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One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

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Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#21

Post by dheera »

anonporridge wrote: post #6
macksd wrote: post #2

Now if I understand correctly, unless someone inherits a private key of his, his bitcoins are effectively dead now, right? I wonder how this will impact the economics of cryptocurrencies over time: I'm starting to see more and more reminders to congratulate dead people on work anniversaries on LinkedIn, and it feels quite morbid.

If he didn't have a backup plan in place to be accessible by his estate, then yes, the coins are dead. The coins dying with him are actually the best case scenario for all other holders. "Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone." - Satoshi Nakamoto

Even if they didn't, the rest of the world could probably peacefully agree to a hard fork in which those coins stop existing.

One of the disadvantages of crypto, I suppose, is that people could gang up and hard fork against any arbitrary billionaire even if they were alive.

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#23

Post by [deleted] »

dheera wrote: post #21
anonporridge wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he didn't have a backup plan in place to be accessible by his estate, then yes, the coins are dead. The coins dying with him are actually the best case scenario for all other holders. "Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone." - Satoshi Nakamoto

Even if they didn't, the rest of the world could probably peacefully agree to a hard fork in which those coins stop existing. One of the disadvantages of crypto, I suppose, is that people could gang up and hard fork against any arbitrary billionaire even if they were alive.

[deleted]

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#24

Post by dheera »

memco wrote: post #10
macksd wrote: post #2

Now if I understand correctly, unless someone inherits a private key of his, his bitcoins are effectively dead now, right? I wonder how this will impact the economics of cryptocurrencies over time: I'm starting to see more and more reminders to congratulate dead people on work anniversaries on LinkedIn, and it feels quite morbid.

Apple is introducing a mechanism to allow access to certain data after passing: https://www.cultofmac.com/744814/apple-digital-legacy/ . It would be great to see more tools and services provide ways to pass on digital information so we don’t have too many haunted digital graveyards not too much digital treasure lying in waste.

As much as I hope nothing happens to me, I've always thought about writing a "dead man switch" piece of code that sends all my keys and passwords to a couple of trusted people if multiple signals all suggest that the unfortunate has happened.

For example, all of the following must be true:

* Zero Github commits in a week

* Zero Facebook or Instagram posts in a week

* Zero e-mail outbox messages in a week

* Zero smart devices switched on/off in a week

* Zero outgoing phone calls in a week

etc

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#25

Post by gameswithgo »

mistrial9 wrote: post #13
taway789 wrote: post #11

Popescu, for those who knew him, was utter scum. A sociopathic narcissistic villain, it's hard to feel anything but relief that the world is now better with his passing. If you have doubts as to the validity of my characterization, a few minutes reading his blog (trilema) will prove enlightening.

dont ever be glad that a man has died - Chuck Conner in the Rifleman

i will consider this advice but i need to hear more arguments

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#26

Post by elondaits »

memco wrote: post #10
macksd wrote: post #2

Now if I understand correctly, unless someone inherits a private key of his, his bitcoins are effectively dead now, right? I wonder how this will impact the economics of cryptocurrencies over time: I'm starting to see more and more reminders to congratulate dead people on work anniversaries on LinkedIn, and it feels quite morbid.

Apple is introducing a mechanism to allow access to certain data after passing: https://www.cultofmac.com/744814/apple-digital-legacy/ . It would be great to see more tools and services provide ways to pass on digital information so we don’t have too many haunted digital graveyards not too much digital treasure lying in waste.

LastPass has a “dead man switch” where my wife (authorized by me) can request access to my account and if I don’t respond for a month she gets it.

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#27

Post by rawtxapp »

memco wrote: post #10
macksd wrote: post #2

Now if I understand correctly, unless someone inherits a private key of his, his bitcoins are effectively dead now, right? I wonder how this will impact the economics of cryptocurrencies over time: I'm starting to see more and more reminders to congratulate dead people on work anniversaries on LinkedIn, and it feels quite morbid.

Apple is introducing a mechanism to allow access to certain data after passing: https://www.cultofmac.com/744814/apple-digital-legacy/ . It would be great to see more tools and services provide ways to pass on digital information so we don’t have too many haunted digital graveyards not too much digital treasure lying in waste.

Google also has a "dead man's switch": https://www.google.com/settings/account/inactive for the interested.

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#28

Post by jamal-kumar »

The craziest thing about this is the beach he died at. Playa Hermosa is pretty well known for mad riptides and not being such a fun place to surf or swim as a result. What the hell was he doing there swimming around casually? There's warning flags everywhere... you can see them in the local news article regarding this

https://www.teletica.com/sucesos/extranjero-de-41-anos-murio...

"Los hechos se dieron a eso de las 8:30 a.m. cuando Popescu ingresó al mar a nadar en el sector de Tramonto, fue arrastrado por la corriente y murió en el lugar.

Guardavidas de Playa Jacó le recuerdan a los turistas y bañistas que Paya Hermosa no es una zona para nadar.

Además, recomiendan nunca ingresar al mar solos, sin guardavidas, personas o surfistas cerca a quienes pedir ayuda en caso de emergencia. "

no es una zona para nadar... means it's not a swimming zone. Someone really should have told him harder. Completely avoidable tragedy.

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#29

Post by sneak »

dheera wrote: post #21
anonporridge wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he didn't have a backup plan in place to be accessible by his estate, then yes, the coins are dead. The coins dying with him are actually the best case scenario for all other holders. "Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone." - Satoshi Nakamoto

Even if they didn't, the rest of the world could probably peacefully agree to a hard fork in which those coins stop existing. One of the disadvantages of crypto, I suppose, is that people could gang up and hard fork against any arbitrary billionaire even if they were alive.

That's how existing countries and currencies already work, too.

Re: One of the largest owners of Bitcoin, reportedly held over 1B dead at 41

#30

Post by wmf »

dheera wrote: post #21
anonporridge wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he didn't have a backup plan in place to be accessible by his estate, then yes, the coins are dead. The coins dying with him are actually the best case scenario for all other holders. "Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone." - Satoshi Nakamoto

Even if they didn't, the rest of the world could probably peacefully agree to a hard fork in which those coins stop existing. One of the disadvantages of crypto, I suppose, is that people could gang up and hard fork against any arbitrary billionaire even if they were alive.

I'm pretty sure that's less likely in crypto than in real life.
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