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Author Topic: {ANNOUNCEMENT} WBX Exchange Frozen  (Read 45338 times)
brendio
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March 20, 2012, 03:07:25 AM
 #41

There's a new posting on the news page at WBX, presumably from Andre:

Quote
Dear Clients, Again we would like to apologize to all our clients for the delayed customer support provided over the past weeks, Effective immediately 15th March World Bitcoin Exchange (WBX) will be shutting down trading / deposits and returning all client funds. Due to increasing fraudulent transactions on our accounts, WBX cannot operate in its current capacity. Combined with multiple bank account closures, we have deemed the best course of action is to halt trading and return funds

As of the 20th of March we will start returning all clients BTC, we currently hold the majority of our BTC off line, which is managed by Chris Moore our Technical lead, you will be required to logon to your account and request a BTC Withdraw to your personal wallets.

The withdraw of AUD is on hold until we have a clear indication when FUNDS are returned by our bank.

We appreciate your patience. WBX Team

I have a few comments:

1. I've never been appointed any position at WBX.  This is the first I heard about being their "Technical lead".  I set up the exchange for Andre originally, using the open source Intersango code, and made improvements as requested, and also agreed to hold Bitcoins offsite for Andre rather than leaving the whole wallet on the shared hosting server that WBX runs from.  I don't think that makes me "Technical lead".

2. I am still holding 1768 Bitcoins for WBX.  Until recently I have been depositing them back to the exchange on an as-needed basis, to keep the number of coins actually in the wallet on the exchange server to a minimum.  I used to try to keep between 200 and 300 coins on the server to allow for day to day withdrawals, but since the Linode incident I've been keeping the exchange wallet pretty much empty.  Here's a link to the address the coins are held at, so anyone can verify that I have them still: http://blockchain.info/address/1KnAveDXHDSdXmsNdE5itum459dkNp2pnW.  Actually, doesn't prove much, just that 1768 coins are owned by someone.  So around this time tomorrow I'll move them all to 1DodGYjF5LFoKg186jANZV9U8znXjagSzS.  Perhaps someone could quote this bit before I do so.

3. On March 15th I noticed that I could no longer log in to the WBX web host.  I don't know if Andre has changed the password, or if it's a technical problem of some kind.  Each time I attempt to log in, I see:
  "Received disconnect from [IP Address]: 2: Too many authentication failures for [username]".
I immediately emailed Andre asking for clarification, but have received no response so far.

4. Also on March 15th I received an email from Andre asking me to send him the 1768.0540 BTC he thinks I am holding so that he can start returning them to the exchange users.  I suspect the 0.0540 discrepancy is due to network transaction fees.  I replied saying that I have been returning the coins as and when they are requested for withdrawal by the exchange users, but that the most recent withdrawal request looked suspicious, and that I was awaiting his decision about what to do about that withdrawal request before returning funds to the exchange that would allow it to go through.  I received no reply to that so far.

5. Although my login to the web host is no longer working, my login on the exchange is still an administrator account.  This is confusing; if Andre was trying to lock me out of the exchange then leaving me an account with admin privileges seems like an oversight.  Using the admin account I am able to see that nobody has attempted to withdraw any Bitcoins since before my login stopped working until just a few minutes ago.  Now another user is attempting to withdraw Bitcoins, but again it looks suspicious.  If Andre was reachable I'd recommend that he try to get further ID from the user, since PDF mobile phone bills are pretty easy to edit and so aren't much good as a proof of ID.

I don't want to be holding these Bitcoins any more, but I do want them to go back to their rightful owners.  This leaves me not knowing what to do for the best.  Does anyone have any words of wisdom?

Quoted and witnessed for you.

If you are happy to do so, I think you should keep managing the bitcoin return process rather than Andre, especially since he has stated this in his message. Having a (somewhat) third party manage it is a better look, especially when many here are already suspicious of Andre's actions. I am not suggesting or accusing Andre, but returning the cold-stored bitcoins to him could lead to suspicions of him doing a runner.

I'm not sure about payb.tc's suggestion of spreading the burden between AUD and BTC holders. I think it would be complicated. I also have a conflict of interest in that I have already withdrawn my BTC, leaving me with only AUD funds remaining.

Dooglus, are you able to see the total balance of AUD funds still held? We would need to know the proportion of BTC to AUD if losses/delayed withdrawals are spread between BTC and AUD.

