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Micon's networth is in BTC not USD. Micon will hold onto this BTC down until they're worth less than beanie babies swearing up and down that it's a government conspiracy and that fiat currency is the devil. So will Micon ever really be worth anything? No.Quote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_ass
bumping for chinese bitcoin market shedding its investments as we speak.
You faggots are playing great:
Australian Bitcoin bank hacked: $1m+ stolen
Date
November 8, 2013
A four-month-old Australian Bitcoin bank holding more than $1 million has been hacked, leaving thousands of customers in the lurch including a man who claims he was holding the virtual currency to buy a house with his girlfriend.
The alleged hacking happened on both October 23 and 26, with the service's operator, known only as "Tradefortress", saying hackers stole all 4100 Bitcoins held by the wallet service, or $1.3 million at the time of writing. The Bitcoins were stored on servers in the US and it wasn't until this week that he decided to notify customers.
The incident again raises questions as to whether Bitcoin is a viable, stable and secure currency.
He offered the wallet service through a website called Inputs.io. The Inputs.io domain is registered to a person with a landline based at a block of flats in Water Street, Hornsby, NSW, according to Fairfax searches.
The owner of the Inputs.io domain name, "Tradefortress", has been traced back to this block of flats at Hornsby in NSW using domain registration records.
The site claimed to be "one of the most secure web wallets on the market" and charged customers a small fee to store their coins.
As well as utilising two-factor authentication and location-based email confirmation, it claimed it was set-up to prevent "the hack of Bitcoins even if the web server was compromised".
It now seems that claim has been proven untrue, with Tradefortress telling users on the site: "I don't recommend storing any Bitcoins accessible on computers connected to the internet."
In an email interview with Fairfax, he said he would try to refund some of the hacked money using more than 1000 Bitcoins he personally owned and some not taken by hackers.
"Users are being repaid up to 100 per cent depending on the amount (sliding scale), generally 40-75 per cent," Tradefortress said.
"I won't have any Bitcoins left after this, except for a small amount of commemorative physical coins."
He said the hackers who made off with his customers' coins were able to bypass the two-factor authentication securing the server hosting them "due to a flaw".
"The attacker compromised the hosting account through compromising email accounts (some very old, and without phone numbers attached, so it was easy to reset)," Tradefortress said.
Because of the hacking incident, he said some users would probably lose trust in Bitcoin.
"I think that's likely - we haven't seen any extremely sophisticated Bitcoin malware, however advanced malware that infects the computer you use to send [Bitcoins] can steal [them] from external hard drives [and the] browser."
He said he won't be reporting the incident to law enforcement because there were "extremely limited actions" it could undertake considering the currency can't be easily traced.
Many of Input.io's users were "quite understanding" of what had happened, Tradefortress said.
"I've received a lot of comforting support, but there's also ugly responses. It's quite different from the reactions of non-customers."
The ugly responses were from users who accused Tradefortress of making up the hacking story.
"Some people think I have their money. I don't and I'm using my personal coins to compensate users, yet there's some ugly messages I'm receiving."
A sad face emoticon now sits at the top of the Inputs.io site, with text telling users that the hacking has "left Inputs.io unable to pay all user balances".
"I know this doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry, and saying that I'm very sad that this happened is an understatement," the notice says.
A customer wrote on Twitter that they had lost four Bitcoins as part of the heist, worth about $1216 today.
"I was the victim of part of a $1.2 million Bitcoin hack of an online wallet, inputs.io. If I'm lucky I'll get my principal back in a refund," wrote Marco Martoccia (@sheet_metal).
"I still have one ninth of my Bitcoin. I dunno how to feel," he added.
Martoccia told Fairfax he was planning on using the Bitcoins as a deposit for a house.
"I hope to get my Bitcoins back some day," he said. "I was [going to] use [them] to buy a house and start a family with my girlfriend in six years.
"Four Bitcoins isn't a lot, but it was everything to me."
Martoccia said he stored his Bitcoins on Inputs.io because he believed it would be safer than storing them on his own computer.
