Topic: Anyone know what happened to knightmb and his 371,000 BTC? - page 6. (Read 81600 times)
It's true, this guy had to chance to be one of BTC's biggest contributors...but instead, he's in a whole world of trouble.
Negativity only perpetuates negativity...
Negativity only perpetuates negativity...
We should all just leave this behind. It's obviously not going to do any good for BTC or anything for that matter. I support this guy and his hundreds of thousands of BTC, but seeing as how hard it is for a new miner to just get even on BTC, more energy should be focused on making this a better project all around.
It isn't good that he did 'what' he did, but it's done and over with. Hopefully it won't escalate.
It isn't good that he did 'what' he did, but it's done and over with. Hopefully it won't escalate.
Jesus wept. People say exactly the same thing about anything negative which happens in the Bitcoin world. "It's not good for Bitcoin", "let's put it behind us and move forward". It's one of the reasons why there are no meaningful consequences for scammers.
Like it or not, Bitcoin is going to be used for things which attract the attention of the authorities, whether it's Silk Road, extortion attempts or trading child porn. "lalalala I can't hear you" is not the best way to respond to things which bring negative attention to Bitcoin.
You're also forgetting that many people in the community thought that the ransom attempt was a good thing in that it got Bitcoin mentioned in the mainstream media in a big way. For once, it wasn't only those who read the technology pages who were reading about Bitcoin - anyone following the US election campaign could have learned about Bitcoin for the first time because of the coverage the extortion attempt received.
We should all just leave this behind. It's obviously not going to do any good for BTC or anything for that matter. I support this guy and his hundreds of thousands of BTC, but seeing as how hard it is for a new miner to just get even on BTC, more energy should be focused on making this a better project all around.
It isn't good that he did 'what' he did, but it's done and over with. Hopefully it won't escalate.
Leaving this behind ? Nobody here care about what damage this could have done to Romney. Do you think anyone here will help the US gov prosecute him ? We've more than enough people to prosecute as it is.It isn't good that he did 'what' he did, but it's done and over with. Hopefully it won't escalate.
It might have been a low and stupid move, bringing attention to Bitcoin's potential for blackmailing... but what I care about is the future of Timekoin and wondering what happened to his 370k BTC and I'll continue to do so.
We should all just leave this behind. It's obviously not going to do any good for BTC or anything for that matter. I support this guy and his hundreds of thousands of BTC, but seeing as how hard it is for a new miner to just get even on BTC, more energy should be focused on making this a better project all around.
It isn't good that he did 'what' he did, but it's done and over with. Hopefully it won't escalate.
It isn't good that he did 'what' he did, but it's done and over with. Hopefully it won't escalate.
Oh, I'm still alive and kicking. 
Yeah, still have them, though like was said, it would not be possible to sell them all at once and become an instant millionaire. No one is going to buy that many at once. I have kept my client running 24/7 since then though, managed to generate a bit more before the collective mining groups took over
Without the massive server farm I had going before, I'm just down to my personal desktop, so it's never gotten over the 371k since.
I do keep many, many backups though just in case
Yeah, still have them, though like was said, it would not be possible to sell them all at once and become an instant millionaire. No one is going to buy that many at once. I have kept my client running 24/7 since then though, managed to generate a bit more before the collective mining groups took over
Without the massive server farm I had going before, I'm just down to my personal desktop, so it's never gotten over the 371k since.
I do keep many, many backups though just in case
Good news! MB has many backups hidden so there's no way the Secret Service can find them. It's also a good thing that the SS don't read this forum so there's no way for them to know that they even exist.
Orion (MIB)
It's also a good thing that he didn't post about some of his back ups being in a safe deposit box because otherwise the Endless-sphere posters who were reading about how he acquired his 371,000 BTC might have passed that information on to the government as well.
Oh, I'm still alive and kicking.
