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Posted on 02/28/2014 7:10:00 AM PST by Errant
Some savvy bitcoin investors have a solution to cyberthieves and instability shaking online exchanges: They print out their virtual savings and hide them in the real world.
The shuttering this week of bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox and fears that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency have been lost or stolen are pushing investors to tighten their security.
Touted by advocates as a new, digital type of money that could one day replace real-world cash, bitcoins can also be stored like traditional currencies, locked up in a safe, or hidden in a shoe box.
Enthusiasts around the world use online exchanges to conveniently buy and sell bitcoins, but bitcoin savings can also be kept closer to home.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
•Japan says any bitcoin regulation should be international
•Bitcoin virtual currency is on verge of collapse [LA Times]
•Vietnam Says Bitcoin Transactions Are Illegal [ABC News]
-No central authority or bank is required. Therefore they cannot control, inflate or skim the money supply.
-NOBODY has the power to seize your bitcoin and it can be anonymously retrieved by anyone in the world who has your key.
-Unlike banks, bitcoin cannot be touched without somehow extracting the key from your mind. Nobody will even know how much money you have.
“stored like traditional currencies, locked up in a safe, or hidden in a shoe box”
That should keep them from being stolen, eh?
It will from 'hackers' any way... ;)
Posted so that others will know of this other option.
There will be much turmoil and gnashing of teeth, but if civilization remains, this new crytocurreny technology will be a part of it.
In spite of those great points, it still appears the biggest con is the lack of security from hackers.
It’s not going to be widely adopted if it’s not secure. Especially if it goes poof in ways that the average joe cannot easily understand and take precautions against.
You give each Bitcoin its own password which you only know and keep elsewhere.
Yes, super secure. Even if they get the paper, they can’t get your Bitcoin.
AND, unlike dollar bills, you can have as many copies of your paper Bitcoin as you want.......
That's an idea, or you could alter say the first 10 numbers of your hard copy by maybe 10 lower on the ACII table. Lots of ways to make it practically impossible to decipher.
I agree 100%. Even the most secure safe can be opened with the threat of violence.
But that’s still more secure and private than using banks who can seize 100% of your money instantly. With anonymous accounts, nobody can even know how many you have.
The fella that ran Silk Road likely has many more millions stashed away that the feds will never find.
Au contraire, my FRiend.
"Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system."
“In spite of those great points, it still appears the biggest con is the lack of security from hackers.”
Of course. That will always be a danger with an anonymous untraceable currency.
The thefts will likely prevent these currencies from ever stabilizing, being used as storage and going mainstream.
I think they will be mainly be used for anonymous money transfers through overseas exchangers. Most governments will go after the exchangers but a few will continue to operate in some obscure nations and do very well.
Like this?
That’s because people were using Mt Gox like a bank for convenience and allowing them to hold on to the keys. It defeats the entire purpose of cryptocurrency.
If your key is not stored online, nobody can hack it.
At leat Mt. Gox wasn't TOO big too FAIL!
Now at least, mistakes will be fixed and the community at large will benefit. Contrast what happened here with what we're all facing may happen: GLOBAL economic collapse...
In the long run, free markets rule. The week, incompetent, lazy, and corrupt meet demise while the strong and innovative survive and prosper.
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