Yeah, I was excited until I read the
VIRTEX TERMS OF SERVICE.
If Bicoins are not a currency or
commodity security, what are they exactly? A novelty? Why should I trust an exchange that considers Bitcoins a novelty?
The line about no inherent value can probably be re-worded as well.
The sections that concern me more:
3.1 VirtEx retains the right to change or amend this Agreement at any time. You can check what terms and conditions are in effect by reading the Agreement on the website (
www.cavirtex.com).
That link does not even reference the terms of service. Clauses like this are common ernough that I have been considering writing a robot that would periodically (daily) crawl all of the websites I use and check if the "Terms Of Service" have changed. If they have, the bot would generate an e-mail with the diffs.
10.6 Because VirtEx is not and cannot be involved in user-to-user dealings, in the event that you have a dispute with one or more users, we hereby disclaim and you hereby waive any recourse to or against us and agree to release and indemnify us, our directors, officers, employees, agents and third-party contractors and suppliers, including those parties with whom we have contracted for marketplace design and technology (collectively "VirtEx parties") from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, costs and expenses or every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes or any breach of this Agreement.
The word "indemnify" means I have to pay for
their lawyers. I am also expected to cover any undisclosed indemnity agreement they have entered into as well.
13.1 If you have not used your VirtEx account for more than 1 year, VirtEx will charge an inactivity fee of $50 per month up until such a time when the account balance reaches zero.
The account draining clause is quite steep. It is not clear what happens to any bitcoins, since the agreement only talks about Canadian dollars (Article 16).
18.1 ANY CLAIM, DISPUTE, OR CONTROVERSY (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, WHETHER PREEXISTING, PRESENT OR FUTURE, AND INCLUDING STATUTORY, COMMON LAW, INTENTIONAL TORT AND EQUITABLE CLAIMS CAPABLE IN LAW OF BEING SUBMITTED TO BINDING ARBITRATION) AGAINST VIRTEX, its agents, employees, officers, directors, successors, assigns or affiliates (collectively for purposes of this paragraph, "VirtEx") arising from or relating to this Agreement, its interpretation, or the breach, termination or validity thereof, the relationships between the parties, whether pre existing, present or future, (including, to the full extent permitted by applicable law, relationships with third parties who are not signatories to this Agreement), VirtEx's advertising, or any related purchase SHALL BE RESOLVED EXCLUSIVELY AND FINALLY according to the Alberta Arbitration Act R.S.A. 2000, c. A-43. The place of arbitration shall be Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The language of the arbitration shall be English. The arbitration will be limited solely to the dispute or controversy between Customer and VirtEx. Any award of the arbitrator(s) shall be final and binding on each of the parties, and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The "don't sue" clause.
When he says "novelty" he might just mean that it is in no way a government-recognized currency. If, for example, someone gambles online using bitcoins received through trades on the site, he can't get in trouble because the currency is being acknowledged as a novelty item and not a currency.
