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Zerocoin implementation bug

zcoin.io

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Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#41

Post by lftl »

brilliantcode wrote: post #29
arez wrote: post #8

all these blockchain currencies seem to have really good bug bounty programs, this one gave out almost half a million dollars (410BTC)

Ethereum takes the record for paying out $53 million dollars (943 BTC X 53 = lots). Technically, it wasn't even theft or a bug since Ethereum & DAO proudly claimed "Code is Final Law". I almost feel like cryptocoin and blockchains are set out to do 1 thing really well-show how superior centralized systems are and how easy it is to trick people with pseudo academic jargon-just read Vitalik's writing peppered with supe…

But Ethereum didn't pay out right? Didn't they fork to pull those coins back?

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#42

Post by wmf »

fpgaminer wrote: post #39

Let me get this straight. Zerocoin has a bug, money gets stolen, the bug is fixed. Everyone in the comments lose their shit and call doom and gloom for all cryptocurrencies. The experiment is failed, centralization was right all along! Meanwhile, centralized systems like credit cards are stolen en masse, identity theft abounds, anybody can file your taxes with the IRS and collect your refund, and an ACH can be initia…

There is an excess of schadenfreude here, but people are only judging cryptocurrencies against their own inflated claims.

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#43

Post by wyager »

brilliantcode wrote: post #29
arez wrote: post #8

all these blockchain currencies seem to have really good bug bounty programs, this one gave out almost half a million dollars (410BTC)

Ethereum takes the record for paying out $53 million dollars (943 BTC X 53 = lots). Technically, it wasn't even theft or a bug since Ethereum & DAO proudly claimed "Code is Final Law". I almost feel like cryptocoin and blockchains are set out to do 1 thing really well-show how superior centralized systems are and how easy it is to trick people with pseudo academic jargon-just read Vitalik's writing peppered with supe…

While I don't feel that your argument generalizes (e.g. Bitcoin actually probably is the best extant value exchange mechanism in many ways), the whole Ethereum thing was embarrassing. People fell for the mumbo-jumbo and then the whole project rendered itself pointless by going back on its "code is law" principle.

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#44

Post by [deleted] »

brilliantcode wrote: post #29
arez wrote: post #8

all these blockchain currencies seem to have really good bug bounty programs, this one gave out almost half a million dollars (410BTC)

Ethereum takes the record for paying out $53 million dollars (943 BTC X 53 = lots). Technically, it wasn't even theft or a bug since Ethereum & DAO proudly claimed "Code is Final Law". I almost feel like cryptocoin and blockchains are set out to do 1 thing really well-show how superior centralized systems are and how easy it is to trick people with pseudo academic jargon-just read Vitalik's writing peppered with supe…

[deleted]

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#45

Post by brilliantcode »

guard-of-terra wrote: post #36
brilliantcode wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ethereum takes the record for paying out $53 million dollars (943 BTC X 53 = lots). Technically, it wasn't even theft or a bug since Ethereum & DAO proudly claimed "Code is Final Law". I almost feel like cryptocoin and blockchains are set out to do 1 thing really well-show how superior centralized systems are and how easy it is to trick people with pseudo academic jargon-just read Vitalik's writing peppered with supe…

> how superior centralized systems are Tell us? Because around here, I saw a huge number of bank fraud basically unpunished. "Yes those guys duplicated your SIM and stole all your funds. Too bad for you since we're not going to even try to catch them." Centralized systems might be efficient but the rule is, they don't care about you, so it's not your problems that they're going to solve. At least I can have some fait…

For one, a theft on banks is extremely hard and rest of the system hums along. Mt Gox and DAO however resulted in catastrophic failure where everyone was collectively punished.

On a personal level, there are good channels to get your money back where in a decentralized market, there's zero chance. It's better to have other humans keeping check on each other than code watching other code because it will not take into account the "spirit of contract".

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#46

Post by dahdum »

lftl wrote: post #41
brilliantcode wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ethereum takes the record for paying out $53 million dollars (943 BTC X 53 = lots). Technically, it wasn't even theft or a bug since Ethereum & DAO proudly claimed "Code is Final Law". I almost feel like cryptocoin and blockchains are set out to do 1 thing really well-show how superior centralized systems are and how easy it is to trick people with pseudo academic jargon-just read Vitalik's writing peppered with supe…

But Ethereum didn't pay out right? Didn't they fork to pull those coins back?

