DrTarantism

I think that the Government is manipulating the people and that these new laws will certainly be abused. I think that it is up to the entrepreneurial community to come up with solutions to help mitigate the situation. This can be achieved on several levels.

1. Help whistle blowers deliver material to overseas journalists 2. Create stronger security for journalists and whistle blowers to communicate 3. Find ways to better engage the public in the politics of today so that better political parties can thrive in the future and strengthen our constitution

I didn't say that banks cared about frustration. I said that banks would lose customers

It's a complicated issue. Banks are partly afraid of adopting something new. If Bank A is amongst the first American banks to switch and something goes wrong, Bank B may win its business due to customer frustration

It's all politics. Its a big financial commitment for whichever side goes first. The US has a bigger population than Britain. And perhaps the industry politics were different there too. The card companies may have got their way.

Its not a blase attitude. Its a chicken and egg situation. The credit card companies want to implement it but they need the stores to upgrade their point of sale hardware to accept the new cards. Stores say they won't upgrade their hardware til card companies release the cards

I might be interested in being a part of an alternative to bitcoin. Seems like an interesting project, but a difficult one too.

I never said that all claims were paid or that all banks were equal. I simply said that Bitcoin is not the great solution people think it is. Its much worse than what you are describing. How many people who lost bitcoin funds were able to take their issues to courts? How many were able to turn to the police? What evidence can you take to court when every transaction is anonymous? And it makes sense for the bank to ask your mum to file a claim first. How else will they know if she is lying and trying to defraud the bank? And your comment about investment fraud, mortgage frauds and ponzi schemes are beyond the scope of this debate because those types of fraud are beyond the simple matter of financial savings and payments. Investments always carry a level of risk and are never guaranteed. Stop comparing apples and oranges to make your argument seem stronger

I live in Australia so we do have greater protections and safer banks than in America. But regardless, those tax payer bail outs are still part of the banking system. The banking system is more than the actual banks themselves, it includes the legal and political climate such as bail outs. You can't compare Bitcoin and Banks without looking at the full picture, otherwise that is just a distortion of reality.

Banks may be greedy but in exchange for their greed they protect my money. As an analogy, Governments may be lacking in integrity, but they offer protection such as police, laws, and human rights. Putting your faith in Bitcoin is like trying to live at sea so that you can be "free" of all governments. But I would rather put up with the ills of Government than the ills of piracy and the instability of the ocean. This article cannot be taken seriously if it will not address the recent problems with Bitcoin (thefts, illegal markets etc) and offer explanations and reassurances. Maybe I'm wrong but the excitement around Bitcoin seems to be an extension of the old Utopian ideas born out of the anarchist movements: if only we remove the Government and the status quo from the equation all our problems will be solved.

No matter what security measures people devise for Bitcoin or anything else on the web, they will never be perfect. Look at heartbleed! What protects us is the system: laws, repercussions, investigations, insurance. Once you have laws and police to protect the banks, the banks are happy guaranteeing you your money back if you are a victim of fraud or theft. Bitcoins biggest selling point is also its Achilles heel. I'll keep my money in the bank until Bitcoin is legislated and protected.