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Bitcoin relies on unique and stealable tokens to represent wealth. Digital cash does not. Bitcoin is actually worse in terms of security for the end user than

Bitcoin relies on unique and stealable tokens to represent wealth. Digital cash does not. Bitcoin is actually worse in terms of security for the end user than the centralised systems we have now - with banks keeping ledgers of who paid what, who owns what, in charge of security and paying insurance etc. if money is stolen from banks, it is their responsibility to make it good, if they can't, the state steps in. Contrast that with the many bitcoin exchanges going bust. Ordinary people are not good at security (physical or digital), so keeping hoards of intrinsically valuable stuff at home without paying insurance is a terrible idea, and I'd argue that keeping hoards of intrinsically valuable stuff anywhere is a bad idea, and digital currencies have moved on from there. Bitcoin is still trying to be a digital analogue to paper cash, so even if the protocol is not broken, the premise is.

stcredzero 13y ago
Bitcoin is still trying to be a digital analogue to paper cash, so even if the protocol is not broken, the premise is. Just the fact that it's digital puts Bitcoin into another realm entirely. I can make a bitcoin hoard so secure that only rubber hose interrogation will allow another access to it. It's also true that it would require concerted effort, or that I could do this improperly, or that I may already be subject to surveillance. It used to be that ordinary people were hopelessly clueless about automobiles, up to the point that people hung bulbs of garlic under the hoods of their Ford Model T's to "fix" them. Now, while not everyone is an expert mechanic, there's all sorts of automotive knowledge floating around the culture. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that we don't yet have the proper security infrastructure for even very knowledgeable people to be safe without constant, concerted effort. Expecting general security knowledge in today's world is like expecting widespread literacy in the days before the printing press.

stcredzero 13y ago

Bitcoin is still trying to be a digital analogue to paper cash, so even if the protocol is not broken, the premise is. Just the fact that it's digital puts Bitcoin into another realm entirely. I can make a bitcoin hoard so secure that only rubber hose interrogation will allow another access to it. It's also true that it would require concerted effort, or that I could do this improperly, or that I may already be subject to surveillance. It used to be that ordinary people were hopelessly clueless about automobiles, up to the point that people hung bulbs of garlic under the hoods of their Ford Model T's to "fix" them. Now, while not everyone is an expert mechanic, there's all sorts of automotive knowledge floating around the culture. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that we don't yet have the proper security infrastructure for even very knowledgeable people to be safe without constant, concerted effort. Expecting general security knowledge in today's world is like expecting widespread literacy in the days before the printing press.