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RE: Legal responsibility for the Bitfinex theft (aka "Bitfinexit")
@cass Sorry to post you against your comment. But, as it is the top comment, I'm posting against yours for visibility.
@joelkatz I expected an Action or Possible course of Action subheading in your article. As it is missing, here is one I am writing. Feel free to correct me...
Possible course of Action
Though Bitfinex is registered from Hong Kong, it appears that their anonymous owners are from USA. Otherwise, they would not have settled with FTC very recently and change their wallet practice. So, USA based affected users, can file a class action lawsuit against Bitfinex. On the other hand, non-USA based affected users, can file complaint online at SEC. Once these complaints start pouring in, we might see some action like Butterfly Labs.
It may be that even users outside the USA can participate in a USA class action. There's still a lot we don't know, but it seems Bitfinex intends to try to make users not affected by the theft settle for partial payments even though they are not insolvent and do not declare bankruptcy. That would be legally unprecedented and, it seems to me, legally impossible.
If Bitfinex concedes liability for the theft, they will get sued by the people whose funds were not stolen.
If Bitfinex contests liability for the theft, they will get sued by the people whose accounts were stolen.
I don't see Bitfinex getting out of this without a lawsuit from a significant fraction of their customers. A Court will have to determine whether or not they are liable for the theft. If so, they'll have to declare bankruptcy. If not, they cannot spread the losses.
I am not a lawyer. There might be something I'm missing. But nobody has told me what it could be.