If Patrick had only classified his investment thing as a managed hedge/mutual fund, with returns based on his investment skills as opposed to fixed interest "savings account" style returns, none of this would have been a problem. Losses would have had to be taken by the customers instead of Patrick, and his returns would have been consistent with the average hedge fund (lesson: don't invest in bitcoins, people. You'll save time by just flushing your money down the toilet).
the "average" hedge fund managed by a well-educated, certified professional typically grow at 3% per year.
If the average performance of any of the funds I invest in was that poor I'd have pulled my cash out long ago
It was a recent article I read and I've hunted for it since I read it because it was so startling - I was surprised it was that terrible (I'll hunt for it again). I knew most funds made the owners quite wealthy even with a 1% fee, but the after tax (real, not nominal) returns for many people is negative.