BITCOIN, Heists, Thefts, Hacks, Scams, and Losses

  • News
  • Thread starter nsaspook
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Bitcoin
In summary: I don't know if this actually happened, but...?In summary, the website of major bitcoin exchange MtGox was offline Tuesday amid reports it suffered a debilitating theft. Around midmorning in the U.S., the company released a statement saying it had closed off transactions "to protect the site and our users." It offered no further details.
  • #981
Vanadium 50 said:
Usually if one provides testimony against one's partners...i.e. "to rat", they get shorter sentences, not longer.

Usually the defense asks for a low number, the prosecution asks for a high number, and the judge picks something in that range. Its rare that they go outside it.
It can happen after the fact of initial sentencing (Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b)) so they get to think about being a "rat" to make that that long jail sentence become a shorter one.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #983
So whatever happened to the FTX executives who pled guilty? What is holding up their sentencing?
 
  • #986
morrobay said:
How worrisome is this for the US dollar?
How worrisome is what? The national debt? Depends on who you ask. It is a fact that the dollar is worth less than it used to be relative to goods and services (this is just saying there has been inflation) and it is true that servicing the debt is expensive (one-sixth of the federal budget last I checked). How troublesome this is depends on your personal financial situation and your politics.

If BTC were an actual asset, and treated as a stock, the effect on the economy if it were zeroed out completely would be about the same as Monday's bad day at the stock market. Those companies actually make things: McDonalds still makes hamburgers, Exxon still makes gasoline, and Boeing still makes mistakes...er...airplanes. Bitcoin doesn't make anything, so zeroing it out would likely have a smaller effect than Monday at the market.

A Chicago-school economist might argue that this would help the economy: if you can't sit on you butt and get rich off Bitcoin, you need to produce goods and services that other people want.
 
  • Like
  • Informative
Likes russ_watters, morrobay, dwarde and 1 other person
  • #987
My personal financial situation is based on the exchange rate: Thai baht/ $ . I have direct deposits from federal service in to Citibank. Then I just go to ATM and withdrawal Thai baht. Otherwise I would not be that worried. So rather a different situation for those overseas.
 
  • #988
I can fairly well say with certainty that neither the US Treasury Department nor the vast majority of BTC speculators are asking themselves "yes, but what will this do to the USD/THB exchange rate".
 
  • #989
Ok can I ask you what this will do to the exchange rate? That is USD/All others
 
  • #990
What will what do? A putative zeroing out of BTC? After Monday's stock market loss (post hoc ergo propter hoc) the USD relative to the rest of the XDR basket of currencies fell about ¼%. For the reasons I have above, I would consider this an upper bound.

BTC is just a pimple on the overall economy.
 
  • Like
Likes morrobay and phinds
  • #991
morrobay said:
Ok can I ask you what this will do to the exchange rate? That is USD/All others
Approximately nothing, same as post #985
 
  • Like
Likes morrobay
  • #992
I also question the total valuation of BTC at a trillion plus. Lets say I mint 1000 MagicBeans and sell 999 for a dollar, and the last one for $1000. Is the total valuation of the MagicBeans really a million dollars?

People "invest" in BTC because they think it will go up. In a sell-off, the price goes down. If it goes down, its not going up. People don't want it if its going down, so they sell. That depresses the price further. And so on. The same positive feedback that sent the price up now sends it down. In the 20th century, this was called a "bubble".

I realize writing this means I am an old stick in the mud who doesn't understand "but this time it's different!". We shall see.
 
  • Like
Likes Astronuc, russ_watters and phinds
  • #993
SymbolLast PriceChange% Change
BTC-USD
Bitcoin USD
49,875.36-10,973.19-18.03%
ETH-USD
Ethereum USD
2,222.04-690.42-23.71%
USDT-USD
Tether USDt USD
1.00-0.00-0.08%
BNB-USD
BNB USD
414.31-111.98-21.28%
SOL-USD
Solana USD
113.91-30.04-20.87%
0918 EDT, 5 Aug 2024
Volatility
 
  • #994
But crypto, like stonks, can only go up!
 
  • #995
Vanadium 50 said:
But crypto, like stonks, can only go up!
Cryptostonks = double the fun.
 
  • #997
Not bitcoin, but gold. It could happen with digital currency as well.