"On the surface it seems safer to keep Bitcoins in a bank [like Inputs.io]. I know people can just hack my computer, so I guess they're still vulnerable, even in that case. And paper wallets can be plain lost!'
Ty Miller, director of Australian IT security firm Threat Intelligence, said the underlying problem with online Bitcoin wallets was lack of regulation.
"The users of Inputs.io were trusting a random person with their money rather than in the real world when you're dealing with cash, where you trust banks to look after your money," he said.
"They're more likely to become compromised because they're not being audited in the same way that those financial organisations are."
The Reserve Bank of Australia declined to comment.
Miller said there were ways to secure Bitcoins to try to avoid fraud or theft.
"But it's really at this stage a personal effort to do that."
He recommended storing coins with a strong password on a device not connected to the internet, using hard-drive encryption and anti-virus.
For extra protection, storing the device in a secure room or safe was also recommended. When it came time to using the Bitcoins online, the amount needed could be transferred to an internet-connected computer, he said.
At the time of writing, one Bitcoin was worth $A309 or $US292.9 - up from around $US50 in mid-March. There are 11,925,700 million Bitcoins in circulation.
Those who invested early in the virtual currency have recently found themselves far better off. A Norwegian man spent 150 kroner ($A28.44) on 5000 Bitcoins in 2009, they are now worth $A1.5 million.
For an overall sense of the bitcoin market, we can turn to The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago which released a report noting that there are now approximately 30 transactions conducted each minute (compared to 200,000 Visa transactions per minute), at an average amount of 16 Bitcoins, or $2,000 (compared to visa’s $80 per transaction). In other words, it’s still a relatively small market, but its a non-trivial one that continues to grow.
Another interesting quality of the bitcoin market is there is no “short pressure.” This means speculators can’t sell bitcoin they don’t own, or purchase derivative instruments to that effect in an attempt to bet that the price will fall in the future. Those who don’t believe in bitcoin must simply sit on the sidelines and observe.
Bitcoin is an unusual hybrid of a currency and a gold-like commodity. As a currency, rapid fluctuations in value, even when they are moving up, is generally considered a bad thing. People transacting in a currency rightly fear instability. Spending 10 bitcoins on something that the next day, or several days later, would only cost five is not a situation that instills confidence in the consumer. In other words, even if the price only moves up, rapid fluctuations in the value of a currency can be a bad thing. Inversely, selling something for 10 bitcoins and having them worth only half as much the next day, or several days later, is a terrifying proposition. So rapid declines aren’t much better.
But only a fraction of bitcoin transactional volume today is centered around commerce. There are many people trying to change that, including small businesses that now accept bitcoin as a method of payment – often as a marketing stunt – and the broader infrastructure players like bitpay that hope to see every business in the world accept bitcoin. That said, bitcoin commerce today is largely a novelty.
If bitcoin is viewed as a commodity like gold and used for storing value, however, then the picture is less clear. The total value of all bitcoins outstanding is more than $4 billion. But this is just a small fraction of global wealth, which is measured in the hundreds of trillions of dollars. Those arguing the bull case for bitcoin say that, as more people realize its potential to act as a borderless currency, independent of governmental or central bank manipulation, and free from global transaction fees, then more people will choose to hold their wealth in this asset class. And because the number of bitcoin in circulation is fixed based on a mathematical formula, this increase in demand opposite a fixed supply will naturally send the price upward.
http://pandodaily.com/2013/11/08/the...azy-after-all/
http://www.businessinsider.com/prese...ncy-mining--25
Pretty entertaining and brief PowerPoint about bitcoins.