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March 20, 2012, 03:23:27 AM
 #42

There's a new posting on the news page at WBX, presumably from Andre:

Quote
Dear Clients, Again we would like to apologize to all our clients for the delayed customer support provided over the past weeks, Effective immediately 15th March World Bitcoin Exchange (WBX) will be shutting down trading / deposits and returning all client funds. Due to increasing fraudulent transactions on our accounts, WBX cannot operate in its current capacity. Combined with multiple bank account closures, we have deemed the best course of action is to halt trading and return funds

As of the 20th of March we will start returning all clients BTC, we currently hold the majority of our BTC off line, which is managed by Chris Moore our Technical lead, you will be required to logon to your account and request a BTC Withdraw to your personal wallets.

The withdraw of AUD is on hold until we have a clear indication when FUNDS are returned by our bank.

We appreciate your patience. WBX Team

I have a few comments:

1. I've never been appointed any position at WBX.  This is the first I heard about being their "Technical lead".  I set up the exchange for Andre originally, using the open source Intersango code, and made improvements as requested, and also agreed to hold Bitcoins offsite for Andre rather than leaving the whole wallet on the shared hosting server that WBX runs from.  I don't think that makes me "Technical lead".

2. I am still holding 1768 Bitcoins for WBX.  Until recently I have been depositing them back to the exchange on an as-needed basis, to keep the number of coins actually in the wallet on the exchange server to a minimum.  I used to try to keep between 200 and 300 coins on the server to allow for day to day withdrawals, but since the Linode incident I've been keeping the exchange wallet pretty much empty.  Here's a link to the address the coins are held at, so anyone can verify that I have them still: http://blockchain.info/address/1KnAveDXHDSdXmsNdE5itum459dkNp2pnW.  Actually, doesn't prove much, just that 1768 coins are owned by someone.  So around this time tomorrow I'll move them all to 1DodGYjF5LFoKg186jANZV9U8znXjagSzS.  Perhaps someone could quote this bit before I do so.

3. On March 15th I noticed that I could no longer log in to the WBX web host.  I don't know if Andre has changed the password, or if it's a technical problem of some kind.  Each time I attempt to log in, I see:
  "Received disconnect from [IP Address]: 2: Too many authentication failures for [username]".
I immediately emailed Andre asking for clarification, but have received no response so far.

4. Also on March 15th I received an email from Andre asking me to send him the 1768.0540 BTC he thinks I am holding so that he can start returning them to the exchange users.  I suspect the 0.0540 discrepancy is due to network transaction fees.  I replied saying that I have been returning the coins as and when they are requested for withdrawal by the exchange users, but that the most recent withdrawal request looked suspicious, and that I was awaiting his decision about what to do about that withdrawal request before returning funds to the exchange that would allow it to go through.  I received no reply to that so far.

5. Although my login to the web host is no longer working, my login on the exchange is still an administrator account.  This is confusing; if Andre was trying to lock me out of the exchange then leaving me an account with admin privileges seems like an oversight.  Using the admin account I am able to see that nobody has attempted to withdraw any Bitcoins since before my login stopped working until just a few minutes ago.  Now another user is attempting to withdraw Bitcoins, but again it looks suspicious.  If Andre was reachable I'd recommend that he try to get further ID from the user, since PDF mobile phone bills are pretty easy to edit and so aren't much good as a proof of ID.

I don't want to be holding these Bitcoins any more, but I do want them to go back to their rightful owners.  This leaves me not knowing what to do for the best.  Does anyone have any words of wisdom?

Quoted and witnessed for you.

Thanks.

If you are happy to do so, I think you should keep managing the bitcoin return process rather than Andre, especially since he has stated this in his message. Having a (somewhat) third party manage it is a better look, especially when many here are already suspicious of Andre's actions. I am not suggesting or accusing Andre, but returning the cold-stored bitcoins to him could lead to suspicions of him doing a runner.

I'd really like to hear Andre's take on that, but he's so hard to get in touch with recently.

I'm not sure about payb.tc's suggestion of spreading the burden between AUD and BTC holders. I think it would be complicated. I also have a conflict of interest in that I have already withdrawn my BTC, leaving me with only AUD funds remaining.

Dooglus, are you able to see the total balance of AUD funds still held? We would need to know the proportion of BTC to AUD if losses/delayed withdrawals are spread between BTC and AUD.

I'm not sure about payb.tc's suggestion either.  I can see that people with AUD balances will be likely to want that, and people with BTC balances won't.

