Topic: Major western Bitcoin exchanges about to be investigated and probably SHUTDOWN - page 4. (Read 4637 times)

dude anybody here knew about the gox problems with withdrawals, it was obvious that you shouldn't have kept money there...
Hell even on Twitter it was full of folks screaming "take your money out of gox!!" before the catastrophe.

I guess you bought Goxcoin on Bitcoinbuilder, because everything said about GOX all the time was plain FUD.

The collapse will begin if Bitstamp(or others) should really shutdown due to investigations by the US government.  BTC-E has been 15-20$ below Bitstamp for a few days, this could be a reason why they are so much behind Stamp.

Fake ID´s (to create bank accounts) Cashing out through 3rd persons. There are multiple ways to cash out and even launder your money through mayor exchanges. I haven´t checked for a few months, but you could even buy these services on Silkroad.

I was under the impression that Coinbase was already running completely by the law (especially with their massive investments)?

If that was happening than the price on btc-e would crash, also if they anticipate a collapse like you think they would not move their BTC to a cold wallet.

If you want to spread FUD than at least come up with something that's not completely retarded

I would have thought most dark web users are not using exchanges, unless simply speculating on the side. You can't get fiat from any exchange without ID. Maybe I am misgauging how large some of these players are.

Criminals with funds on Bitstamp buy Bitcoins to transfer their funds out quickly(to BTC-E or even cold wallet). It´s magic.
It´s way riskier for them to use bank withdrawl.

people cashing out drives the price up  



either way, IF they shut down exchanges (which is a big IF), I'm pretty sure many people will protest against it and find a workaround.

The price would crash for a while but after a work-around (for example europe-based exchanges or undercover trade or a P2P exchange or otherwise) has been found it will rise 10 times higher within no-time.

A shutdown of exchanges is a direct attack on bitcoin and financial freedom and the only reason the USA would do this is if they are afraid of bitcoin.

Why is this kind of FUD thread and specially the title considered appropriate?

As a longterm community member of SR for more than 2 years i can say that at least 90% of their business is done by Americans or Europeans.
I guess most of them won´t cash out in China.

LOL!

He will leave bitcointalk forever if the price goes over 550, IIRC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KyBdPeKHg&t=0m24s

Fonzie must be back on the PBOC payroll

Fonzie is back hahaha

Cheers for the heads-up, sounds bad if true.

Articles provided don't mention anything on western exchanges being contacted.

Any concrete links?

Do dark web drug dealers use bitfinex? Or does the wall street-like appearance of the platform not appeal to them.

I bet most of them are on BTC-e.

It´s lookin really bad for Bitcoin, once again. After MtGox went down this year with all their customers money there is the next bad event about to happen to other exchanges. According to Wall Street Journal, a lot of other exchanges have already received subpoenas and will most likely get frozen for the time of the investigations by the USA. I assume it will Bitstamp/Coinbase/Localbitcoins.... and others
This has probably been the reason for todays price increase, as criminals wan´t to get their money out of Bitstamp, which for the first time since ages, led this small rallye. I assume that those criminals try to cash out on BTC-E, which so far seems to be anonymous and can handle the volume. This is most likely the reason why they lag almost 20$ behind Bitstamp.
If Bitstamp should shutdown for the time of the investigation, to which level do you think will the price drop?
Where will you sell, if most of them are no longer available (for most likely months or years)?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/20/more-bad-news-for-bitcoin/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324705104578147333270637790?mod=WSJ_article_SubOnlyEdPicks

U.S. authorities have opened a new front in their investigation into bitcoin exchanges and other businesses that deal in the online currency, examining possible ties between the firms and the online drug bazaar Silk Road, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new focus of the investigation is the latest indication of how the shuttered online drug market has become linked to bitcoin, tainting the currency with associations of shady activity as its advocates stress to regulators its legitimacy. It comes after prosecutors in January criminally charged the owner of one bitcoin exchange over alleged ties to Silk Road.

One of the people familiar with the matter said the investigation was at an early stage, and conclusions hadn't been reached as to whether the exchanges were connected with Silk Road.

Several bitcoin exchanges received subpoenas from Manhattan federal prosecutors this winter, including Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world's most popular bitcoin exchange, according to people familiar with the matter. It wasn't clear which other bitcoin businesses have received subpoenas.

The subpoenas to Mt. Gox demanded customer-transaction logs and materials related to solicitation of investors. But prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents also are examining whether the exchange and others like it may have processed transactions connected to Silk Road, the people said. Attorneys for Mt. Gox didn't respond to requests for comment.

Timeline: Bitcoin's Evolution
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REUTERS
Mt. Gox suspended trading on Feb. 25 and announced the disappearance of 850,000 bitcoins—about 7% of the world's total—worth more than $470 million at the time. The exchange filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in Texas in March in a bid to stop customers from targeting the cash it holds in U.S. bank accounts.

Mt. Gox's demise amplified authorities' concerns about the stability of bitcoin, which isn't backed by any central bank.

The shadow of Silk Road, where users could anonymously purchase everything from narcotics to forged passports, long has hung over bitcoin, the only form of currency Silk Road accepted.

Exchanging other currencies into bitcoin with the knowledge that the funds would be used for illegal transactions could violate money-laundering laws. Even without such direct knowledge, financial institutions are required under U.S. bank regulations to maintain robust internal controls to prevent money laundering by customers.

Prosecutors shut down Silk Road last year and charged its alleged founder, Ross Ulbricht, with several counts of conspiracy and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty and denied being Silk Road's founder. A trial is scheduled for November in federal court in Manhattan. A lawyer for Mr. Ulbricht declined this week to comment.

Charles Shrem, a bitcoin evangelist and businessman, was criminally charged in January with money laundering at his company, BitInstant, which like Mt. Gox swapped dollars for bitcoin and collected a fee on the transactions.

Prosecutors alleged he conspired to help customers of Silk Road convert dollars into bitcoin to use on the market.

Emails Mr. Shrem sent furthered suspicions about connections his company may have had with Silk Road, a person briefed on the investigation said.

In an email to an unnamed person in April 2012, cited in court documents filed by prosecutors, Mr. Shrem said that "[Silk Road] funds a decent percentage of the overall Bitcoin economy."

In a February 2012 email cited by prosecutors, Mr. Shrem wrote "wow, Silk Road actually works," explaining he had just received a shipment of marijuana brownies.

Mr. Shrem and his alleged accomplice pleaded not guilty last month in federal court in Manhattan. A trial is scheduled for September.

"He's cooperated with law-enforcement agencies in the past, and he looks forward to getting this case behind him," said Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Mr. Shrem.