Yeah, still have them, though like was said, it would not be possible to sell them all at once and become an instant millionaire. No one is going to buy that many at once. I have kept my client running 24/7 since then though, managed to generate a bit more before the collective mining groups took over
Without the massive server farm I had going before, I'm just down to my personal desktop, so it's never gotten over the 371k since.
I do keep many, many backups though just in case
Yeah, still have them, though like was said, it would not be possible to sell them all at once and become an instant millionaire. No one is going to buy that many at once. I have kept my client running 24/7 since then though, managed to generate a bit more before the collective mining groups took over
Without the massive server farm I had going before, I'm just down to my personal desktop, so it's never gotten over the 371k since.
I do keep many, many backups though just in case
Good news! MB has many backups hidden so there's no way the Secret Service can find them. It's also a good thing that the SS don't read this forum so there's no way for them to know that they even exist.
Orion (MIB)
Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long...: http://mbdonationfund.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=59
Dude could easily get hired on over at Bitcoin Magazine or BFL.
For years at Timekoin, ey?
Quote
Q: Are you still involved in BitCoin?
A: Years ago I was, but not today. I am actually involved in a completely different project over at timekoin.org and have been for years.
A: Years ago I was, but not today. I am actually involved in a completely different project over at timekoin.org and have been for years.
Dude could easily get hired on over at Bitcoin Magazine or BFL.
Quote
Name: knightmb
Posts: 458
Position: Sr. Member
Date Registered: July 12, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
Last Active: October 03, 2012, 07:26:20 AM
Posts: 458
Position: Sr. Member
Date Registered: July 12, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
Last Active: October 03, 2012, 07:26:20 AM
For years at Timekoin, ey?
I hate to sound like I'm defending him, but it's possible that he was developing the TimeKoin concept for a long time prior to launching it. I read a lot of his early posts yesterday and it's pretty clear that he's always been looking for something which would give him some kind of "edge" over others.
While he's lying when he describes TimeKoin as "long tested", the idea of developing a digital currency which doesn't require high end computers isn't unique. From what I can see, he had a fair bit of interaction with the devs - including Satoshi - back in the day so he was exposed to the process of developing and refining a client. This guy seems to be an opportunist so I'm not surprised that he's looking to create a niche alt currency. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, but there's no doubt that people who now feel locked out of BTC mining are looking for something similar they can do with their existing hardware.
MB's Timekoin goes back to CPUs were all the rage: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/123704108/About-Timekoin (to read the entire abstract)
Quote
While I admire the system's genius, I do see some flaws from a resource standpoint. The process
and math for Bitcoin is sound, but the means by which it functions is a wasteful process.
and math for Bitcoin is sound, but the means by which it functions is a wasteful process.
Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long...: http://mbdonationfund.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=59
Dude could easily get hired on over at Bitcoin Magazine or BFL.
For years at Timekoin, ey?
Quote
Q: Are you still involved in BitCoin?
A: Years ago I was, but not today. I am actually involved in a completely different project over at timekoin.org and have been for years.
A: Years ago I was, but not today. I am actually involved in a completely different project over at timekoin.org and have been for years.
Dude could easily get hired on over at Bitcoin Magazine or BFL.
Quote
Name: knightmb
Posts: 458
Position: Sr. Member
Date Registered: July 12, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
Last Active: October 03, 2012, 07:26:20 AM
Posts: 458
Position: Sr. Member
Date Registered: July 12, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
Last Active: October 03, 2012, 07:26:20 AM
For years at Timekoin, ey?
I hate to sound like I'm defending him, but it's possible that he was developing the TimeKoin concept for a long time prior to launching it. I read a lot of his early posts yesterday and it's pretty clear that he's always been looking for something which would give him some kind of "edge" over others.
While he's lying when he describes TimeKoin as "long tested", the idea of developing a digital currency which doesn't require high end computers isn't unique. From what I can see, he had a fair bit of interaction with the devs - including Satoshi - back in the day so he was exposed to the process of developing and refining a client. This guy seems to be an opportunist so I'm not surprised that he's looking to create a niche alt currency. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, but there's no doubt that people who now feel locked out of BTC mining are looking for something similar they can do with their existing hardware.
Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long...: http://mbdonationfund.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=59
Dude could easily get hired on over at Bitcoin Magazine or BFL.
For years at Timekoin, ey?
Theymos, give this guy the scammer tag.
Quote
Q: Are you still involved in BitCoin?
A: Years ago I was, but not today. I am actually involved in a completely different project over at timekoin.org and have been for years.
A: Years ago I was, but not today. I am actually involved in a completely different project over at timekoin.org and have been for years.
Dude could easily get hired on over at Bitcoin Magazine or BFL.
Quote
Name: knightmb
Posts: 458
Position: Sr. Member
Date Registered: July 12, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
Last Active: October 03, 2012, 07:26:20 AM
Posts: 458
Position: Sr. Member
Date Registered: July 12, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
Last Active: October 03, 2012, 07:26:20 AM
For years at Timekoin, ey?
Quote
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: TIMEKOIN.ORG
Created on: 25-May-11
Expires on: 25-May-13
Last Updated on: 24-May-11
Registrant:
Mancil Brown
107 Timekoin Ave
Franklin, Tennessee 37067
United States
Administrative Contact:
Brown, Mancil [email protected]
107 Timekoin Ave
Franklin, Tennessee 37067
United States
+1.6155958932
Technical Contact:
Brown, Mancil [email protected]
107 Timekoin Ave
Franklin, Tennessee 37067
United States
+1.6155958932
Domain servers in listed order:
NS75.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS76.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Domain Name: TIMEKOIN.ORG
Created on: 25-May-11
Expires on: 25-May-13
Last Updated on: 24-May-11
Registrant:
Mancil Brown
107 Timekoin Ave
Franklin, Tennessee 37067
United States
Administrative Contact:
Brown, Mancil [email protected]
107 Timekoin Ave
Franklin, Tennessee 37067
United States
+1.6155958932
Technical Contact:
Brown, Mancil [email protected]
107 Timekoin Ave
Franklin, Tennessee 37067
United States
+1.6155958932
Domain servers in listed order:
NS75.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS76.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Theymos, give this guy the scammer tag.
Here's a wild thought: the whole Romney blackmail hoax was a black-op with enough "clues" left around pointing toward knightMB to give probable cause for his arrest, detention and confiscation of 'evidence'.
If Secret Service wanted to investigate/discredit a major, public player of bitcoin sphere then the coincidence that they have happened to get exactly the right guy for both purposes seems slim ... imho.
If Secret Service wanted to investigate/discredit a major, public player of bitcoin sphere then the coincidence that they have happened to get exactly the right guy for both purposes seems slim ... imho.
KnightMB has done questionable stuff in the past, both Bitcoin-related and not Bitcoin-related. The fact that the questionable stuff he's done in the past is known suggests that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to avoiding consequences.
Here's a wild thought: the whole Romney blackmail hoax was a black-op with enough "clues" left around pointing toward knightMB to give probable cause for his arrest, detention and confiscation of 'evidence'.
If Secret Service wanted to investigate/discredit a major, public player of bitcoin sphere then the coincidence that they have happened to get exactly the right guy for both purposes seems slim ... imho.
If Secret Service wanted to investigate/discredit a major, public player of bitcoin sphere then the coincidence that they have happened to get exactly the right guy for both purposes seems slim ... imho.
KnightMB didn't do himself any favours by posting that he'd been giving away large amounts of BTC just prior to the Romney tax thing happening. That's something I'd definitely expect investigators to look at closely.
I have the feeling that more Bitcoins are being "lost" then perhaps Satoshi ever expected.
