[NEWS] Butterfly Labs - Shut Down by US Government

[freeAgent]

I'm surprised that the hash rate on EMC hasn't dropped at all.

I'm not.  If they are on there they are running small potatoes. I'm #4 there and running only 8TH. Biggest miner on EMC is 33 TH with #2 @ 20TH.

Why are you still mining on EMC?  I would be worried that it will shut down at any moment and any account balances will be locked up.

[1714859509]

1714859509

[1714859509]

1714859509

[1714859509]

1714859509

[1714859509]

1714859509

[spiceminer15]

I hope this lowers the network hash rate

[crazyearner]

Seeing an ever dropping rate on network hash too mabye diff will spike down n we make more coins again seeing 3 or 4 PH or more and increasing coming down so  who knows maybe will have a reduction in next diff jump and a few after it.

Would be nice to see diff jump back down a little

[NotFuzzyWarm]

I'm surprised that the hash rate on EMC hasn't dropped at all.

I'm not.  If they are on there they are running small potatoes. I'm #4 there and running only 8TH. Biggest miner on EMC is 33 TH with #2 @ 20TH.

Why are you still mining on EMC?  I would be worried that it will shut down at any moment and any account balances will be locked up.

Not a concern because unlike many other pools they pay within minutes of hitting the payout trigger I set. In this case my worst loss would be being out a couple days of hashing and 0.1btc (payout trigger).

[BitcoinPappi]

Finally! Wonder if the other manufacturers with bad business practices and ethics will learn from this ?  They are not so untouchable after all

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Finally! Wonder if the other manufacturers with bad business practices and ethics will learn from this ?  They are not so untouchable after all

I doubt they will. Call it the Enron Syndrome: They think they are doing nothing wrong and are only 'pushing the boundaries' of rules and regulations. To folks like that, the hell with the intent of the regs! They feel it is a game to see how far they can go and still be within the letter of the law.

Guess what BFL and Friends such as (ahem) AMT and Joshua Zipkin - you folks long ago crossed over from pushing to flagrant violation and unlike Enron you can't bury the facts in complex transactions.

[notbatman]

Black Arrow is even worse not only have they robbed their customers the few obsolete miners that have been shipped out have been exploding and bursting into flames. All while they sit back and laugh as they count the millions worth of BTC they've mined.

[opieum2]

Finally! Wonder if the other manufacturers with bad business practices and ethics will learn from this ?  They are not so untouchable after all

I doubt they will. Call it the Enron Syndrome: They think they are doing nothing wrong and are only 'pushing the boundaries' of rules and regulations. To folks like that, the hell with the intent of the regs! They feel it is a game to see how far they can go and still be within the letter of the law.

Guess what BFL and Friends such as (ahem) AMT and Joshua Zipkin - you folks long ago crossed over from pushing to flagrant violation and unlike Enron you can't bury the facts in complex transactions.

LOL the irony here is these transactions that were done in bitcoin....open book.

[opieum2]

Black Arrow is even worse not only have they robbed their customers the few obsolete miners that have been shipped out have been exploding and bursting into flames. All while they sit back and laugh as they count the millions worth of BTC they've mined.

A bunch of these guys are likely in cahoots I know AMT and BA are working out of the same building making miners that much has been confirmed. Here by the admission of the CEO of AMT is a proposal to make that happen. Not sure how far it went, but clearly there was an attempt to make it happen. This was a group chat part of a set of chats leaked to the bitcoin press.

[5/31/2014 1:14:02 AM] Joshua: not that the guys care anyway, i actually rounded everyone in a meeting in amsterdam, all the players and proposed we start some alliance etc
[5/31/2014 1:14:10 AM] Joshua: or at leat a formal association
[5/31/2014 1:14:43 AM] Joshua: everyone was on board and then when i get back no one does anything or responds with more 2-3 line email.. its terrible
[5/31/2014 1:15:04 AM] Joshua: we also found out that cointerra or Bfl was paying to fuck with us on the forum
[5/31/2014 1:15:13 AM] Joshua: Sam from knc said so..
[5/31/2014 1:15:55 AM] Opieum2: Hmm interesting likley BFL they have been pretty much doing alot of underhanded stuff and have gotten caught from what I have been reading up.
[5/31/2014 1:16:24 AM] Joshua: i asked josh directly, told him it was perfectly understable but he said no
[5/31/2014 1:16:47 AM] Joshua: anyway, they dont respect me much because of this situation, not that im out of industry respect or anything

[elduderino]

Here's some coverage from the big boys:

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/deceptive-ftc-shuts-down-bitcoin-miner-company-butterfly-labs-n209866

I love this snippet:

In a statement, Butterfly called the FTC's action "heavy-handed" and said the company "literally is in the midst of shipping out completed products.” Butterfly has already shipped more than $33 million worth of machines, it said, and refunded $17 million in canceled orders.

So, I guess they just needed more time, guys.

Apparently, they couldn't find the money or something. They're checking under the couch cushions right now.

[Zelek Uther]

LOL they just needed Two Weeks™!

I must admit, waking up this morning and reading the headline "Butterfly Labs - Shut Down by US Government " really made my day.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

So, I guess they just needed more time, guys.

"All we needed was two more weeks and we would have shipped out all our orders ! Honest Abe !"

lol! A line straight out of Joshua Zipkin's playbook.
Later followed by "All existing orders have been shipped"

Someones pantalones de feugo...

[Zelek Uther]

Josh responding to the rumour that BFL got raided by US Marshalls:



Hmmm... the rumour isn't dying down, looks like a persistent rumour:



Pro-tip: posting a receivership notice on your web site is not the right way to squash the rumour...

[freeAgent]

The website is now probably under the control of the receiver.

[Zelek Uther]

The website is now probably under the control of the receiver.

Agreed. I was just being sarcastic.

I'm off now to post a quarter to Josh so he can "buy a clue"... he should get it in about Two Weeks™.

[k9quaint]

http://www.butterflylabs.com/management-view/josh-zerlan-3/

"VP Product Development" sounds like a bit more than "just an employee".  In fact, isn't a severe failure of Product Development precisely the reason the company is now in this mess?

Still just an employee. As much as I'd like for Josh to put on his big boy orange jumpsuit, he appears to have no ownership in the company and thus his liability is minimal. Fancy title means little. He had no authority to do anything.

IIRC, the only person who has been convicted so far for the Countrywide debacle was Rebecca Mairone. She was a mid-level executive.

[goozman96]

I can only hope that this is just the beginning. Plenty of other manufacturers need to be taken down.

[sergio]

This guys were crooks, I requested a refund for the jalapeno I ordered since I was not getting anything, and the refund was awarded but did not get anything, until 8 months later I got a jalapeno when it was worthless, no one would answer the phone or reply to emails.

[Bicknellski]

I can only hope that this is just the beginning. Plenty of other manufacturers need to be taken down.

+1 especially those that owe significant compensation to their customers.

Also this might also work to WARN those who are slipping on customer service as well. I don't see the FTC as the only gov't agency in the world that will take a shot a bringing these types of BTC fabricators to court or beat them into acting appropriately. Clearly BFL is lower hanging fruit and will go down with a whimper as customers will finally get some compensation from these crooks at the hands of the FTC.

[dentro]

Hope they are going to pay for their lies...!