Ghost bitcoin

[nightrow]

Hi,
This is my first post here, not sure the subject was not already discussed.

The major problem i see with your system is that you propose a system with a total maximum of bitcoin.
To claim ownership on bitcoin, you need the right key. Loose the key, you loose your bitcoin.

So over time, more and more people will inevitabily loose their hard drive, forget they have btc, shred their wallet.dat ... All these bitcoins will become ghost bitcoin, without any practical mean to get access to it. These ghost bitcoin will become as time pass an increasing proportion of all the bitcoin, until it will be such that is will be a big problem.

Is there anything planned to solve this issue ?

[1714127493]

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[db]

It is not a problem. Bitcoins are very divisible. Losing your coins is just a small gift to all other coin owners.

[Gavin Andresen]

There's a built-in mechanism for ensuring that this is never a serious problem:  the more coins that are lost, the more valuable the remaining coins become.

And the more valuable something is, the more careful people are not to lose it.  So there's a nice feedback loop that should naturally limit the number of coins lost.

If Bitcoin becomes the world's stable reserve currency then one bitcoin might end up being worth tens of thousands of dollars and we'll all get much more serious about backing up our wallets and keeping them secure.  Or, I think more likely, most people will use a service that they trust to keep their coins backed up and secure...

[LZ]

I made the hard link to the wallet.dat file in the Dropbox directory. So my wallet.dat file backups automaticaly.

The way to make a hard link in Windows NT or higher:

Code:

fsutil hardlink create link_name source_file

The way to make a hard link in Windows Vista or higher:

Code:

mklink /h link_name source_file

The way to make a symbolic link in Windows Vista or higher:

Code:

mklink link_name source_file

For a folder:

Code:

mklink /d link_name source_dir

Or (I prefer this way):

Code:

mklink /j link_name source_dir

The way to make a symbolic link in POSIX/UNIX-like systems:

Code:

ln -s source_file link_name

The way to make a hard link in POSIX/UNIX-like systems:

Code:

ln source_file link_name

[Anonymous]

I made a hard link to wallet.dat in Dropbox directory. So my wallet.dat backups automaticaly.

Carbonite http://www.carbonite.com/en/default.aspx

[LZ]

Carbonite is free for 15 days only.

[BioMike]

Or in a Tahoe-lafs share.

[Anonymous]

Or in a Tahoe-lafs share.

yep

[GeorgeH]

I made a hard link to wallet.dat in Dropbox directory. So my wallet.dat backups automaticaly.

Way to make a hard link in Windows NT and higher:

Code:

fsutil hardlink create link_name source_file

Way to make a hard link in Windows Vista and higher:

Code:

mklink /h link_name source_file

Way to make a symbolic link in Windows Vista and higher:

Code:

mklink link_name source_file

Way to make a symbolic link in POSIX/UNIX-like systems:

Code:

ln -s source_file link_name

Way to make a hard link in POSIX/UNIX-like systems:

Code:

ln source_file link_name

WOW!! I didn't know that was possible! Thanks, you just made my day (perhaps the next two days... seeing as there are only 25 minutes left in this one...)

[bitcoinex]

I made a hard link to wallet.dat in Dropbox directory. So my wallet.dat backups automaticaly.

This is very dangerous! Dropbox is not stable - it crashes when you save it in a large number of small files (git repo, for example). Who knows, maybe one day he will overwrite your wallet?

[LZ]

Dropbox allows to roll back old files. With keypool it will be safe. Bitcoin 0.3.13.4 already support it.

[bitcoinex]

Dropbox allows to roll back old files. With keypool it will be safe. Bitcoin 0.3.13.4 already support it.

I'm about what dropbox not guarantee saving the new versions of files.

[LZ]

I see no problem here if I use keypool. Especially if it is big enough. I can always roll back to an old version.

[davout]

Me = big key pool + hourly cron job + PGP + e-mail to gmail boom