Bitcoin + Exchanges = ?

[Sir Alpha_goy]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

[HCP]

BTC isn't any different... people are, in general, "greedy"... and somewhat illogical... we seem to think that we can make value out of nothing... much like Wall St, it is all just shifting numbers around... and is all smoke and mirrors.

Most altcoins exist purely to pump and dump and make BTC. Most exchanges just become big enough to either become too tempting a target for the owners to scam and run or for hackers to attack. Online or in real life, whenever there is a chance to make serious $$$, there will be crime/scams etc...

[Jannn]

An exchange brings people together. I buy, you sell. It is possible without exchange, but less easy. Exchange takes a small share in exchange for comfort.
If you just pay Bitcoin and get paid in bitcoin, you do not need any exchange.

[Junko]

Bitcoin + Exchanges = ?

Bitcoin exchanges makes it easier and more efficient for those who want to trade.

As far as your poll, I imagine bitcoin would survive even without exchanges. It would just make trading less convenient for those that do lots of trading if there were no exchanges.

[jackg]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

Apart from selling them (which is still an exchange) then there's no way of increasing the value of Bitcoin.
There are always vulnerabilities in systems. Only exchanges with valid insurance should be trusted, as others would be more vulnerable to you losing your coins. Exchanges are what makes bitcoin valuable, if we were without them, the bitcoin price would dramatically fall and cause instability in the bitcoin network and could even end the circulation of Bitcoin or its use in the modern society.

[U2]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

Apart from sellinthem (which is still an exchange) then there's no way of increasing the value of Bitcoin.
There are always vulnerabilities in systems. Only exchanges with valid insurance should be trusted, as others would be more vulnerable to you losing your coins. Exchanges are what makes bitcoin valuable, if we were without them, the bitcoin price would dramatically falland cause instability in the bitcoin network and could even end the circulaiton of Bitcoin or its use in the modern society.

Easier said than done. Do you know of an exchange with valid insurance? I wouldn't even know where to begin searching for such an exchange.

[illyiller]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

Like anything else, it depends on the risk/reward. I don't think Wall Street has really dipped their toes in. At this stage, security firms are still in the "I don't know what I'm doing phase" (see: BitGo), and regulation is still a big grey area, so no major investment firms are going to back bitcoin exchanges. At some point, we will grow up from this -- both in terms of centralized exchange security and trustworthy management, and decentralized exchanges, who won't be able to compete with the liquidity of centralized exchanges.

[jackg]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

Apart from sellinthem (which is still an exchange) then there's no way of increasing the value of Bitcoin.
There are always vulnerabilities in systems. Only exchanges with valid insurance should be trusted, as others would be more vulnerable to you losing your coins. Exchanges are what makes bitcoin valuable, if we were without them, the bitcoin price would dramatically falland cause instability in the bitcoin network and could even end the circulaiton of Bitcoin or its use in the modern society.

Easier said than done. Do you know of an exchange with valid insurance? I wouldn't even know where to begin searching for such an exchange.

I know Coinbase say they insure about their assets. I'm not sure if the documentation for this is publically avaliable by them though or if this is an accurate claim.
Insurance in a lot of places such as these type are hard to get anyway (most places don't trust digital vulnerabilities that the site can be under. There are also smaler sites that may get insurance for having smaller funds, though you should never keep your coins on these exchanges, they should just remain there for a shor period of time and move from that account to a more secure one (such as a desktop wallet).

[outatime1]

Even though some of these exchanges have been fraudulent, I think we need them right now for bitcoin to survive. In the long run, maybe there is a better solution, but I think that so many people rely on the exchanges for trading, that they are needed.

[john2231]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

Apart from selling them (which is still an exchange) then there's no way of increasing the value of Bitcoin.
There are always vulnerabilities in systems. Only exchanges with valid insurance should be trusted, as others would be more vulnerable to you losing your coins. Exchanges are what makes bitcoin valuable, if we were without them, the bitcoin price would dramatically fall and cause instability in the bitcoin network and could even end the circulation of Bitcoin or its use in the modern society.

