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Bitcoin firm CEO found dead in suspected suicide

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M

Maninthemirror

Banned
http://nypost.com/2014/03/05/bitcoin-firm-ceo-found-dead-in-suspected-suicide/

It appears bitcoin’s recent turmoil has claimed its first life.
Autumn Ratke a 28-year-old American CEO of bitcoin exchange firm First Meta was found dead in her Singapore apartment on Feb. 28.
Local media are calling it a suicide, but Singapore officials are waiting for toxicology test results.
Ratke formerly worked with Apple and other Silicon Valley tech firms on developing digital payment systems.
Click to expand...

A few days old but surprised search didnt find anything here
 
M

Makai

Member
Hopefully, this does not become a trend.

It was in the AWOL thread but it might as well have its own thread since it wasn't really discussed.
 
D

Damaniel

Banned
That's terrible. :( I wonder if she ended up losing a lot of Bitcoin as a result of the Mt Gox debacle or if there was some other issue at play here.

Sadly, Bitcoin is going to end up teaching a lot of people about regulation and the folly of putting all of your eggs in one basket, but not without more tragedies like this.
 
Fury Sense

Fury Sense

Member
Damn. The article doesn't even give more info. It just lists a bunch of other suicides / deaths in the financial sector.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
Yeah, it's a bit old, there was a mention of her in Bitcoin thread.
Tragic, someone should have been there for her telling her there's always a way out.

edit: Do we know if this is related to Bitcoin though?
 
Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
wonder what could have brought her to it.

Shame that she messed up somehow that caused the current problems?

Maybe she was involved in something very illegal or wrong and it was coming back on her?

Maybe she got involved with the wrong people and they did something to her?

Maybe she lost all her wealth by investing in bitcoins?


No matter what its sad someone died over such a stupid thing as digital money.
 
D

Damaniel

Banned
Contra11 said:
Suspected suicide ? more like killed
Click to expand...

For exactly what reason? Did she know too much?

(Why does everything have to be a conspiracy? Things sometimes just happen, and people are frequently driven to their breaking point by financial turmoil.)
 
B

Busty

Banned
Right from the get go this whole Bitcoins thing sounded too good to be true.

Sadly it feels like it was a house of cards that came tumbling down and now we're starting to see the very real human fall out from that.

A horrible and very real shame for her family and friends.

Contra11 said:
Suspected suicide ? more like killed..., by herself
Click to expand...

Fixed.

It's too early go looking for things that aren't necessarily there.
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

Member
Beant said:
uhh not really. Its actually been in a bit of an upswing the last 4 days or so.

https://coinbase.com/charts
Click to expand...

Says something about a currency when it doesn't tank after a fiasco like Mt. Gox. Many people that I speak with in the banking sector all think that digital currency is insanity because it isn't regulated nor protected, but I think its becoming clear that the currency is reaching a point of long term stability.
 
S

Seanspeed

Banned
Is this definitely a result of her relation to Bitcoin?

I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if it was, but it doesn't seem like we should just automatically jump to that conclusion.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
Phoenix said:
Says something about a currency when it doesn't tank after a fiasco like Mt. Gox. Many people that I speak with in the banking sector all think that digital currency is insanity because it isn't regulated nor protected, but I think its becoming clear that the currency is reaching a point of long term stability.
Click to expand...

Bitcoin just crashed down, burning half of its value a few months ago, then its largest exchange went bankrupt... I can see how a few people may share that opinion.
 
B

Beant

Member
massoluk said:
May be she took a hit from when it came down from $1000 instead of current $600
Click to expand...

Possibly. Or maybe she lost some coins in the MTGOX explosion. The exchange she ran was teeny tiny and it mostly dealt in virtual currencies (think second life). On the website I don't even see bitcoin as an option - there is a decent chance this isn't related to bitcoin at all. But hey, lets bash bitcoin.

