I just settled with TF.
I followed the approach outlined by DumbFruit.
I figured out the USD equivalent at the time of deposit for all my initial deposits that went into CL. This gave me a grand total USD that I was out.
I then proposed a BTC coin price that would deliver the equivalent value. I 'future dated' it by going above the current spot price.
He responded right away to the offer. He said he wanted either government ID or an address used as a deposit to Inputs to send to.
Since my deposits were from exchanges, I couldn't give him an address that would function that way, so I send a scan of my passport with some information redacted.
My return rate is a bit below what DumbFruit got, but they were the numbers I proposed.
TF asked me to post my settlement here, and so I did.
I really needed to move on and now I am.
I have also just settled with TF, using the approach outlined by DumbFruit. I've just been sent 33% of my CL BTC balance at the time of the hack, and considering the number of people using other online wallets/services that have had their funds stolen by hackers and not seen a single satoshi as compensation - much less heard a single peep from the operators of those sites - I consider this a fantastic resolution, especially considering that the dollar value of the BTC I had on deposit with CL were originally purchased for about 20% of the current USD value of the BTC I just received back.
I know it's devastating to have something valuable stolen from you, and by no means am I trying to minimize the anger, frustration, and powerlessness that all of us have gone through over this order, but I urge everyone to keep the following in mind:
Unlike the USD that you keep in your bank, there are absolutely no laws or regulations that govern the bitcoin economy. No legal recourse exists to get your coin back in this kind of circumstance, because no regulations exist to ensure that the outfit you do business with has a satisfactory security infrastructure, no regulations exist to regulate how / where your coin is kept, and most importantly, no regulation (and likely no insurance plan) exists to make sure your deposits are insured against loss, unlike your FDIC-insured bank account.
In fact, deposit insurance of this kind would be prohibitively expensive because of bitcoin's price instability, relatively small market cap (compared to the USD), and lack of historical data with which to formulate the actuarial models necessary to create a viable deposit insurance offering.
Given the above, I think it's awesome to get anything back at all and that TF is willing to work with those that contact them. After all, I knew the risks outlined above, and accepted them in return for the potential rewards offered by investing in Bitcoin, and I'm assuming that everyone else who deposited at CL or let their BTC out of offline storage did too. If I had wanted my investment to be insured, safe, stable, and *fucking incredibly boring*, I would have turned my BTC into USD, and sunk it into a traditional low-yield, low-risk mutual fund. Or I would have stuck my BTC in cold storage and just waited for a few years.
But that wasn't my investment goal. I knew the risks up-front, knew about the lack of effective legal recourse and the potential for big losses the moment my BTC left my offline wallet, and decided to take a risk anyway because of the potential reward. Considering the gains I've personally made over the last 2 years working with bitcoin, and considering that TF is working with those that contact them to settle, I'm happy with how things turned out in the end... (I pretty much wrote off my CL balance days ago so this coin is gravy.)
Given CL's track record of consistently making profitable loans - which has made me, and a bunch of us here a mint over CL's lifetime - I would consider depositing with them again if they reopened with a greatly-improved security infrastructure that was audited by a trusted, independent third-party security firm... I'm not holding my breath for BTC deposit insurance anytime soon, as its cost would likely result in deposits paying almost no - or negative - interest.
The undeniable fact is that Coinlenders was damn good at making solid loans, and the interest rate was obscene if you consider what you'll get at a bank... that is why we all kept coin there, right? For me personally, if they continue to work with depositors positively and can prove to the world that this kind of fuck-up never ever happens again, I see no reason to not work with TF and CL in the future since they obviously knew how to make money for their depositors.
Yes, I know I'm likely to get a ton of hate for expressing this perspective, or be accused of shilling for TF, but considering the legal recourse I have with CL (almost none), the amount of time and money I would have had to spend to collect my deposit in full, and the amount of rage and hate I would have continued to feel over this if it hadn't been unresolved, I'm happy about this resolution. After all, folks - there are some BTCJam borrowers that I would immediately put down if I ever met them in a dark alley, all because they wouldn't even respond to me over a $100 loan or settle for $20 to forgive the loan. Communication and compromise go far in my book - and conversely deadbeats should be beat until dead.
tl;dr; I contacted TF as per DumbFruit's tips, and got enough coin back to make me happy. I'm happy with the outcome of my case, glad that I don't have to keep reading through this thread and rage over my lost coins, and I urge those of you that wanna end this nightmare to contact TF and negotiate a settlement. You'll get some coin - and your sanity - back.