Yep, forked to swap the contract and survived, then survived more creative attacks for the remainder of year. Doing pretty well now.

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#47

Post by GrinningFool »

meowface wrote: post #25
desdiv wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or alternatively, the developers designed this hard-to-find typo/bug years ago and have now just quietly cashed out.

Seems very unlikely since it would inevitably cause many to lose faith in the currency. If they really want to cash out, they can just do what almost every other upstart cryptocurrency founder does and make it clear they're taking some of the pie.

If they just want out, the things that happen to the currency don't matter to them - they're already gone.

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#48

Post by arglebarnacle »

brilliantcode wrote: post #30
wmf wrote: post #2

What's better that stealing magic Internet money? Creating anonymous magic Internet money out of thin air, then selling it. Brilliant. But seriously, I'm not sure which is worse: Watching your stolen money move around the blockchain knowing you are helpless to do anything about it, or being provably unable to even tell the difference between "real" and "counterfeit" coins.

Blockchain and Cryptocoins will face the same fate HYIP forums / Liberty Reserves went through-regulatory enforcement and social stigmatization.

I mean sure, maybe they will. But people have been saying this for at least 6 years. When will this happen exactly, and why? Bitcoin may never achieve the status its proponents hope for, but interest from investors and the financial sector in bitcoin and it's underlying technology suggest it's unlikely to suffer this fate anytime soon.

Unlike HYIP, which are a malicious scam, and LR, which essentially only existed for money laundering and had a single point of failure, bitcoin is at least some kind of innovation.

This position isn't really better than the knee-jerk "bitcoin will replace the Federal Reserve". Both are based on feelings or ideology rather than research, and both fail to acknowledge the great uncertainty that clearly surrounds the future of bitcoin and blockchain technology.

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#49

Post by matt4077 »

X86BSD wrote: post #22
wmf wrote: post #2

What's better that stealing magic Internet money? Creating anonymous magic Internet money out of thin air, then selling it. Brilliant. But seriously, I'm not sure which is worse: Watching your stolen money move around the blockchain knowing you are helpless to do anything about it, or being provably unable to even tell the difference between "real" and "counterfeit" coins.

That's NO different than what the "Federal reserve" does. Creates paper money out of thin air.

Considering programmers almost exclusively deal in abstract ideas, and even their manifestation is in the realm invisible to the naked eye, it's surprising how hard it appears for many to grasp concepts such as "law", "culture", or "trust".

So here we have a bunch crypto-anarchists with their usual "fiat is fiction"-spiel. Let me ask you to put your worthless paper money[0] where your mind is: I have drawn this wonderful $1 note, and will add as many zeros as you wish, giving you a 10-for-1 payout for useless US treasury fiat.

oh well. At least every time one of these great new ponzi schemes finds a new way for provable-secure technology to be insecure, we can enjoy the knowledge that another $100mill is in the hands of a more worthy owner.

[0] most of it isn't even paper, but apparently paper is a better symbol for evanescence than "electric charge" or "a linen/cotton-blend"

Re: Zerocoin implementation bug

#50

Post by guard-of-terra »

brilliantcode wrote: post #45
guard-of-terra wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how superior centralized systems are Tell us? Because around here, I saw a huge number of bank fraud basically unpunished. "Yes those guys duplicated your SIM and stole all your funds. Too bad for you since we're not going to even try to catch them." Centralized systems might be efficient but the rule is, they don't care about you, so it's not your problems that they're going to solve. At least I can have some fait…

For one, a theft on banks is extremely hard and rest of the system hums along. Mt Gox and DAO however resulted in catastrophic failure where everyone was collectively punished. On a personal level, there are good channels to get your money back where in a decentralized market, there's zero chance. It's better to have other humans keeping check on each other than code watching other code because it will not take into…

In a centralized system, sometimes people can help you get your money back, but it is also possible that they'll help taking money away from you.

"Spirit of contract" is usually taking money from less well-connected and awarding it to more well-connected. Have zero faith in it in XXI century.

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