General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGuess I am happy I did not go in for Bit Coins:
Because it is an online only system, people keep their Bitcoins in a service like Instant Wallet...
Which just notified customers ...
"The Instawallet service is suspended indefinitely until we are able to develop an alternative architecture."
seems it got hacked and cannot undo the damage, so has to re-build all their "accounts"
http://notice.instawallet.org/
Gravitycollapse
(8,155 posts)Through isolated networks for just such circumstances as this.
Gravitycollapse
(8,155 posts)phantom power
(25,966 posts)just sayin
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)I have been real uncomfortable with the rush to digatize ALL money transactions.
Having 1 or more fallback options is a nice feeling.
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)But I admit that I feel there's only a tenuous relationship between a number in a computer and any actual money I might have. I know we've been off the gold and silver standards for years, so that's all it ever is in a bank anyway, but the thought still makes me uncomfortable.
TheSickEmpire
(191 posts)It is definitely possible to keep a Bitcoin wallet relatively safe. You can do this either by copying down your public and private key on paper, or saving your wallet.dat file (hopefully encrypted) to a flash drive. It is highly recommended to do this for any large sum of BTC. You can still have an online wallet for spending, but you generally don't keep large amounts of BTC in there.
Edit: If you're interested, you can find more detailed information about securing a bitcoin wallet here.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,368 posts)Trading on the MTGox exchange, which handles most trades in Bitcoins, was sluggish yesterday as the site fought off an attack.
...
The value of Bitcoins surged to a new high this week with each one worth about $142 (£94). Barely a week ago, each virtual coin was worth only $90.
...
The attacks, coupled with a spike in trading volumes, combined to cause delays in trades being confirmed and led the value of Bitcoins to drop sharply to about $120.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22026961