Topic: Does CoinLab Beta actually exist? (Read 952 times)

Has anyone actually been selected to be one of the 5,000!! beta testers for coinlab?

I signed up for the alpha first day and heard nothing. I do a pretty high volume of trading.  This whole thing reeks of a hail mary switch of business plan and an exchange desperate to extract itself from an imminent FATCA apocalypse. I've been wiring out funds every day from gox, trying to get out before this switch gets botched.

The website language is incredibly unprofessional. The photos of the coinlab team are just slightly less embarrasing than the updated Tradehill photos in VentureBeat (The original VentureBeat TradeHill photos were clearly taken in a bar).  Is it too much to ask for our biggest financial services team to buy suits for their publicity photo?  To have them talk like an adult that know what the fuck the DFI is? To not have conflicting dates on the Transition Plan page?  To not have typos on their splash page (fixed!).  Mt.Gox is handling $50,000,000 in trades A DAY. This is big-time money, try to be a little more convincing when you pretend that you know what you are doing.

This switchover is the biggest clear and present threat to the bitcoin price and I have no confidence it is going to go smoothly.  Does anyone else have confidence?  Why?

1. What is the reason why US customers can no longer use Mt. Gox to hold their funds and are required to only use CoinLab?  Is it mainly to help Mt. Gox avoid dealing with Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) compliance?  I believe Japan has agreed to begin compliance in 2014, so I would assume Mt. Gox would be covered by this regulation, and it makes sense that they would want to avoid dealing with it.  If it is part of the contract between CoinLab and Mt. Gox that all US & Canadian customers' funds are held with CoinLab, how exactly do CoinLab and Mt. Gox benefit from this agreement if our trading fees stay the same?

2. If Mt. Gox is simply trying to offload compliance risk, how will CoinLab comply with US regulations and avoid seizure of customer funds by law enforcement?  Specifically, will CoinLab report customers' information to the IRS, and if so what information?  Also, what other kind(s) of reporting/regulation, if any, will take place?  Will CoinLab assist customers in tracking trading profits & losses, and if necessary, assist in reporting any information for tax purposes?

3. If/how will US customers' funds be insured at Silicon Valley Savings Bank?  Will they be FDIC insured, SIPC insured, or something else?

4. As you are likely aware, Dwolla changed their Terms of Service policy stating that Dwolla users will not "act as a marketplace and/or exchange for virtual currency products without prior written consent."  In light of this policy change, has CoinLab received prior written consent from Dwolla's compliance department, as did Mt. Gox, through their US corporation, Mutum Sigillum LLC (see https://mtgox.com/press_release_20120808.html)?

5. If CoinLab has received written permission from Dwolla, will Mt. Gox's US customers be able to immediately use Dwolla for deposits & withdrawals, and function in the same manner with a seamless transition without delays?

6. Will all current Mt. Gox APIs keys stay the same after the transition?  Specifically, will I still be able to trade with my Mt. Gox Mobile 3.2 Android app, using the same PIN (see http://mtgoxlive.com/mobile/)?  Also, will all market data feeds and tools function in the same manner after the transition, including the ones at the following links: http://mtgoxlive.com/orders, SierraChart bridge plugin realtime Mt. Gox data feed by slush (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=6019.0;all), http://bitcoin.clarkmoody.com/ streaming trades & market depth (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=43514.0;all), BitcoinCharts.com: http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg180zigDailyztgSzbgBza1gSMAzm1g10za2gSMAzm2g60zxzi1gVolzi2gMACDzi3gRSIzcv, etc.?  I am highly dependent on those data feeds for trading every day, so if any of them stop working properly, it will be a serious problem.

7. I am a verified (level 1) customer with Mt. Gox, and after requesting an increase to my withdrawal limits, my limits are currently as follows: 4,000 BTC per 24 hours, and $10,000 per 24 hours ($50,000 per 30 days).  Will I be allowed to keep these same withdrawal limits seamlessly as a CoinLab customer, or will I need to go through the AML process all over again?  If I am required to go through all of the AML headache over again before being able to retrieve my USD funds, I may decide to switch to a different exchange.  Also, will BTC deposits & withdrawals be as rapid as they are for Mt. Gox, and will they include the same abilities (i.e., use a "green address," etc.)?

8. What is CoinLab's privacy policy?  Mt. Gox clearly states the following on their AML verification page in regard to all personal information submitted for AML purposes: "Any information submitted is subject to Mt.Gox's privacy policy and as such will not be shared with any 3rd party, corporate partner, or agency external to Mt.Gox under any circumstances. Documents collected via this form will be accessed by Tibanne's staff only. Please note that we will only release your information if we are subpoenaed by the Supreme Court of Tokyo" (see https://mtgox.com/forms/verification).  Since I am a verified (level 1) Mt. Gox customer, there any chance that I would be forced to provide personal information again, or additional information for AML, IRS/government spying/reporting, or other purposes?  Is there any chance that my old information would be retained, and if so, what kind of personal information would be retained?  Also, is there a way to determine exactly what information CoinLab has retained about me, or request deletion of my personal information?  Mt. Gox addressed some of these questions and several more questions in their full length privacy policy: https://mtgox.com/privacy_policy (even though they conflict with the above AML statement), and I would like to know CoinLab's position on these issues before the transition takes place.

Hello,
 
Thank you for applying to be one of the first Mt. Gox customers to participate in our transition process!
 
We'll be gradually sending out invitations over the coming weeks based on the order we received your application and your trade history.  In order to best stress-test our system, we want a diverse population of customers testing our service with a variety of trading volume and frequency. 
 
You can expect to receive your invitation in the next three weeks or sooner.
 
Thank you for helping us create the best US and Canadian Bitcoin trading experience possible. 
 
Sincerely,
 
The CoinLab Team

Ok now I have to see the clubbin' originals.

On topic: No confidence here whatsoever. Kids be kids.

Has anyone actually been selected to be one of the 5,000!! beta testers for coinlab?

I signed up for the alpha first day and heard nothing. I do a pretty high volume of trading.  This whole thing reeks of a hail mary switch of business plan and an exchange desperate to extract itself from an imminent FATCA apocalypse. I've been wiring out funds every day from gox, trying to get out before this switch gets botched.

The website language is incredibly unprofessional. The photos of the coinlab team are just slightly less embarrasing than the updated Tradehill photos in VentureBeat (The original VentureBeat TradeHill photos were clearly taken in a bar).  Is it too much to ask for our biggest financial services team to buy suits for their publicity photo?  To have them talk like an adult that know what the fuck the DFI is? To not have conflicting dates on the Transition Plan page?  To not have typos on their splash page (fixed!).  Mt.Gox is handling $50,000,000 in trades A DAY. This is big-time money, try to be a little more convincing when you pretend that you know what you are doing.

This switchover is the biggest clear and present threat to the bitcoin price and I have no confidence it is going to go smoothly.  Does anyone else have confidence?  Why?