What is the biggest problem in crypto currencies?

[HeliKopterBen]

As others have alluded to, end user security is the biggest problem IMO.  It would be nice if the bitcoin wizards could just program away the hackers and scammers and protect end users from themselves but that is easier said than done.  I do feel confident that eventually a hardware and/or software "killer app" solution will be designed to do this without the requirement of third party trust.

Hi, thanks for your opinion. What do you think that these "killer aps" should look like? What do you think is wrong with existing SW or HW solutions? Is there somethink what can be improved and if so, what is it? I think that SW wallets are not easy to use, it is still too "hacker app" for normal BFU users.

Perhaps the "killer app" is here but just hasn't caught on yet.  Bitgo and greenaddress provide multisig but the user could still lose their backup key and/or their hot key.  Think of how often people lose the password to their computer and forget to take a backup.  When it comes to money and real wealth this could be troublesome.  Also, hardware devices such as the trezor may be a good solution but I have not tried one. 

Another thought would be if one of the wallet services had a kit that could be purchased with multiple types of software and hardware backups and multisig with step by step instructions on how to store coins in a foolproof way offline.  That way, coins could be recovered in a variety of ways in case the user makes a mistake.  If the user loses a paper wallet, they may still have a USB backup or multisig with a hot key and the wallet services key.  All could be done offline to protect against hackers.  Just a thought.  Of course someone could physically steal the paper wallet.  At some point, the user will have to use their brain.

[QuestionAuthority]

People are far too stupid for crypto. ATM cards are a stretch for some people. Could you imagine this pig opening her Bitcoin wallet and making a purchase?

[jonald_fyookball]

And I would like to have the coins stored safely on the block chain without me having to do cold storage myself or having to trust a third party storing the coins for me.

you do realise that coins are on the blockchain right? they never leave the blockchain.. EVER, the only thing you need to keep safe is the private key (imagine it as the password that proves your identity to do transactions.) the privkey is not "holding" bitcoins. so just look after your private keys securely away from a computer that can be malwared, hacked or lost in a computer crash/ accidental  hard drive format.

Yes, the private keys are what actually needs to be cold stored etc. I used the term 'coin' just to make idea clear. For people who are unfamiliar with or new to Bitcoin, if I use the term 'private keys' instead of 'coins' then that may be difficult to understand.

makes no sense.

it's like saying  "I want the key to my house stored safely inside my house."

if your private keys were on the block chain, what differentiates you from a perfect stranger
in accessing them ?  another password or id?  now you're right back to where you started.

[desired_username]

People are far too stupid for crypto. ATM cards are a stretch for some people. Could you imagine this pig opening her Bitcoin wallet and making a purchase?

What he said. I think bitcoin cannot reach its true potential with the current set of humans.

Sadly, dumb people tend to reproduce in a faster pace too, and that means even more mentally challenged individuals in the future.

I think the quality of the userbase is more important than quantity, so I don't mind if it stays as a niche.

[Anders]

And I would like to have the coins stored safely on the block chain without me having to do cold storage myself or having to trust a third party storing the coins for me.

you do realise that coins are on the blockchain right? they never leave the blockchain.. EVER, the only thing you need to keep safe is the private key (imagine it as the password that proves your identity to do transactions.) the privkey is not "holding" bitcoins. so just look after your private keys securely away from a computer that can be malwared, hacked or lost in a computer crash/ accidental  hard drive format.

Yes, the private keys are what actually needs to be cold stored etc. I used the term 'coin' just to make idea clear. For people who are unfamiliar with or new to Bitcoin, if I use the term 'private keys' instead of 'coins' then that may be difficult to understand.

makes no sense.

it's like saying  "I want the key to my house stored safely inside my house."

if your private keys were on the block chain, what differentiates you from a perfect stranger
in accessing them ?  another password or id?  now you're right back to where you started.

One solution would be to have the private keys generated from a user ID. It's the user ID system I described somewhere else.

"A heart to my key

IN “SKYFALL”, the latest James Bond movie, 007 is given a gun that only he can fire. It works by recognising his palm print, rendering it impotent when it falls into a baddy’s hands. Like many of Q’s more fanciful inventions, the fiction is easier to conjure up than the fact. But there is a real-life biometric system that would have served Bond just as well: cardiac-rhythm recognition." -- http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/05/biometrics

[jonald_fyookball]

And I would like to have the coins stored safely on the block chain without me having to do cold storage myself or having to trust a third party storing the coins for me.

you do realise that coins are on the blockchain right? they never leave the blockchain.. EVER, the only thing you need to keep safe is the private key (imagine it as the password that proves your identity to do transactions.) the privkey is not "holding" bitcoins. so just look after your private keys securely away from a computer that can be malwared, hacked or lost in a computer crash/ accidental  hard drive format.

Yes, the private keys are what actually needs to be cold stored etc. I used the term 'coin' just to make idea clear. For people who are unfamiliar with or new to Bitcoin, if I use the term 'private keys' instead of 'coins' then that may be difficult to understand.

makes no sense.

it's like saying  "I want the key to my house stored safely inside my house."

if your private keys were on the block chain, what differentiates you from a perfect stranger
in accessing them ?  another password or id?  now you're right back to where you started.

