17T20:00Z


-- # -- -----Bidder----- --Amount-- --BTC/Share--
 145     PM.6               100        0.45
 143     asnonmous         4900        0.44
-------------------- Outbid -------------------
 143     asnonmous          100        0.44
 133     Mausini            200        0.43
 135     ahdinosaur         100        0.43
 141     LainZ (PM)         100        0.43
 141     PM.3              2800        0.43
 128     PM.3              1000        0.41
  93     wisard             300        0.40
 116     skibum             100        0.40
 119     ghostshirt         200        0.40
 123     Vezunchik          400        0.40
 124     kjj                100        0.40
 126     Mausini            200        0.40
 127     bitcad             100        0.40
 119     ghostshirt         100        0.39
  82     kjj                100        0.38
  93     wisard             200        0.38
  94     Vezunchik          200        0.38
 112     mb300sd            500        0.38
-------------------- Cut-off ------------------

[ghostshirt]

Please update:
200 @ 0.45

[Vezunchik]

Please update:
100 @ 0.45

[Vezunchik]

Can anyone explain me advantages of "board member seat"? I mean asnonmous strongly wants to by 5000 shares - what's difference between 4900 or 5000?

5000 @ 0.42

Also 2 things... I only want to buy 5000 shares and the board member seat.
...

[Digigami]

Can anyone explain me advantages of "board member seat"? I mean asnonmous strongly wants to by 5000 shares - what's difference between 4900 or 5000?

5000 @ 0.42

Also 2 things... I only want to buy 5000 shares and the board member seat.
...

AFAIK the only advantage is you would receive more detailed updates, possibly more frequently as well on the projects progress.

This is from OP of the main Asicminer project thread. As I read it now, it sounds as though the privilege of being on the board may be reserved only for those who privatly purchased shares directly during the IPO. I could not determine if this applies to an individual who accumulates 5000 shares by other means.

Each investor who privately buys 5,000 or more shares will get extra 10% ones,
plus a position on the board of Bitfountain. 10,000 or more shares will get
another extra 2.5%. Board members could ask for details of Bitfountain, as well
as inspecting and monitoring our financials.

This from the second post in that thread

Q: The privileges of board members are vague. What exactly could they do?
A: Some of the information and details of our company is only provided on
request of board members. Board members can monitor our business running face to face, or send
representations to do it. We also hope that board members could help us with a full-fledged
open financial management on both the RMB-nominated and BTC-nominated funds.

[zefir]

Can anyone explain me advantages of "board member seat"? I mean asnonmous strongly wants to by 5000 shares - what's difference between 4900 or 5000?

5000 @ 0.42

Also 2 things... I only want to buy 5000 shares and the board member seat.
...

It is written in the IPO post. Holding 5k shares makes you becoming a board member of Bitfountain and grants you the right to look over the books.

I admit that so far this was no gain for me, since the information provided to the board did not exceed what was available to the public. This might change in the future and then it might become harder to get enough shares for reasonable prices. I've read several times on IRC rumors that board members might get ASIC devices early, but can't find any official statements for that.

Right now, you should take it as a pure status symbol that might turn into some valuable title some day.

[zefir]

Note: will be AFK for some time and get back on time to close the auction.


Current bidding state (2013-02-17T11:00Z) up to post #155:

Auction end time: given by #152: 2013-02-17T22:35Z


-- # -- -----Bidder----- --Amount-- --BTC/Share--
 145     PM.6               100        0.45
 151     ghostshirt         200        0.45
 152     Vezunchik          100        0.45
 143     asnonmous         4600        0.44
-------------------- Outbid -------------------
 143     asnonmous          400        0.44
 133     Mausini            200        0.43
 135     ahdinosaur         100        0.43
 141     LainZ (PM)         100        0.43
 141     PM.3              2800        0.43
 128     PM.3              1000        0.41
  93     wisard             300        0.40
 116     skibum             100        0.40
 123     Vezunchik          300        0.40
 124     kjj                100        0.40
 126     Mausini            200        0.40
 127     bitcad             100        0.40
 119     ghostshirt         100        0.39
  82     kjj                100        0.38
  93     wisard             200        0.38
  94     Vezunchik          200        0.38
 112     mb300sd            500        0.38
-------------------- Cut-off ------------------

[zefir]

Ok folks, back on keyboard.

We have great snow conditions right now in Switzerland and it was relaxing to hike the snow slopes (especially when there is a ski hut offering cold beer or hot wine every kilometer ).

