Am I the only one here thinking that the MtGox hack is actually good for Bitcoin?
The very fact that it's holding its value after something like this, having apparently plummeted down to $0.01, indicates to me that people do subjectively see 'intrinsic' value in Bitcoin, and it has resilience. One of the biggest fears I've seen is that it's purely built on 'nothing' it's like a house of cards that can come crashing down at any moment. Well now, in its first big month out in the wild, it's been through two crises and still it bounces back. There's definitely something substantial there. I really do think that every time it gets hit and bounces back, it proves its resilience and ultimately, after the FUD has cleared, will find itself in a stronger position.
I think it's only good because it will force a rebalancing of bitcoin exchange markets and MtGox's monopoly.
But it's very bad because it's a heavy blow to the reputation and credibility of bitcoins in general in the eyes of the general public (who mostly have never even heards of bitcoins yet, but they will eventually). It will make widespread adoption much more difficult and longer, because with this and the recent robbery and the bubble burst before that, people are going to think this is far too risky and unproven for "ordinary" people to invest their hard-earned money in. And without widespread acceptance bitcoins are not going to keep rising in value significantly (like they've done in the past, solely due to people buying them), nor become the world-changing usefull tool they could be.
For me this event is slightly reassuring, because it makes me think that even if the age of quickly rising bitcoins may be over or a long way away, whatever comes bitcoins will not crash or disappear completely, thanks to a core of bitcoin cultists / fundamentalists / enthusiasts / whatever you wanna call them, who believe in bitcoins because of ideological / political / personal reasons and not because of economical / rational reasons, and will continue their support of it no matter what because of that, so the degree of certainty that I won't lose all the money I invest into this has risen for me (though I still wouldn't call bitcoins predictable or completely safe).
