Write it off. An opportunity for a clean start exists, but only if the legal advice is applied to VPS operations after the GLBSE shutdown.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. Could you please explain further.
Legal advice was obtained after GLBSE closed. Prior to that, assets were held by VPS. Any business conducted
after that point would have to be subject to the proposed rules and personal information requests. I would expect this to include dividends generated during the interim, but for assets being held before then, such a retroactively applied stipulation becomes a bait-and-switch scenario.
The blockchain is an irrefutable record.
I am not sure what you mean by this either. There is no way to tell what BTC purchased what assets.
At the moment and to my knowledge, no. Digital forensics is not a static field, though. There is always a possibility that links could be established beyond what Nefario has provided.
Do you want to deal with claims in the tens to hundreds or thousands of dollars range now, or wait and see if Bitcoin climbs in valuation until the claims are worth 7-figures or greater?
The one thing you forget is that bitcoin mining produces bitcoins. While I don't want to deal with claims for years to come, nefario has left me little choice since his lists are incomplete and in some cases excluding Gigaminers without any known cause.
The fact that mining generates bitcoins is exactly why this is concerning - the longer dividend yields accrue, the more the stored value becomes a target for litigation. The fewer claimed assets are held by VPS, the lower the long-term risk.
Best effort verification would allow for much of the assets held prior to GLBSE's failure to be cleaned out. If those asset holders wish to pursue continuing business, they can follow the new legal procedures to renew their investments.
Isn't this exactly what I am doing? Again, to make direct payments, VPS needs to know who they are dealing with. The penalties for not doing so are very high, so high that they might take me away from my responsibilities as a father. That is unacceptable.
Yes and no. This again hinges on the circumstances before and after GLBSE closing.
There are ways of protecting yourself and your family that don't involve the legal mess currently surrounding VPS. Still, there's only so much that can be done when in the lion's den, regardless of whether you make every humanly possible effort to remain compliant or not. I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone made a martyr in any form, but that may be unavoidable for a lot of people no matter what's done now.
What is the threshold, in fiat dollar terms, for paying out without requiring personal information?
As stated in Quentin's response, the threshold is $10 - $600.
Would it be possible to pay out in batches of value equivalent to less than $10-600?
Are there any further details on the automated system or a potential time-frame?