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Poll: How many bitcoins have you lost with MtGox shutdown?

56 points by k-i-m 13y ago

If you only had credit and no bitcoins, estimate the number of bitcoins you'd have been able to buy at the last known price (1 BTC = $135)

beedogs 13y ago
My meager little BTC monies are all at btc-e. Never had an issue with them so far.
- LoganCale 13y ago
  Don't keep cryptocurrencies in an online wallet/exchange, unless you're actively using it to do day trading and understand/accept the risks. Otherwise always transfer it to a local wallet or cold storage as soon as you make the exchange. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency for a reason. Don't trust centralized systems with your money when you can easily protect it much better than they can. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_set_up_a_secure_offline_savings_wallet https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_set_up_a_secure_offline_sa...
staunch 13y ago
I gambled and used another even less reputable exchange that has not as of yet stolen my money! Woot! Ask me next week.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  Same here! Good luck. So far these guys seem good but they did formerly offer to clear trades via gox. Hope that hasn't bitten them too badly.
- diego 13y ago
  Are you keeping a significant amount of BTC in an exchange? If so, why? I would expect a HN reader to know how to manage his/her bitcoins.
  - staunch 13y ago
    Yeah, not much.
newbrict 13y ago
I have serious doubts that the people reporting 1k+ are honest...
- ars 13y ago
  I have serious doubts that any of the results are honest. Previous polls have never been real.
Doji 13y ago
0. It wasn't luck. Who keeps their money in an exchange?
- zanny 13y ago
  Really, especially with btc where keeping it local is literally just getting the blockchain and sitting on wallet backups. Also, who in the world would invest money on MtGox after the repeated bullcrap incompetence out of them since 2011? They have never had a good month of operation.
- ekianjo 13y ago
  People who can't manage to withdraw it when MtGox makes it painfully long and impossible to move things around.
seanalltogether 13y ago
In mid October before the huge rise in value, I started a USD withdrawal of $2700 to my american bank account and despite repeated emails claiming that the bank transfer process was simply delayed, it has never come through. Luckily I only lost $500 in this grand btc experiment since most of that value was gained through trading
- plaguuuuuu 13y ago
  was there no way of just transferring bitcoins to yourself?
  - seanalltogether 13y ago
    I could have, I just wanted to cash out back then. Once I got that ball rolling however I was unable to reverse it.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- mithras 13y ago
  Keep on dreaming.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- vacri 13y ago
  Maybe so on the Fear, but there's certainly a certain Uncertainty when the service is not up, and undoubtedly a lot of Doubt when it's been rapidly declining before it fell.
ixmatus 13y ago
Stop leaving money in the exchange (they aren't a bank)! That's what your wallet is for!
frou_dh 13y ago
I successfully withdrew what I had there but that was a long time ago. I know it's easy to say now, but I always suspected they were a bit of a clownshoes operation because of the simply awful web design they deemed acceptable.
pmorici 13y ago
It's hard for me to understand why anyone would have kept any money in any form in Gox. The signs of a poorly run institution have been there for the better part of the past 10 months. As soon as I read about the US Government seizing their US Bank account last May and the suspension of Dwolla for USD transfers I got out of there ASAP and never contemplated going back. With the rise of Bitstamp and Coinbase plus the other players there was just no reason to go anywhere near Gox any more.
- jliptzin 13y ago
  There's also no reason to keep BTC or USD at any exchange for more than the time it takes to make a trade, unless you're arbing between exchanges (in which case this type of event does suck but should have been priced into your whole strategy). Mt gox was an exchange not a bank.
- tlrobinson 13y ago
  I got out of Gox in 2011 when they were hacked the first time and never looked back...
newbrict 13y ago
If any of this is true it just goes to show that you should hold your own bitcoins...
tzs 13y ago
I'd be more interested in how many of those who lost (or rather, will lose if MtGox does indeed die) cannot easily afford it. 8 people so far, for instance, have said they lost more than 1000 BTC, which would be over $600k. I wonder how many of these fall into the following categories: 1. The mined the coins themselves back when it was cheap to mine, or bought them when they are cheap. They are not actually much worse off then before they got into Bitcoin. 2. They put a lot of money into acquiring those Bitcoins. They are going to actually end up a significant fraction of that $600k worse of than when they started. However, they have millions of dollars or dollar equivalents elsewhere, and this loss is not really going to impact their lifestyle in any noticeable way. 3. They put a lot of money into acquiring those Bitcoins, and are going to end up a significant fraction of that $600k behind where they started. That represents a significant fraction of their wealth, and it will impact future plans to live a more extravagant lifestyle, but it won't knock them down to a lower class. They'll keep living where they live, and buying the same kind of luxuries they currently buy. 4. Similar to 2 and 3, but they had most of their wealth in this. They may have to move down a class or two on the social/financial ladder. 5. Similar, but they had so much of their wealth in this that "ruined" would be an accurate description. They basically have to start over financially.
- fvrghl 13y ago
  6. They are trolls that just hit the maximum option.
streetnigga 13y ago
Zero here, I've been treating BTC like Paypal balances. Cash out to native currency ASAP. Godspeed others. edit: To those polling in at over 1000, yikes. Hopefully you 13 (so far) are joking around. Business or personal? Any insurance?
EGreg 13y ago
Will anyone be able to get their bitcoins from MtGox? They said the bitcoins were safe. What changed? Will they be transferred eventually? What are the chances?
nahtnam 13y ago
Thank you coinbase. Coinbase only took me a few minutes to setup. Thankfully it saved me from falling for Mt.Gox. Good luck getting your BTC back! :)
donatj 13y ago
I transferred some in a while ago as an experiment but never managed to get it out. It wasn't very much but it still makes me sad I'll never see it return.
patmcguire 13y ago
I hope these are joke answers, that's an immense amount of money to go missing.
Istof 13y ago
how happy will you be when they'll be back? 0 or 1
holyjaw 13y ago
I started mining bitcoin years ago; this sounds awfully "hipster", but it was still a relatively new, unheard of thing. I had no clue what I was doing, and mined 1 BTC. I lost it when I lost that hard drive; it took me until a year or so ago to even remember that I had it. I consider myself lucky that I did not invest more of myself in BTC at that time. I think this MtGox event would be a huge hit to me.
itkin 13y ago
50
moopler 13y ago
Is there any chance to refund them ?