Just in case some of ya think this might be true, think back to the wsop when micon was selling action. We figured how that he was selling so many shares of himself and marking it up so high that he was mostly freerolling the wsop. I think 1 or 2 events he actually was making money whether he won or lost. Micon was also tweeting round that time offering to sell bitcoin for cash at the wsop (said it was for a friend, lol!) Reason I bring all this up is because it means Micon is still broke as a fucking joke and owning seals and bitcoins hasnt changed that one bit. Now maybe hes a little better off than before but no way he sells like 80 pct of himself in the wsop if he can afford to play, esp events like horse where he thinks hes a huge fave (again lol!) I think Micon doesnt have many bitcoins liquid, he either gambles them or sells them and barely makes shit every time the price spikes up like this. Yes you say he could try to play speculation games with the bitcoins hes holding for players on seals but u are forgetting there is another guy who runs seals. I have to think the other guy handles the bitcoins at seals because who would ever trust mycon? When u see Micon entering the wsop with all his own $ and playing the big mix games at aria, or maybe when he buys a house in vegas, then u will know he is at least n-word rich.Quote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_ass
If I was as bad at poker as Micon is it wouldn't matter if I had a million dollars, if I could talk other people into paying it for me why the hell wouldn't I?Quote:
Originally Posted by CokeheadJust in case some of ya think this might be true, think back to the wsop when micon was selling action. We figured how that he was selling so many shares of himself and marking it up so high that he was mostly freerolling the wsop. I think 1 or 2 events he actually was making money whether he won or lost. Micon was also tweeting round that time offering to sell bitcoin for cash at the wsop (said it was for a friend, lol!) Reason I bring all this up is because it means Micon is still broke as a fucking joke and owning seals and bitcoins hasnt changed that one bit. Now maybe hes a little better off than before but no way he sells like 80 pct of himself in the wsop if he can afford to play, esp events like horse where he thinks hes a huge fave (again lol!) I think Micon doesnt have many bitcoins liquid, he either gambles them or sells them and barely makes shit every time the price spikes up like this. Yes you say he could try to play speculation games with the bitcoins hes holding for players on seals but u are forgetting there is another guy who runs seals. I have to think the other guy handles the bitcoins at seals because who would ever trust mycon? When u see Micon entering the wsop with all his own $ and playing the big mix games at aria, or maybe when he buys a house in vegas, then u will know he is at least n-word rich.Quote:
Originally Posted by snake_in_the_ass
Not saying Micon does have money, but saying this is a poor argument. The rich get richer by spending other people's money, not by shooting off their own.
I played at a table with Micon in a tourney at Stratosphere on Friday. He only brought up Bitcoins/SWC a couple of times. I'd never met him before but he seemed okay.
You dont know Micon then. He thinks hes great at poker. Just go read his tweets during wsop and he is always talking about how great hes playing even when busting out of event after event. When u are thinking variance control and stuff like that, u are confusing Micon for someone like Druff. Micon would fire 100 pct on himself at the wsop if he had the $ to do it. Like look at the main event, do u really think Micon would play for 20 pct and risk losing most of an 8 million dollar score if he won? No, he would only do that if selling off 80 pct of himself was the only option.Quote:
Originally Posted by anonamooseIf I was as bad at poker as Micon is it wouldn't matter if I had a million dollars, if I could talk other people into paying it for me why the hell wouldn't I?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cokehead
Not saying Micon does have money, but saying this is a poor argument. The rich get richer by spending other people's money, not by shooting off their own.
Proof right there Micon is still busto.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Shrink
No offense to u Shrink, as u are probably just a rec player, but no way Micon takes a seat at a tourney in that dump unless its all he can afford.
A true dump. But you can always take the leap off the tower if you suffer a huge suck out.Quote:
Originally Posted by CokeheadProof right there Micon is still busto.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Shrink
No offense to u Shrink, as u are probably just a rec player, but no way Micon takes a seat at a tourney in that dump unless its all he can afford.
Made me think of Bob Stupak and his strange appearance on HSP.
I was wondering if he still had a piece of the Stratosphere. I stumbled upon this...
In 1995, Stupak suffered a motorcycle accident, breaking every bone in his face and going into a coma. Although the initial prognosis was that he would not survive, Stupak’s next of kin, son Nevada Stupak, approved a non-FDA-approved experimental drug to reduce the swelling to his head and brain. Stupak recovered, although with lingering health problems.[2]
Edit:
Read he died in 2009. Maybe he was dead on set of HSP. Never played any hands.
