You don't need to trust anyone to run a lightweight p2p node.
A lightweight node is one that only keep block headers.

Currently, the single implementation of light p2p node I'm aware of is BitcoinJ. And this implementation still downloads every block content IIRC, to check if you have a tx in it. It only stores the headers. This will be a problem once downloading blocks requires more bandwidth than what an average user can have, but we're still far from that (the problem with the main client is inserting the data in the database, not downloading it). And people are already working on implementing Bloom filters that would allow lightweight clients to only query the transaction set that interests them, and still be able to be sure it's valid due to the Merkle root in the block headers.

Those who should worry with scalability are those who must use a full node: pool operators, solo miners and miners in P2Pool. They'll be paid for it, though.


Pruning might help those who need a full client, but yeah, I agree with your feeling, it's probably not that relevant. At least I believe their main issue will be bandwidth not storage.

The simple fact that one can consider reserving "Bitcoin" as a trade mark shows hows screwed up this whole intellectual property thing is.

Thank you MtGox for making sure no "patent-troll" will gain control over the name Bitcoin.

And if this ever gets implemented, you won't be able to always assume that any more.

That's what I meant too. Adding a note explaining why this failure is listed as a success. I agree the contents should match the printed version.

I'd do that. Perhaps use PDF annotation feature as said by casacius to add a note stating that when the magazine was published, Bitcoinica was still operating normally.

@André, are you sure you mean "cash" as in "dinheiro vivo/em espécie", or do you just mean to buy "à vista"?

I think just having such amount of cash with yourself is illegal in most places, unless you have proper authorizations.

No Brasil, até o Bitcoin se popularizar, acho que a gente pode imaginar que quase todo mundo terá um smartphone. Então sei lá, utilidade questionável.

Seria interessante se alguém conseguisse montar rapidamente esse tipo de coisa num lugar como o Quênia por exemplo, onde as pessoas já estão acostumadas a fazer compras por SMS.

Esse tipo de serviço pode ser útil pra quem não tem smartphone.
Mas pra ser funcional, tem que ter atalhos pra evitar de digitar o endereço completo no telefone, como faz o coinapult, permitindo que você use número de telefone ou e-mail como alternativa. Talvez mesmo dar um código pra cada usuário do sistema (com checksum, por favor!) pra facilitar ainda mais.

Lack of property rights, or lack of respect for such rights.

And nothing like free markets to assure their survival: https://mises.org/daily/5960/Property-Means-Preservation

I wasn't event aware that the same input could show up multiple times in the same transaction.

You're forced to point out, in your transaction, which was the transaction that credited your input? And you have to make a signature for every "previous output"?

If that's the case, it indeed looks as waste of space.

Thought I should bring this here:

The End of Gun Control? (by an anti-gun in Forbes)

After what the article above describes becomes common, nobody will be able to keep using this lame and false excuse that "gun control can reduce the availability of guns to criminals". It will finally become pretty obvious that's not the case. Gun control, more than before, will only prevent honest people from having guns.

If your number is right, that's not simply "more capacity than NSA has". That's more gigabytes than some estimations of the number of atoms in the known universe.

I'd guess more than all Earth's matter would be able to provide, since the amount of energy to calculate all that compares with the amount of energy the Sun can produce.

But, let the professionals answer you with some good math. ;-)

That's why I said I find a leak more likely. Somehow, the attacker found the password.

Does BTC-e have employees or is it a one man show?

Good decision. It's important to understand how the password leaked to prevent it from happening again.

This worries me.
Have they figure out how the password leaked?

It definitely was not brute-forced. In the best case, it was "guessed" or "dictionary attacked" if it was not random enough, and then changing it should be enough. But if it has leaked (what I find most likely), and BTC-e doesn't know how it leaked, then the same thing may just happen again.

The platform should not resume its operations before understanding what happened and taking measures for it not to happen again. At least Liberty Reserves deposits and withdraws should be temporarily closed, since that's what leaked.

I see your point (same of Mike Jones above, I believe).

Yeah, it's probably very difficult to insurance against something that could so easily be a "voluntary failure". Perhaps really impractical.

Why do you say so?
I see a demand for deposit insurance in bitcoin world. If nobody has offered that yet is probably because nobody has the skills and money to start one, or those who eventually have the skills (and money) are not aware, or do not believe in, such demand. In any case, this may change.