Is This Really Surprising?

[youngmafbog]

Would you invest $320K in an unregulated and undocuments 'virtual ' currency?

One wonders how someone with so much money appears to have no nouse. Perhaps he traded his brains for bitcom coins?

This wont be the last time, already the AML bodies are looking into it as it's ideal for criminals.

http://news.sky.com/story/1216846/bitcoin-turmoil-after-mt-gox-exchange-theft

[LazyGun]

George Michael said "You Gotta Have Faith", and this guy apparently does.

""I may have lost all of my money. It hasn't shaken my trust in Bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in Bitcoin exchanges."

The fate of his holding is unclear as Bitcoins are traded in an unregulated, decentralised marketplace."

It would certainly shake my trust in Bitcoin - which as a concept I find fascinating, and still not entirely understandable :)

[ToraToraTora]

I have a reasonable understanding, I just don't trust the systems around it. At the moment it's like the wild west was with conventional money. If I put my money in a bank and the bank gets robbed I lose my money, so the banks installed ever more security measures and guarantees until people are confident about putting money in a "bank". Currently bitcoin is in the wild west stage when they mature a bit they may well be a viable currency, for now though I'll pass.

[LazyGun]

Most currencies are underpinned by a guarantee though, aren't they, 3T? Not just secure storage? There is usually a central issuing bank that "guarantees to pay the bearer on demand".

Still cannot quite understand what underpins bitcoins.

[modeller]

I have never understood how it got started with apparently nothing. You have got to have a 'kitty', be it currency or capital in some form .

[ToraToraTora]

Yes LG that's the point but go back to 19th century wild west and if the bank got robbed you lost your dosh. The money was is still underpinned, buy gold usually, at the time. Bit coins are underpinned by mining effort primarily. To be fair though most modern currency is not underpinned at all, what with QE etc, it's just computers keeping the score

[LazyGun]

@ 3T I had read about this "mining" thing wrt Bitcoins. Not sure I understand that concept either ;)

I would be categorised as a cautious investor, i think. Bitcoins are way too volatile and far too vulnerable for me to invest in them.

[joko]

how convenient that it was just 'stolen' ...

[joeluke]

For the uninitiated among us perhaps someone could explain what a bitcoin is/does in plain English?

[Kerker]

Bitcoins like roulette, they started from 00000.1 USD per bitcoin -> rise to near 1000USD, and now 476. So who know, maybe tomorrow they will rise again. This currency is not save for trading, but its easy to earn, hardware for $10000 gives you 1-2 coin per week, so after month you get profit, some graphs http://mining-profit.com/