

Bitstamp Suspends Its Bitcoin Exchange Following a Suspected Hack - dsr12
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/05/bitstamp-bitcoin-exchange-hack/

======
eli
there's already a discussion on the front page
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8837432](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8837432)

------
counter345
rumors that they have lost 18,864 BTC ($5.1m)

[https://blockchain.info/address/1L2JsXHPMYuAa9ugvHGLwkdstCPU...](https://blockchain.info/address/1L2JsXHPMYuAa9ugvHGLwkdstCPUDemNCf)

[http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2re2pw/18864_coins_...](http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2re2pw/18864_coins_stolen_from_stamp_that_doesnt_look/)

------
pseudoscops
*

0 points by pseudoscops 9 minutes ago | link | edit | delete

This sort of bad PR for Bitcoin and crypto in general could all be avoided if
decentralized exchanges became a bit more fashionable.

I posted a link to [http://bitshares.org](http://bitshares.org) earlier but
now realise that there isn't that much information immediately obvious there
on how the decentralised BitShares exchange works.

This episode from BitShares.tv provides a bit more information than the
homepage on the main website:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtCVRIwcBYU&index=1&list=PLj...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtCVRIwcBYU&index=1&list=PLj..).

Check it out if you're looking for a solution that avoids the risks associated
with deposting to a centralized exchange such as Mt. Gox or Bitstamp.

~~~
drcode
I think bitshares has a lot to offer, but at the end of the day, someone still
needs to maintain a brick-and-mortar bank account for people to send their
fiat deposits to. As long as people still need to exchange fiat, there is no
way of avoiding counterparty risk for an exchange (even if the "exchange" is
an arbitrary peer)

~~~
pseudoscops
This is true to a large degree at present, but could change with greater
adoption.

It's worth remembering that one of the main reasons that people send Bitcoins
to a centralised exchange such as Bitstamp is so that they can sell some them
for dollars and lock in profit. It's how you cash out of Bitcoin and in to
fiat, thus avoiding the inherent volatility of the Bitcoin price for a portion
of your portfolio.

With a decentralised exchange such as BitShares you can 'cash-out' within the
exchanges using pegged BitAssets such as BitUSD or BitGold. Everything remains
as crypto. This means you only ever really need to touch a centralised
exchange or gateway and convert to real fiat dollars when you need to actually
spend on something in the real world. This too will change over time as more
vendors accepts crypto currencies directly such as bitBTC and bitUSD. BitUSD,
and other BitAssets held in the BitShares decentralized exchange pay a yield
too (i.e. interest).

The BitShares business development team have been busy courting financial
institutions that'll be able to act as gateways for $'s and other fiat
currencies for when you do need to spend. I think there has been talk of being
able to directly charge up credit cards with BitUSD from your BitShares
account.

------
allseeinguy
Buy bitshares, the next obvious step.

~~~
bjacobel
I think buying dollars is probably the most obvious step, actually.

