4 ms·

> They are literally putting his life and life of his family in danger. The world is filled with millionaires and billionaires who are publicly known and yet p

> They are literally putting his life and life of his family in danger. The world is filled with millionaires and billionaires who are publicly known and yet perfectly safe, even though the vast majority of them don't have security guards or anything like that. Why do you think things would be different for the creator of Bitcoin? The reality is that very few criminals are of the take-hostages-and-murder type in the first place and murdering or stealing from a semi-famous rich person is a surefire way to get caught, especially when Bitcoins are traceable in a way that cash is not. You might as well break in and steal a Picasso painting from some other millionaire. There are lots of people who want to remain private and unknown; the best (though not guaranteed) way is to not do anything worthy of the public notice. If you do, you should expect some scrutiny. So while I sympathize with Szabo, I don't feel very sorry for him. He pursued his dream of working on cryptocurrency (whether or not he is Satoshi) and this is a perfectly reasonable and predictable consequence of that dream.

zdkl 11y ago
> even though the vast majority of them don't have security guards as if.
- Amezarak 11y ago
  Things are different in third-world countries, but at least in the US, the rich person with 24/7 security is a rare beast. Go look for yourself and drive through some wealthy neighborhoods. They have alarm systems like us plebians, not bodyguards. There are certainly exceptions, for the super-rich and some kinds of celebrities, but it's not very common.
- lotsofmangos 11y ago
  Well, if we are including all millionaires, I doubt the majority of them have a security detail, as that would eat into a million fairly quickly unless you underpay them, in which case you are probably increasing your risk.
zaphar 11y ago
Those millionaires and billionaires by and large do not have large piles of untraceable money sitting around. Killing them wouldn't enrich the killer appreciably. Satoshi, whoever he is, does have a large pile of what may be untraceable money though. There is a world of difference between him and the others.
- Amezarak 11y ago
  > Those millionaires and billionaires by and large do not have large piles of untraceable money sitting around. Neither does Szabo. What Bitcoins he has are traceable and they are not just sitting around. The usual imagination is that someone would threat/torture and kill him and his family to get his keys, but that's extremely high profile and risky and works just as well for normally wealthy people. (Send your wife to take out one million dollars cash from the bank or I'll kill your children!) > Satoshi, whoever he is, does have a large pile of what may be untraceable money though. How would it be untraceable? Bitcoin, unlike cash, is very traceable. Szabo's situation is not at all different from anybody else who is wealthy.
- lotsofmangos 11y ago
  Bitcoin is hardly untraceable. The blockchain is a public ledger.
- ethanbond 11y ago
  Namely that one of those is a security expert whose cash is far more difficult to steal than someone whose funds are sitting in a bank account? I'm sure Szabo will be fine.

zdkl 11y ago

> even though the vast majority of them don't have security guards as if.

Amezarak 11y ago
Things are different in third-world countries, but at least in the US, the rich person with 24/7 security is a rare beast. Go look for yourself and drive through some wealthy neighborhoods. They have alarm systems like us plebians, not bodyguards. There are certainly exceptions, for the super-rich and some kinds of celebrities, but it's not very common.
lotsofmangos 11y ago
Well, if we are including all millionaires, I doubt the majority of them have a security detail, as that would eat into a million fairly quickly unless you underpay them, in which case you are probably increasing your risk.

zaphar 11y ago

Those millionaires and billionaires by and large do not have large piles of untraceable money sitting around. Killing them wouldn't enrich the killer appreciably. Satoshi, whoever he is, does have a large pile of what may be untraceable money though. There is a world of difference between him and the others.

Amezarak 11y ago
> Those millionaires and billionaires by and large do not have large piles of untraceable money sitting around. Neither does Szabo. What Bitcoins he has are traceable and they are not just sitting around. The usual imagination is that someone would threat/torture and kill him and his family to get his keys, but that's extremely high profile and risky and works just as well for normally wealthy people. (Send your wife to take out one million dollars cash from the bank or I'll kill your children!) > Satoshi, whoever he is, does have a large pile of what may be untraceable money though. How would it be untraceable? Bitcoin, unlike cash, is very traceable. Szabo's situation is not at all different from anybody else who is wealthy.
lotsofmangos 11y ago
Bitcoin is hardly untraceable. The blockchain is a public ledger.
ethanbond 11y ago
Namely that one of those is a security expert whose cash is far more difficult to steal than someone whose funds are sitting in a bank account? I'm sure Szabo will be fine.