Hey everyone! I could really use some help here. I run a few small stores selling phones and electronics, and I also exchange cash for Bitcoin using a POS system. A month ago, a potential buyer wanted to purchase my stores. After signing an LOI and making a deposit, he started asking for a ton of documents including bank statements and details about my hot wallet. Then he dropped a bombshell...
He claims that my hot wallet lost nearly 60 BTC over 1721 transactions from 2016 to 2020, and he suspects the ATM manufacturer is behind it. I was clueless about this until now.
I get it that back in 2016 BTC was worth way less than today, but by the end of 2017 it shot up to like 20k. How did you not realize you were missing that much BTC over four years? If someone stole that much from me, I’d be filing a lawsuit for sure.
Right? It's wild that 1721 transactions happened without you catching on. A scammer would usually do it in one go, not drag it out like this. Plus, how did you only figure this out after five years?
Exactly, people are gonna want to know how you missed all those transactions. They didn't steal 3 million outright, but still, that's a massive amount of money. Something doesn’t add up.
In 2016 Bitcoin was between $400 and $1000. If you had a busy ATM, maybe you wouldn’t notice losing a bit here and there, but 59 BTC? It raises questions about your bookkeeping practices.
Can you share the name of this ATM manufacturer? I heard a similar story from someone in Europe where an employee essentially robbed him using a custodial wallet. The thief was even reported dead afterward.
Great point! If you have strong evidence against the manufacturer, definitely talk to a lawyer. But don’t get your hopes too high on recovering anything.
It’s hard to believe you could lose 59 BTC over five years and not notice it. Businesses usually keep track of their finances closely. Did you even run any audits?
This whole scenario is pretty unbelievable. If you're losing that much BTC, I can't help but wonder about your overall revenue. You should definitely sue these guys.
Even if we assume an average price of $10k between 2016-2020, that’s still a lot of BTC gone missing. If that amount is just a fraction of your revenue, it’s hard to believe you wouldn’t notice.