6 months from now micon will be a millionaire, unless the doj seizes his assets first
the government doesn't seem to be in any hurry to try to fight btc (they'll make sure to make their fair share first)
but they already busted the silk road crew, and will go after gambling or another illicit activity next
micon will "run it up" once again and fail, but this failure will put him behind bars
Really not much Feds can do IMO. Previous announcements and threats only seemed to help the price.Quote:
Originally Posted by WillieMcFML
Too many global users. Prolly not wise geo-politically.
But it is a bubble. It will unwind at some point. Feds should prolly just sit back and let nature take its course
not much feds can do publicly, except hack every major exchange and destabilize the country, *ahem* i meant currencyQuote:
Originally Posted by SanlmarReally not much Feds can do IMO. Previous announcements and threats only seemed to help the price.Quote:
Originally Posted by WillieMcFML
Too many global users. Prolly not wise geo-politically.
But it is a bubble. It will unwind at some point. Feds should prolly just sit back and let nature take its course
exchange in aus was recently hacked and relieved of millions (not saying it was usa, just saying it could have been)
it's funny how most btc kool-aid drinkers think the powers that be will do nothing
they will do nothing as long as it isn't hurting their pockets/they aren't already benefiting from it
Listened to PFA radio tonight live for first time in awhile. Was driving & had it on my phone. Surprised to hear Druff read off the US poker site traffic rankings and him mentioning Seals being ahead of Ultimate Poker in traffic. Surprised both in that being true and Druff saying it on radio, giving Micon free advertising. I looked it up and at least according to pokerscout, thats the case.
Now I dont know what to make of this cuz we know Micon must be broke if he is playing at the fucking Stratosphere of all places. I think a lot of you have stopped listening to DD radio so long that you forgot what Micon is all about. He wants so badly to be a poker baller and part of the in crowd. If he had $ he would be playing the big cash games or at least entering some 4 figure buyin tourneys. Only time he does that is at wsop, and he sells 80 percent of himself to do it. I dont know where the fuck all the Seals $ is going but maybe it just isnt making that much and we are over estimating it.
One thing that came to my mind is maybe Micon and the other dude did spend some of the money on deposit and actually got fucked by the rise in value. If they did that, they will have to buy back bitcoins at the higher price and will lose their asses on it. I still think the other dude holds the $ and just lets Micon be the promoter and face of the site. If theres one thing we learned about Micon its that he has no ability to save $. If he was really balling right now, we would know it from his poker buyins, expensive purchases, whatever. Since we are seeing none of that and he is playing at Stratosphere, its pretty much business as usual with him.
No offense taken - I'm definitely a rec player. The Strat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the tournament had remarkably low vig for a low stakes live tourney (only $30 out of the $360 buy-in). By comparison, I also played a couple of Deep Stack events at Venetian and I much preferred the Strat tournament. The structure was worse at the Strat but had lower vig and the players were worse, more fun to play with, and most of us were drinking.Quote:
Originally Posted by CokeheadProof right there Micon is still busto.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Shrink
No offense to u Shrink, as u are probably just a rec player, but no way Micon takes a seat at a tourney in that dump unless its all he can afford.
When I first read Micon played at the Strat I figured it was a $50 tourney and he really is near broke and just spending time at poker rooms trying to brew up business. But a $360 tourney with low vig and poor players sounds like a good tourney to be in.Quote:
Originally Posted by The ShrinkNo offense taken - I'm definitely a rec player. The Strat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the tournament had remarkably low vig for a low stakes live tourney (only $30 out of the $360 buy-in). By comparison, I also played a couple of Deep Stack events at Venetian and I much preferred the Strat tournament. The structure was worse at the Strat but had lower vig and the players were worse, more fun to play with, and most of us were drinking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cokehead
like taking candy from neckbearded babies at this point.
just hit 445 today