[2014-04-29] Bitcoin entrepreneurs target Mt Gox lifeline

[_smudger_]

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6df632d0-cf2f-11e3-9165-00144feabdc0.html#axzz30GO8Sipg

[bryant.coleman]

^^^ I believe that it came too late. The bankruptcy procedures have been already started by the Japanese court. I don't think that there is much to hope from Mt Gox right now.

[Bit_Happy]

The site is trying to force me to register.

[counter]

yeah same here.  The article won't even come up.

[bryant.coleman]

The site is trying to force me to register.

lol... that is the Financial Times for you. Even if you register on their site, there is a limit of 8 free articles per month. If you want more, then you'll have to pay money for it. 

[Lethn]

Stop posting up paywall sites as news sources.

[_smudger_]

Stop posting up paywall sites as news sources.

Sorry, from the uk there is no paywall. If you google this story there are plenty of links

[bryant.coleman]

Sorry, from the uk there is no paywall. If you google this story there are plenty of links

How come there is no paywall in the UK? I am browsing from Australia and they are asking me to register. I think Paywall is there for all the users, without any exception. Anyway... at least post the summary of the article here.

[ameliaih]

Customers might be considered equity holders instead of creditors.

[teukon]

Just tried from a basic UK residential IP address.  I'm asked to register.  If I disable javascript, I get the title and author, but no content.

A quick web search yielded no content.

Stop posting up paywall sites as news sources.

+1

[bryant.coleman]

OK.. this is what I got from the google search:

A group of Bitcoin entrepreneurs hoping to revive the bankrupt exchange Mt Gox has won backing for its controversial plan from a number of its creditors in the US, Canada and Europe.

[LiteCoinGuy]

Stop posting up paywall sites as news sources.

or just post the text

[_smudger_]

Strange I get the same request for registration..

if you google "Bitcoin entrepreneurs target Mt Gox lifeline" (with the quotes) hopefully this will get access to the article

[TraderTimm]

The plan has split the Bitcoin community, which is reeling from the collapse of the first and most prominent exchange for the virtual currency. Mt Muppet Exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in February and said that 850,000 Bitcoins were unaccounted for. It later revised the number to 650,000 after finding 200,000 Bitcoins in an old digital file.

A Japanese court appointed a liquidator this month, and customers have been warned that they may get back few or none of the Bitcoins that they entrusted to the exchange.

By offering to distribute the 200,000 rediscovered Bitcoins to Mt Muppet Exchange customers and giving them a 16.5 per cent interest in a revived exchange, Sunlot said it would offer a better deal for creditors than liquidation.

For its part, Sunlot hopes to use a deal to become a large virtual currency exchange, since many of Mt Muppet Exchange’s creditors would have a stake in using it.

Groups of creditors who are suing Mt Muppet Exchange in the US and Canadian courts have filed legal papers in support of Sunlot’s plan, saying that they would drop their lawsuits if the group was allowed to take control of Mt Muppet Exchange.

Jed McCaleb, Mt Muppet Exchange founder, and former marketing head Gonzague Gay-Bouchery, who were being sued, have signed on in support. Mark Karpelès, Mt Muppet Exchange’s chief executive, has not.

The impact of the agreements on the bankruptcy proceedings in Dallas in the US and in Tokyo in Japan – where Mt Muppet Exchange was based – will depend on whether bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi decides they give the consortium additional credibility.

Mr Kobayashi was unavailable for comment on Tuesday, a public holiday in Japan.

Sunlot member John Betts, who worked on electronic trading platforms for UBS, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, said: “This is a complex process and a unique situation, and we offer the best and most practical solution for the customers of Mt Muppet Exchange and help to Mr Kobayashi in the challenges he faces representing their best interests.”

Sunlot’s other backers include entrepreneurs Brock Pierce and Jonathan Yantis, and venture capitalists William Quigley and Matthew Roszak.

The group first tried to take over the ailing exchange in February when it went offline and said that hackers had been attacking the company unnoticed over an extended period.

The idea has encountered both positive and negative reactions among the Bitcoin community, with many expressing suspicion over the motives of the group and concerns about transparency. Sunlot has launched a website, savegox.com, to drum up support.

