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Bitcoin theft causes Bitfloor exchange to go offline
Renegade:
Very sad. :(
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19486695
One of the biggest Bitcoin currency exchanges has been taken offline after 24,000 units ($250,000; £157,800) of the virtual currency were stolen from its computer servers.
Bitcoins can be used for online money transfers and trades, and the currency uses cryptography to protect it.
But Bitfloor's founder, Roman Shtylman, said he had kept unencrypted "keys", which the thief accessed and used to take the money.
Bitfloor's future is now in doubt.
Mr Shtylman said his New York-based service was the biggest of its kind in the US and the fourth largest in the world.
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Really, a silly and typical mistake.
But I'm still hoping for Bitcoin to make it. I would love to use Bitcoins rather than credit cards and the like. I'm on the sidelines at the moment, but still very interested...
This also pisses me off:
Unlike most other types of money, Bitcoins do not have a physical real-world equivalent
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That's a flat out lie. The BBC is being disingenuous there and flat out lying. They probably don't understand what money is though, and it's probably an error of ignorance and incompetence rather than maliciousness, though you never really know anymore... (See here for an explanation of mine on money.)
40hz:
I think what BBC was implying was that there was no governmental backing behind bitcoins.
Forget gold or silver. Most currencies are backed by little other than a promise by a government to tax its people unto the umpteenth generation to make good on the obligation incurred.
Bitcoin, lacking a government, police force, and military cannot make that pledge.
Renegade:
I think what BBC was implying was that there was no governmental backing behind bitcoins.
Forget gold or silver. Most currencies are backed by little other than a promise by a government to tax its people unto the umpteenth generation to make good on the obligation incurred.
Bitcoin, lacking a government, police force, and military cannot make that pledge.
-40hz (September 05, 2012, 10:45 AM)
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I'm wondering if you meant to say:
Bitcoin, lacking thieves, thugs, and bruisers cannot make that threat.
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;D
Sorry, it was just wide open~! :D
Regarding:
Most currencies are backed by little other than a promise by a government to tax its people unto the umpteenth generation to make good on the obligation incurred.
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+100
When you start to understand the history of money (and legislation), it really is exactly that, and to be honest, much worse. But that's a diversion from the awesomeness that bitcoin could give the world! :D
vlastimil:
I used to be a bitcoin fan, but at this point, I very much doubt it it will ever become widespread. It has a fatal flaw - limited amount of coins and hence unavoidable deflation problem. It will never work, because:
Imagine you have a bitcoin. If bitcoins become more popular, their value will rise. You should simply sit on your bitcoin as it will be worth thousands of dollars one day. Everybody thinks like that and hence nobody is actually using bitcoins. Since nobody is using them, they will not become popular...
I placed a message that I accept bitcoins on my web more than year ago - nobody ever took advantage of that. I also added my web to an official list of websites accepting bitcoins - no visitors came from that list.
So, as sad as it is, I do not believe that bitcoin is the solution. The worst thing is the attitude of the bitcoins supporters - as soon as someone mentions the deflation problem on bitcoin forum, they get attacked and beat to virtual death by arguments similar to "white color does not exists, it is just a very bright kind of black". Bitcoins are for investors, not for buyers and sellers of goods...
This hack was not the first and likely will not be the last... Why do bitcoiners even use these services? People should keep their bitcoins on their own computer anyway.
40hz:
^Very true. Almost everybody I know who is involved with bitcoins is busy mining them. But I don't know anybody who is spending them. And everybody seems intent on figuring out ways to game the system.
Unfortunately, most economic and monetary theory still applies whether it's dollars, francs, pounds, kuggerrands, or bitcoins.
That's where governments have the advantage. They can force legislate the use of their currency. And they can also kick the asses of any people who try to play unsanctioned games with their monetary systems.
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