MtGox reclaim procedure?

[TheFootMan]

Perhaps we all should write stern letters to Japans respective embassies in our home countries, expressing concern about the lax attitude by Japan in regards to resolving these issues.

The Japanese government has everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by allowing Mt. Gox's liquidation to proceed. Under those circumstances then, one can only assume that everything possible is already being done to resolve this matter.

Perhaps I'm a cynic, but to me it seems like most embassies for most countries are rather polite in their communication, but unless you have some really serious issues or have money or power to back up your team, it seems like issues never are cared for, resolved and simply vanishes in the 'void'.

Perhaps it's because contact initiated by a single person just isn't important enough, isn't prioritized, they don't have enough resources, or they simply don't care.

If I wrote to the Japan embassy explaining to them that the way they're handling the MtGox case is a complete disgrace and they're making a fool of themselves on an international scale, I probably would achieve nothing, except from perhaps being added to some list for being a 'difficult person' having a negative view of Japan, and then perhaps I would've been taken aside if I ever enter Japan, for questioning?

But after all, we're all big boys, and perhaps we should not even care about what govts do in a case liket his, as bitcoin does not run well with the established system. It's kind of a paradox that bitcoin users run to the established system for help when something goes pear shaped.

Personally I'd just like to see justice happen, but seeing how Japanese culture shoves everything under the rug that's not 'nice', 'comfortable' or 'clean', I really don't have much hopes that anything will happen.

Isn't Japan the same country that made some rushed through law making it illegal for journalists to be critical? And isn't Japan the country that keep wrongdoings of companies on the stock market largely hidden? And isn't Japan the country that does not see lightly on anyone criticizing authority and leadership?

In such a climate, what impression would a single complaint make ?

[TheFootMan]

It's under Press releases and announcements:
2014-04-24(002): 破産手続開始決定書 / Bankruptcy proceedings written decision

Those are NOT reclaim instructions.

Some people are just nitpickers huh?. Now, get back to your assembly programming, or inputting binary for hand, or whatever your hobby is.

[Massimo80]

It's under Press releases and announcements:
2014-04-24(002): 破産手続開始決定書 / Bankruptcy proceedings written decision

Those are NOT reclaim instructions.

Some people are just nitpickers huh?. Now, get back to your assembly programming, or inputting binary for hand, or whatever your hobby is.

If someone says "the instructions for filing claims are there" and links an article which doesn't contain any such instruction, and someone else points this out... that's not "nitpicking", it's "please just stop telling bullshits".

[DrApricot]

Perhaps we all should write stern letters to Japans respective embassies in our home countries, expressing concern about the lax attitude by Japan in regards to resolving these issues.

The Japanese government has everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by allowing Mt. Gox's liquidation to proceed. Under those circumstances then, one can only assume that everything possible is already being done to resolve this matter.

Personally I'd just like to see justice happen, but seeing how Japanese culture shoves everything under the rug that's not 'nice', 'comfortable' or 'clean', I really don't have much hopes that anything will happen.

Please give the Japanese government a little credit for intelligence. Anyone can see that what happened at Mt. Gox is very unfortunate. Prime Minister Abe's administration is trying to enhance Japan's attractiveness as an investment destination, not detract from it.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan has a committee working on how best to handle this debacle as well as bitcoin in general. When the timing is right, and a consensus has been reached among Japanese leaders, there will be an announcement. One thing is for certain, the Tokyo bankruptcy court in no way has the final word on this matter.

[TheFootMan]

Perhaps we all should write stern letters to Japans respective embassies in our home countries, expressing concern about the lax attitude by Japan in regards to resolving these issues.

The Japanese government has everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by allowing Mt. Gox's liquidation to proceed. Under those circumstances then, one can only assume that everything possible is already being done to resolve this matter.

Personally I'd just like to see justice happen, but seeing how Japanese culture shoves everything under the rug that's not 'nice', 'comfortable' or 'clean', I really don't have much hopes that anything will happen.

Please give the Japanese government a little credit for intelligence. Anyone can see that what happened at Mt. Gox is very unfortunate. Prime Minister Abe's administration is trying to enhance Japan's attractiveness as an investment destination, not detract from it.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan has a committee working on how best to handle this debacle as well as bitcoin in general. When the timing is right, and a consensus has been reached among Japanese leaders, there will be an announcement. One thing is for certain, the Tokyo bankruptcy court in no way has the final word on this matter.

