5 ms·

After this, you still say "Bitcoin may be the next gold standard"?

sillysaurus3 13y ago
My observation is simply that the future is unknown, and therefore a greedy actor would benefit greatly from stealing >5% of a currency. The most straightforward way to do this is to set up a popular exchange and orchestrate a disaster which is secretly a theft. Since there's no way to prove it, and since bitcoin wallets can lay dormant for decades, there's at least some incentive to do this. Should jailtime be on the table for gross negligence? I'm just interested in everyone's thoughts on the matter.
Tenoke 13y ago
Personally, this fiasco hasn't affected in the slightest my beliefs about the protocol. Hell, if anything it might've been a small point in favour of decentralization.
- hanswesterbeek 13y ago
  That sounds like the reasoning of the gun-lobby. When bad things happen to do with guns, they tell us we need more guns.
  - lukifer 13y ago
    I would've preferred to let the banks fail in 2008, short-term economic consequences be damned. That experiment is now playing out in the unregulated crypto-economy. (I've got my popcorn.)
ivanca 13y ago
You think gold being stolen reduces its value? If not, why do you think it would happen here?
- Alterlife 13y ago
  Gold is a physical asset. People understand physical security. Gold can't be lost due to a hard drive crash, and it cannot be stolen over a network. More importantly, I believe a majority of people (myself among the number) do not understand bitcoins were stolen from mtgox.
  - ivanca 13y ago
    Dollars (and Euros) stopped being a gold-based currency a long time ago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money Besides, "understanding" is very slippery verb in this context, what do you understand about gold? You know where it all is? You know who is in charge of protecting it and who is the owner? You know its location? You know who is digging for it? You know where are they digging? I don't clearly see what "understanding" you have about it.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    - Alterlife 13y ago
      There's a disconnect between what I think of as Gold investment and what you're talking about... Perhaps you're referring to Gold stocks, or notes or something? What I'm talking about: In India, my family buys a small amount of Gold every 3 months or so. Gold coins, each a few grams in weight. I know exactly where they are -- I have a safe deposit locker at my bank, and some of them have been converted into jewelry for my wife.
      - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
        Cool! Somebody like you was at work 160 years ago in California - recently 6 cans of gold were discovered buried under an ancient oak tree after a rain.
        Alterlife 13y ago

My observation is simply that the future is unknown, and therefore a greedy actor would benefit greatly from stealing >5% of a currency. The most straightforward way to do this is to set up a popular exchange and orchestrate a disaster which is secretly a theft. Since there's no way to prove it, and since bitcoin wallets can lay dormant for decades, there's at least some incentive to do this. Should jailtime be on the table for gross negligence? I'm just interested in everyone's thoughts on the matter.

Tenoke 13y ago

Personally, this fiasco hasn't affected in the slightest my beliefs about the protocol. Hell, if anything it might've been a small point in favour of decentralization.

hanswesterbeek 13y ago
That sounds like the reasoning of the gun-lobby. When bad things happen to do with guns, they tell us we need more guns.
- lukifer 13y ago
  I would've preferred to let the banks fail in 2008, short-term economic consequences be damned. That experiment is now playing out in the unregulated crypto-economy. (I've got my popcorn.)

ivanca 13y ago

You think gold being stolen reduces its value? If not, why do you think it would happen here?

Alterlife 13y ago
Gold is a physical asset. People understand physical security. Gold can't be lost due to a hard drive crash, and it cannot be stolen over a network. More importantly, I believe a majority of people (myself among the number) do not understand bitcoins were stolen from mtgox.
- ivanca 13y ago
  Dollars (and Euros) stopped being a gold-based currency a long time ago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money Besides, "understanding" is very slippery verb in this context, what do you understand about gold? You know where it all is? You know who is in charge of protecting it and who is the owner? You know its location? You know who is digging for it? You know where are they digging? I don't clearly see what "understanding" you have about it.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - Alterlife 13y ago
    There's a disconnect between what I think of as Gold investment and what you're talking about... Perhaps you're referring to Gold stocks, or notes or something? What I'm talking about: In India, my family buys a small amount of Gold every 3 months or so. Gold coins, each a few grams in weight. I know exactly where they are -- I have a safe deposit locker at my bank, and some of them have been converted into jewelry for my wife.
    - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
      Cool! Somebody like you was at work 160 years ago in California - recently 6 cans of gold were discovered buried under an ancient oak tree after a rain.
      - Alterlife 13y ago