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A comment on $4.1m goes missing as Chinese bitcoin trading platform GBL vanishes. Parent comment

Re:$4.1m goes missing as Chinese bitcoin trading platform GB... by MichaelGG on Tuesday November 12, 2013 @01:37AM (#6716237)
Only if the buyer is willing to commit fraud. If I've got a trading platform, and I'm holding $1M but I charge no fees, then my business is not generating any revenue or profit so it's worth very little. The $1M in "storage" is worth more if I steal it.

That's why Wells Fargo has a market cap of $225BN but has assets over a trillion, right?

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Re:$4.1m goes missing as Chinese bitcoin trading platform GB... by jacques_chester on Tuesday November 12, 2013 @04:22AM (#6716699)
> That's why Wells Fargo has a market cap of $225BN but has assets over a trillion, right?

Banks are in an unusual position. They have cash, but it's not theirs. Depending on the report and reporting rules, it might be reported as either an asset or a liability.

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Re:$4.1m goes missing as Chinese bitcoin trading platform GB... by smsm42 on Tuesday November 12, 2013 @04:32AM (#6716736)
Assets are matched with liabilities. E.g. I may have an asset worth $1M - namely, my house (I don't, but a man can dream :). Now am I rich or not? It depends. If I owe nothing on the house, I'm in a pretty good shape. If I have a liability of $1.5M mortgage, I'm deeply in the red.
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Re:$4.1m goes missing as Chinese bitcoin trading platform GB... by Sniperfish on Tuesday November 12, 2013 @08:35AM (#6717678)
Assets are matched with liabilities + stockholder equity, not just liabilities. (Balance Sheet equation is Assets = Liabilities + Stockholder Equity)
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