In general I won't give any government much credit. Of course they works, but they're very slow moving (most of the time), and transparency, honesty and efficiency is most of the time sacrificed. If the Japanese govt wanted to be public about all of this, I'm sure they could've put out press releases frequently, and even seized the mtgox.com domain and providing updates from there, and of course Mark and associates would need to be put in jail until the case was solved. How hard could it be for a small expert team to solve this case, given full access to all resources, or at least provide some clue? The truth is that we don't know anything.

Sure the govt agencies are working behind closed doors in their own tempo and will give us updates whenever they feel like, but I would much rather have trusted a small 7-man team to solve the entire case in a couple of months..

There are fiat trails for all missing fiats, 200k btc is surely recovered, Marks btc should all be confiscated, and Mark should be put under immense pressure till he cracks, along with Gay-Buchery and any other that might be involved.

The problem is that bureaucrats and politicians don't really care about having things done. Some of them do, but many of them are only concerned about getting through their day defending their own position, and doing the minimal amount required. There's of course the occasional hardworking honest guy, but in general, the bigger an entity becomes, the more bureaucratic it becomes.

If you want me to applaud the Japanese govt. I will not be first in the queue.

Check this out:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/12/31/258655342/japans-state-secrets-law-hailed-by-u-s-denounced-by-japanese

The penalties for violators are harsh: 10 years in prison for civil servants who leak classified information; five years for citizens convicted of abetting leaks.

And Washington put pressure on Japan to make it happen..

Read this story:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-02-16/the-story-behind-the-olympus-scandal
Another source: http://www.acfe.com/woodford/

"But the basic rule in Japan is you don't ever publicly criticize."

I've heard that is's not customary to critisize Nikkei-listed companies, and I believe the Olympus scandal happened because of foreign media.

There are many good things about Japan, but as in most countries, there's a lot of bad things as well.

[JorgeStolfi]

Some free comments, worth every cent of the price:

* Once you realize that someone has told a flat lie (such as "MtGOX is solvent and your coins are safe"), you should ignore anything else he may say or write, and should not waste any time interacting with him.  If the MtGOX website is still under Mark's control, you should not trust anything you read there.  The court-appointed liquidators are the only persons you should interact with.

* Legal procedures usually require physical paper documents.  E-mails and electronic documents can be easily faked and usually have no legal status. Paper documents at least can be subjected to forensic analysis.  So it is not surprising that the liquidators want paper mail.

* When a company goes bankrupt, creditors normally recover only part of their due, and only after a long time and with significant paperwork.  That is normal; it is the reason why people are usually very unhappy when a company that owes them money goes bankrupt.

* For that reason, creditors who are owed modest sums often do not bother to file a claim; they just write off the entire amount as a loss and move on.

* If the leaked database is to be trusted, MtGOX had less than 20'000 accounts with 1 BTC or more in them.  So it is likely that only a few thousand clients will bother to file a claim.

* Creditors should file criminal charges, or press the liquidators to do so, if they think that the management was dishonest and may have taken possession of company assets.  That will take even longer, and may not be very fruitful, but it is important that it be done -- to discourage them and other scammers to keep scamming.

* Returning a small fraction of what the victims lost, after they have internalized their loss, is a psychological trick that scammers frequently use.  The victims get so happy to get something back that they lose interest in prosecuting the scammer, even though he still has taken a lot of money from them.

* The Japanese government has no obligation to help MtGOX customers, beyond providing the standard legal mechanisms for handling bankruptcies; and has nothing to be ashamed of.  It is the people who chose to put their money into bitcoin, and entrust their bitcoins to Mark, who should be embarrassed about the affair.

[DrApricot]

Some free comments, worth every cent of the price:

* The Japanese government has no obligation to help MtGOX customers, beyond providing the standard legal mechanisms for handling bankruptcies; and has nothing to be ashamed of.  It is the people who chose to put their money into bitcoin, and entrust their bitcoins to Mark, who should be embarrassed about the affair.

Everyone recognizes, even at the highest levels, that what happened to depositor's bitcoins and cash at Mt. Gox was very unfortunate. That is not in question. Considering them as "unsecured creditors" who should have known better, comes dangerously close to saying "blame the victims."

While the Government of Japan has nothing to be ashamed of, neither do the depositors, nor should they ever feel in the least bit embarrassed about having been taken advantage of. They acted in good faith, and their only mistake was to put blind faith in the world's once-largest bitcoin exchange head-quartered in Tokyo, Japan.

