A couple things about Bitcoins that I've wondered...

[blueyonder]

I've lurked this forum for about 2 years on and off and there has always been two main things that bugged me about Bitcoin and I'm wondering if anything is being done about them.

The first thing really tears at me because it's also one of the most amazing things about Bitcoins, their anonymity. I know this is one of the selling points of Bitcoins but doesn't it also mean that you can never ever truly trust a third party with your bitcoins? I mean the Sheep Marketplace heist that just happened is one of the biggest heists in history, and it seems people are powerless to do anything about it. Yes I know they were buying and selling drugs there, it was a risk they took because no one would report they were buying and selling drugs. But suppose it happened with a site that wasn't selling drugs, what would the difference be? I will admit this didn't bug me at all until it affected me. I lost all of my Bitcoins back when Bitcoinica was hacked, it was a sad day. I was so behind Bitcoins and would come into the office preaching about it everyday. You can dislike Bitcoinica if you want trading with those kind of margins was like gambling for some people and it probably made Bitcoins more volatile at the time. But it was none the less a legitimate site and ZhouTong was a prominent member in the community. When I lost them I started the long process of getting USD back into the market and eventually was discouraged and disheartened and gave up, and this leads me to my second problem

Holy heck it is hard to buy BTC. It's so round about and takes a lot of time and involves a putting more personal financial information out there than most people are comfortable sharing. Reading all the Bitcoin articles in the news lately really reminded me though of all the possibilities and how excited I first was and I've been slowly buying back. Still though I see all of the same problems exist. I'm wondering if anything is being done to make it easier to buy Bitcoins. (Yes I know LocalCoins and Coinbase) but why not let someone use their debit card and just charge them for any fees? And will there ever be anything that can be done about Bitcoins being such an attractive target for thieves? Without the last one addressed I see it being really hard for Bitcoins to survive, no one will want their money in something so insecure right?

Thanks if you've read this all, anyone's comments would be welcomed! I'm real curious what others think and if anything is being done that I'm unaware of.

[eternaluniverse]

Your wallet is as secure as you are smart with it. There are many ways to use and store bitcoin is an extremely safe way. (You can search this yourself or pm me). In regards to buying btc with ease try kijiji or craigslist and buy in person at a lobby of a bank or in a police department.

[kawsmic]

My experiences in the irl trade of bitcoins was the use of trading wallets. He payed money and I gave him a paper wallet. He scanned it with his phone app to check the balance. Hope this helps!

[tunctioncloud]

And will there ever be anything that can be done about Bitcoins being such an attractive target for thieves? Without the last one addressed I see it being really hard for Bitcoins to survive, no one will want their money in something so insecure right?

It is problem with user computer security habits rather than Bitcoin client security. I mean, when someone stole your walet with cash on the street, no one will give you the money back! The same applies here, you have to secure yourselves because police doesnt work in both cases

[blueyonder]

I totally agree with both of you, and buying locally is an option I'm behind. Although they often cost a bit more locally and either of these solutions still don't sound very palatable to the mainstream. Also as far as keeping your wallet secure I know how to but I feel as if most people don't and if mainstream adoption begins and the news is riddled with stories of thefts it will kill any momentum and popular culture generally isn't very forgiving. That's my biggest concern right now.

As far as user security goes I agree but I mean in history we had the same problem protecting our money and that's why things like western union and going even further back banks began to exist. I have my plan for keeping my coins safe but it just seems so far beyond what most would do.