Posted on 02/25/2014 8:42:32 PM PST by BenLurkin
In a stunning blow to a novel way to buy products and services, the world's largest exchange for trading bitcoin currency shut down Tuesday, triggering a massive sell-off and sending many prospective investors away — perhaps for good.
"This is extremely destructive," said Mark Williams, a risk-management expert and former Federal Reserve Bank examiner. "What we're seeing is a lot of the flaws. It's not only fragile, it's fragile as eggshells."
The mysterious circumstances that triggered the failure of the exchange, Mt. Gox in Tokyo, is only adding to the renewed anxiety over the virtual currency, which just a month earlier had been gaining momentum and supporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Amazed it lasted this long.
Someday the dollar will have the same fate.
I wonder who destabilized the currency? Whoever they are, they must have a lot of computing power and experience in decryption algorithms. Hmmm.... I wonder who that would be?
"It's not only fragile, it's fragile as eggshells."True. But so is the dollar. And the legitimacy of the government, for that matter. Both have value only because people believe they have value.
Live by the Byte, die by the Byte.
Suprise, suprise, suprise! :-)
Based on what I heard on CNBC today, I think it was done using more conventional hacking.
The cyber accounts somehow evaporated.
And in other news, the price of magic beans fell off sharply today...
NOTHING beats the good old American BUCK!
(And I’m not talking about deer, either!;)
Never understood the whole bitcoin concept and therefore never participated. Mayhap a good thing on my part.
I think it was just a scam to make a lot of money quickly. Those who made their money probably sold off everything quickly.
Buying opportunity fer shore! (buy lo, sell hi,D’UH!)
Ping
Note the source: LA Times. I’m sure this article is just as trustworthy as one about guns or gun owners.
“Many Bitcoin backers insisted there was a silver lining to the collapse. Bad firms like Mt. Gox would be weeded out and replaced by trustworthy ones that would make bitcoin more credible and secure, they argued.”
Exactly. Since everyone knows that Mt. Gox was the only bad player and now that it as been weeded out, all things bitcoin will now be hunky-dory for all of the rest of eternity.
I’m sure the federal reserve or any central bank wants the competition so they just destroy them like they destroy the metals market daily to keep their paper scam going.
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