[JorgeStolfi]

Considering [MtGOX clients] as "unsecured creditors" who should have known better, comes dangerously close to saying "blame the victims."

While the Government of Japan has nothing to be ashamed of, neither do the depositors, nor should they ever feel in the least bit embarrassed about having been taken advantage of. They acted in good faith, and their only mistake was to put blind faith in the world's once-largest bitcoin exchange head-quartered in Tokyo, Japan.

I do not intend to "blame the victim"; what happened at MtGOX was a crime, the only questions remaining are by whom, when and how.  (Since the "transaction malleability hack" has already been shown to be another lie, the management is not out of suspicion yet.)

But, still, the clients should be embarassed for trusting their money to a business that they knew was intentionally outside the government's control -- opaque, unregulated, unaudited, usecured, and meant to be that way.

Governments, police, laws, and regulations were not created for fun.  They were invented precisely to prevent scams like MtGOX. 

[freedombit]

Considering [MtGOX clients] as "unsecured creditors" who should have known better, comes dangerously close to saying "blame the victims."

While the Government of Japan has nothing to be ashamed of, neither do the depositors, nor should they ever feel in the least bit embarrassed about having been taken advantage of. They acted in good faith, and their only mistake was to put blind faith in the world's once-largest bitcoin exchange head-quartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Governments, police, laws, and regulations were not created for fun.  They were invented precisely to prevent scams like MtGOX.  

If this is true, then they failed in this case.

[freedombit]

Some free comments, worth every cent of the price:

* Once you realize that someone has told a flat lie (such as "MtGOX is solvent and your coins are safe"), you should ignore anything else he may say or write, and should not waste any time interacting with him.  If the MtGOX website is still under Mark's control, you should not trust anything you read there.  The court-appointed liquidators are the only persons you should interact with.

* Legal procedures usually require physical paper documents.  E-mails and electronic documents can be easily faked and usually have no legal status. Paper documents at least can be subjected to forensic analysis.  So it is not surprising that the liquidators want paper mail.

* When a company goes bankrupt, creditors normally recover only part of their due, and only after a long time and with significant paperwork.  That is normal; it is the reason why people are usually very unhappy when a company that owes them money goes bankrupt.

* For that reason, creditors who are owed modest sums often do not bother to file a claim; they just write off the entire amount as a loss and move on.

* If the leaked database is to be trusted, MtGOX had less than 20'000 accounts with 1 BTC or more in them.  So it is likely that only a few thousand clients will bother to file a claim.

* Creditors should file criminal charges, or press the liquidators to do so, if they think that the management was dishonest and may have taken possession of company assets.  That will take even longer, and may not be very fruitful, but it is important that it be done -- to discourage them and other scammers to keep scamming.

* Returning a small fraction of what the victims lost, after they have internalized their loss, is a psychological trick that scammers frequently use.  The victims get so happy to get something back that they lose interest in prosecuting the scammer, even though he still has taken a lot of money from them.

* The Japanese government has no obligation to help MtGOX customers, beyond providing the standard legal mechanisms for handling bankruptcies; and has nothing to be ashamed of.  It is the people who chose to put their money into bitcoin, and entrust their bitcoins to Mark, who should be embarrassed about the affair.

Agreed on much above. However, no one should ever be embarrassed for trusting another individual. Everyone must have trust in others just to live. (If you can live your life without trusting anyone, please enlighten me.) It's the people that take advantage of other's trust should be embarrassed.

Of course, we hope that everyone witnessing this debacle learns something.

[JorgeStolfi]

Governments, police, laws, and regulations were not created for fun.  They were invented precisely to prevent scams like MtGOX.  

If this is true, then they failed in this case.

Indeed, because they allowed MtGOX to function like a bank plus stock/commodity exchange, without it being registered regulated as such.  To that extent they are indeed to blame.

[DrApricot]

Considering [MtGOX clients] as "unsecured creditors" who should have known better, comes dangerously close to saying "blame the victims."

While the Government of Japan has nothing to be ashamed of, neither do the depositors, nor should they ever feel in the least bit embarrassed about having been taken advantage of. They acted in good faith, and their only mistake was to put blind faith in the world's once-largest bitcoin exchange head-quartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Governments, police, laws, and regulations were not created for fun.  They were invented precisely to prevent scams like MtGOX.  

If this is true, then they failed in this case.