56 points by k-i-m 13y ago

If you only had credit and no bitcoins, estimate the number of bitcoins you'd have been able to buy at the last known price (1 BTC = $135)

beedogs 13y ago

My meager little BTC monies are all at btc-e. Never had an issue with them so far.

LoganCale 13y ago
Don't keep cryptocurrencies in an online wallet/exchange, unless you're actively using it to do day trading and understand/accept the risks. Otherwise always transfer it to a local wallet or cold storage as soon as you make the exchange. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency for a reason. Don't trust centralized systems with your money when you can easily protect it much better than they can. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_set_up_a_secure_offline_savings_wallet https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_set_up_a_secure_offline_sa...

staunch 13y ago

I gambled and used another even less reputable exchange that has not as of yet stolen my money! Woot! Ask me next week.

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
Same here! Good luck. So far these guys seem good but they did formerly offer to clear trades via gox. Hope that hasn't bitten them too badly.
diego 13y ago
Are you keeping a significant amount of BTC in an exchange? If so, why? I would expect a HN reader to know how to manage his/her bitcoins.
- staunch 13y ago
  Yeah, not much.

newbrict 13y ago

I have serious doubts that the people reporting 1k+ are honest...

ars 13y ago
I have serious doubts that any of the results are honest. Previous polls have never been real.

Doji 13y ago

0. It wasn't luck. Who keeps their money in an exchange?

zanny 13y ago
Really, especially with btc where keeping it local is literally just getting the blockchain and sitting on wallet backups. Also, who in the world would invest money on MtGox after the repeated bullcrap incompetence out of them since 2011? They have never had a good month of operation.
ekianjo 13y ago
People who can't manage to withdraw it when MtGox makes it painfully long and impossible to move things around.