A Beverly Hills company that promised to convert retirement accounts into precious metals has seemingly shut down without a trace — and its customers fear their nest eggs have vanished with it.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/investors-across-us-fear-retirement-104400082.html

The company now appears to have shut down and has vacated its office on Wilshire Boulevard.

When Eyewitness News reached out to California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — the agency that regulates financial service providers — officials refused to talk specifically about Oxford Gold. Instead, they issued a warning to Americans (especially older generations) to be careful when trading precious metals.

“They're targeting senior citizens… because they have the highest amount in their retirement funds,” explained Danielle Stoumbos, senior counsel with the agency. “That's really what these precious metals dealers are focusing on. They're trying to encourage people to sell securities in their traditional retirement accounts.”

Stoumbos also reiterated that California does have a “strong anti-fraud statute,” adding that “if there's any misappropriation of customer funds, if there's misrepresentations or omissions in connection with the offer of sale or if there's a scheme to defraud, then we can take enforcement action against the company and the individuals that are operating the company.”

Folks need to work with 'reputable' institutions, or at least check with authorities regarding companies to see if they are properly registered with a good record.
 
  • #998
I suspect they are long gone, drinking margaritas on a beach in Mexico or something.

They apparently were licensed, and they took customers money, talling them they would put an equivalent amount of metal in a vault somewhere, and never did. Since this crossed state lines, and since it was for IRAs, this makes it federal. Clearly not an oopsie.
 
  • Like
Likes Astronuc
  • #1,000
Does she get to keep any of the money she was paid?
 
  • #1,001
Vanadium 50 said:
Does she get to keep any of the money she was paid?
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for her role in the FTX collapse. She must also forfeit $11 billion.
Ellison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and five conspiracy counts in December 2022 as part of a cooperation agreement with the government. Prosecutors had recommended a lenient sentence because of Ellison’s “extraordinary” and “very timely” cooperation. Her own lawyers asked for no jail time, as did the federal Probation Department.


SBF's parents should be next.
 
Last edited:
  • #1,002
nsaspook said:
She must also forfeit $11 billion.
Wow. Considering that she only got something like $6M, that's going to be tough.

I guess the lesson is "commit no small crimes".

2 years is minimum 21 months, right?
 
  • Wow
Likes Astronuc
  • #1,003
I just read that Sean "Diddy" Combs is in the same section of jail as SBF. (Combs is awaiting trial; SBF is awaiting transfer to where he will be serving his sentence)
 
  • #1,004
nsaspook said:
She must also forfeit $11 billion.
How does one forfeit $11 billion if one does not have such funds? Future earnings?! Did Ellison ever own such funds?

I would think FTX should be on the hook, no? The funds were tied up in Alameda and FTX, no?
 
  • #1,005
Astronuc said:
How does one forfeit $11 billion if one does not have such funds?
I believe one doesn't.

The short answer is she took Alameda customer funds, gave them to SBF, who then spent them. So they aren't there any more, so giving them back is not an option. She still technically owes it back, but because its been spent, that's not going to happen.

A good question is how she walked away with only a fraction of a percent of the scam. Three words: worst boyfriend ever.
 
  • Like
Likes nsaspook
  • #1,006
https://apnews.com/article/ftx-bank...y-sentencing-fa898c3ff61d9a797d016a12c0862ca1

Ex-FTX executive spared prison sentence after cooperating against Sam Bankman-Fried​

The prosecutor also said Singh revealed private conversations with Bankman-Fried that strengthened the government’s case and enabled it to bring charges more quickly against multiple people.

Singh gave prosecutors “documentary evidence the government did not have and likely never would have had,” Roos said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/30/ftxs-nishad-singh-gets-not-jail-time-3-years-supervised-release.html
Former FTX executive Nishad Singh was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release on Wednesday, becoming the fourth ex-employee of the collapsed crypto exchange to be punished. Singh was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion.

11 billion here, 11 billion there, ...
 
  • #1,007
Vanadium 50 said:
As others have said "The markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent".
This story just would not have been possible without many betting against it - supported by very logical reasons.
 
  • #1,008
Rive said:
This story just would not have been possible without many betting against it - supported by very logical reasons.
 
  • Like
Likes Rive
  • #1,009
nsaspook said:
[/MEDIA]
For short squeezes seatbelts are indeed good choice...
 
Back
Top