Here’s an interesting one. In a newly-posted update on the Silk Road 2 forms, the illicit drug marketplace has announced that just over 82 percent of customers who had funds stolen in an early February hack have been repaid.
That hack caused considerable damage, with the amount of bitcoins stolen pegged at 4474, amounting to nearly$3 million at them time (today worth about $2.5 million).
Just days later, the marketplace’s administrator, Defcon, committed to repay all who lost bitcoins following the calamity. There was hesitation in the community, even doubt. But he has seemingly made good on his promise so far.
“We are almost there,” he wrote in a statement, according to website Deep Dot Web. “In less than thirty days I will be drafting an unprecedented announcement that your resilience made possible: the announcement that Silk Road has repaid all victims of our February hack.”
He declared: “As of today, May 27th 2014, 82.09% of all victims of the Feburary [sic] hack have been fully repaid.”
Defcon’s message came with words of motivation and hope, in true Silk Road fashion:
Our enemies may seize our servers, impound our coins, and arrest our friends, but they cannot stop you: our people.
You write history with every coin transacted here.
It is unprecedented for any entity, darknet or clearnet, to completely repay the victims of a Bitcoin hack.
We are sending a clear message of integrity and justice, louder than the slander our oppressors can push into the news.
History will prove that we are not criminals, we are revolutionaries.
We are slaving to transform a notoriously-violent industry into a safe online marketplace, removing the risk of face-to-face transactions.
This second iteration of Silk Road sprouted last year, a mere month following the closure of the first iteration, allegedly run by Ross Ulbricht — who is currently in jail awaiting trial.
Defcon warns that payments may slow down, but urges site members to remain patient, promising to repay them.
Sales are trending slightly downwards, but not at a dramatic pace. Do not be alarmed by this, many new features are appearing over the next 14 days which will greatly increase the sales velocity. We are taking our time to perfect them and ensure that no security is compromised, but we are very excited to watch the growth ignite due to features no other market is providing.
It’s an interesting turn of events, and also ironic that a drug marketplace has been able to repay users, but a bitcoin exchange (which was the world’s first and oldest) can’t.