Yeah right only exchanger can decide what will be the price of the currency.. thats why we are experience of hacking because i think they are monitored by hackers that it takes a long time recording of cookies or the ip of the site is the biggest problem that this is new tools of hackers that i saw before from a deepweb forum..  they are using this tool to monitor a site if someone login there they can get the cookies and they will use a third party to convert the cookies into a password..

[illyiller]

I know Coinbase say they insure about their assets. I'm not sure if the documentation for this is publically avaliable by them though or if this is an accurate claim.

I don't think they do. USD may be held in insured accounts, but not BTC. I'm pretty sure I saw a Medium article recently from Fred or Brian in which he stated that insurance was prohibitively expensive, and that they preferred to expend those resources on improving their security infrastructure.

That sounds all well and good, but it is a bit scary to consider how much cold storage they have. I wonder what they would do in the case of a major hack.

[jackg]

I know Coinbase say they insure about their assets. I'm not sure if the documentation for this is publically avaliable by them though or if this is an accurate claim.

I don't think they do. USD may be held in insured accounts, but not BTC. I'm pretty sure I saw a Medium article recently from Fred or Brian in which he stated that insurance was prohibitively expensive, and that they preferred to expend those resources on improving their security infrastructure.

That sounds all well and good, but it is a bit scary to consider how much cold storage they have. I wonder what they would do in the case of a major hack.

If they have a lot of cold storage (which ist sounds like they do). Then that's probably not very secure compared to the value. Unless they have printed paper wallets stored in a large concrete safe, surrounded by armered guards and vehicles, hidden in a bunker, I don't think it's very safe!
Once there's a major hack or breach of their pysical security, then there's a massive problem for coinbase (they would actually be a very profitable hack as they store millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin there).

[topiOleg]

If you just pay Bitcoin and get paid in bitcoin, you do not need any exchange.

Thats right, Bitcoin is still far away from this ideal scenario though. Very few people earning Bitcoin now, thats why most people need some form of exchange to get Bitcoins. Maybe in the future exchanges wont be so important, but now they are essential for people to get Bitcoins. Would it be better if the exchanges were decentralized and trustless? Yes, but there is no good enought working alternative. Look at localbitcoins, the spread between buy-sell prices is too big, and very illiquid market with just few buy-sell orders available.

[illyiller]

I know Coinbase say they insure about their assets. I'm not sure if the documentation for this is publically avaliable by them though or if this is an accurate claim.

I don't think they do. USD may be held in insured accounts, but not BTC. I'm pretty sure I saw a Medium article recently from Fred or Brian in which he stated that insurance was prohibitively expensive, and that they preferred to expend those resources on improving their security infrastructure.

That sounds all well and good, but it is a bit scary to consider how much cold storage they have. I wonder what they would do in the case of a major hack.

If they have a lot of cold storage (which ist sounds like they do). Then that's probably not very secure compared to the value. Unless they have printed paper wallets stored in a large concrete safe, surrounded by armered guards and vehicles, hidden in a bunker, I don't think it's very safe!
Once there's a major hack or breach of their pysical security, then there's a massive problem for coinbase (they would actually be a very profitable hack as they store millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin there).

According to their recent AMA, they have upwards of $700 million worth of BTC in cold storage. Scary as hell, if you think about it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4wx23q/coinbase_security_team_ama_10am_pdt_today_here/d6arx2x

We currently have upwards of $700m secured in cold storage. The cost of insuring those funds would be very significant. In our view, that money is better spent on continually improving our cold storage solution.

So indeed, no insurance on that amount of bitcoin. I would concede that insurance would indeed be expensive, but one has to wonder how secure their vault really is. My biggest concern with bitcoin businesses is always inside jobs, and cold storage can't protect from that. I just hope they have multiple strong levels of security / multi-key access to that cold storage. That's a lot of money on the line.

[jackg]

If you just pay Bitcoin and get paid in bitcoin, you do not need any exchange.

