EZ-BTC/Dave Smillie

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Dave Smillie launched and largely single-handedly ran EZ-BTC, one of four firms entrusted with determining bitcoin price in Canada. No one had any visibility into the operation and even today, exact figures are not known about what is actually owed to customers of the exchange. Dave Smillie owes a sum of over $3.8m to his former business partner Rick Godwin, and there are five other lawsuits also pending in the courts which can give some idea. However, it is very likely that many further sums are owed to individuals who haven’t bothered filing any claim. It would appear that all funds were stored with Dave Smillie personally (and thus improper cold storage), limited records were kept, and obviously nothing was insured in any way. It also appears that Dave Smillie tried very hard to get the money back on behalf of customers - by complaining to the gambling site where he gambled away their hard-earned money.

This exchange or platform is based in Canada, or the incident targeted people primarily in Canada.

About EZ-BTC

"While it is unclear how many claimants there are, or how much is being claimed in total, ezBtc faces at least six lawsuits in British Columbia alone. Among them are two from former business associates claiming millions." “In one case, the company paid Gary Wylon Wong most of the more than $170,000 he attempted to withdraw in three installments between February and June 2018. Wong sued ezBtc to recover roughly $20,000 that he claims remains outstanding. In another case, John Patric Arthur Roberts claims that ezBtc has not paid any of the $5,392.50 he attempted to withdraw from his account in August 2018.” “Richard Godwin, of Whistler, claims he lent the company and Smillie more than 173 Bitcoin -- an amount currently worth more than $2 million -- in October 2016 and has not been repaid. Godwin's lawsuit alleges that, with interest, he is now owed more than 284 Bitcoin -- the equivalent of $3.8 million.”

This exchange or platform is based in Canada, or the incident targeted people primarily in Canada.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

• Known history of when and how the service was started.
• What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
• What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
• Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
• Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
• How were people recruited to participate?
• Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

• Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
• Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - EZ-BTC/Dave Smillie

Date	Event	Description
August 1st, 2019 12:01:28 AM	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $3,900,000+ USD.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

Prevention Policies

Coming soon.