I think I should have a poll to determine how to pay the funds back. Here are the options I'm thinking:
1. Pay back over time with exchange fees.
2. Same as #1, but raise fees to expedite.
3. Sell shares of Poloniex to cover the debt; dividends paid regularly.
4. Award such shares to everyone immediately and consider that repayment.
Here's my vote:Start with 3. You may get more interest in this option than you currently can imagine, especially if you hire a recognised external security consultant to help you review the code.
If still needed after 3 go with option 2, but raise fees moderately so that you don't kill the exchange.
Please also consider my earlier proposal:How about raising enough money to create an "insurance fund" that will be available for those users who are willing to accept a slightly higher trading fee than uninsured users?
You would keep this fund in cold storage and it would be completely transparent on the blockchain for everyone to verify. It would only be used to reimburse those accounts that had paid the higher trading fee in case of another hack of the exchange. By making it voluntary it doesn't hurt anyone who doesn't want to pay the extra fee, and as the income from the insurance premiums increase so will the level of insurance.
This will make Poloniex the first exchange where user funds are insured. Perhaps you could even make the funds on that cold storage account multisignature with 2 trusted members from the community, that way anyone who doubts your integrity will feel a lot safer as well...
As Biomech commented earlier:So long as the insurance is voluntary, either paid by the exchange holder or the individual investor, then it's not only not a problem, it should encourage trade.