Video interview with KnightMB on the Romney case:
http://www.kpho.com/story/20006705/secret-service-investigate-franklin-man-in-romney-tax-return-theft?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7924362
Warrant and a list of items seized: http://cryptome.org/2012/11/romney-tax-plot.pdf
http://www.kpho.com/story/20006705/secret-service-investigate-franklin-man-in-romney-tax-return-theft?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7924362
Warrant and a list of items seized: http://cryptome.org/2012/11/romney-tax-plot.pdf
It sounds like he is BTC broke or wants people to think he is...and really, what's the difference? Maybe the threat of one person unloading would be different if his stash were spread around many people....but that's about it. I'm inclined to forget about it all...other than the clever use of amazon...sometimes it's the simple ideas that really pay off!
We shall see how this alternate crypto currency goes...I was hoping he'd stick around and help Bitcoin grow...oh well. Souns like they've got an interesting solution to the transaction spam "problem." Maybe we can learn from that.
Addendum: missed a few posts. How do we know the search warrant is real?
Anyhow, I think something fishy is goin on.
We shall see how this alternate crypto currency goes...I was hoping he'd stick around and help Bitcoin grow...oh well. Souns like they've got an interesting solution to the transaction spam "problem." Maybe we can learn from that.
Addendum: missed a few posts. How do we know the search warrant is real?
Anyhow, I think something fishy is goin on.
This raises the question: What is likely to happen to evidence that is not related to the Romney investigation?
Would it be returned to the owner intact? Can seized evidence be kept indefinitely?
I know in the UK if property is seized as evidence then charges dropped you have a certain time within which you may reclaim them - otherwise they are destroyed. With all the additional protections of freedoms provided by the US constitution I can't see that the rights of the wrongly accused in this respect would be less than here. Would it be returned to the owner intact? Can seized evidence be kept indefinitely?
What is the value of an USB stick containing (perhaps) the keys to (perhaps) 371K bitcoins? Around 20 dollars or around 4 million dollars?
If they give him 20 dollars and tell him to go buy a new stick, how can he to argue otherwise? (Without getting into more trouble.)
If they give him 20 dollars and tell him to go buy a new stick, how can he to argue otherwise? (Without getting into more trouble.)
you'd have to take some precautions if you had obtained that many coins illegally or run the danger of being suspected of illegal activity. Easiest just to put them into a brainwallet and say that brainwallet address is probably the wikileaks donation address you got from wikileaks irc bot when questioned about the whereabout of the 371,076 BTC.
Did anyone notice the messages on the wallet addresses?
These are the "Stop Release" / "Promote Full Release" addresses from the infamous pastebin:
Quote
Bitcoin Address to Stop Release:
1HeF89wMjC48bWNgWvVo7Wu3RaLW8XVsE8
...
Bitcoin Address to Promote Full Release:
12AP6iCwRNFQqKLStH3A4b4hw3SL6RaNgB
1HeF89wMjC48bWNgWvVo7Wu3RaLW8XVsE8
...
Bitcoin Address to Promote Full Release:
12AP6iCwRNFQqKLStH3A4b4hw3SL6RaNgB
I really hope KnightMB doesn't happen to have the private keys to those addresses.
Found this especially interesting thread on the TimeKoin forums: (Only 4 posts total.)
Romney 1040 tax returns held hostage for Bitcoins by koinmaster » Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:24 pm
Quote from: KnightMB
Re: Romney 1040 tax returns held hostage for Bitcoins
by KnightMB » Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:51 am
I looked around, seems to be two stories. One that says the group "Anonymous" has released them and another that some group got them from his tax office. I think the latter is true and the former was a news hoax. I did read a topic over at the bitcoin.org forum about this as well. They seem to think the FBI will track them down right away.
While I agree that no digital currency will make anyone 100% anonymous, it sure makes it very difficult to find them. To start, they can watch their account without any fear of being found because it's a global register (just like what Timekoin uses) so any transactions they make can be watched. The part where I disagree a little is finding them. If they spend the bitcoins around then it gets mixed in with all the other users. So if a user has 100 bitcoins and this group spends say 15 to that user. The user then spends 50 of the 115 bitcoins he/she has, how do you know which bitcoins were the original and which were from the group? It just doesn't mix that way, there is no way to make a distinction there as it's all math. Repeat this process enough times.