Thats right, Bitcoin is still far away from this ideal scenario though. Very few people earning Bitcoin now, thats why most people need some form of exchange to get Bitcoins. Maybe in the future exchanges wont be so important, but now they are essential for people to get Bitcoins. Would it be better if the exchanges were decentralized and trustless? Yes, but there is no good enought working alternative. Look at localbitcoins, the spread between buy-sell prices is too big, and very illiquid market with just few buy-sell orders available.

There are probably more pople/businesses in Bitcoin than were previously in it. The price has dramatically increased and continues to do so.

I know Coinbase say they insure about their assets. I'm not sure if the documentation for this is publically avaliable by them though or if this is an accurate claim.

I don't think they do. USD may be held in insured accounts, but not BTC. I'm pretty sure I saw a Medium article recently from Fred or Brian in which he stated that insurance was prohibitively expensive, and that they preferred to expend those resources on improving their security infrastructure.

That sounds all well and good, but it is a bit scary to consider how much cold storage they have. I wonder what they would do in the case of a major hack.

If they have a lot of cold storage (which ist sounds like they do). Then that's probably not very secure compared to the value. Unless they have printed paper wallets stored in a large concrete safe, surrounded by armered guards and vehicles, hidden in a bunker, I don't think it's very safe!
Once there's a major hack or breach of their pysical security, then there's a massive problem for coinbase (they would actually be a very profitable hack as they store millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin there).

According to their recent AMA, they have upwards of $700 million worth of BTC in cold storage. Scary as hell, if you think about it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4wx23q/coinbase_security_team_ama_10am_pdt_today_here/d6arx2x

We currently have upwards of $700m secured in cold storage. The cost of insuring those funds would be very significant. In our view, that money is better spent on continually improving our cold storage solution.

So indeed, no insurance on that amount of bitcoin. I would concede that insurance would indeed be expensive, but one has to wonder how secure their vault really is. My biggest concern with bitcoin businesses is always inside jobs, and cold storage can't protect from that. I just hope they have multiple strong levels of security / multi-key access to that cold storage. That's a lot of money on the line.

A scary and slightly enticing amount to have stored somewhere offline.
That's a lot of money stored there in Bitcoin, let's hope for sure that they're using very good security measures, otherwise, the majority of everyone's money is gone.

[Tacalt]

With all the hacks and manipulation going on are exchanges even a good idea?

It isn't panning out all that well for Wall Street.

Why is Bitcoin any different?

I think it's funny that when a centralized exchange fails people perceive it as bitcoin failing when using a centralized exchange goes against when Bitcoin is all about. Especially exchanges that require KYC/AML compliance.

[pooya87]

bitcoin exchanges are a necessary evil that you have to use if you want to trade bitcoin, and until a better solution is found we are all stuck here using these centralized shit and lose money every time they decide to get hacked.

[Strongkored]

bitcoin exchanges are a necessary evil that you have to use if you want to trade bitcoin, and until a better solution is found we are all stuck here using these centralized shit and lose money every time they decide to get hacked.

But I think you can avoid it, by storing the bitcoin you are trading. In the wallet is where you have full control to it. And do not ever save bitcoin, too long in wallet exchanger to avoid things like hacking and others.

[ASHLIUSZ]

bitcoin exchanges are a necessary evil that you have to use if you want to trade bitcoin, and until a better solution is found we are all stuck here using these centralized shit and lose money every time they decide to get hacked.

But I think you can avoid it, by storing the bitcoin you are trading. In the wallet is where you have full control to it. And do not ever save bitcoin, too long in wallet exchanger to avoid things like hacking and others.

Users should never store funds on an exchange platform for too long. This is not just true for the world of Bitcoin and digital currency, but also for any financial platform in existence. The main difference is how Bitcoin stimulates users to take control of their finances by keeping funds in self-controlled wallets, whereas fiat currency does not.

[densuj]

Bitcoin and another cryptos coins need exchanger without it, bitcoin is not valuable although there are manipulaton and scam on there but not all of exchangers. It is only one of all markets.