It's said, "if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck"
To customers it does not matter if a Ponzi is by deliberate design or by incompetence, the
result is the same.
Here follows a brief look at Bitmine AG's business plan, beginning with their Terms of Sale:
http://bitmine.ch/online-terms-sale/The terms were published in September 2013.
Note particularly this :
"4.5.3 After the 61st day of late shipment, you have the right to request a full refund and
we will pay you an additional penalty of 10% of the initial order amount, including shipping fees."
For the sake of arguement, if you placed an order with Bitmine with an expected delivery on
1st January 2014, and requested a refund on March 3rd, you should have a ten percent return on
your Investment on 2nd April.
The way Ponzi schemes work, the early investors get paid out handsomely.
Bitmine delivered some Desk units that may have been profitable investments, and refunded
some customers, the latest known repayments were on 21st May.
If you expected delivery of a Rig on 1st January, you will have watched as your expected
return on investment declined as Bitmine failed to complete their design and development
on time. At some point, the rational decision is to request a refund.
Bitmine's business plan is in two parts: a small engineering company, and a potentially
much larger "financial enterprise". In September 2013 had Bitmine offered 20% per year
return on investments with the right to deliver mining equipment instead, most people
would run for the hills, but that is what you now see.
I suggest that there is a 99.999 percent probability that Bitmine will fail to make good on its
refunds because of that penalty. It is a contractual near certainty.
I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me that Bitmine's Refund Request Form seeks to negate
the normal rights and remedies available to their customers even those provided by their
Terms of Sale. I suggest that you seek legal advice before signing and returning it.
Bitmine will ask for a copy of your ID and your bank details as part of your refund request.
Before you sign, ask yourself, do I want to give my bank details and my identity documentation
in the hope that these people are only incompetent? That is perhaps the most worrying part
of all this.