seanalltogether 13y ago

In mid October before the huge rise in value, I started a USD withdrawal of $2700 to my american bank account and despite repeated emails claiming that the bank transfer process was simply delayed, it has never come through. Luckily I only lost $500 in this grand btc experiment since most of that value was gained through trading

plaguuuuuu 13y ago
was there no way of just transferring bitcoins to yourself?
- seanalltogether 13y ago
  I could have, I just wanted to cash out back then. Once I got that ball rolling however I was unable to reverse it.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

mithras 13y ago
Keep on dreaming.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
vacri 13y ago
Maybe so on the Fear, but there's certainly a certain Uncertainty when the service is not up, and undoubtedly a lot of Doubt when it's been rapidly declining before it fell.

ixmatus 13y ago

Stop leaving money in the exchange (they aren't a bank)! That's what your wallet is for!

frou_dh 13y ago

I successfully withdrew what I had there but that was a long time ago. I know it's easy to say now, but I always suspected they were a bit of a clownshoes operation because of the simply awful web design they deemed acceptable.

pmorici 13y ago

It's hard for me to understand why anyone would have kept any money in any form in Gox. The signs of a poorly run institution have been there for the better part of the past 10 months. As soon as I read about the US Government seizing their US Bank account last May and the suspension of Dwolla for USD transfers I got out of there ASAP and never contemplated going back. With the rise of Bitstamp and Coinbase plus the other players there was just no reason to go anywhere near Gox any more.

jliptzin 13y ago
There's also no reason to keep BTC or USD at any exchange for more than the time it takes to make a trade, unless you're arbing between exchanges (in which case this type of event does suck but should have been priced into your whole strategy). Mt gox was an exchange not a bank.
tlrobinson 13y ago
I got out of Gox in 2011 when they were hacked the first time and never looked back...

newbrict 13y ago

If any of this is true it just goes to show that you should hold your own bitcoins...

tzs 13y ago

I'd be more interested in how many of those who lost (or rather, will lose if MtGox does indeed die) cannot easily afford it. 8 people so far, for instance, have said they lost more than 1000 BTC, which would be over $600k. I wonder how many of these fall into the following categories: 1. The mined the coins themselves back when it was cheap to mine, or bought them when they are cheap. They are not actually much worse off then before they got into Bitcoin. 2. They put a lot of money into acquiring those Bitcoins. They are going to actually end up a significant fraction of that $600k worse of than when they started. However, they have millions of dollars or dollar equivalents elsewhere, and this loss is not really going to impact their lifestyle in any noticeable way. 3. They put a lot of money into acquiring those Bitcoins, and are going to end up a significant fraction of that $600k behind where they started. That represents a significant fraction of their wealth, and it will impact future plans to live a more extravagant lifestyle, but it won't knock them down to a lower class. They'll keep living where they live, and buying the same kind of luxuries they currently buy. 4. Similar to 2 and 3, but they had most of their wealth in this. They may have to move down a class or two on the social/financial ladder. 5. Similar, but they had so much of their wealth in this that "ruined" would be an accurate description. They basically have to start over financially.

fvrghl 13y ago
6. They are trolls that just hit the maximum option.

streetnigga 13y ago

Zero here, I've been treating BTC like Paypal balances. Cash out to native currency ASAP. Godspeed others. edit: To those polling in at over 1000, yikes. Hopefully you 13 (so far) are joking around. Business or personal? Any insurance?

EGreg 13y ago

Will anyone be able to get their bitcoins from MtGox? They said the bitcoins were safe. What changed? Will they be transferred eventually? What are the chances?

nahtnam 13y ago

Thank you coinbase. Coinbase only took me a few minutes to setup. Thankfully it saved me from falling for Mt.Gox. Good luck getting your BTC back! :)

donatj 13y ago

I transferred some in a while ago as an experiment but never managed to get it out. It wasn't very much but it still makes me sad I'll never see it return.

patmcguire 13y ago

I hope these are joke answers, that's an immense amount of money to go missing.

Istof 13y ago

how happy will you be when they'll be back? 0 or 1

holyjaw 13y ago

I started mining bitcoin years ago; this sounds awfully "hipster", but it was still a relatively new, unheard of thing. I had no clue what I was doing, and mined 1 BTC. I lost it when I lost that hard drive; it took me until a year or so ago to even remember that I had it. I consider myself lucky that I did not invest more of myself in BTC at that time. I think this MtGox event would be a huge hit to me.

itkin 13y ago

moopler 13y ago

Is there any chance to refund them ?