I've no ability to see anything about the WBX bank account(s) themselves.  All I can see is what the admin view of the exchange shows.  I can see the AUD held in accounts, and the AUD pending withdrawal.  What I can't see is whether any AUD has arrived in the bank account(s) but not made it into the database, or if any withdrawals have been marked as "processed" in the database, but never entered into the banking system.  Either of those scenarios would add to the amount of AUD outstanding.  Both of these scenarios are something that AUD depositors to the exchange would have a better idea about.  I also don't have access to the WBX support emails other than those that Andre manually forwarded to me when asking for help, so have no idea how many users have been complaining about payments going missing in either direction.

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March 20, 2012, 03:45:01 AM
 #43

Andre really needs to take ownership of returning funds whether AUD or BTC to their rightful owners. Until he can show the ability to do that, then you should not return the BTC to him.

I have a lot of AUD in the exchange pending withdrawal for a long time now which I am very concerned about.

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March 20, 2012, 04:19:19 AM
 #44

normally when a company is shut down, no creditors are unduly favoured.

if wbx has to sell it's furniture to repay creditors... does he sell it for AUD or BTC?

this is why i say any capital, whether it's btc, aud, or furniture, should be liquidated and distributed proportionally.
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March 20, 2012, 04:24:02 AM
 #45

I (like others) have done a lot of trading through the exchange.  Several thousand BTC and several thousand dollars.  I was unlucky that I deposited AUD and needed to withdraw it almost immediately, and I'm stuck with $3000-ish in limbo.

I agree that all creditors should have equal shares/rights to the assets of a failed exchange, and I also acknowledge the potential for bias in that call.  But the law allows for voidable transactions to prevent undue enrichment of one creditor over another. 

I also appreciate the position Dooglus is in and admire him for sitting on the funds as they stand.  At some stage a register of claims should be made if Andre is not going to make an appearance anywhere.
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March 20, 2012, 09:00:33 PM
 #46

I (like others) have done a lot of trading through the exchange.  Several thousand BTC and several thousand dollars.  I was unlucky that I deposited AUD and needed to withdraw it almost immediately, and I'm stuck with $3000-ish in limbo.

I agree that all creditors should have equal shares/rights to the assets of a failed exchange, and I also acknowledge the potential for bias in that call.  But the law allows for voidable transactions to prevent undue enrichment of one creditor over another. 

I also appreciate the position Dooglus is in and admire him for sitting on the funds as they stand.  At some stage a register of claims should be made if Andre is not going to make an appearance anywhere.
I agree with Patrick. In insolvency cases all creditors share equal rights. So we should make a list to see how much AUD are outstanding, add the amount of outstanding BTC (I assume 1768) multiplied with current BTC price on the time of payout. Then we take the amount of "assets" (BTC in AUD) and divide it by it's creditors.
There should be a certain deadline (e.g. End of April?) until when everyone would have to enter their claims and then the BTC get divided among the creditors.
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March 20, 2012, 09:05:15 PM
 #47

4. Also on March 15th I received an email from Andre asking me to send him the 1768.0540 BTC he thinks I am holding so that he can start returning them to the exchange users.  I suspect the 0.0540 discrepancy is due to network transaction fees.  I replied saying that I have been returning the coins as and when they are requested for withdrawal by the exchange users, but that the most recent withdrawal request looked suspicious, and that I was awaiting his decision about what to do about that withdrawal
request before returning funds to the exchange that would allow it to go through.  I received no reply to that so far.
I would heavily suggest to NOT send him or the website any further BTC. To me it still smells like a scam so I would be worried that he uses his own admin rights and grants himself BTC which he withdraws. Plus: it should be clarified how the BTC are split.

Quote
5. Although my login to the web host is no longer working, my login on the exchange is still an administrator account.  This is confusing; if Andre was trying to lock me out of the exchange then leaving me an account with admin privileges seems like an oversight.  Using the admin account I am able to see that nobody has attempted to withdraw any Bitcoins since before my login stopped working until just a few minutes ago.  Now another user is attempting to withdraw Bitcoins, but again it looks suspicious.  If Andre was reachable I'd recommend that he try to get further ID from the user, since PDF mobile phone bills are pretty easy to edit and so aren't much good as a proof of ID.
Thanks a lot for your efforts so far, dooglus. highly appreciated. I can understand that you want to get rid of the burden. Potentially we could identify someone respectable from the forum (e.g. phantomcircuit, nefario, theymos...) who would be willing to take care of the BTC, temporarily. Any suggestions?
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March 21, 2012, 12:32:31 AM
 #48

Here's a link to the address the coins are held at, so anyone can verify that I have them still: http://blockchain.info/address/1KnAveDXHDSdXmsNdE5itum459dkNp2pnW.  Actually, doesn't prove much, just that 1768 coins are owned by someone.  So around this time tomorrow I'll move them all to 1DodGYjF5LFoKg186jANZV9U8znXjagSzS.  Perhaps someone could quote this bit before I do so.

