2014 is going to be a GOOD year for bitcoin they said...

[bennybong]

I guess I got my hopes up. So much drama and we're only in March! Although I still have full confidence in bitcoins future, I can't help but think the publics perception of bitcoin has been damaged a lot recently. Lot's of thefts/fraud/possible criminal activity being reported, of course that's all the media report on anyway. But damn, when do you ever hear of a 500 MILLION DOLLAR THEFT in the real world? Blows my mind! This has affected a lot of bitcoin users too. I for one lost all but 2btc of my holdings thanks to mtgox (and 50btc). Not only did I lose a fair amount of confidence but I am also no longer a strong holder of coins anymore. With no fiat to buy back in again I just feel like an outsider looking into the bitcoin world. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I wonder what drama will unfold next...

(No FUD intended)

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[El Dude]

the year is not over.

[alexeft]

I guess I got my hopes up. So much drama and we're only in March! Although I still have full confidence in bitcoins future, I can't help but think the publics perception of bitcoin has been damaged a lot recently. Lot's of thefts/fraud/possible criminal activity being reported, of course that's all the media report on anyway. But damn, when do you ever hear of a 500 MILLION DOLLAR THEFT in the real world? Blows my mind! This has affected a lot of bitcoin users too. I for one lost all but 2btc of my holdings thanks to mtgox (and 50btc). Not only did I lose a fair amount of confidence but I am also no longer a strong holder of coins anymore. With no fiat to buy back in again I just feel like an outsider looking into the bitcoin world. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I wonder what drama will unfold next...

(No FUD intended)

All these are not problems with bitcoin itself!!!!

[CoinMode]

It is unfortunate that you got Goxxed, but it would be downright shameful to let your one-time mistake of trusting a dishonest exchange turn you away from the most trustworthy financial tool ever created.

[V4Vendettas]

I guess I got my hopes up. So much drama and we're only in March! Although I still have full confidence in bitcoins future, I can't help but think the publics perception of bitcoin has been damaged a lot recently. Lot's of thefts/fraud/possible criminal activity being reported, of course that's all the media report on anyway. But damn, when do you ever hear of a 500 MILLION DOLLAR THEFT in the real world? Blows my mind! This has affected a lot of bitcoin users too. I for one lost all but 2btc of my holdings thanks to mtgox (and 50btc). Not only did I lose a fair amount of confidence but I am also no longer a strong holder of coins anymore. With no fiat to buy back in again I just feel like an outsider looking into the bitcoin world. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I wonder what drama will unfold next...

(No FUD intended)

All these are not problems with bitcoin itself!!!!

Yea I know that and I'm sure the OP knows that still we are both as he said outsiders looking in now.

The little I have left I was going to get some mining gear but for the life of me I'm finding it hard to find some that's not vaporware/preorder/outright scam.

[drrussellshane]

if you aren't the sole holder of your own bitcoin (private keys) then you don't own any.

[bennybong]

I guess I got my hopes up. So much drama and we're only in March! Although I still have full confidence in bitcoins future, I can't help but think the publics perception of bitcoin has been damaged a lot recently. Lot's of thefts/fraud/possible criminal activity being reported, of course that's all the media report on anyway. But damn, when do you ever hear of a 500 MILLION DOLLAR THEFT in the real world? Blows my mind! This has affected a lot of bitcoin users too. I for one lost all but 2btc of my holdings thanks to mtgox (and 50btc). Not only did I lose a fair amount of confidence but I am also no longer a strong holder of coins anymore. With no fiat to buy back in again I just feel like an outsider looking into the bitcoin world. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I wonder what drama will unfold next...

(No FUD intended)

All these are not problems with bitcoin itself!!!!

Yeah I know, I still absolutely believe in bitcoin. It's just hard to get excited about it these days. I have requested a refund from blackarrow as ROI-ing is questionable and I really need the money. Unless I magic money out of my ass I'm going to have to call it a day with bitcoin some time soon. Will have to cash out my last 2btc soon! Sad times.

[seriouscoin]

I guess I got my hopes up. So much drama and we're only in March! Although I still have full confidence in bitcoins future, I can't help but think the publics perception of bitcoin has been damaged a lot recently. Lot's of thefts/fraud/possible criminal activity being reported, of course that's all the media report on anyway. But damn, when do you ever hear of a 500 MILLION DOLLAR THEFT in the real world? Blows my mind! This has affected a lot of bitcoin users too. I for one lost all but 2btc of my holdings thanks to mtgox (and 50btc). Not only did I lose a fair amount of confidence but I am also no longer a strong holder of coins anymore. With no fiat to buy back in again I just feel like an outsider looking into the bitcoin world. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I wonder what drama will unfold next...