The jury is still out on this one. As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a committee inside the ruling Liberal Democratic party working on this. The Mt. Gox meltdown is a very extraordinary and complicated situation. Were there any action above and beyond merely liquidating Mt. Gox to take place, then it would likely be one that is a unique resolution enhancing Japan's reputation as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.

For example, were it even possible that the remainder of the 650,000 missing bitcoins, as well as the 27 billion Japanese Yen in bank deposits, to be recovered, then the Japanese government, at very little cost to itself, could guarantee the funds so they could be returned expeditiously to Mt. Gox depositors. Various protocols could be followed to ensure money-launderers and any wrong-doers were completely eliminated from the distribution.

I could see Mt. Gox being brought back to life as a younger brother company in one of the large Japanese financially-oriented groups such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. The Japanese Government, at very little cost to itself besides acting as temporary financial backer, would become heroes to the investor community, thus turning a huge PR liability into a fantastic asset, not to mention as a potential new source of tax revenue.

[JorgeStolfi]

No one should ever be embarrassed for trusting another individual. Everyone must have trust in others just to live. (If you can live your life without trusting anyone, please enlighten me.) It's the people that take advantage of other's trust should be embarrassed.

I fully agree that, in general, one needs to trust other people in order to live.  Trust however is not automatic.

One way to have trust is to know the other person very well; and that means personally, for several years.  Just watching a few interviews on YouTube is not enough. The clients obviously did not know Mark well enough.  Danny Brewster's employees and associates did not know him at all.

The other way to have trust in someone is making sure that the other person will be punished if he violates the trust.  This precaution becomes more important when a large pile of money is involved, since that often changes people's character for worse. 

Due to the way bitcoin works, this last premise does not exist for most bitcoin enterprises.  Their owners/managers can easily defraud their clients/investors in many ways, with no risk of being punished in any way.  It is no wonder that bitcoin has enabled so many scams and heists, in spite of its short history and small user base.

[JorgeStolfi]

The jury is still out on this one. As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a committee inside the ruling Liberal Democratic party working on this.

Thanks for the information.  "This" being bitcoin in general, bitcoin exchange regulation, or specifically the MtGOX bankruptcy?

For example, were it even possible that the remainder of the 650,000 missing bitcoins, as well as the 27 billion Japanese Yen in bank deposits, to be recovered, then the Japanese government, at very little cost to itself, could guarantee the funds so they could be returned expeditiously to Mt. Gox depositors.

You mean, a government would take money from taxpayers and give it to creditors/investors of a failed private company, in the expectation that the police may be able to recover what was stolen from it?

That sort of thing just does not happen, and should not happen.  Clients will get those missing MtGOX assets only IF and AFTER they are recovered.  Which, in the case of bitcoins, unfortunately, may be impossible by design.

I could see Mt. Gox being brought back to life as a younger brother company in one of the large Japanese financially-oriented groups

I really do not understand why people still entertain the idea of MtGOX being ressurected.  When someone dies, normal people lament the loss, but do not dream of digging out the corpse and bringing it back to life.  Same when companies die.

Reviving MtGOX makes as much sense as reviving Enron, or Madoff's fund.  After the remaining assets are liquidated, nothing will remain of it except the memory of a colossal disaster.  Any exchange that intends to fill the void left by its demise will do all it can do dissociate itself from that memory. (And there is not even a void to be filled, really.)

[DrApricot]

The jury is still out on this one. As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a committee inside the ruling Liberal Democratic party working on this.

Thanks for the information.  "This" being bitcoin in general, bitcoin exchange regulation, or specifically the MtGOX bankruptcy?

You would have to ask them, but my understanding is that their scope is not limited to any one topic, but includes all of the above.

For example, were it even possible that the remainder of the 650,000 missing bitcoins, as well as the 27 billion Japanese Yen in bank deposits, to be recovered, then the Japanese government, at very little cost to itself, could guarantee the funds so they could be returned expeditiously to Mt. Gox depositors.

You mean, a government would take money from taxpayers and give it to creditors/investors of a failed private company, in the expectation that the police may be able to recover what was stolen from it?

It's more of a government-assisted acquisition for the betterment of the Japanese national interest that can be accomplished for a rather minimal net expenditure. Of course it would never be undertaken without at least the tacit support of a few industry leaders who have an interest. It would require a consensus of concerned business and government leaders.

