Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

sbs.com.au

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 50 posts

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#21

Post by wamatt »

galeaspablo wrote: post #7

> Bitcoin has suffered hacking incidents including one last year in which a major Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit was stolen. Quality research. /s This is akin to saying HTTPS was hacked, when YAHOO got hacked.

I see what you're saying, though I think it misses the mark somewhat.

By analogy, the 'the web' does not only mean HTTP or even the exclusively just the various protocols involved. (to name a few on the client side: ip, tcp, dns, http, http/2, tls, ws/wss etc.)

The term also refers to the use of browsers, hosted websites and the culture surrounding how society interacts online with these sites. In short, 'the web' is an ecosystem just like bitcoin.

With that said, it's widely accepted that the proof of work system has not yet been compromised, nor has the network itself. However, let's not gloss over the fact that there's a rather established hacking problem in the space affecting a broad audience.

ransomeware, hacked exchanges, personal wallet attacks, online wallet attacks, 2fa attacks. Even a few of the most paranoid and technically savvy early adopters, have fallen victim to such schemes.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#22

Post by foota »

vertex-four wrote: post #18
rev_null wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say that someone being pickpocketed of $65m would be pretty notable.

It'd be notable, but it wouldn't be a fault of the money itself.

Wouldn't it be a fault of the currency's physical nature?

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#23

Post by peteretep »

andrepd wrote: post #4
peteretep wrote: post #2

> spent money lavishly, including on > prostitutes I do not like what journalism in 2017 looks like.

How do you mean? Phrases like that have been a staple of journalism for at least 150 years.

    > How do you mean?
A focus on the salacious rather than the important.

    > for at least 150 years
You seem to consider that a mitigating factor, where I consider it to be an aggravating factor.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#24

Post by peteretep »

revelation wrote: post #6
mschuster91 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that needs to be changed. Sex work needs to be dragged out of that puritan hellhole, and highlighting thhat he spent money on prositutes but not anything else just perpetuates the view of sex work as "bad".

That is very laudable, but I'm not sure if prostitutes are ever going to qualify for a business expense

There is nothing suggesting they were, and as far as I can tell, nothing to justify this information's inclusion in the article.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#25

Post by tr1ck5t3r »

sprash wrote: post #11

The whole "hack" was very weird. Until today nobody knows what really happened. I wouldn't be surprised if the CIA or any other intelligence apparatus ransacked the place, enforced a few gag orders and stole all the bitcoins.

No, he was using a football card trading platform modified to trade bitcoins which is alot less secure than most modern trading platforms. A link to the trading software after the hack was posted to a website called HousePriceCrash.co.uk for others to download.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#26

Post by bpodgursky »

EA wrote: post #16
galeaspablo wrote: post #7

> Bitcoin has suffered hacking incidents including one last year in which a major Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit was stolen. Quality research. /s This is akin to saying HTTPS was hacked, when YAHOO got hacked.

Or that fiat currency is hacked when someone gets pickpocketed on the street.

In terms of proportion, it is more like if someone walked into Fort Knox to count the gold and discovered that it was all missing. Sure, it doesn't discredit the * concept * of state-backed currency, but it would be informative.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#27

Post by rtpg »

galeaspablo wrote: post #7

> Bitcoin has suffered hacking incidents including one last year in which a major Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit was stolen. Quality research. /s This is akin to saying HTTPS was hacked, when YAHOO got hacked.

This is grasping at straws.

"Bitcoin has suffered hacking incidents" is clearly talking about the ecosystem having hacking incidents, not the coin itself being hacked.

Though I guess you made this comment earnestly, so it wasn't that clear...

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#28

Post by ImSkeptical »

mschuster91 wrote: post #5
andrepd wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you mean? Phrases like that have been a staple of journalism for at least 150 years.

And that needs to be changed. Sex work needs to be dragged out of that puritan hellhole, and highlighting thhat he spent money on prositutes but not anything else just perpetuates the view of sex work as "bad".

The article also mentioned that he lived in an 11,000 dollar a month apartment. Surely you don't think the article is trying to demonize expensive apartments.

I agree that the guy's use of prostitutes isn't relevant to understand the story, however, it adds colour, rightly or wrongly. If the article had said he spent the money sending his kids to private school, or investing in his wife's business, we might think of him as a caring family man. Instead, we get the image of a lavish playboy lifestyle.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#29

Post by ccrush »

wizu wrote: post #20
swalsh wrote: post #19

The collapse of Mt. Gox was probably one of the best things to happen to Bitcoin.

Could you elaborate? I'm really curious as to how!

One could see it as an improvement of its commercial image when the largest exchange for the currency is hosted by a company dedicated to its secure exchange between parties via a system specifically coded for this purpose rather than a website backed by a shitty PHP script written for trading Magic: The Gathering cards by a fat French forever alone neck beard nerd virgin.

Re: Former Mt. Gox CEO Heads to Trial in Japan Over Missing Bitcoins

#30

Post by ccrush »

ImSkeptical wrote: post #28
mschuster91 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that needs to be changed. Sex work needs to be dragged out of that puritan hellhole, and highlighting thhat he spent money on prositutes but not anything else just perpetuates the view of sex work as "bad".

The article also mentioned that he lived in an 11,000 dollar a month apartment. Surely you don't think the article is trying to demonize expensive apartments. I agree that the guy's use of prostitutes isn't relevant to understand the story, however, it adds colour, rightly or wrongly. If the article had said he spent the money sending his kids to private school, or investing in his wife's business, we might think of…

Exactly this. Hookers and penthouses just paints a certain image. I don't think it necessarily casts sex work in a bad light. In fact, quite the opposite. Then again, this may be a personal bias.
Post reply on HN