So, there was no bidding over the last few hours - if no further counter-bids happen, this auction ends within 3 hours at 2013-02-17T22:35Z.


With a higher availability of ASICMINER shares from other sellers I expect no further surprises to this auction.

First of all, I want to state that my minimum expectation of 0.40BTC has been met and the shares will be released for the current bids. 0.40BTC is what I expect to be paid out as dividends within 6 months - given that Avalons are still stuck at customs and BFL's chips did not yet left the bumping facility. I expect ASICMINER to earn 1BTC per share in 2013 and after paying debts and investments distribute 0.5BTC per share to investors.

That's one part of the equation. The other is the BTC/fiat rate increase we observed during the last weeks. There are factors that justify the rate increase (like Kim Schmitz' (aka Dr. Kimble) opening Me.ga to Bitcoin), but I personally see a bubble in front of my open eyes. No matter how strong we believe in Bitcoin, right now we pay our bills with fiat and I will take this sale as an exit opportunity to convert my revenue to fiat and let the exchange rate consolidate to sane levels.

Anyway, I am confident that this will be a satisfactory deal for you and me equally. After selling this 5k (plus the max. additional 1.5k) I will remain a board member. That's my side of the deal to show my appreciation for your bids and my trust in ASICMINER's future.


tl;dr: three hours left for bidding.

[asnonmous]

FYI, I agree with your evaluation but I'm uncertain about the timeline.  Doing the math, buying ASIC's yourself gives you a better GH/$ ratio(3-4x at this price) but is not practical for my situation, and I think your 6mo timeline is a bit aggressive.  Obviously I can hope, but, I've worked out conservative timelines that work for me and my long-horizon view, hence my bidding.

Thanks for running this auction though; I look forward to closing the transaction soon.

To answer someone else's question about board seats, they generally don't make much difference.  In general, board members at a corporation have some say/input into company decisions, and a bit deeper insight into the corporation's day-to-day running, at the tradeoff of the responsibility & legal implications of being an insider trader.  It is a good move over a very long timespan(generally, a multi-year or even multi-decade timeline), but ironically perhaps a less-good move in light of the GH/$ ratios mentioned above.

[zefir]

FYI, I agree with your evaluation but I'm uncertain about the timeline.  Doing the math, buying ASIC's yourself gives you a better GH/$ ratio(3-4x at this price) but is not practical for my situation, and I think your 6mo timeline is a bit aggressive.  Obviously I can hope, but, I've worked out conservative timelines that work for me and my long-horizon view, hence my bidding.

Thanks for running this auction though; I look forward to closing the transaction soon.
[...]

With my remaining holdings in ASICMINER I am naturally biased.

No doubt buying an ASIC right now would be the better choice (hell, Jeff's Avalon paid off after 10 days or so) - but getting one is a different story. I am waiting for my BFL since half a year and spent countless hours getting into Avalon's second batch (not getting in plus loosing quite some coins moving funds into WalletBit and back).

That's why the key factor for success right now is neither $/GH nor J/GH, but solely the availability of ASICs. 8 months ago I tried to grab and keep 1% of network hashrate based on FPGA mining devices, but failed due to Spartan6 getting out-of-stock or too expensive. Bitfountain is in a different position today: they can add hashpower at will at prices miners can't compete with (unless other manufacturers start self-mining).

With the projected 12TH first batch (already confirmed: 2.5TH BTC-guild + ~0.5TH ozcoin + ...) ASICMINER holds 30% of network. It will take them 14 days to make the 0.1BTC initial dividend. After this first payment and as long as BFL and Avalon do not penetrate the mining market significantly, they make 0.1BTC per share per month. Given that 40% of that income is invested in the next batch or 50TH mining HW, chances are not all too bad to get back 0.4BTC per share within half a year.


But what am I trying to convince you, you already do believe


All the best and Good Luck,
zefir

[asnonmous]

After this first payment and as long as BFL and Avalon do not penetrate the mining market significantly, they make 0.1BTC per share per month. Given that 40% of that income is invested in the next batch or 50TH mining HW, chances are not all too bad to get back 0.4BTC per share within half a year.

Right, and that assumption is the clincher.  IF BFL and Avalon do manage to penetrate the market deeply, it drastically changes the result.  I find it unlikely that ASICMiner could operate unmolested for more than a few months, and so have taken that into account.  The other thing is that while I fully agree that income should be reinvested in future batches, that reinvestment prolongs the time-to-payoff.

But as you said, no point in preaching to me, as I've already evaluated my situation.