Missing Bitcoins

[mickeyd]

I know very little about Britcoins and do not believe that I have any however, somebody has found a way to steal them.

On Monday morning, a user called allinvain posted a message to a bitcoin forum. It began:

Hi everyone. I am totally devastated today. I just woke up to see a very large chunk of my bitcoin balance gone ...
​

Apparently, someone had hacked into the guy's computer and stolen 25,000 bitcoins. (Here's more on bitcoins.) At current exchange rates, that's about $500,000.

Someone Just Stole $500,000 In Bitcoins : Planet Money : NPR

 

[haha]

I know very little about Britcoins and do not believe that I have any however, somebody has found a way to steal them.


Someone Just Stole $500,000 In Bitcoins : Planet Money : NPR

Thanks for posting this. However, these are bitcoins, not Britcoins. They are a stateless money, and evidently the organizers are still early in the learning curve.

Ha

 

[mickeyd]

Thanks for posting this. However, these are bitcoins, not Britcoins. They are a stateless money, and evidently the organizers are still early in the learning curve.

Ha

Oh, bitcoins. Now I'm not only confused as hell, but also embarrassed.

 

[freebird5825]

I'd rather dabble in Dutch tulip bulbs. At least they are 3 dimensional and I can put them in my hand or plant them and let them multiply.

I am amazed that people would invest in something that is essentially 1s and 0s in somebody's online database.

Follow the [-]virtual[/-] money...

 

[braumeister]

Not me. Good, solid government bonds for me. The interest rates are great these days. How could you possibly go wrong with 7.5% on government bonds? And they're denominated in Euros, so you even avoid the problem of the weakening dollar!

Yes sir, that's that ticket. Why, Prime Minister Papandreou himself is spending most of his time these days just keeping them going. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[freebird5825]

I was making an offbeat reference to this mania from long ago...
Tulip mania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is an exhaustive explanation of bitcoins here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin

Pass the tulip bulbs, please.

 

[Leonidas]

So bitcoins are crypto-money used extensively by dope dealers and hackers - no wonder the dude got ripped off.

 

[Nords]

Oh, bitcoins. Now I'm not only confused as hell, but also embarrassed.

Shucks, I thought this was about shillings too.

Mods, could one of you edit the title from "Britcoins" to "Bitcoins"? Otherwise we'll go through hell trying to find this thread five years from now. I don't want to get into how I learned that. Thanks.

 

[ls99]

Then there was the South Sea bubble.

 

[calmloki]

I'd rather dabble in Dutch tulip bulbs. At least they are 3 dimensional and I can put them in my hand or plant them and let them multiply.

I am amazed that people would invest in something that is essentially 1s and 0s in somebody's online database.

Follow the [-]virtual[/-] money...

Hmm. And just how is this different than my online account with Capital One? Your question also explains why we insist on paper statements each month. When the aliens zap us with an EMP and all the computers lose their minds or the next version of Y2K rolls around I want paper evidence that those guys got my money. It also explains, to a great extent, our fascination with real estate that we can go and touch and our reduced interest in stocks that represent intellectual capital or other non-physical things.

About 6-7 years ago we had some computer savvy student/tenants who were making things - developed islands and such - in a multiplayer game that they then sold to other players for internet cash that somehow was converted to about $1500 in American green. I sure didn't understand the why or how, but did spend their rent money.

 

[Nords]

Hmm. And just how is this different than my online account with Capital One? Your question also explains why we insist on paper statements each month. When the aliens zap us with an EMP and all the computers lose their minds or the next version of Y2K rolls around I want paper evidence that those guys got my money.

I can make my own paper statements anytime I want, and with better paper & numbers, too...

 

[mickeyd]

Your question also explains why we insist on paper statements each month. When the aliens zap us with an EMP and all the computers lose their minds or the next version of Y2K rolls around I want paper evidence that those guys got my money.

.

I still retain my paper statement options with CC and VG and the rest of the world. Sure I can always convert to the online version, but I can't opt back to the paper version (usually). I like to retain as many of my options as possible.

BTW, if the "aliens zap us with an EMP", who will print out and mail our paper statements? Won't their computers be zapped also?

 

[calmloki]

I still retain my paper statement options with CC and VG and the rest of the world. Sure I can always convert to the online version, but I can't opt back to the paper version (usually). I like to retain as many of my options as possible.

BTW, if the "aliens zap us with an EMP", who will print out and mail our paper statements? Won't their computers be zapped also?

Presumably - but I can show what we had as of last statement and statements going back into the past - and doubt they (the bank, not the aliens) could show any withdrawal we would contest. So I'd say we had best available evidence of funds on deposit.