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Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

bbc.com

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Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#91

Post by freeloop3 »

cma wrote: post #87
55555 wrote: post #83

Unfortunately, one of the 'killer apps' for crypto is extortion. It's going to change the world and not for the better. The hard part of extortion has always been getting paid. It's always involved exposure ("meet me there with a bag of money") or been subject to limitations (wire transfer clawbacks, cash withdrawal limits, etc), until now. Right now anyone in the world can fill an insulin syringe with cyanide soluti…

For something as large scale as that coke scheme bitcoin could always implement clawbacks via consensus.

And then what? The criminals will simply tell Coca cola to send it again and be more quiet about it this time.

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#92

Post by freeloop3 »

jameslk wrote: post #27

So it appears criminals are getting wiser and a new wave of home and personal robberies may emerge. Will this push crypto owners to entrust their currency with more secure institutions, leading to these "decentralized" currencies to be once again under control and manipulated by banks and governments?

It doesn't matter if you own crypto or not. The mere existence of it creates a threat for every relatively rich person out there. They can simply coerce your family to buy bitcoin and give them some, on threat that they kill you.

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#93

Post by AgentME »

decker wrote: post #77
AgentME wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An exchange doesn't have to have all of their assets ready to use at a moment's notice. They could have 95% of their assets locked up in an inconvenient but safe method. If their hot wallet starts running low, then they begin the process to top it up with their hard-to-use multisig protected funds.

Good thing nobody can tell when the hot wallet starts to run low, otherwise they might know the exact moment when the keys need to come together.

The keys don't have to come together. Each keyholder can separately sign the transaction from wherever they are on the planet. The transaction to add funds into the hot wallet could have been pre-arranged.

One of the keys could be controlled by a law office on the other side of the planet with contractual obligations to only sign the hot-wallet-refill transaction with a certain amount when the hot wallet falls below a certain amount and when the exchange requests it. The cold-wallet that they're funding from could itself be funded by a timelocked transaction to guarantee that the cold-wallet isn't emptied out too fast, and an entirely different set of law offices that the exchange doesn't regularly contact control the keys that allow the cold-wallet to be emptied out faster. If the different types of on-chain controls like timelocked transactions aren't enough, then some of the keys could be in tamper-proof hardware-security-modules that further restrict how the keys can be used.

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#94

Post by Meekro »

cma wrote: post #87
55555 wrote: post #83

Unfortunately, one of the 'killer apps' for crypto is extortion. It's going to change the world and not for the better. The hard part of extortion has always been getting paid. It's always involved exposure ("meet me there with a bag of money") or been subject to limitations (wire transfer clawbacks, cash withdrawal limits, etc), until now. Right now anyone in the world can fill an insulin syringe with cyanide soluti…

For something as large scale as that coke scheme bitcoin could always implement clawbacks via consensus.

There are several fully-anonymous altcoins in use today. The crooks would use one of those instead.

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#95

Post by [deleted] »

freeloop3 wrote: post #92
jameslk wrote: post #27

So it appears criminals are getting wiser and a new wave of home and personal robberies may emerge. Will this push crypto owners to entrust their currency with more secure institutions, leading to these "decentralized" currencies to be once again under control and manipulated by banks and governments?

It doesn't matter if you own crypto or not. The mere existence of it creates a threat for every relatively rich person out there. They can simply coerce your family to buy bitcoin and give them some, on threat that they kill you.

[deleted]

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#97

Post by DonHopkins »

chrissnell wrote: post #74
jordanbaucke wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In "Casino" Robert De Niro's character puts $2M in jewels in a safe-deposit box that even he doesn't have the key for (he naively gives the key to his wife- but that's another part of the plot) He narrates that the jewels are "in case he got in trouble". Ostensibly so he could pay off kidnappers.

I have the "poor man's" version of De Niro's safe-deposit box, a Rolex Submariner. Readily convertible into US$3-5K cash (at least) in pretty much any large city in the world. It's always on my wrist. If I needed the money desperately and couldn't access my accounts, I have my beloved watch.

I'd rather not know what time it is than wear a Rolex. I would be self-conscious about people thinking I was that vain and materialistic, assuming it's fake, and that I was a poseur. Get a money belt if your point isn't just to show off and you're not asking to get rolled.

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#98

Post by [deleted] »

jordanbaucke wrote: post #40
m3kw9 wrote: post #38

The Winkofloss brothers stores their codes right to prevent these type of kidnappings. They distributed the keys across states and bank vaults.

winklevoss? Distributing keys doesn't prevent you from having a few "digits" (no pun intended) removed. "Oh you can't get them? Call the other key-holders. Better hope they like your fingers as much as you do."

[deleted]

Re: Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev

#100

Post by icebraining »

mschuster91 wrote: post #58
exo762 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin was released at 2009. Since then, this is the first kidnapping probably linked to cryptocurrencies. Yeah, this is definitely a trend. Since people are publicly boasting about their crypto fortunes and kidnappers has published their demands... /s

> Since people are publicly boasting about their crypto fortunes You don't need people boasting about their crypto fortunes. As soon as you set up a Bitcoin tip jar, anyone can look directly at the blockchain to determine how much money you have - and how much you have had at any point in time and where the money went.

You can create and use as many addresses as you want - there's absolutely no reason to keep your savings on the same address as the tip jar.
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