Here is the exchange - http://firstmetaexchange.com/home
 
D

Damaniel

Banned
chaobreaker said:
I really wish I could understand what goes on the mind of people who kill themselves due to some huge loss of money.
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't, but many people define themselves by their financial success, and a sudden, dramatic financial loss can be perceived by those kinds of people as a huge loss in self-worth. In some cases, these people support families with the money they make, and a loss of that money, and the fear that their families might be driven to homelessness as a result of their loss, can drive people to drastic action (including suicide).

People kill themselves for arguably 'stupid' reasons every day. Those reasons certainly weren't stupid to the person committing suicide, though.
 
S

Skeyser

Member
I'm still confused as to how people thought bitcoins wouldn't crash. Though I guess a lot of people cashed in at the right time and bailed before the crash.
 
H

Hamster Plugin

Member
massoluk said:
Tragic, someone should have been there for her telling her there's always a way out.
Click to expand...

No, there is no way out. If you lost bitcoins in mtgox or you got scammed, they're gone for good. That's how bitcoins work - no chargebacks. Libertarianism just got its first victim (there may be more).

Even the fucking lead developer of Bitcoin got scammed by sending BTC to a hardware company that didn't exist.
 
P

polyh3dron

Banned
Hamster Plugin said:
No, there is no way out. If you lost bitcoins in mtgox or you got scammed, they're gone for good. That's how bitcoins work - no chargebacks. Libertarianism just got its first victim (there may be more).

Even the fucking lead developer of Bitcoin got scammed by sending BTC to a hardware company that didn't exist.
Click to expand...
I think you misunderstood that post.
 
S

Spring-Loaded

Member
Hamster Plugin said:
No, there is no way out. If you lost bitcoins in mtgox or you got scammed, they're gone for good. That's how bitcoins work - no chargebacks. Libertarianism just got its first victim (there may be more).

Even the fucking lead developer of Bitcoin got scammed by sending BTC to a hardware company that didn't exist.
Click to expand...

I think he was talking about suicide. idk for sure though
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

Member
massoluk said:
Bitcoin just crashed down, burning half of its value a few months ago, then its largest exchange went bankrupt... I can see how a few people may share that opinion.
Click to expand...

But its still here, and its value is increasing. To have that opinion you'd have to be just as harsh on stocks since the market frequently goes through these correction periods where tons of value is lost when scandalous stuff happens (i.e. the housing crisis). So Bitcoin has actually weathered the storm quite well and is in the process of recovery.
 
B

blackflag

Member
Skeyser said:
I'm still confused as to how people thought bitcoins wouldn't crash. Though I guess a lot of people cashed in at the right time and bailed before the crash.
Click to expand...

Did they crash? I thought 7% of them got stolen and they went down for a few days then back up.
 
C

criesofthepast

Member
RIP. I know no one knows if this had anything to do with MTGox but no doubt a lot of people lost real money with their shutdown and just gotta wonder how many stories we won't hear of people killing themselves or suffering badly because of the money they've lost. CEO of Gox needs to be in jail. I don't condone this at all but I am legit shocked no one has hurt him really bad as of yet. A lot of shady people connected to the criminal underground must have had money in that site and want it back.
 
B

BrokenEchelon

Banned
It absolutely sucks that she was driven to take her own life.

Although I can't say I'm at all sad that this bullshit is finally coming to an end.
 
P

ProfessorLobo

Banned
Pagusas said:
wonder what could have brought her to it.

Shame that she messed up somehow that caused the current problems?

Maybe she was involved in something very illegal or wrong and it was coming back on her?

Maybe she got involved with the wrong people and they did something to her?

Maybe she lost all her wealth by investing in bitcoins?


No matter what its sad someone died over such a stupid thing as digital money.
Click to expand...

Maybe she suffered from depression. It's a bit out there but I think it should be thrown into the ring.
 
E

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
Very unfortunate for someone so young with all their life ahead of them to do this..

However this is far from the end of Bitcoin.
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
It's a bit of a reach to call her a 'Bitcoin CEO' (stop believing nypost/dailyfail)

Her company traded all kinds of imaginary money, including the second life currency Lindens. They were I guess going to start trading in bitcoins as well but I don't see it as an option on their website.

Hopefully this calms any speculation about her motives, but it probably won't.
 
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