On: BTC Stolen from Poloniex

[aestra]

>Things that aren't reversible are the exception

For thousands of years the only way to pay for something was with non-revertible mediums, either cash or bartering for other goods. Reversible transactions are new in the grand scheme of things.

If I ran a bank and didn't bother to lock the doors or keep the money in a safe and someone comes in and steals the money, I don't get to do a chargeback and get the cash back.

[tptacek → aestra]

What's your point? Prior to deposit insurance, people routinely lost their life savings to bank catastrophes.

[mpyne → aestra]

> If I ran a bank and didn't bother to lock the doors or keep the money in a safe and someone comes in and steals the money, I don't get to do a chargeback and get the cash back.

That would be one thing if physical security were just as hard (or harder) than cyber security.

But it's in fact the complete and polar opposite; physical security is much easier and much better understood by the actors who need to engage in defense.

[pjc50 → aestra]

Irreversible + bulk automatable = disaster: fraudster can bleed the system dry before anyone notices, and damage cannot be repaired.

Irreversible + manual = opportunities for people to spot the fraud; volume limited by amount of work required to commit each fraud.

Reversible + automatable = opportunity to spot and undo the fraud.

[RogerL → aestra]

This is why banks are FDIC insured (in the US).