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The different is that Mt Gox was run by a wildly incompetent guy. This one was just a plain scam. Especially back in 2013/2014 I have personally managed many ex

The different is that Mt Gox was run by a wildly incompetent guy. This one was just a plain scam. Especially back in 2013/2014 I have personally managed many exchanges "disappear". The excuse was usually that they were hacked, but it was clear they were just scams where the founder ran off with the money. It highlights the importance of regulation.

WanderPanda 6y ago
* It highlights the importance of trustless systems Not your keys not your coins!
- iamben 6y ago
  I don't have the keys to my bank...
  - hulahoof 6y ago
    Makes you think
  - tromp 6y ago
    That's fine. Your bank doesn't pretend to be decentralized. Cryptocurrencies do. And in doing so, shift the responsibility of safeguarding the keys to the user.
    - iamben 6y ago
      I wasn't making a point about centralised or decentralised currency/money/finance? It was regarding the 'regulation' thing. Cryptocurrency is only ever going to work for John Everyman if the industry starts to mature a bit. Blaming the user when another exchange gets ripped off doesn't exactly scream 'legit', does it?
    - anthony_d 6y ago
      Coinbase also doesn't pretend to be decentralized and the bank analogy holds pretty well for them. I'm not sure it's meaningful to say cryptocurrencies are decentralized. Decentralization is more of a social phenomenon than technical, e.g. cash is decentralized but socially we've found advantages to centralize.
      - hulahoof 6y ago
        Cash is most certainly not decentralised, unless you are using some uncommon definition of 'cash'
        asimpletune 6y ago
        How is cash not decentralized? I can pay anyone anywhere for anything and I don’t need any centralized infrastructure.
        nayuki 6y ago
        The issuance of gold is decentralized. The issuance of cash is centralized, unless you believe in counterfeiting. However, the transacting and storage of both cash and gold are decentralized.
        alasdair_ 6y ago
        The centralized issuing authority can decide overnight to make the cash worthless. This happened fairly recently in India, for example.
  - klmadfejno 6y ago
    Your bank is regulated and insured.
    - xtracto 6y ago
      Which still does not prevent it to block you from your money in the event of a very sharp recession or depression to "avoid bank runs". It has happened every time in every country where the government actions have fucked the economy. The people are the ones that pay.
      - iamben 6y ago
        Just off the top of my head, didn't Binance do exactly that in like the last 10 days or something (with ETH, iirc)? I don't think it's an argument against some kind of regulation/consumer protection. Pretty much everyone I know (in the UK) has banked safely for most of their life. Pretty much everyone I know that's touched crypto (me included!) has a story about losing something.
      - klmadfejno 6y ago
        And if the government decides to outlaw bitcoin, not only will it become a lot harder to access it from services or trade it for goods, but the value of the coin will plummet rapidly.
intricatedetail 6y ago
Don't we already have laws against fraud? Unless by regulation you mean preempting any chance of someone running a scam?

WanderPanda 6y ago

* It highlights the importance of trustless systems Not your keys not your coins!

iamben 6y ago
I don't have the keys to my bank...
- hulahoof 6y ago
  Makes you think
- tromp 6y ago
  That's fine. Your bank doesn't pretend to be decentralized. Cryptocurrencies do. And in doing so, shift the responsibility of safeguarding the keys to the user.
  - iamben 6y ago
    I wasn't making a point about centralised or decentralised currency/money/finance? It was regarding the 'regulation' thing. Cryptocurrency is only ever going to work for John Everyman if the industry starts to mature a bit. Blaming the user when another exchange gets ripped off doesn't exactly scream 'legit', does it?
  - anthony_d 6y ago
    Coinbase also doesn't pretend to be decentralized and the bank analogy holds pretty well for them. I'm not sure it's meaningful to say cryptocurrencies are decentralized. Decentralization is more of a social phenomenon than technical, e.g. cash is decentralized but socially we've found advantages to centralize.
    - hulahoof 6y ago
      Cash is most certainly not decentralised, unless you are using some uncommon definition of 'cash'
      - asimpletune 6y ago
        How is cash not decentralized? I can pay anyone anywhere for anything and I don’t need any centralized infrastructure.
        nayuki 6y ago
        The issuance of gold is decentralized. The issuance of cash is centralized, unless you believe in counterfeiting. However, the transacting and storage of both cash and gold are decentralized.
        alasdair_ 6y ago
        The centralized issuing authority can decide overnight to make the cash worthless. This happened fairly recently in India, for example.
- klmadfejno 6y ago
  Your bank is regulated and insured.
  - xtracto 6y ago
    Which still does not prevent it to block you from your money in the event of a very sharp recession or depression to "avoid bank runs". It has happened every time in every country where the government actions have fucked the economy. The people are the ones that pay.
    - iamben 6y ago
      Just off the top of my head, didn't Binance do exactly that in like the last 10 days or something (with ETH, iirc)? I don't think it's an argument against some kind of regulation/consumer protection. Pretty much everyone I know (in the UK) has banked safely for most of their life. Pretty much everyone I know that's touched crypto (me included!) has a story about losing something.
    - klmadfejno 6y ago
      And if the government decides to outlaw bitcoin, not only will it become a lot harder to access it from services or trade it for goods, but the value of the coin will plummet rapidly.

intricatedetail 6y ago

Don't we already have laws against fraud? Unless by regulation you mean preempting any chance of someone running a scam?