In case you haven't seen it yet, here is our official press release on Litecoin:
VirtEx launches Litecoin trading
I have a concern about having my bitcoins sit at an exchange (while waiting for an opportunity to sell, such as a potential to profit from arbitrage) but am afraid that with an exchange that also deals with alt-coins that I am at risk should the exchange suffer losses due to a successful 51% attack against an alt-coin.
This concern exists even if I don't touch any alt-coins because in most jurisdictions, once I deposit my bitcoins with the exchange, I have a liability from the exchange that is no different from anyone else's liability. Specifically, if the exchange suffers losses from a hack attack, 51% attack or any other reason, I would not be guaranteed I could get my bitcoins back. I shared this concern in a blog post:
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http://bitcoinmoney.com/post/53207712103When Mt. Gox announced that they were coming out with Litecoin trading, I asked some questions:
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http://bitbin.it/raw.php?id=R2Fko5IqBut never got an answer other than a response that my "concerns will be considered".
When Kraken announced tat they were supporting alt-currencies, I asked a similar set of questions and got straight answers:
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https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.3126507So I would like to describe four specific scenarios that I would like to know what CAVirtEx's policy is should they occur:
A.) My CAVirtEx exchange account holds only fiat and bitcoins, and I've never traded for altcoins. Would I be exposed to any risk of loss to those funds should there be a successful 51% attack against an altcoin that CAVirtEx supports?
B.) I have a balance of an altcoin and fiat, but had none of those altcoins deposited to CAVirtEx in any block that was ultimately orphaned as the result of the 51% attack. Would I be exposed to any risk of loss to those funds should there be a successful 51% attack against that altcoin?
C.) I had bitcoins at CAVirtEx and I traded them for an altcoin. Following this trade the attacker released blocks that resulted in a double spend such that the that altcoins I received were from the attacker's account (i.e., an altcoin deposited with a transaction that no longer confirms or was double spent). Following the successful 51% attack against the altcoin, do I still have my altcoins that I purchased that I can withdraw (or trade back into Bitcoins)?
D.) In my CAVirtEx account I had deposited an altcoin from a block that utimately was orphaned as the result of a successful 51% attack against the altcoin. Before the attack I was able to trade those altcoins for bitcoins which remain in my account. After the successful 51% attack against the altcoin, do I still have the ability to withdraw those bitcoins?
Interesting points. If CAVirtEx has done their due diligence prior to supporting LTC, these scenarios should have been considered by them and a policy put in place. CAVirtEx should comment on this.
