[RyanZAG]

Hilarious. The reason for bitcoin is lack of regulation. You know that right? You're using bitcoins and not dollars because it's not regulated and subject to the same oversights and related fees.

So basically you want the government to have no ability to lock down funds or regulate transfers, yet you also want the ability for the government to step in and stop people who have stolen your bitcoins.

Can people really be this oblivious? If you have bitcoins, do not just put them on random websites with zero auditing and expect them to be in any way secure. If you don't know how to secure a computer, you need to stay far away from bitcoins, they are not for you.

[Tehnix]

I think he's more interested if the police can do something, since the trail can be somewhat followed, and, you can often see an ip of the transaction requester. They more than likely can't do anything in these cases though, since that's something one can easily tamper with and it's quite unreliable (the IP thing).

Also, if there is anything Coinbase does, or, if one there is any laws regarding such things that might help him.

Agreed on the part about he should take more care with security though, two-way auth etc etc.

[aroch]

And here's what would happen:

1. As far as the police are concerned, someone stealing your bitcoin is like someone on an internet forum stealing your avatar / profile picture.

2. Bitcoin have no intrinsic value -- Welcome to the land of non-fiat "currency".

3. Someone taking your BTC simply doesn't register as a crime for them.

[elwell]

What do you mean "random websites"? It's Coinbase, the most reputable bitcoin wallet that exists. (Though they have had a few troubles as of late.)

[yid]

Until you can verify Coinbase's internal security and practices, trust every employee with access to your account info, and verify their honest intentions, it's still pretty much a "random website". Until then, you're effectively driving your Ferrari across the border into Tijuana and tossing the keys to a random barkeep.

[elwell]

So... any bank website is also 'random'?

[Sae5waip]

No, bank websites are bank websites.

And bank websites are operated by banks.

And banks are regulated by governments.

[aragot]

I would downvote this comment for trolling if I had the permission.

[alexhawdon]

When comparing to established financial institutions and systems, I think it's fair to refer to even the most reputable BitCoin service provider as a 'random website'. That's the point that's being made.

[trbs]

Yes, please get back to us when you have verifiable proof of their security. This is Bitcoin we're talking about. It doesn't matter how "reputable" they appear to be.

[ryanSrich]

You can still have an open and secure currency that's protected by the law. It would follow a minarchist philosophy that protects two parties from breach of contract.

[FireBeyond]

Downthread, the poster states that he used the same email and password as for his Twitter account, which was recently hacked...