What would you do if you generated a Bitcoin address which had 100btc in it.

[Birdy]

If they belonged to a poor person I would definitely give them back.

How are you able to check that?

[debianlinux]

The question is akin to this,

If you walked into a crowded parking deck and hit the unlock button on your key fob for your Honda Accord and the nearby Maserati lit up, the door swung open and a voice came over the parking deck speakers and said your name and welcomed you into the vehicle as if it were your own then when you sat down in the car the key also just happened to fit and start the engine... then would you take the car?

The voice over the speaker system is giving the man the car, even if the voice is lying he might think its a publicity stunt and play along.

The OP's Bitcoin example involves the theft of Bitcoin without almost any repercussions. The question here boils down to an ethical one, without the chance of being caught do you steal a random's Bitcoins.

Many will steal them, and most of the people that will steal them have to rationalize the theft to themselves. ("No one should put so many coins in one address!", "God gave them to me", "Fate, nuff said", etc..)

However no rationalization is needed in your example because you are literally being given a car and the whole thing smells of a publicity stunt. In fact he probably expects himself to be apart of a show on TV and is probably researching hidden camera shows to see if any filmed in the local area.

I am tired and rambling, if I make no sense please disregard the above.

Yeah, you missed the point, entirely. The described circumstances are not supposed to be rationalized into some episode of Punk'd or anything. I'm talking about honest to goodness magical voices from heaven that possess the speaker system that is really just part of the fire alarm and doesn't have a microphone on it anywhere. I'm talking about the real odds that a Honda Accord key will fit and activate a Maserati ignition with no Ashton Kutchers hiding behind the bushes. That you will generate an address containing 100 BTC is just as likely.

[zubelutte]

Might look like signup bonus for starting using Bitcoin client to newcommer.

Fortunatelly we are speculating about hypothetic scenario

[Ecurb123]

I voted that I would delete the address and move on. Because as I understand it, this could only happen if I were to somehow get randomly generated the same address as someone else already had, am I wrong with that? And anyway if that happened I think it would be find to just delete the address, no harm done right?

[Birdy]

I voted that I would delete the address and move on. Because as I understand it, this could only happen if I were to somehow get randomly generated the same address as someone else already had, am I wrong with that? And anyway if that happened I think it would be find to just delete the address, no harm done right?

Yes, at least if you have no malware on your computer grabbing that address.

[aynstein]

you forgot the cult option, immediately donate to the scientologists (sp?) under the stipulation the money is not used to buy couches that will be jumped on...


Lame?

Ok, I admit it, weak joke.

[drawingthesun]

Yeah, you missed the point, entirely. The described circumstances are not supposed to be rationalized into some episode of Punk'd or anything. I'm talking about honest to goodness magical voices from heaven that possess the speaker system that is really just part of the fire alarm and doesn't have a microphone on it anywhere. I'm talking about the real odds that a Honda Accord key will fit and activate a Maserati ignition with no Ashton Kutchers hiding behind the bushes. That you will generate an address containing 100 BTC is just as likely.

If a Maserati key system cannot physically accept a Honda Accord key then its more likely you will eventually generate a Bitcoin address containing 100 BTC. This is because that physical key has no ability to ever fit into a Maserati ignition assuming physical incompatibilities.

One of those things is impossible but the other is possible but highly unlikely.

I am not aware of any way a metal key can randomly morph into another physical shape with no help and assuming we don't jam it in there as hard as possible.

Of course if the keys are similar it may become possible that a manufacturing defect could randomly make a key that fit both ignitions. This all really depends upon how close these two chunks of metal are in their manufactured state.

[MysteryMiner]

I am not aware of any way a metal key can randomly morph into another physical shape with no help and assuming we don't jam it in there as hard as possible.

Think about quantum mechanics. The same that cause atoms to randomly dislocate in CPU transistors. It is possible for Honda key to morph into Maserati key by the same principle. But it will take longer time than the age of universe to happen. And what if it morphs into dildo not Maserati key?

[rpg]

nothing is impossible, but if it happens to me please make it the address where the FBI keeps the stack of SR bitcoins 

[drawingthesun]

nothing is impossible, but if it happens to me please make it the address where the FBI keeps the stack of SR bitcoins 

The SR coins? http://blockchain.info/address/1F1tAaz5x1HUXrCNLbtMDqcw6o5GNn4xqX

Why aim for 30,000 when you have DPR's personal stash of 144,000! https://blockchain.info/address/1FfmbHfnpaZjKFvyi1okTjJJusN455paPH

[teukon]

So my computer would be running past the heat death of this universe and probably still would have not guessed a key with a balance.

It'll be a while before the universe achieves heat death (assuming things go that way).  One should be able to crack all the current addresses through brute force by calculating just one address per year with oodles of time to spare.

[Ecurb123]

I'm sure it's been figured many times already, but what are the odds of this happening?

[dserrano5]

Why aim for 30,000 when you have DPR's personal stash of 144,000! https://blockchain.info/address/1FfmbHfnpaZjKFvyi1okTjJJusN455paPH

Ah yeah, if I found the privkey to an address with 100 coins I'd probably do the right think (kinda). However if I found the key to that address you can be pretty sure I'd transfer the whole one hundred forty four thousand to my wallet. As many of us would do, I guess.

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

Why aim for 30,000 when you have DPR's personal stash of 144,000! https://blockchain.info/address/1FfmbHfnpaZjKFvyi1okTjJJusN455paPH

Ah yeah, if I found the privkey to an address with 100 coins I'd probably do the right think (kinda). However if I found the key to that address you can be pretty sure I'd transfer the whole one hundred forty four thousand to my wallet. As many of us would do, I guess.

Yes and no. If you do find an address collision that has 100btc in there, you would take them, because you know you will never find a collision ever again(talking pure bruteforce, no weak seeds).

[Nikinger]

If I manage to generate a Bitcoin address with already containing 100 BTC, I would suppose a broken RNG as the cause, and afterwards panic sweep all my funds off to the cold storage wallet. After emptying out the wallet from the affected wallet software, I would investigate the incident first before taking any actions.

[westkybitcoins]

There are a lot of thieves on this forum. Thats quite sad

This forum?

This is just human nature rearing it's ugly head. Given a chance to profit, an unidentifiable victim, a clean non-physical interaction, an amount that's not too big to hide or deal with, plenty of opportunities for rationalization, and a near-zero chance of being caught MOST people the world over would take the money. Sure, many people wouldn't even be tempted, and wouldn't think of taking the bitcoins. But those people are in a minority, and it's not a minority that's evenly distributed either (although I'd wager those people are OVER-represented somewhat among techies.)

[rpg]

nothing is impossible, but if it happens to me please make it the address where the FBI keeps the stack of SR bitcoins 

The SR coins? http://blockchain.info/address/1F1tAaz5x1HUXrCNLbtMDqcw6o5GNn4xqX

Why aim for 30,000 when you have DPR's personal stash of 144,000! https://blockchain.info/address/1FfmbHfnpaZjKFvyi1okTjJJusN455paPH

well sir, thank you or your guidance