Posted on 02/25/2014 3:12:30 AM PST by Errant
That is a big question, in this case it should be the government of Japan since Mt Gox is headquartered there. It would certainly be a felony given the value of the stolen items. What exactly can be done about it is a different question. However, it's no different than someone hacking a US bank's computers and transferring millions to a Zimbabwe bank. Who enforces the crime when someone commits identity theft and transfers a few hundred thousand to a foreign country? The practical answer is "no one".
"One of the major problems with Bitcoin is its value is simply the perception of its value. If "people" think each Bitcoin is worth millions, then BTC are worth millions. If "people" think each Bitcoin is worth $0.25, then it's worth a quarter."
You have perceived a central tenet of economics. Nothing is worth any more or less than what someone is willing to pay for it. In particular, US dollars have absolutely no intrinsic value.
Some things have value based on utility, but again what someone is willing to pay for them can vary widely. The same car would be worth a lot less in an environment with very expensive gasoline, for instance. It would be worth scrap metal prices in an environment with no gasoline.
"You talk about inflation and government manipulation? The prices on the exchanges have ranged from $135 to $1200 per BTC within the past six months, and I'm supposed to feel secure about that?"
That is not atypical of any currency, including gold based currencies. Bitcoin is more similar to gold-backed currency than fiat currency in that a) real effort must be expended to "mine" it and b) there is a fixed total amount, making it a deflation-oriented currency. It is inherently anti-inflationary.
"You talk about inflation and government manipulation? The prices on the exchanges have ranged from $135 to $1200 per BTC within the past six months, and I'm supposed to feel secure about that?"
As I said, even gold can be similarly volatile. It went from $1800/oz to $1200/oz in a little over six months. That's a 33% decrease.
Bitcoin is a new thing. The perceived risk should decrease over time, which will reduce downward volatility. Upward volatility is harder to predict - the more BTC is adopted, the more upward pressure there will be. Plus there is the possible factor of people fleeing fiat currencies and bad government policy. Those are the two factors that caused the big runup in price between last November and December. That said, no one holding BTC is ever sad about upward price movement.
Fiat currencies have historically had volatility that makes Bitcoin look like the soul of stability. The top five hyperinflation events had the following monthly inflation rates in their worst month:
“But bitcoins will NOT be in the mix”
Neither will dollars, bonds or equities. Are you holding any of those?
no way they lost almost 800K BTC and don’t know where the coins went. Sounds like they got stuffed in someone’s personal account.
Yes, but I probably don't have to worry about 'falling' off the top of a tall building, either.
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