The lesson is not that nobody can be trusted. There are countless good men and women in this community who are worthy of trust, and some of the very best people I've ever met.
He's wrong about that.
It doesn't matter how worthy someone is - they can make mistakes, they be threatened or blackmailed or hit by a bus.
Financial systems and transactions must not rely on trusting people. The only thing you can trust is math.
Look, this is money we're dealing with. It will always be prime target number one for criminal activity. Bitcoin is a cute kitten in its infancy at the moment. Major world finance institutions face a level of scrutiny and sustained attacks that pale anything bitcoin has faced so far into insignificance. Bitcoin isn't yet worth enough to have attracted the attention of the truly skilled criminals.
It was valuable enough to attract some clever criminals to exploit flaws in Gox's proprietary platform. They were caught with their pants down, because they didn't perform due diligence with their code. There's a reason people who write, review, and secure this kind of code for a living command high six figure salaries - they are worth it.
Gox has caused a number of problems for bitcoin since the beginning. I won't go into the sordid tale here since it's easy enough to find if you google it and I'm sure tomorrow the trade press will be spinning hay into gold with it ad nauseum. Let's just say that Gox has done bitcoin no favors lately, and this whirlwind of negative PR will be their final contribution.
Gox is leaving us all with this lesson: the finance world is not a place for amateurs and chumps. You want to be a part of the 'money revolution'? Then be prepared to treat everything as if you are Visa, the World Bank, and Wall Street. Hire real talent. Build it right. No shortcuts.
Bitcoin is only as good as its infrastructure. We need stable, reliable companies and services we can depend on to support it and help it grow. The market has decided that Gox is not one of those companies, and so it goes.
We've seen this coming for months now. It should surprise no one. The sooner it's blown over, the sooner we can get back to our moon rocket. This is the last time Gox gets to take the steam out of the engine.
Okey maybe I have gone overboard with this...hehe
