- ===== BEGIN SIGNED MESSAGE =====
To the DAO and the Ethereum community,
I have carefully examined the code of The DAO and decided to participate after finding the feature where splitting is rewarded with additional ether. I have made use of this feature and have rightfully claimed 3,641,694 ether, and would like to thank the DAO for this reward. It is my understanding that the DAO code contains this feature to promote decentralization and encourage the creation of "child DAOs".
I am disappointed by those who are characterizing the use of this intentional feature as "theft". I am making use of this explicitly coded feature as per the smart contract terms and my law firm has advised me that my action is fully compliant with United States criminal and tort law. For reference please review the terms of the DAO:
"The terms of The DAO Creation are set forth in the smart contract code existing on the Ethereum blockchain at 0xbb9bc244d798123fde783fcc1c72d3bb8c189413. Nothing in this explanation of terms or in any other document or communication may modify or add any additional obligations or guarantees beyond those set forth in The DAO’s code. Any and all explanatory terms or descriptions are merely offered for educational purposes and do not supercede or modify the express terms of The DAO’s code set forth on the blockchain; to the extent you believe there to be any conflict or discrepancy between the descriptions offered here and the functionality of The DAO’s code at 0xbb9bc244d798123fde783fcc1c72d3bb8c189413, The DAO’s code controls and sets forth all terms of The DAO Creation."
A soft or hard fork would amount to seizure of my legitimate and rightful ether, claimed legally through the terms of a smart contract. Such fork would permanently and irrevocably ruin all confidence in not only Ethereum but also the in the field of smart contracts and blockchain technology. Many large Ethereum holders will dump their ether, and developers, researchers, and companies will leave Ethereum. Make no mistake: any fork, soft or hard, will further damage Ethereum and destroy its reputation and appeal.
I reserve all rights to take any and all legal action against any accomplices of illegitimate theft, freezing, or seizure of my legitimate ether, and am actively working with my law firm. Those accomplices will be receiving Cease and Desist notices in the mail shortly.
I hope this event becomes an valuable learning experience for the Ethereum community and wish you all the best of luck.
Yours truly,
"The Attacker"
===== END SIGNED MESSAGE =====
Message Hash (Keccak): 0xaf9e302a664122389d17ee0fa4394d0c24c33236143c1f26faed97ebbd017d0e
Signature: 0x5f91152a2382b4acfdbfe8ad3c6c8cde45f73f6147d39b072c81637fe81006061603908f692dc15a1b6ead217785cf5e07fb496708d129645f3370a28922136a32
Snarky fucker,aren't they? I guess the question becomes "how right are they?"I hope this event becomes an valuable learning experience for the Ethereum community and wish you all the best of luck.
Although the signature seems to be fake, one analyst (edit: Pamela Morgan) in her interview with Andreas Paulos pointed to the first sentence of the message as being a very smart legal gambit. In suggesting "a careful examination of the code" before "deciding to participate" the legal defence would take the contract away from being one that the parties entered into in mutual error and into that of one party (DAO) failing to do due diligence. Whoever wrote the message is making an interesting legal observation about the situation. That added to the confusion about which legal jurisdiction anything might be adjudicated (currently many territories) and whether private arbitration is an option (apparently not, although this would have been a very easy clause to include) means this looks like a $55mm legal and philosophical investigation into the future of commons blockchain management. Very interesting debates over the next few months. Edit 2: Recording of the live stream:
From what I've seen, the signature doesn't verify. Here's another interesting "message" from "the attacker" in an interview which was conducted in the DAO's slack channel earlier today: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/exclusive-full-interview-transcript-alleged-dao-attacker/
I was just about to post this. Smart move on their part