2013-05-02 - Gawker - MtGox/CoinLab Devolves Into $75 Million Lawsuit

[TheRealSteve]

Bitcoin, the virtual currency libertarian geeks expect us all to use to pay for pizza in the future, has had a rough few weeks. A series of booms and busts have sent shivers down the spines of Bitcoin enthusiasts. Now, Gawker has learned that a much-hailed partnership between two of the most prominent players in Bitcoin, Mt. Gox and CoinLab, has devolved into a nasty $75 million lawsuit, which appears to be by far the biggest Bitcoin-related lawsuit ever.

http://gawker.com/massive-bitcoin-business-partnership-devolves-into-75-487857656

[1713474335]

1713474335

[Inedible]

Wonder how many times this story is going to get posted?

[ECore]

You can tell a stupid paid shill is the writer of this article.  He has no clue.  People were buying pizza with bitcoin years ago.  I would like to walk up behind these people and bitchslap them as they type.

[kiba]

Jesus. More bitcoin drama.

[Inedible]

You can tell a stupid paid shill is the writer of this article.  He has no clue.  People were buying pizza with bitcoin years ago.  I would like to walk up behind these people and bitchslap them as they type.

What are the tells of this paid shill?

[Inedible]

Jesus. More bitcoin drama.

Isn't this part of the fun of Wild West Bitcoin - The Early Years?

[kiba]

Isn't this part of the fun of Wild West Bitcoin - The Early Years?

Bitcoin drama hurts our ability to grow, because energy is spent on lawsuits instead of growing bitcoin economy.

[Inedible]

Bitcoin drama hurts our ability to grow, because energy is spent on lawsuits instead of growing bitcoin economy.

When the press gets onto this I'm sure there'll be plenty more damage to come.

[n8rwJeTt8TrrLKPa55eU]

Bitcoin drama hurts our ability to grow, because energy is spent on lawsuits instead of growing bitcoin economy.

When the press gets onto this I'm sure there'll be plenty more damage to come.

This is all true in the short term, but I think that in the long term this news might be quite good for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

If they both go their own way, instead of having one giant conglomerate, we could now end up getting two independent competing exchanges, one in Japan and the other in the USA.

And also this means we now have a nice increase in internal distrust in the ranks of the Bitcoin Foundation.  Which reduces the possibility of cartelization, corruption, and conspiracies within that organization.

[kiba]

This is all true in the short term, but I think that in the long term this news might be quite good for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

If they both go their own way, instead of having one giant conglomerate, we could now end up getting two independent competing exchanges, one in Japan and the other in the USA.

If it plans out that way.

[n8rwJeTt8TrrLKPa55eU]

This is all true in the short term, but I think that in the long term this news might be quite good for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

If they both go their own way, instead of having one giant conglomerate, we could now end up getting two independent competing exchanges, one in Japan and the other in the USA.

If it plans out that way.

Well...we're certainly further along that road than 24hs ago.  And typically lawsuits are filed as a last resort, when dialogue is no longer possible.  So I'm optimistic that the whole deal will be scrapped and an unbridgeable chasm has now been created between Karpeles and Vessenes.

Reading the (granted, biased) lawsuit it seems like Gox basically just blew off the whole thing...it doesn't read like a minor misunderstanding or minor differences where the parties can meet in the middle.

[Piper67]

Bitcoin drama hurts our ability to grow, because energy is spent on lawsuits instead of growing bitcoin economy.

When the press gets onto this I'm sure there'll be plenty more damage to come.

This is all true in the short term, but I think that in the long term this news might be quite good for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

If they both go their own way, instead of having one giant conglomerate, we could now end up getting two independent competing exchanges, one in Japan and the other in the USA.

And also this means we now have a nice increase in internal distrust in the ranks of the Bitcoin Foundation.  Which reduces the possibility of cartelization, corruption, and conspiracies within that organization.

This is all true, but tell me a small part of you isn't thinking "these wankers couldn't run a business selling water fountains in the Sahara"

Sometimes I think they're all plants for governments and big banks

[Inedible]

Sometimes I think they're all plants for governments and big banks

Quite a convoluted way of destroying Bitcoin isn't it?

[n8rwJeTt8TrrLKPa55eU]

This is all true, but tell me a small part of you isn't thinking "these wankers couldn't run a business selling water fountains in the Sahara"

   Undoubtedly it would be nice if someday the majority of key Bitcoin businesses were actually run by competent & honest adults.  Alas, I can only fantasize about a wonderful parallel universe where D&T or Casascius have been running MtGox for the past couple years.  Or even Dread Pirate Roberts.

[marcus_of_augustus]

Interestingly this is almost exactly along the lines I predicted it would pan out ... although there is a small detail I predicted in the saga that hasn't yet come to fruition, a major hack of either Coinlab or Mt. Gox and in the ensuing melee a mysterious loss of customer's bitcoins ... mergers, lawyers and inexplicable thefts, the three-ring circus of 'business'.

[mccorvic]

You mean that Mt.Gox, once again, proves to be operated my incompetent children? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!

[StarfishPrime]

This means nothing in the long term but is an excellent buying oportunity right now.

Quite honestly, it was unclear from the beginning why Coinlab even needed a deal with Mt. Gox when a huge portion of the Mt. Gox base would gladly jump ship to a venture-backed US-based exchange if the opportunity presented itself.

Hopefully Coinlab will spend their money on building what everyone wants instead of wasting it on a protracted legal battle with a foreign entity where the possibility of collecting damages is minimal at best.

Coinlab needs more coders, and fewer lawyers!

[noedaRDH]

This means nothing in the long term but is an excellent buying oportunity right now.

Quite honestly, it was unclear from the beginning why Coinlab even needed a deal with Mt. Gox when a huge portion of the Mt. Gox base would gladly jump ship to a venture-backed US-based exchange if the opportunity presented itself.

Hopefully Coinlab will spend their money on building what everyone wants instead of wasting it on a protracted legal battle with a foreign entity where the possibility of collecting damages is minimal at best.

Coinlab needs more coders, and fewer lawyers!

Coinlab likely got Gox to sign a contract on purpose, one which Gox wasn't prepred for, so Coinlab could sue them in the end.

[marcus_of_augustus]

This means nothing in the long term but is an excellent buying oportunity right now.

Quite honestly, it was unclear from the beginning why Coinlab even needed a deal with Mt. Gox when a huge portion of the Mt. Gox base would gladly jump ship to a venture-backed US-based exchange if the opportunity presented itself.

Hopefully Coinlab will spend their money on building what everyone wants instead of wasting it on a protracted legal battle with a foreign entity where the possibility of collecting damages is minimal at best.

Coinlab needs more coders, and fewer lawyers!

Coinlab likely got Gox to sign a contract on purpose, one which Gox wasn't prepred for, so Coinlab could sue them in the end.

This. It is starting to smell like a hostile bid trap has just been sprung. They are after Goxes monies and suing for damages is always a good easy way to start the negotiations ... just quietly I would not want to have any money tied up in either Coinlab or Mt. Gox right now in the event they "send in the clowns", all the money gets frozen and it is weeks, months or years until the what little is left is trickled back to the 'customers' ... that's how these things invariably pan out these days once lawyers get involved in money businesses, suddenly there is no money and no business.

[bernard75]

What are the chances of the money and bitcoins being frozen until this is settled?