(No FUD intended)

All these are not problems with bitcoin itself!!!!

Yea I know that and I'm sure the OP knows that still we are both as he said outsiders looking in now.

The little I have left I was going to get some mining gear but for the life of me I'm finding it hard to find some that's not vaporware/preorder/outright scam.

oh pls..... i can have sympathy for the OP, but you...? nah....

You lost money because of greed. The sooner you admit it the faster you can move on.

You were the one thats fcking wiring money into MtGox hoping to buy cheap coins....(after they stopped btc withdrawal) despite many warnings on here. Stop who gives a shit about your lost now?

[gentlemand]

I think we'll look back on 2014 as a decisive step towards shaking off the smellier elements of Bitcoin's past.

It may not set the world on fire in terms of prices, anything's still possible, but it will end the year with a much more credible and widespread ecosystem.

Sorry for your loss OP.

[spazzdla]

One large positive event could send bitcoin skyrocketing.. The public believe what ever they are told.  It's very possible a game is going on right now to drive the price low to open buying chances for the top %.  Then they release news such as the states will allow all bitcoin transactions, no regulation, just want tax on things bought with bitcoin.  I am just speculating but that's what I would be doing if I was in the top .001%.

[Beef Supreme]

It is unfortunate that you got Goxxed, but it would be downright shameful to let your one-time mistake of trusting a dishonest exchange turn you away from the most trustworthy financial tool ever created.

Trusting a dishonest exchange?  Problem is/was, it became dishonest at the flick of a switch.  What is to stop the rest from doing the same? 

Like buying earthquake insurance, a small one hit, and the insurance company paid.  Premiums went up following, but they did their job.  People trusted them to do the right thing, so paid through the nose.  But, when a magnitude 9 earthquake hit, they packed up shop and disappeared into the night. 

Those earthquake victims just got Goxxed.

And people sit back and say, not all insurance companies will do that…

They are all in it for the money mang!  BTC-e, coinbase, they could all do the same!

The problem with the protocol is also what makes it valuable.  It is just too easy to steal, and trust is non-existent with third parties.

[Nancarrow]

It should be pointed out (yet again) that saying the fraud/theft involved $500 million worth of bitcoins is rather meaningless, since it presumes to value every single lost/stolen bitcoin as worth the last trade price... whereas of course such a large amount of bitcoins could not have been sold at market value without significantly crashing that market value before even a small proportion had been sold.

And, as drrussellshane didn't quite say loudly enough,

if you aren't the sole holder of your own bitcoin (private keys) then you don't own any.

[Beef Supreme]

It should be pointed out (yet again) that saying the fraud/theft involved $500 million worth of bitcoins is rather meaningless, since it presumes to value every single lost/stolen bitcoin as worth the last trade price... whereas of course such a large amount of bitcoins could not have been sold at market value without significantly crashing that market value before even a small proportion had been sold.

And, as drrussellshane didn't quite say loudly enough,

if you aren't the sole holder of your own bitcoin (private keys) then you don't own any.

Being your own bank has its ups and downs buddy.  Having all your money in your house which could:

A.  Burn down.
B.  Be robbed.  If you had a lot of BTC then you might see family held hostage for ransom.
C.  Your toddlers could destroy paper wallets worth thousands experimenting with the shredder.
D.  Always being leery about using your computer with the QT funds for internet surfing.
E.  Using Hive, or Multibit?  Then read, new virus steals either wallet.  Then running home from work to move all funds.  Lotsa worry.

It could be a bit of a hassle, generating/hiding all these paper wallets, usb backups, updating them all with every change.

[Dafar]

2013 was AMAZING... 2014 is not the year for bitcoin... I have my doubts that we'll even reach our ATH from last year.

Look forward to 2015 and 2016... you can't have 2 amazing years in a row (3 if you consider 2012 amazing)

[TheChosenOne]

Being your own bank has its ups and downs buddy.  Having all your money in your house which could:

A.  Burn down.
B.  Be robbed.  If you had a lot of BTC then you might see family held hostage for ransom.
C.  Your toddlers could destroy paper wallets worth thousands experimenting with the shredder.
D.  Always being leery about using your computer with the QT funds for internet surfing.
E.  Using Hive, or Multibit?  Then read, new virus steals either wallet.  Then running home from work to move all funds.  Lotsa worry.

