The Bitcoin Crash

#1

Post by tpatke » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 9:39 AM UTC

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#2

Post by jgrahamc » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 9:56 AM UTC

Slightly off topic, but there's a lovely little novel called "The Cryptographer" about an electronic currency set up by a man called "John Law" that runs in parallel to hard currencies (in the book it's referred to as 'soft').

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cryptographer-Tobias-Hill/dp/0571218...

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#3

Post by wurf » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 9:56 AM UTC

that's only half the truth, here's the story of the so called "fraudster": http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=20207.0

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#4

Post by perfunctory » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:18 AM UTC

wurf wrote: post #3

that's only half the truth, here's the story of the so called "fraudster": http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=20207.0

BBC story seem to differ from the one offered by toasty. We might never learn what actually happened.

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#5

Post by niklas_a » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:18 AM UTC

Nothing new here. Just the standard speculation of what will happen to BitCoin after the MtGox hack.

The truth is, nobody knows where BitCoin is heading. It is still in it's infancy and Gavin, the lead dev, always describes it as an experiment.

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#6

Post by gaius » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:27 AM UTC

FTA:

He also questioned the fundamental workings of the currency, saying that its emphasis on anonymity and decentralised nature meant there was little recourse for users when things go wrong

So just like... Cash?

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#7

Post by sltkr » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:31 AM UTC

wurf wrote: post #3

that's only half the truth, here's the story of the so called "fraudster": http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=20207.0

Note that there are at least two people involved (excluding Mt Gox): a hacker that managed to gain access to a large amount of bitcoins and started selling them all, and a person that profited of the low price by placing a large buy order at 1.01¢ per coin (so as to outbid sellers at 1¢ but still pay a very low price).

Kevin/toasty admitted to be the buyer, but he is not the hacker (at least, he claims he isn't and Mt Gox seems to agree). The article suggests that these two parties were either the same person or were at least in collusion, but there is no proof of that whatsoever.

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#8

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:37 AM UTC

wurf wrote: post #3

that's only half the truth, here's the story of the so called "fraudster": http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=20207.0

[deleted]

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#9

Post by fhars » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:39 AM UTC

gaius wrote: post #6

FTA: He also questioned the fundamental workings of the currency, saying that its emphasis on anonymity and decentralised nature meant there was little recourse for users when things go wrong So just like... Cash?

Cash is actually numbered so you can for example trace bills payed as ransom

Re: The Bitcoin Crash

#10

Post by iwwr » Wed, Jun 22, 2011, 10:40 AM UTC

gaius wrote: post #6

FTA: He also questioned the fundamental workings of the currency, saying that its emphasis on anonymity and decentralised nature meant there was little recourse for users when things go wrong So just like... Cash?

Bitcoins are less anonymous than cash, since all transactions are visible. Anonymous identities may be inferred from known identities in a step-by-step process.