I just sent them.  You can see the transaction here:
  http://blockchain.info/address/1DodGYjF5LFoKg186jANZV9U8znXjagSzS

It's currently unconfirmed.

It looks like I'm about an hour early - the forum is telling me it's 04:25 PM when it's really 5:31 PM.

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March 21, 2012, 12:57:17 AM
 #49

Here's a link to the address the coins are held at, so anyone can verify that I have them still: http://blockchain.info/address/1KnAveDXHDSdXmsNdE5itum459dkNp2pnW.  Actually, doesn't prove much, just that 1768 coins are owned by someone.  So around this time tomorrow I'll move them all to 1DodGYjF5LFoKg186jANZV9U8znXjagSzS.  Perhaps someone could quote this bit before I do so.

I just sent them.  You can see the transaction here:
  http://blockchain.info/address/1DodGYjF5LFoKg186jANZV9U8znXjagSzS

It's currently unconfirmed.

It looks like I'm about an hour early - the forum is telling me it's 04:25 PM when it's really 5:31 PM.

Certainly looks like a move of coins.  I'm assuming that is an address you have, rather than sending to some random location.
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March 21, 2012, 12:59:59 AM
 #50

Certainly looks like a move of coins.  I'm assuming that is an address you have, rather than sending to some random location.

Indeed.  I'm simply demonstrating that I really do have control of the coins I claim to, by announcing the move and the new address a day before the move happened.

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March 21, 2012, 01:02:03 AM
 #51

Certainly looks like a move of coins.  I'm assuming that is an address you have, rather than sending to some random location.

Indeed.  I'm simply demonstrating that I really do have control of the coins I claim to, by announcing the move and the new address a day before the move happened.

Yes, I thought that was a useful mechanism.  I forgot to check yesterday about the receiving address.
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March 21, 2012, 03:48:44 AM
 #52

I just received an email from Andre.  It doesn't address any of the flags I raised about suspicious looking accounts on the exchange with positive BTC balances, and doesn't answer my question about my access to the web host no longer working.

All it says is:

Quote
Hi Chris,

Please return the bitcoin you have asap users are trying to withdraw there bitcoin.

I replied asking if we could discuss it in this thread:

Quote
Hi Andre.

Would you mind if we communicated about this in the bitcointalk forum thread at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=65867 rather than in private email?

Chris.

Andre, can you address the concerns I and others have raised please?

1. Is there any news from the bank about when you can expect to have access to the WBX accounts again?
2. What happens if the bank never releases the frozen funds.  Will you be paying their balances back in full?
3. If not, should you not wait before allowing users to withdraw bitcoins, since the assets of WBX should be divided equally between its creditors.
4. Did you intentionally lock me out of the hosting account?  I'm no longer able to access the code or the database.
5. I've emailed you about several accounts on the exchange which have suspicious trading patterns, but you've not commented.  It seems you want me to return the bitcoins so that they can withdraw them - have you thought that through?

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March 21, 2012, 04:42:42 AM
 #53

I just received an email from Andre.  It doesn't address any of the flags I raised about suspicious looking accounts on the exchange with positive BTC balances, and doesn't answer my question about my access to the web host no longer working.

All it says is:

Quote
Hi Chris,

Please return the bitcoin you have asap users are trying to withdraw there bitcoin.

I replied asking if we could discuss it in this thread:

Quote
Hi Andre.

Would you mind if we communicated about this in the bitcointalk forum thread at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=65867 rather than in private email?

Chris.

Andre, can you address the concerns I and others have raised please?

1. Is there any news from the bank about when you can expect to have access to the WBX accounts again?
2. What happens if the bank never releases the frozen funds.  Will you be paying their balances back in full?
3. If not, should you not wait before allowing users to withdraw bitcoins, since the assets of WBX should be divided equally between its creditors.
4. Did you intentionally lock me out of the hosting account?  I'm no longer able to access the code or the database.
5. I've emailed you about several accounts on the exchange which have suspicious trading patterns, but you've not commented.  It seems you want me to return the bitcoins so that they can withdraw them - have you thought that through?

