...
Which brings me to Bruce Wagner. I like Bruce. I like his show and his enthusiasm. He seems pretty smart, too. But the idea that he referenced a service without confirmation of real identity is very hard to understand. It is one thing to take such a risk yourself. It is quite another, especially if you are an expert with a reputation, to be advising others without full disclosure of the risks. I really hope Bruce was clear about those risks or, frankly, I would have a hard time showing my face around here again if I were him.
In conclusion, Bruce and anyone else who mentioned mybitcoin.com, without stating that they have not personally confirmed the trustworthiness of that site, should regret that they did that and should refrain from doing that for other services in the future.
Speaking of Bruce...
I sure hope that he is OK in all of this. He obviously had a lot of hope, energy, and passion for the project. I hope he is not prone to suicidal tendencies or anything like that, is strong enough to look at the whole picture, and experienced enough to know that all things pass. (It seems at this point that...) Ya, he fucked up. Big time. But he is not the only one and he has done a lot of very good work for a very important project and that has not gone away. I personally appreciate his work a lot and hope not only that he recovers but continues to contribute.
This was the oldest, longest standing bitcoin eWallet site in existence. It had a strong record of stability. It had been around nearly since the beginning of bitcoin itself. People who trusted using an eWallet at all... trusted it. It had 10s of thousands of account holders. Some of the smartest, most reputable, long-standing bitcoin community leaders used it. Only two people ever complained about me recommending it. But neither could ( or were willing to ) give me any concrete reasons why they shouldn't be trusted.... other than, "I just have a bad feeling about them." At the time, that sounded like saying the same thing about MtGox. They had never given me, or any other users any reason to believe that they were not reputable. Also, it was by far --- and still to this day --- the easiest and most feature rich eWallet in existence.
You have no idea how much I regret recommending mybitcoin.com I do not have suicidal tendencies. I have been through things even worse than this in my life. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
In a few hours from now... tomorrow morning.... I will tape an episode of The Bitcoin Show as a monologue.... just me, talking about all of this... all of my thoughts and feelings and lessons learned.... and my new convictions and new directions of advocacy ( as I'm sure you can guess what they include )...
I have not lost any faith in Bitcoin, nor in OnlyOneTV. It has brought me back down to earth..... and HARD.... slammed my face down on the pavement. I am no expert, and I try to emphasize that as often as possible. But, at the same time, I do not take my responsibility as "someone people listen to" lightly. The pain of losing 25,000 of my own bitcoin is nothing. Nothing at all. Compared to the pain of knowing that my recommendations have led to the loss of so many others. That tears my heart out. You have no idea how much.
At first, it felt like I was kicked in the gut by an angry horse. I've felt that pain in my gut constantly every since. But on top of that, moments later, the realization that everyone I know and love and care about.... and how many other strangers who listen to me.... have lost their bitcoin in this as well.... and I've pretty much not stopped crying since Friday. Even though I have been at the office, and I have put on a normal face for people... That's why you haven't seen me on the air. I have to regain my composure, get it together, get my head and my thoughts together, determine where to go from here, and what to say to the audience.
The worst is facing all the people I love most in my life.... and telling them what happened.... one by one. They trusted my advice without hesitation. And now I have to tell them what happened. I suspect that nothing that could happen to me in my life will ever cause me as much pain as I am experiencing right now.... just thinking of how I will tell them. These are not techie geeks like you guys. These are normal people. They are not to blame. And, yes, in hindsight, I should have known better. Hindsight is so 20/20.
