Re:Reddit Users Lose Real Money After Meme Currency Bot Dies
by reverend_gonzo on Friday May 12, 2017 @12:12PM
(#14325229)
Regardless of whether or not it is money, one thing is for sure, and that is, it is property.
The donut analogy doesn't work, because in your case, you are donating donuts to the club.
This is more like you lend a TV to the club, with the caveat that you still own it, and can take it back at any time.
The club decides to pawn in, thinking it will just buy it back when it has money again, and you won't have any idea. But then it can't, and it sold property that wasn't its to sell in the first place.
But that's not real money. All the protections and rights of legal money do not necessarily apply to cryptocurrencies, bitcoin being the sole cryptocurrency with a degree of legal respectability.
This bot was more like a club where people tipped in to play a game together. It can be argued that it's like you chipped in to buy donuts for your local club to play "pass the donut", and the club later sold the donuts to stay open. The service was free so it's hard to find a breach of contract anywhere, especially if the company went bankrupt.
Such is the joy of "privatized money".