Hi Chris,

to answer your questions

1. No i have no indication when this issue will be resolved, when my accounts were first frozen they did give me a time frame of 6weeks to 6months

2. Yes i Intend on returning all funds once i have access to these funds but unfortunately i can't guarantee it.

3. If this is what the clients of WBX want then yes i am happy to comply and listen to the responses.

4. Yes i locked you out as i had to minimise further risk to the Exchange Database and code, sorry Chris its nothing personal i am just protecting my self and WBX client information.

5. Yes i have returned correspondence on these issues and these accounts have been locked (unverifiyed).

6. Chris you have full control over the 1768 BTC as they are in your possession  if you want to handle returning these BTC to clients then i am happy for you to do that, I have other major issues do deal with at the moment, i just want to know that WBX users BTC is safe and will be returned its one less problem for me to sort out.

message to all..... Yes i could have closed down the site and vanished but i didn't, i can't help the fact that I've been scammed through my bank accounts and now have no control over these accounts, these scammers new that the exchange was solid and secure so they attacked me via the banks knowingly that they will get away with it, i am honestly sorry this has happened and you the user has been caught up in this mess, i have lost a lot of personal money through this but i still intend to continue the fight in returning your Funds, what else's can i say.

please be patient.

Andre 
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March 21, 2012, 04:59:19 AM
 #54

Andre, thanks for responding.  I think it's best that this happens out in the open so people can see what's going on.

2. Yes i Intend on returning all funds once i have access to these funds but unfortunately i can't guarantee it.

3. If this is what the clients of WBX want then yes i am happy to comply and listen to the responses.

As you can see from this thread, at least some of the clients want it done this way.  Some even suggest it has to be done this way.

4. Yes i locked you out as i had to minimise further risk to the Exchange Database and code, sorry Chris its nothing personal i am just protecting my self and WBX client information.

OK, I thought you must have.  Just so you know, I have backups of the site from shortly before you locked me out.  As you know, the hosting company hasn't exactly had a good track record of looking after the server themselves, so I regularly made offsite backups.  That includes encrypted backups of the exchange's bitcoin wallet.  The wallet has a large keypool, so I will have access to any funds that are deposited into the exchange wallet for some time to come.  To properly minimise risk to the exchange I would advise you to transfer the remaining funds from the exchange wallet (less than 1 BTC I think) then start from scratch with a new wallet.

I also still have admin access to the WBX site, so can see client information.  Disable that by setting "is_admin" to 0 for my row in the users table:
  UPDATE users SET is_admin=0 WHERE uid=1001;
or use the web interface to the database.

5. Yes i have returned correspondence on these issues and these accounts have been locked (unverifiyed).

6. Chris you have full control over the 1768 BTC as they are in your possession  if you want to handle returning these BTC to clients then i am happy for you to do that, I have other major issues do deal with at the moment, i just want to know that WBX users BTC is safe and will be returned its one less problem for me to sort out.

I have the 1768 BTC and will keep it safe until it is clear who it should be given to.  I've proven in this thread that I have it, and everyone can watch the address where it is being held to make sure it isn't being spent.

It seems to me that we need to find out how much of the frozen AUD will be returned by the bank before we can know how to split up the BTC.  Do you agree?

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March 21, 2012, 05:25:39 AM
 #55

Andre, thanks for responding.  I think it's best that this happens out in the open so people can see what's going on.

2. Yes i Intend on returning all funds once i have access to these funds but unfortunately i can't guarantee it.

3. If this is what the clients of WBX want then yes i am happy to comply and listen to the responses.

As you can see from this thread, at least some of the clients want it done this way.  Some even suggest it has to be done this way.

4. Yes i locked you out as i had to minimise further risk to the Exchange Database and code, sorry Chris its nothing personal i am just protecting my self and WBX client information.

OK, I thought you must have.  Just so you know, I have backups of the site from shortly before you locked me out.  As you know, the hosting company hasn't exactly had a good track record of looking after the server themselves, so I regularly made offsite backups.  That includes encrypted backups of the exchange's bitcoin wallet.  The wallet has a large keypool, so I will have access to any funds that are deposited into the exchange wallet for some time to come.  To properly minimise risk to the exchange I would advise you to transfer the remaining funds from the exchange wallet (less than 1 BTC I think) then start from scratch with a new wallet.

