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That seems like a crude way of thinking about this. It's more like "This is my property, it was stolen, give me my property back."
by ddlutz 5y ago
That seems like a crude way of thinking about this. It's more like "This is my property, it was stolen, give me my property back."
- echelon 5y agoMath isn't property. Laws enshrine property. Bitcoin is a legal gray area. I'm sure it'll shape up some way or another, but maybe not the way we expect.
- intricatedetail 5y agoEvery computer program is just a big number and yet you can get in trouble for copying it and selling.
- sokoloff 5y agoEvery DVD/BluRay/MP3 as well.
- ptoo 5y agoThey should perhaps have said digital assets instead but their point is valid. Not all property has to be physical. We live in an era where digital and intellectual property exist and are rightfully protected by law.
- dangrossman 5y agoWhat's the difference between your bitcoin balance at Coinbase and your cash balance at Wells Fargo? Neither is physical property. There's not enough physical currency in circulation in the entire US to buy out Apple, let alone back everyone's bank accounts.
- salt-thrower 5y agoThat's a fair take, and yet to acknowledge bitcoin as property means it would fall under the same laws and regulations that currently govern property ownership. Originally, crypto enthusiasts - especially the ones with an anarchist streak - were into the idea that crypto would exist completely outside of government control, i.e. the government wouldn't even recognize it as property. So if thieves trick you into sending coins to the wrong address, tough luck, you should've been more careful. To sue in court over property theft means the government must recognize crypto as property, and as such, crypto is brought into the fold of government oversight.