It could be a bit of a hassle, generating/hiding all these paper wallets, usb backups, updating them all with every change.

Being your own bank has its ups, if you:
A. Take backups.
B. Use encryption.
C. Take backups.
D. Don't be stupid.
E. Use cold storage/Don't use Windows.

[cryptoanarchist]

It should be pointed out (yet again) that saying the fraud/theft involved $500 million worth of bitcoins is rather meaningless, since it presumes to value every single lost/stolen bitcoin as worth the last trade price... whereas of course such a large amount of bitcoins could not have been sold at market value without significantly crashing that market value before even a small proportion had been sold.

And, as drrussellshane didn't quite say loudly enough,

if you aren't the sole holder of your own bitcoin (private keys) then you don't own any.

Being your own bank has its ups and downs buddy.  Having all your money in your house which could:

A.  Burn down.
B.  Be robbed.  If you had a lot of BTC then you might see family held hostage for ransom.
C.  Your toddlers could destroy paper wallets worth thousands experimenting with the shredder.
D.  Always being leery about using your computer with the QT funds for internet surfing.
E.  Using Hive, or Multibit?  Then read, new virus steals either wallet.  Then running home from work to move all funds.  Lotsa worry.

It could be a bit of a hassle, generating/hiding all these paper wallets, usb backups, updating them all with every change.

Don't keep all the copies of your keys in your house. Keep them offline. Make backups and encrypt them. There are ways of planning for all the issues you've raised. As for the ransom bit, I would suggest not letting on to people that you have a lot of bitcoin - that's the beauty of it, you could have 1000 20BTC accounts and no one in the world knows.

[Joshuar]

2014 started off Bad for Bitcoin, hopefully the price is going to rise and people get over the Mt.Gox scandal.

[FeedbackLoop]

2014 started off Bad for Bitcoin, hopefully the price is going to rise and people get over the Mt.Gox scandal.

If you want to focus on price then the best thing for Bitcoin is for the price to be stable. Assuming price matters (and assuming a very broad definition of "price"). Bitcoin functions just fine at any price.

[waxwing]

It seems to me that people tend to forget that it's not 100% one way or another.

All funds in an exchange - stupid, clearly.

All funds in personal cold storage - an ideal system for the purist, up to a point. It has security risks in the physical world.

But there are more sophisticated approaches that can be combined. Use of multisig, in particular, helps. It means, for example, you can create convenient online wallets where (a) the website has no ability to spend and (b) you can still recover from losing a particular private key.

Then there's Neo/Bee's approach, using 2 of 3 from customer, bank and a third party.

As well as a number of different multisig approaches, you can use two modes of cold storage for safety - one paper, one brainwallet. There's secret sharing schemes to split private keys.

For now, I think it's clear that a simple cold storage approach for the majority of funds is right for most people. It's equally clear that exchanges as currently implemented are not safe at all and one should never entrust meaningful funds with them except for the brief time you use them (doesn't help daytraders, but sorry - daytraders are taking huge gambles anyway).

In the future multisig and some other technologies will give you a broader set of choices if you happen to have a lot of money.

[freebit13]

I guess I got my hopes up. So much drama and we're only in March! Although I still have full confidence in bitcoins future, I can't help but think the publics perception of bitcoin has been damaged a lot recently. Lot's of thefts/fraud/possible criminal activity being reported, of course that's all the media report on anyway. But damn, when do you ever hear of a 500 MILLION DOLLAR THEFT in the real world? Blows my mind! This has affected a lot of bitcoin users too. I for one lost all but 2btc of my holdings thanks to mtgox (and 50btc). Not only did I lose a fair amount of confidence but I am also no longer a strong holder of coins anymore. With no fiat to buy back in again I just feel like an outsider looking into the bitcoin world. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I wonder what drama will unfold next...

(No FUD intended)

I'm not sure this is all such bad news. I think amounts like this mentioned in the media gets some financial heads turning and can lend some credibility to the seriousness of bitcoin. With that much money moving around, it no longer looks like a geeky hobby or some libertarian dream world. Good news or bad, bitcoin is slowly becoming a household word.