It is unclear from exactly whom or how the bitcoins and cash deposits can or will be recovered. Should these be completely beyond reach, then obviously the whole issue is moot.

As you know, there has been much speculation about what happened to the funds, and since no arrests have to-date been forthcoming, it suggests the absence of any evidence of major wrong-doing in this case.

That sort of thing just does not happen, and should not happen.  Clients will get those missing MtGOX assets only IF and AFTER they are recovered.  Which, in the case of bitcoins, unfortunately, may be impossible by design.

I agree, it would take an unusually enlightened and  forward-thinking strategy to accomplish such a rescue. One must never forget the Kobayashi Maru test <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru>--oh, wait a minute, that's the name of the Mt. Gox bankruptcy trustee, Mr. Kobayashi--isn't it? I'm sure everything is exactly the way it appears--not!  

I could see Mt. Gox being brought back to life as a younger brother company in one of the large Japanese financially-oriented groups

I really do not understand why people still entertain the idea of MtGOX being ressurected.  When someone dies, normal people lament the loss, but do not dream of digging out the corpse and bringing it back to life.  Same when companies die.

Suppose the British had adopted that philosophy at Dunkirk?

Reviving MtGOX makes as much sense as reviving Enron, or Madoff's fund.  After the remaining assets are liquidated, nothing will remain of it except the memory of a colossal disaster.  Any exchange that intends to fill the void left by its demise will do all it can do dissociate itself from that memory. (And there is not even a void to be filled, really.)

Your crystal ball may be reading a little darker than mine. Back to work!

[JorgeStolfi]

It's more of a government-assisted acquisition for the betterment of the Japanese national interest that can be accomplished for a rather minimal net expenditure. Of course it would never be undertaken without at least the tacit support of a few industry leaders who have an interest. It would require a consensus of concerned business and government leaders.

Methinks that is giving too much importance to MtGOX.  Even when it seemed to be doing well, it was just a small business, comparable in revenue to a medium-size supermarket, but with far less capital assets (that it owned, not that it was merely the depositor of). According to the plan that Mark drew up when trying to sell the company, its revenue from fees in 2013 varied between 1 and 4 million USD/month, and its total profit in 2013 was a mere 286'000 USD http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/02/leaked-just-before-bitcoin-catastrophe-mtgox-dreamed-of-riches/

After its collapse, MtGOX became just a small defunct business.  Its demise was a catastrophe for the bitcoin community, but was hardly noticed outside it.

As you know, there has been much speculation about what happened to the funds, and since no arrests have to-date been forthcoming, it suggests the absence of any evidence of major wrong-doing in this case.

The mere disappearance of 500 million USD in funds that the clients thought that they had shows that a major crime was committed.  Marc may have been a victim of a hacker; but there is no proof of that, only Marc's word, and he has not offered a plausible explanation of how the hack was carried out.  On the other hand, his behavior in the final days is not above reproach -- to put it very, very mildly.

Suppose the British had adopted that philosophy at Dunkirk?

I am not sure what aspect of that battle you are referring to.  But the British were still in the middle of a war, thy had not capitulated yet.  Reviving MtGOX sounds more like those film plots where some secret neonazi group tries to clone Hitler and create the Fourth Reich. 

Clarifying my last comment: the loss of MtGOX did not leave a void to be filled, because any former MtGOX clients who wished to continue trading could do so at any of the other exchanges.  Any special features of that site could be replicated by another company without it having to assume the negative aura of being the "MtGOX 2.0"

[DrApricot]

Clarifying my last comment: the loss of MtGOX did not leave a void to be filled, because any former MtGOX clients who wished to continue trading could do so at any of the other exchanges.  Any special features of that site could be replicated by another company without it having to assume the negative aura of being the "MtGOX 2.0"

Sure, I agree. That's the beauty of bitcoin--it's a protocol, and not so dependent on any centralized points of failure like the individual exchanges. What the Japanese Government does or doesn't do remains entirely to be seen. Yet, should Japan take some action to help the Mt. Gox depositors, its prime motivation would be to enhance the country's attractiveness as an investment destination and to position it as a leader in the cutting-edge and rapidly-growing field of cryptocurrencies.

Most observers of the developments would probably acknowledge that the Mt. Gox imbriglio has been used by the media as a lynchpin for a major FUD PR attack on bitcoin. I'm pretty sure most people are very sick and tired of news articles that begin with the catch-phrase "the failed Mt. Gox". Unfortunately, as a Tokyo-based exchange, Japan catches the brunt of all this negativity towards an investment destination. Think about how spectacular the positive PR backwash would be from rescuing the depositors.