[hilariousandco]

Stop posting up paywall sites as news sources.

Sorry, from the uk there is no paywall. If you google this story there are plenty of links

He's from the UK and so am I and I've always wandered into paywalls from FT.

[yatsey87]

I can't see it either but I have no idea why people would want to resurrect Gox. Are people actually going to want to use it when we've got better exchnages already?

[bryant.coleman]

I can't see it either but I have no idea why people would want to resurrect Gox. Are people actually going to want to use it when we've got better exchnages already?

Gox was such a big brand name, and it was the largest exchange (in terms of volume) for almost 3 years. There are people who are still emotionally attached to Mt Gox. And regarding the other exchanges.... do you think that similar robberies will never happen with them?

[teukon]

Found it.

A group of Bitcoin entrepreneurs hoping to revive the bankrupt exchange Mt Gox has won backing for its controversial plan from a number of its creditors in the US, Canada and Europe.

The consortium, called Sunlot, is hoping that the additional support will raise the pressure on the Japanese bankruptcy authorities to halt the liquidation and transfer Mt Gox’s assets to new owners.

The plan has split the Bitcoin community, which is reeling from the collapse of the first and most prominent exchange for the virtual currency. Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in February and said that 850,000 Bitcoins were unaccounted for. It later revised the number to 650,000 after finding 200,000 Bitcoins in an old digital file.

A Japanese court appointed a liquidator this month, and customers have been warned that they may get back few or none of the Bitcoins that they entrusted to the exchange.

By offering to distribute the 200,000 rediscovered Bitcoins to Mt Gox customers and giving them a 16.5 per cent interest in a revived exchange, Sunlot said it would offer a better deal for creditors than liquidation.

For its part, Sunlot hopes to use a deal to become a large virtual currency exchange, since many of Mt Gox’s creditors would have a stake in using it.
Groups of creditors who are suing Mt Gox in the US and Canadian courts were on Monday night planning to file legal papers in support of Sunlot’s plan, saying that they would drop their lawsuits if the group was allowed to take control of Mt Gox.

Jed McCaleb, Mt Gox founder, and former marketing head Gonzague Gay-Bouchery, who were being sued, have signed on in support. Mark Karpelès, Mt Gox’s chief executive, has not.

The impact of the agreements on the bankruptcy proceedings in Dallas in the US and in Tokyo in Japan – where Mt Gox was based – will depend on whether bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi decides they give the consortium additional credibility.

Mr Kobayashi was unavailable for comment on Tuesday, a public holiday in Japan.

Sunlot member John Betts, who worked on electronic trading platforms for UBS, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, said: “This is a complex process and a unique situation, and we offer the best and most practical solution for the customers of Mt Gox and help to Mr Kobayashi in the challenges he faces representing their best interests.”

Sunlot’s other backers include entrepreneurs Brock Pierce and Jonathan Yantis, and venture capitalists William Quigley and Matthew Roszak.

The group first tried to take over the ailing exchange in February when it went offline and said that hackers had been attacking the company unnoticed over an extended period.

The idea has encountered both positive and negative reactions among the Bitcoin community, with many expressing suspicion over the motives of the group and concerns about transparency. Sunlot has launched a website, savegox.com, to drum up support.

[hilariousandco]

I can't see it either but I have no idea why people would want to resurrect Gox. Are people actually going to want to use it when we've got better exchnages already?

Gox was such a big brand name, and it was the largest exchange (in terms of volume) for almost 3 years. There are people who are still emotionally attached to Mt Gox. And regarding the other exchanges.... do you think that similar robberies will never happen with them?

Who's emotionally attached to it? The only people that seemed to keep using it was those who were doing so by force because they had coins or money still stuck in there. I've never seen one person pleading to see it rise from the ashes.

[bryant.coleman]

Who's emotionally attached to it? The only people that seemed to keep using it was those who were doing so by force because they had coins or money still stuck in there. I've never seen one person pleading to see it rise from the ashes.

Check savegox.com, you will find many. That said, Mt Gox as a brand was OK. It was Mark Karpeles who stole all the coins and ran away. I still believe that a renewed Mt Gox, minus Mark K will be good for Bitcoin.