I also still have admin access to the WBX site, so can see client information.  Disable that by setting "is_admin" to 0 for my row in the users table:
  UPDATE users SET is_admin=0 WHERE uid=1001;
or use the web interface to the database.

5. Yes i have returned correspondence on these issues and these accounts have been locked (unverifiyed).

6. Chris you have full control over the 1768 BTC as they are in your possession  if you want to handle returning these BTC to clients then i am happy for you to do that, I have other major issues do deal with at the moment, i just want to know that WBX users BTC is safe and will be returned its one less problem for me to sort out.

I have the 1768 BTC and will keep it safe until it is clear who it should be given to.  I've proven in this thread that I have it, and everyone can watch the address where it is being held to make sure it isn't being spent.

It seems to me that we need to find out how much of the frozen AUD will be returned by the bank before we can know how to split up the BTC.  Do you agree?

Hi chris,

Thanks for the transparency i appreciate it, please return users BTC using this forum or however you think is a open way in doing so safely, You still have Admin access to WBX and i will not change this until all BTC is returned also you can view the user database i left that open for that reason.

Andre
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March 21, 2012, 05:30:25 AM
 #56

Thanks for the transparency i appreciate it, please return users BTC using this forum or however you think is a open way in doing so safely, You still have Admin access to WBX and i will not change this until all BTC is returned also you can view the user database i left that open for that reason.

Andre, the problem is that until you know how many dollars you are going to be able to get back from the banks, you don't know what the total assets of WBX are.  And so you don't know what percentage of the liabilities you will be able to repay.

I propose holding on to the BTC until the situation with the bank becomes clear.

Do you agree?

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March 21, 2012, 05:42:38 AM
 #57

Thanks for the transparency i appreciate it, please return users BTC using this forum or however you think is a open way in doing so safely, You still have Admin access to WBX and i will not change this until all BTC is returned also you can view the user database i left that open for that reason.

Andre, the problem is that until you know how many dollars you are going to be able to get back from the banks, you don't know what the total assets of WBX are.  And so you don't know what percentage of the liabilities you will be able to repay.

I propose holding on to the BTC until the situation with the bank becomes clear.

Do you agree?

Chris,

I agree, this is worst case scenario and i would like for everyone to receive a full refund of there funds but unfortunately i cannot guarantee it at this stage, as soon as i get a clear conformation from my bank what is returned then the process of distributing assets will commence, I will keep you updated here.


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March 21, 2012, 05:53:44 AM
 #58

I propose holding on to the BTC until the situation with the bank becomes clear.
It is for this reason that I advised you privately not to distribute the bitcoins in any way that was related to the AUD. Due to the price fluctuation of bitcoin, waiting on the AUD is the only reasonable way to combine the remaining funds and distribute them evenly. Of course, it's not my call.

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March 21, 2012, 07:07:29 AM
 #59

I propose holding on to the BTC until the situation with the bank becomes clear.
It is for this reason that I advised you privately not to distribute the bitcoins in any way that was related to the AUD. Due to the price fluctuation of bitcoin, waiting on the AUD is the only reasonable way to combine the remaining funds and distribute them evenly. Of course, it's not my call.

Given the dollars at stake, and the threats for legal action for recovery that are mentioned elsewhere in this thread, no funds should be distributed, BTC or AUD. 

I know the cost of legal work in Australia and am currently awaiting advice from my lawyers there on a similar matter.  Also, I know how the Corporations Act and other statues operate, so commend Chris on the stance taken to date.  More communication is better than none.
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March 21, 2012, 12:26:37 PM
 #60

I propose holding on to the BTC until the situation with the bank becomes clear.
It is for this reason that I advised you privately not to distribute the bitcoins in any way that was related to the AUD. Due to the price fluctuation of bitcoin, waiting on the AUD is the only reasonable way to combine the remaining funds and distribute them evenly. Of course, it's not my call.

Given the dollars at stake, and the threats for legal action for recovery that are mentioned elsewhere in this thread, no funds should be distributed, BTC or AUD. 

I know the cost of legal work in Australia and am currently awaiting advice from my lawyers there on a similar matter.  Also, I know how the Corporations Act and other statues operate, so commend Chris on the stance taken to date.  More communication is better than none.

+1 to all quoted threads above.

As I have a large AUD stake, I think it would be unfair for BTC to be returned to 'forum members who request it' without the full picture from the bank being understood.

Also I traded quite frequently before WBX shut down, I'm happy to clarify my actions if my account was flagged as suspicious.

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