Note that the "industry leaders" who "stand by this statement" have published slightly different variations of it.
See, for example, Circle's statement[1], which styles itself as a joint statement regarding "the Insolvency of Mt.Gox", and describes Mt Gox's actions as "abhorrent". At the end of Circle's statement, after listing some of the high standards to which Bitcoin custodians should be held, the author(s) make this observation: "It does not appear to any of us that MtGox followed any these essential requirements as a financial services provider."
The statements of Kraken[2], BTC China[3] and Blockchain.info[4] also describe Mt Gox's actions as "abhorrent" and make the same observation about Mt Gox in relation to its compliance with appropriate standards.
Coinbase's statement[5], on the other hand, does not use "abhorrent" and does not express any view on whether Mt Gox complied with the "essential requirements" of a Bitcoin custodian. But the Coinbase statement does include this sentence: "Mtgox has confirmed its issues in private discussions with other members of the bitcoin community". That sentence is conspicuously absent from the other statements.
Finally, the Bitstamp.net[6] statement is completely different. It says that the "known losses" of fiat currency and Bitcoin "are limited to those balances that were in MtGox's care", and that Mt Gox "can best explain how this happened".
The names of the industry leaders appear at the bottom of each statement. Have they signed off on all of them?
Did some leaders edit the "joint" statement to avoid potentially defaming Mt Gox?
See, for example, Circle's statement[1], which styles itself as a joint statement regarding "the Insolvency of Mt.Gox", and describes Mt Gox's actions as "abhorrent". At the end of Circle's statement, after listing some of the high standards to which Bitcoin custodians should be held, the author(s) make this observation: "It does not appear to any of us that MtGox followed any these essential requirements as a financial services provider."
The statements of Kraken[2], BTC China[3] and Blockchain.info[4] also describe Mt Gox's actions as "abhorrent" and make the same observation about Mt Gox in relation to its compliance with appropriate standards.
Coinbase's statement[5], on the other hand, does not use "abhorrent" and does not express any view on whether Mt Gox complied with the "essential requirements" of a Bitcoin custodian. But the Coinbase statement does include this sentence: "Mtgox has confirmed its issues in private discussions with other members of the bitcoin community". That sentence is conspicuously absent from the other statements.
Finally, the Bitstamp.net[6] statement is completely different. It says that the "known losses" of fiat currency and Bitcoin "are limited to those balances that were in MtGox's care", and that Mt Gox "can best explain how this happened".
The names of the industry leaders appear at the bottom of each statement. Have they signed off on all of them?
Did some leaders edit the "joint" statement to avoid potentially defaming Mt Gox?
Or do some of them know something we don't?
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[1] Circle: http://www.circle.com/2014/02/24/joint-statement-regarding-i...
[2] Kraken: http://www.reddit.com/r/Kraken/comments/1yux6n/joint_stateme...
[3] BTC China: https://vip.btcchina.com/page/notice20140225
[4] Blockchain.info: http://blog.blockchain.info/2014/02/25/joint-statement/
[5] Coinbase: http://blog.coinbase.com/post/77766809700/joint-statement-re...
[6] Bitstamp.net: https://www.bitstamp.net/article/Statement-by-Bitstamp-regar...