One solution would be to have the private keys generated from a user ID. It's the user ID system I described somewhere else.

"A heart to my key

IN “SKYFALL”, the latest James Bond movie, 007 is given a gun that only he can fire. It works by recognising his palm print, rendering it impotent when it falls into a baddy’s hands. Like many of Q’s more fanciful inventions, the fiction is easier to conjure up than the fact. But there is a real-life biometric system that would have served Bond just as well: cardiac-rhythm recognition." -- http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/05/biometrics

biometrics aside, it doesn't solve anything.  You still have an "id" that authenticates.  so, no different than a private key in that regard.

[Anders]

biometrics aside, it doesn't solve anything.  You still have an "id" that authenticates.  so, no different than a private key in that regard.

With a biometric ID then the private keys can be generated with a deterministic algorithm. And then the private keys would not have to be stored anywhere, not even on the block chain. No cold storage needed! And the Bitcoin protocol can remain as it is.

[JohnFromWIT]

biometrics aside, it doesn't solve anything.  You still have an "id" that authenticates.  so, no different than a private key in that regard.

With a biometric ID then the private keys can be generated with a deterministic algorithm. And then the private keys would not have to be stored anywhere, not even on the block chain. No cold storage needed! And the Bitcoin protocol can remain as it is.

Yeah then all we'll need is a copy of your finger prints or heart beat to access your wallet.
I like it.

[Razick]

The trade-off between confirmation time and blockchain size is a serious problem in my opinion. I absolutely love the quick confirmation time with DOGE, because 10 minutes is just too long, but that being said, even Bitcoin has problems with a huge Blockchain, and faster confirmations times won't help.

[Swordsoffreedom]

The trade-off between confirmation time and blockchain size is a serious problem in my opinion. I absolutely love the quick confirmation time with DOGE, because 10 minutes is just too long, but that being said, even Bitcoin has problems with a huge Blockchain, and faster confirmations times won't help.

I don't mind the confirm times so much except when its with a timer or something example coinbase like you have 30 mins to make the purchase but you want to be out of the variance range by sending a no txt instead to save some fees.
Otherwise you need to send an e-mail about it later kind of a pain, the blockchain growing to much is a real problem though needs UXTO compression badly.

[DannyElfman]

"What is the biggest problem in crypto currencies?"

People

[SquashJ]

I don't have enough technical expertise to determine what is the "biggest" problem with cryptocurrency, but I do feel like a lot of Bitcoin users use the Bitcoin network without understanding basic things about the infrastructure, like mining and confirmations.

[DannyElfman]

I don't have enough technical expertise to determine what is the "biggest" problem with cryptocurrency, but I do feel like a lot of Bitcoin users use the Bitcoin network without understanding basic things about the infrastructure, like mining and confirmations.

Not saying you are wrong. But how exactly does it matter if people understand the mining and confirmation specs? Sure they will be confused at times, but other than that no harm will be done.

[Possum577]

They haven't made me independently wealthy yet. Oh, wait, that might be my biggest problem with me.

Seriously though, the mass copycat versions is a problem. They (most of them) don't provide some improvement over Bitcoin, they just provide an alternative that people spend time and money on that will rarely, if ever materialize. They don't help with adoption either, they support the ponzi scheme fallacy. They're just a distraction.

[DannyElfman]

They haven't made me independently wealthy yet. Oh, wait, that might be my biggest problem with me.

Seriously though, the mass copycat versions is a problem. They (most of them) don't provide some improvement over Bitcoin, they just provide an alternative that people spend time and money on that will rarely, if ever materialize. They don't help with adoption either, they support the ponzi scheme fallacy. They're just a distraction.

Useless, costly and redundant, yes. But a problem for crypto adoption in general? Nah, I don't think so

[elliwilli]

Lack of support from retailers and other payment processors.
If amazon or pay pal (and by extension Ebay) it would become much more mainstream

[littlewizard]

On my first thought, there are a few safety issues:
1. Bitcoin users have the safety issue of being hacked and then the transaction cannot be reversed.
2. 51% attack, it has the possibility of being 51% attack

[22MCoin]

security still the biggest problem.

[will_see]

Problem in people who think that btc/lts etc it's smth dangerous and unsafety.

[iluvpie60]

What do you think is the biggest problem when you use crypto currencies for paying? It doesn't matter if you are developer, client that looks for services, newbie or pro. Is there something what needs to be solved and what slows down crypto currencies expansion? Thanks for you opinions.

I would say we really need some kind of voting system to represent what bitcoin really is. a decentralized voting system that allows someone with a certain amount of btc to vote would be very nice.

I feel like bitcoin gets ignored by a lot of people because they think its complicated but it isnt. and with recent news of russian gangs hacking 1.2 billion usernames and passwords i would say we need something that highlights the encryption more.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/technology/russian-gang-said-to-amass-more-than-a-billion-stolen-internet-credentials.html