As you point out, Mt. Gox and bitcoin are in no way synonymous, as some journalists would have you believe. No wonder the public gets very confused on the issue.

[DrApricot]

It's more of a government-assisted acquisition for the betterment of the Japanese national interest that can be accomplished for a rather minimal net expenditure. Of course it would never be undertaken without at least the tacit support of a few industry leaders who have an interest. It would require a consensus of concerned business and government leaders.

Methinks that is giving too much importance to MtGOX.....Its demise was a catastrophe for the bitcoin community, but was hardly noticed outside it.

Here's an interview with a Mr. Noguchi, former Japanese government financial official and advisor that helps to explain exactly why bitcoin is of vast strategic importance to Japan:
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/An-Asian-trade-revolution-in-the-making

"Bitcoin has a high chance of being used for trade settlements. International remittances are troublesome and costly. In emerging Asian nations, remittances are often impossible because of the absence of banks.

     In countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh, there are companies wishing to export the goods they produce. But if they actually try to exports their products, they find it impossible to collect payments. While a banking system needs to be created to resolve the problem, bitcoin can bypass the process. The trade structure of Asia will be greatly changed as a result. I think this will be the biggest impact of bitcoin.

    Bitcoins are an example of technology allowing less emerging nations to "leapfrog" the conventional process of technological development.  In China, cellphones achieved widespread use before the creation of fixed-line phone networks is completed, another example of leapfrogging. Britain was late to adopt electricity because its streets were lighted by gas lamps. Germany and Japan used electricity from the beginning.

     The same thing is highly likely to occur in the financial system.

     If Myanmar and Bangladesh gain power as exporters, Asia's trade map will be greatly affected. In such circumstances, big business opportunities will be created in the bitcoin infrastructure field.

     Worldwide merchandize trade amounts to 1,500 trillion yen ($14.63 trillion) per year. Commission fees are at least 3%, or 45 trillion yen. The fees alone will create a huge market as far as the bitcoin is concerned."

Thanks to the huge negative-FUD-PR campaign in the media against Mt. Gox, Mt. Gox now equals bitcoin. Not true of course, but it's the popular perception of the matter. Japan is merely looking out for its own strategic interest, if and when, it chooses to help out the Mt. Gox depositors.

[JorgeStolfi]

Thanks to the huge negative-FUD-PR campaign in the media against Mt. Gox, Mt. Gox now equals bitcoin. Not true of course, but it's the popular perception of the matter. Japan is merely looking out for its own strategic interest, if and when, it chooses to help out the Mt. Gox depositors.

Not true, of course.  Bitcoin is not MtGOX.  MtGOX was just one of hundreds of scams that bitcoin made possible.

The media is not in a "FUD campaign against bitcoin".  Bitcoiners are unbeatable in that regard.  Look at The Bitcoin Foundation, better called The Shrem Karpeles & Friends foundation, electing Brock Pierce to the all-powerful
board of directors.  No reporter could make that up.

Two very bad things happened to bitcoin that will kill it. One is its adoption by "libertarians" who (naively) saw in it a weapon to destroy government and allow unrestricted trade of illegal items like drugs and weapons.  The other was the opening of the Chinese market, that caused the huge spike in the price, that in turn attracted all sort of financial scammers selling bitcoin as a lucrative and safe investment to unwary investors.  Bitcoin will die before it can get rid of those pests.

[DrApricot]

Thanks to the huge negative-FUD-PR campaign in the media against Mt. Gox, Mt. Gox now equals bitcoin. Not true of course, but it's the popular perception of the matter. Japan is merely looking out for its own strategic interest, if and when, it chooses to help out the Mt. Gox depositors.

Not true, of course.  Bitcoin is not MtGOX.  MtGOX was just one of hundreds of scams that bitcoin made possible.

The media is not in a "FUD campaign against bitcoin".  

You misunderstand. I did not say the media was in a FUD campaign, but rather a FUD campaign was being waged in the media. The media does not have any axe to grind as far as I know, but PR professionals who know how to manipulate the media certainly do have their agendas. These folks are essentially paid propagandists. The negative PR campaign against bitcoin is undeniable. The Mt. Gox affair has been its linchpin.

Bitcoin creates winners and losers. Think about it. Cui bono.