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I have done a ton of due diligence on BTC and here are my best efforts at a final and reasonable stance. If any of you think that I am anti-BTC, you could not be more wrong. I want the world to be a better place for my children and for mankind. BTC, if it ever gets to the mainstream, is going to revolution the world. After reading Marc Andreessen's New York Times article, entitled "Why Bitcoin Matters," I was thoroughly convinced that BTC goes straight to the heart of life improvement. To me, that is the most important thing about BTC. I care far less about the money aspect. Besides, the money will come if BTC gets a shot at helping the globe. Despite my high hopes for what BTC can do to help people, I am very bearish about its short/mid-range future. I am very bullish about its long-term future. (as in probably 10 years) The simple laws of supply and demand tell me that Mt. Gox's failure is going to hit the "reset" button on BTC's price. As a lawyer and someone who knows just enough about Bankruptcy, I have less than zero faith in our legal system, much less Japan's system. In a nutshell, Bankruptcy's job is to take broken companies, squeeze as much money as possible out of them and return it to creditors of all classes. As I have said before, Bankruptcy Court pays out in a specific order at greatly reduced amounts owed...very often pennies on the dollar. It usually goes 1. Employees and wages. 2. Ordinary creditors (for example, bank loans) and then 3. Customers, users, clients...or those that somehow used the Company's services. I believe that it is safe to cautiously assume that #3/Mt. Gox's account holders will get nothing. (see "The Associated Press") This point raises the question of how the Court will pay out to the creditors that do get something returned to them. If the only people that get paid in Court want cash, and I think it's obvious that they will, it stands to obvious reason that the Court will liquidate the 200k coins and not return BTC to anyone. If you lie in Court, you go to jail so I would not be shocked if someone blows the whistle on the whereabouts of the missing coins. That just means more BTC liquidation and more pain. Fact; Bankruptcy Courts liquidate quickly because their time is money. If you doubt me, I can post Bankruptcy Court websites where you can see people buying cars, boats and houses for huge discounts. Since few know about BTC, the discounts will likely be even greater. I guarantee that the Court will sell into the path of least resistance. The path of least resistance will either be to no one, in which case BTC becomes worthless or someone/s or group/s willing to put up big money for big discounts based on the strength and long-term promise of BTC. My wild-ass guess would be something like $10,000,000 for the 200k coins...or $50 per unit. Normally, I'd say less but I think that any smart buyer/s will want to make it appear like they are an industry white knight. The buyers' cost of acquiring the coins will be high because they will need lawyers, accountants, transportation costs for their team etc.) This scenario will totally reset the price of BTC and there will be a totally new set of BTC pioneers and winners. All the current exchanges will be out of business and BTC will return for sale to the public at large, reputable stock exchanges. Hopefully, by this time, BTC will have a robust infrastructure and the price will stabilize and climb at a sensible rate. There will also be heavy regulation likely by the SEC. We will be lucky if my worthless prediction comes true because, otherwise, Mt. Gox is going to take down the baby and the bath water. I have posted three times about the enormous danger associated with the Mt. Gox's Bankruptcy scandal. Time to put my pen down, listen to your comments, enjoy Easter and hope that technologies like BTC help our world become a better place. I'll wrap this up by saying that if you think my post makes any sense, you will proceed with your investments with great care and not gamble with money that you cannot afford to lose. P.S. To all those who are angered by my posts, I'm only using my understanding of law and economics to arrive at a conclusion to help me and others move forward. I try not to get too emotional about money and investments. Worry about money has probably already shortened my lifespan. Now, I just chill, do my homework and let it play out because I know that I don't have any control over what happens! Happy Easter and best to all!