I'm out

[Anduril]

I am quite shocked at the level of optimism still shown in the forum. I thought the Mt.Gox hack would surely bring the entire thing down, but I see people discussing prices when the exchange comes back up!

Weird.

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[Thormandy]

I wouldn't give up so easy just yet, time is the key, but what's happening right now does throw some people off a lot lol

[Ilikeham]

I think the concept is sound, I think there are enough people adopting and accepting these to make it worthwhile and I'd love to see where this all is in five years.

I have silver bricks I bought 30 years ago, gold coins I bought 20 years ago. This week to week thinking is an internet phenomenon and I don't think it's valid in this instance where Bitcoins are concerned. There's a lot to happen with this alternate currency yet.

[libertyzeal]

I am quite shocked at the level of optimism still shown in the forum. I thought the Mt.Gox hack would surely bring the entire thing down, but I see people discussing prices when the exchange comes back up!

Weird.

The way I see it, mtgox isn't bitcoin, and if they can't keep their shit secure, another (better) exchange will step up to take that role.  I like mtgox, it took a lot of work and initiative to get up and running, but you can't be sloppy when handling your client's money, security is paramount.

[Anduril]

The way I see it, mtgox isn't bitcoin, and if they can't keep their shit secure, another (better) exchange will step up to take that role.  I like mtgox, it took a lot of work and initiative to get up and running, but you can't be sloppy when handling your client's money, security is paramount.

Of course mtgox is not bitcoin, but it was the largest exchange (61k customers!) The entire system has been compromised and shown to be susceptible to hacking. Tradehill had to close as well, so people are left holding pieces of digital value they cannot exchange.

[proto]

People who are only looking for an investment to increase their hoard of Dollars are missing a major point.

Many of us are here looking for an alternative system.  The value of BTC relative to USD is an interest, but not the whole-and-only reason for using BitCoins.  in fact, most of the problems and FUD seem to be centered around the places where the BitCoin economy intersects the government-sanctioned ones: the exchanges.  ("BTC went up too fast," "it went down too low," "it'll never hold," "it's too volatile," etc.) 

As the BitCoin economy grows and BitCoins are put to use, people will establish their value for goods and services. The exchange rates will stabilize. And, perhaps, people will be talking about the shortcomings of centrally-controlled currency backed by faith in mere governments.

[Anduril]

As the BitCoin economy grows and BitCoins are put to use, people will establish their value for goods and services. The exchange rates will stabilize. And, perhaps, people will be talking about the shortcomings of centrally-controlled currency backed by faith in mere governments.

That is a big if. This is going to create a lot of bad press, so people will just not think it is worth it, and will not risk getting involved. You need more merchants and more non-technical people to adopt for this to work, and I cannot see anyone entering the market now. So at least for a while the hopes of a growing economy are dashed.