Hacker News Reader

Comment by QAPereo | Hacker News Reader

If someone else uses my cc, I’m not paying it. If someone steals my bitcoins, they’re fucking GONE.

Pretty much this. Bitcoins are like carrying around cash. Most folks will not argue that you own it, since it's in your pocket, but if someone picks your pocket in a crown then there's no way you're getting it back.

No they aren't.

When did cash get 2 factor auth?

2FA is not inherently part of bitcoin's design. It's something that can be enabled, but not all implement it.

So I ask again... Where's Cash's 2 factor auth.

All of the major wallets/traders use 2FA and all the hardware wallets have it too.

It's like saying... Well there's safes and banks for cash but its something that not everyone "enables" but you and I both know they use it.

When has 2fa stop a bullet or knife?

Very little cash is stolen by pick-pockets or home burglars. People open their wallets because they fear pain, it doesn't matter how many locks are on the wallet.

relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/538/

Timelock stops bullets and knives.

Have you ever been robbed? Tell the wrong person you don't have money, and they'll attack just to make sure.

Wrong. In the US you may be liable for the full amount stolen if you fail to notice the theft in 30 days. Even if you report the theft promptly, the law allows your issuer to make you liable for the first $50.

Also you completely ignored my point about hardware wallets making theft a non-problem.

Sure, so don’t ignore your finances for a month.

You will still be liable for $50. And you again ignored my point about hardware wallets making theft a non-problem.

Actually it can still be stolen, but like an impenetrable safe full of money, of no use to the thief. You’d still be screwed though!

Not screwed, because a hw wallet can easily be backed up by writing down the 12/24-word seed in a safe/hidden spot.

Our discussion thread demonstrates that more education is needed around hardware wallets, as most people have no idea how they work or even that they exist.

Can't you steal a hardware wallet ?

They are typically PIN-protected. And you can back them up by writing the 12/24-word seed in a safe/hidden spot.

What assurance do I have that the HW wallet vendor doesn't have my seed written down for when they decide to retire?

If you are paranoid you can choose your own random seed when initializing the wallet.

> the law allows your issuer to make you liable for the first $50

This has never happened to me, and ive had a CC compromised a few times.

If someone steals your hardware wallet, what do you consider that?

Physically stealing a hardware wallet is typically not usefull because they are PIN-protected. And you can back them up by writing the 12/24-word seed in a safe/hidden spot.

If someone steals my wallet with my cash, its GONE.

But if someone steals your credit card and buys $10,000 worth of stuff, you're probably getting that money back.

Sounds more like an argument against cash, than an argument for Bitcoin...

Credit Cards can co-exist with bitcoin, while btc solves some CC issues its target replacement is still cash.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com