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Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by wereHamster on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @09:51AM (#16367502)
Backing your coins up is very easy, most wallets support BIP32/39/44. Just write the mnemonic down and put it under your mattress. Or a safe if you have one. But seriously, for most people under the mattress is equally safe. I don't understand why anyone would keep a non-trivial amount of coins in a wallet and not have a backup. That's irresponsible.
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by bpp on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @10:04AM (#16367608)
People losing their life savings because they kept it under their mattress is basically the reason that banks were invented. So I suppose this has all come full circle now.
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by wereHamster on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @10:35AM (#16367876)
There are web wallets today where you only have to remember a password, and can recover access if you can prove your identity. Like uhm… banks. If you don't trust yourself to keep the coins safe and backed up then go put them there. No shame in that.
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by jnordwick on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @10:53AM (#16368035)
> recover access if you can prove your identity

So hackable, you're saying?

Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by wereHamster on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @11:15AM (#16368232)
Like banks.

The discussion is turning in circles. People lose coins. Have a backup. Too difficult. Put them in a bank. Banks are hackable. Manage the coins yourself. But then I might lose them.

(you can replace bank with 'trusted third-party', doesn't change the outcome)

Consider the two options: self-managed, or in a trusted third-party. Whichever has the smaller (perceived) risk, that's where you store your coins. Not everybody asses risk equally, and that's fine. My preferred solution may not be the same as your preferred solution. That's fine, still.

Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by jnordwick on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @11:47AM (#16368529)
Fiat banks can recover money though - cash can be found and transactions unwound - and there are techniques to poison what is stolen without permanently decreasing the money supply. Freezing a wallet basically destroys the btc forever with no way to print more.
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by wereHamster on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @12:04PM (#16368697)
And the bitcoin software is written in stone, can never be changed.
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by mort96 on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @06:44PM (#16372026)
Basically, yeah.

I mean, the wallet software is obviously open source, and you can change it however you want of course, but allowing for transactions to be undone would basically require rewriting the entire protocol and everything which interacts with the bitcoin network - and that's if it's even possible in the first place, without removing vital parts of bitcoin like the decentralization or being able to trust the entire network without trusting any one entity.

Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by junk_f00d on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @12:44PM (#16369046)
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by aeternus on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @03:58PM (#16370713)
To call that a solution is generous.. it is unlikely the average person could follow the Glacier Protocol.
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by dangerboysteve on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @03:30PM (#16370458)
Isn't the problem keeping the coins in on online wallet or exchange? If you store your personal wallet offline how can you be hacked?
Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by aeternus on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @07:46PM (#16372406)
Lots of ways:

- Software you use for key generation uses a known random-seed.

- Compromised software that converts your seed into an address/priv key.

- Compromised transaction generation software.

- Offline wallet physically stolen

- Malware / firmware exploit on USB used to transfer transactions between online & offline computers

Re:Bad code may be to blame for $500M of cryptocurrency loss... by Retric on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @09:54AM (#16367519)
As the parent pointed out, that increases the risk of theft.