Sunday, March 2, 2014

Almost Half a Billion Worth of Bitcoins Vanish

Mt. Gox, once the dominant exchange for bitcoin trading, on Friday said more than $470 million of the virtual currency vanished from its digital coffers, kicking into high gear a search for the missing money by victims and cybersleuths.

12 comments:

THEBigFatPanda said...

Once again the lesson needs to be learned. TANGIBLES, TANGIBLES ,TANGIBLES!
If you're not holding it physically in your hand (and especially with bit coin) if it only exists inside a computer, IT AIN'T WORTH SQUAT!!

Matt said...

What? A fiat currency with no physical representation disappeared? Thats impossible!

Anonymous said...

If you hold it in yer hand and it says "reserve note" it is worth even less than disappeared bit coins. For it represents DEBT even if you are holding it - while bit coins represent wealth.

Maybe we ought try using something worth wealth insteD of debt. Like umm. REGULAR COINS.

we need readily available 50 100 and 5 10 and. 20 dollar coins. Then choose coins over paper - let the paper "fold" so to speak.

Anonymous said...

The gov't way to make fiat currency lose significant value is to just print a lot more :-(

RSR

Anonymous said...

If federal reserve notes only represent debt and don't represent value then, by all means, pay for your groceries and taxes with federal reserve notes and you won't really be losing anything of value. If you believe that, then I have some swamp land I'd like to sell you.

I would MUCH rather have federal reserve notes in my hand than bitcoins!

Anonymous said...

A virtual "currency" - virtually disappeared? Color me NOT surprised.

B Woodman
192 4456362III-per

Anonymous said...

Even coins and gold/silver are 'fiat' currency only worth what people believe them to be worth as a medium of exchange.

The only item of real value is ammunition and a means to use it as its application is to control access to all else.

No ammo => no wealth

III

Carl Stevenson said...

The whole idea of Bitcoin is stupid. To assign value to the result of a crypto number crunching exercise.
Where's the underlying value?
Again, it's STUPID.
Bernie Madoff (sp?) had nothing on the originators of bit coin and those who got rich pimping it.

Anonymous said...

Look no further than the us govt. if something happens, it is usually Uncle Sam.

Anonymous said...

Not really.... if everyone used bitcoin it would negate the entire federal reserve, thus the gov.org... doesn't sound so bad now does it?

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why people associate this negativity around Bitcoin. It's like you don't know that it represents the same ideology that we support with freedom and liberty.

Bitcoin is a protocol, not a currency. It has no owner; only end users. It's built around the safest and most secure encryption protocol ever created in human history.

If you use it to secure your wealth, your wealth is protected. It can't be stolen unless by your own negligence in securing it.

The Bitcoins didn't disappear. The exchange that people trusted to deposit their Bitcoins for trading purposes became insolvent and started operating in fractional reserve until they couldn't remain in business.

Most of the 750,000 coins were spent when Bitcoin was only valued around $10 each...

One Bitcoin related business failing is a poor representation of what Bitcoin actually is. I suggest you look into what Bitcoin actually is before assigning an unfounded opinion that it must be something that it actually isn't.

The coins didn't disappear; they were sold to support a failing business until the reserves were drained.

Philip Jones said...

Bitcoin trading? I guess that wouldn't give you any gain. Why wouldn't you try placing bets at bitcoin casino? Didn’t you know that bitcoin holders immerse themselves in a sleek casino game experience? Bitcoin gambling is not only for fun, this is also for generating more bitcoins easily.