What could cause Bitcoin to fail?

[BrightAnarchist]

Everyone around me (in meatspace that is, not on the forums) tells me I shouldn't be so reckless by putting so much of my savings into BTC.

But really - what are the real risks here? Under what scenario could bitcoin possibly fail?

[Yankee (BitInstant)]

'Shutting Down' is almost impossible, Bitcoin is like p2p file sharing, as long as 2 people are using it than it cannot be.

However, it can be severely choked.

[nimda]

If you ever see a spend from this address:
1111111111111111111114oLvT2
Sell your bitcoins immediately; it means we are all doomed and the system has been broken from the start.

[goodlord666]

Evil never fails.

[error]

It's always a bad idea to keep all your eggs in one basket, as it were.

[Nesetalis]

extinction of the human race might cause bitcoin to fail, but hey maybe some aliens will come by, find it a cool idea and take it up!

[FreeMoney]

This should do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpKda4Tj4H8

[cbeast]

It's always a bad idea to keep all your eggs in one basket, as it were.

Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket!

[cbeast]

This should do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpKda4Tj4H8

Yep.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s22JijLKEw

I like how they both used Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon.

[FreeMoney]

Everyone around me (in meatspace that is, not on the forums) tells me I shouldn't be so reckless by putting so much of my savings into BTC.

But really - what are the real risks here? Under what scenario could bitcoin possibly fail?

Right now a government could run an on going 51% attack without much trouble. I don't think we're completely out of the woods on this until the value of a days blocks is well over a million 2012 bucks.

I don't think interest waning to near nothingness is even a remote possibility at this point, but I guess that is a scenario.

My understanding is that mainstream crypto has never broken suddenly, there is always time to switch. But it isn't completely impossible I guess.

[cbeast]

Right now a government could run an on going 51% attack without much trouble. I don't think we're completely out of the woods on this until the value of a days blocks is well over a million 2012 bucks.

Is there any country that could sustain a 51% attack for long before another equally large superpower countered their attack?

[Garr255]

As Bitcoin grows and gains popularity, and hate, and takes business from large and monopolistic foundations, a 51% attack will be a viable option for these people. The only problem is that most people with any sense realize Bitcoin is a great thing, and probably wouldn't want to kill it. But then again, all it takes is the man in control of a SHA256 optimized supercomputer pressing a few keys...

Is there any country that could sustain a 51% attack for long before another equally large superpower countered their attack?

If a 51% attack comes about, I wouldn't doubt that someone with power will be ready or at least willing to counter it.

Ohh and today's my birthday

[Tim Johnson]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

[Bitcoin Oz]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

[Tim Johnson]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

A resolution to give the UN authority over telecommunications is currently in progress.

[cbeast]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

A resolution to give the UN authority over telecommunications is currently in progress.

A huge bureaucracy trying to keep a step ahead of hackers. Not gonna happen.

[Tim Johnson]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

A resolution to give the UN authority over telecommunications is currently in progress.

A huge bureaucracy trying to keep a step ahead of hackers. Not gonna happen.

An individual hacker is irrelevant in a world where every computing process, every user, every piece of hardware, every watt of electricity, every packet of data has to be approved, logged, tied to verified biometrics and tracked by a bureaucrat backed by force.

[cbeast]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

A resolution to give the UN authority over telecommunications is currently in progress.

A huge bureaucracy trying to keep a step ahead of hackers. Not gonna happen.

An individual hacker is irrelevant in a world where every computing process, every user, every piece of hardware, every watt of electricity, every packet of data has to be approved, logged, tied to verified biometrics and tracked by a bureaucrat backed by force.

If we have a world like that, then how we buy our rice and beans is the least of our worries. That's a little Alex Jonesy for me.

[Bitcoin Oz]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

A resolution to give the UN authority over telecommunications is currently in progress.

The UN couldn't find its ass in a bright room.

[Tim Johnson]

A global government takeover of all network infrastructure, with forced licensing of all network devices and central auditing of all network processes with the intent of expelling Bitcoin could do the trick.

The key here is global governance of all telecommunications.

Not going to happen.

A resolution to give the UN authority over telecommunications is currently in progress.

A huge bureaucracy trying to keep a step ahead of hackers. Not gonna happen.

An individual hacker is irrelevant in a world where every computing process, every user, every piece of hardware, every watt of electricity, every packet of data has to be approved, logged, tied to verified biometrics and tracked by a bureaucrat backed by force.

If we have a world like that, then how we buy our rice and beans is the least of our worries. That's a little Alex Jonesy for me.

We will likely not have a world like that unless people are convinced they can't secure their own software.  If people get scared enough about a "terrorist" compromising or abusing the systems of the world and killing them, we might have the world described above.

Fortunately, most of our cybersecurity has come from private developments. We believe people like ourselves are capable of taking care of things. Else, people would give government "gods" an excuse to take everything over.