So unless this group with the bitcoins spends it all at say Amazon.com on a new flat-screen TV and has it delivered right to their home address, trying to track them down is going to be neigh impossible without arresting every single person along the way that the dirty bitcoins have touched. That in of itself is a rather impossible task unless there is a database somewhere with the real name connected to every bitcoin address in existence.
by KnightMB » Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:51 am
Quote from: koinmaster
This story seems to be everywhere. I don't know if it's true or not, but it is weird that the group wants to use bitcoins as payment. Are they really protected from the FBI tracking them down? I had to find these links on other sites, they seem to have been removed.
I looked around, seems to be two stories. One that says the group "Anonymous" has released them and another that some group got them from his tax office. I think the latter is true and the former was a news hoax. I did read a topic over at the bitcoin.org forum about this as well. They seem to think the FBI will track them down right away.
While I agree that no digital currency will make anyone 100% anonymous, it sure makes it very difficult to find them. To start, they can watch their account without any fear of being found because it's a global register (just like what Timekoin uses) so any transactions they make can be watched. The part where I disagree a little is finding them. If they spend the bitcoins around then it gets mixed in with all the other users. So if a user has 100 bitcoins and this group spends say 15 to that user. The user then spends 50 of the 115 bitcoins he/she has, how do you know which bitcoins were the original and which were from the group? It just doesn't mix that way, there is no way to make a distinction there as it's all math. Repeat this process enough times.
So unless this group with the bitcoins spends it all at say Amazon.com on a new flat-screen TV and has it delivered right to their home address, trying to track them down is going to be neigh impossible without arresting every single person along the way that the dirty bitcoins have touched. That in of itself is a rather impossible task unless there is a database somewhere with the real name connected to every bitcoin address in existence.
Quote from: KnightMB
Re: Romney 1040 tax returns held hostage for Bitcoins
by KnightMB » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:20 pm
That's about right. When currency is transferred from one account to another, no information other than X transfer to Y exist. It's just math from that point, take 5 koins from one account, give it another account. The 5 koins are just that, the number 5 and nothing more.
by KnightMB » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:20 pm
Quote from: koinmaster
Quote from: KnightMB
So unless this group with the bitcoins spends it all at say Amazon.com on a new flat-screen TV and has it delivered right to their home address, trying to track them down is going to be neigh impossible without arresting every single person along the way that the dirty bitcoins have touched. That in of itself is a rather impossible task unless there is a database somewhere with the real name connected to every bitcoin address in existence.
So unlike money which is physical, if a robber steals $100 from a bank and gives it to you. You already had $50 for example. You go spend on something and by using the "stolen" money, it's easy to trace back to the bank. But with digital currency, there is nothing that "marks" one transaction or another, it's just a number balance. So if you spend 1 koin or 5 koins, there is nothing that can tell if those koins are part of a stolen transaction or just from someone else's account? Am I understanding that right?That's about right. When currency is transferred from one account to another, no information other than X transfer to Y exist. It's just math from that point, take 5 koins from one account, give it another account. The 5 koins are just that, the number 5 and nothing more.
It seems overwhelmingly likely that the Secret Service will want to have a look inside any safety deposit boxes that KnightMB might have,
that are known to contain COMPUTERS (well, usb sticks) that are known to contain Bitcoin wallet files.
This raises the question: What is likely to happen to evidence that is not related to the Romney investigation?
Would it be returned to the owner intact? Can seized evidence be kept indefinitely?
Can the Secret Service give KnightMB a blank USB stick and some unused CD-Rs as replacement?
What is the value of an USB stick containing (perhaps) the keys to (perhaps) 371K bitcoins? Around 20 dollars or around 4 million dollars?
If they give him 20 dollars and tell him to go buy a new stick, how can he argue otherwise? (Without getting into more trouble.)
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