We've reached $10k

We currently have 105 creditors who have contributed, so have made the target we need for tier 1 – Research.

I originally said I’m going to leave funding open for a week and review it then. I’m going to stick to that for now for two reasons.

Firstly because there will be more funding needed later and any more that comes in will go towards making that second round easier. Also the more people invested in the group the lighter the fundraising burden on each one for the next round.

Secondly, I don’t want this to be an exclusive opportunity for just some creditors, leaving others out in the cold. There’s been enough vested interests working quietly behind closed doors in this saga. Giving people just a 24 hour window to get involved seems unfair.

I’ve written to Sekido this morning to tell him that we have his fee. I’ve sent him my ID. (At this stage mine is the only ID he needs), and asked him to send me the customer contract.

If we get close to hitting $30,000 before the end of the week, I will review again if we should close up or continue. Please put your thoughts on this in the google group. Personally I think a Public Advocacy fund might prove to be very helpful. And I’d like there to be a way for people who only find out about this initiative at some point in the future to not be prevented from joining.

The money raised with Stripe will be available to withdraw to the dedicated bank account in one week, (I will add the 2 paypal contributions to it), and then will take about a week to transfer to Japan. I’ll use Transferwise to get the best rate.

I’m removing the paypal link, because for some reason it doesn’t work, and secondly I want to keep money for this separate from my own personal accounts. If for some reason you’re desperate to pay by paypal you can email me explaining why, and we can find a way to do it.

Several people have commented how ridiculous it is not to be collecting money via BTC. I agree, but the price fluctuation make it challenging, along with AML laws, and my personal tax liabilities if I’m handling it. So for that reason I haven’t done it. If anyone else want’s to volunteer to organise it I’m happy to co-ordinate with them.

Thanks everyone for contributing. I’m really glad we’re making this happen.