Balances are there, apparently behind the scenes. Whether that was true or a lie we'll probably find out pretty soon.
Dream on!
We'll find out eventually, there is -currently- no proof for either of the two scenario's
This is what frustrates me.
You are right that there is no "proof" of either scenario. But if you're waiting for proof that it is a scam then you will most likely be waiting forever. Unless Chris comes out and says "I confirm it's a scam" you will probably never know for certain. So many people seem to be waiting for this "proof" to come before they take any further action, but in all likelihood it will never come.
Taking action is something you'll do once reasonable options have run out. My knowledge is of civil law in a few European countries, one of them specifically, and a judge in jurisdictions where I'm active as a legal professional will not even look at a case like this since there is no definitive proof that he stopped paying. He's working on restoring from what is claimed to be a hack and therefrom resulting loss of "coins". Although he's missed a set of deadlines, he isn't MIA so to say, he keeps updating the customers and up until now there has been regular progress. Not as much as we'd like but foul play isn't a certainty. I won't say I'm the least bit happy with how things are progressing, I'd rather have the payment yesterday than tomorrow, but at this point, he seems to be making some sort of progress. So unless there is proof he's moving all of the mining results through a mixer for example (which would lead to a possible conclusion he might be hiding the benefits from mining) or he shut down a known location he's residing (office/home) he has to be considered working on a solution from a legal point of view.
Then again, I'm still skeptical, but haven't ruled out the option we'll be seeing a payout somewhere this month. What I don't like is responses that claim it -IS- a ponzi and that everyone who hasn't lost hope is a nitwit or moron. Since that's an unjustified judgment on the person instead of on the patience someone is willing to have in a situation. Chances are slim that a scammer comes out and confirms it's a scam, on the other hand, as long as he's seemingly actively working on the website and there is progress within a reasonable timeframe I won't leave the point of view that we might be getting good news soon.
To make a comparison, I'm still getting a payout from PBMining every Sunday. Why on earth would they payout 2.4 BTC weekly (
https://blockchain.info/tx-index/99501f9f9adbde1532314511ee9acd23df77477a8129bd9bb2321e068478a19e) if they could just as easily stop with that! I haven't looked into detail into everything that happened since they "lowered" payouts but I am having a hard time calling that a fullblown scam
I agree that we don't know for certain it is a ponzi. But that's what I'm saying - we never will. Everyone sees things differently I guess. While you think he is making progress, I only see lies and repeated claims of progress, without actually seeing any progress. In fact, I haven't seen any actual progress for the last 6 weeks. He's posted a couple of updates to say he's still working, but there have been zero visible changes on the website.
There have been several reports that people have visited both his known home and office addresses and both look like they're abandoned. You won't see any proof to do with his mining because we have no knowledge of it. We don't even know he is mining.
I also get payouts from PBMining - but how you can't say that is a scam is beyond me. We are receiving 1% (if that) of the amount we should be receiving, based on the hashrate purchased. The owner has ceased all contact with the public and it seems pretty clear it was a ponzi. I think the only reason we're getting the tiny payouts we're getting is because it's a legal loophole, and he knows he has to pay something. I think the same thing will happen with LTCGear as well but only after a good number of people threaten some kind of action.
