Replies

Well, now, after such a generic statement of fiduciary responsibility which promises, well, basically nothing, I’m totally at ease now. BTW, to show just how generic and meaningless this statement is, I modified it by substituting “investment” for “bitcoin”:

“The purpose of this document is to summarize a joint statement to the investment community regarding Bernie Maddoff & Jon Corzine.

This tragic violation of the trust of users of these two firms was the result of two companys’ actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of the investment industry. There are hundreds of trustworthy and responsible companies involved in investment. These companies will continue to build the future of money by making investments more secure and easy to use for consumers and merchants. As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today.

We are confident, however, that strong investment companies, led by highly competent teams and backed by credible investors, will continue to thrive, and to fulfill the promise that investment offers as the future of payment in the Internet age.

In order to re-establish the trust squandered by the failings of Maddoff/Corzine, responsible investment exchanges are working together and are committed to the future of investment and the security of all customer funds. As part of the effort to re-assure customers, the following services will be coordinating efforts over the coming days to publicly reassure customers and the general public that all funds continue to be held in a safe and secure manner: NASDAQ, et. al.

We strongly believe in transparent, thoughtful, and comprehensive consumer protection measures. We pledge to lead the way.

Investment operators, whether they be exchanges, bank services or payment providers, play a critical custodial role over the investments they hold as assets for their customers. Acting as a custodian should require a high-bar, including appropriate security safeguards that are independently audited and tested on a regular basis, adequate balance sheets and reserves as commercial entities, transparent and accountable customer disclosures, and clear policies to not use customer assets for proprietary trading or for margin loans in leveraged trading.”