In the video we see that Blockchain analysis companies have the Bitcoin blockchain under surveillance. They conduct this analysis to help law enforcement investigate crimes. The interesting thing to note is that even if you can locate the destination address of the coins it does not mean you'll ever be able to access the coins. So technically the coins may have been found but may remain unaccessible.
There are and will be lots of addresses with coins inside which noone is using. For example if people forget their password on some exchanges - lost money in the internet.
They are not forever lost, these adresses will be mined in the future with quantum computer's. Might be a hundred years from now
Very interesting point.
I don't know about you guys, but that short little video just sent chills down my spine. Because of the fact that the government is recording everything we do in 'secret' and because now that it is known that the address is out there it has become a hacker treasure hunt.
Its just a matter of time before hackers figure out the address (if they haven't yet) and then the game to break in is on! I don't want there to be a treasure hunt out there promoting the development of more sophisticated ways to attack blockchains!
Although, its not impossible... This White Paper describes how and why its possible to attack just about any blockchain.
The crypto space was all about transparency so naturally people would want to see what is happening under the hood.
As a hacker and security guy, I can only say that doing research and "attacking" something is good. How else would you find out if something is broken? And if you don't find out somethng is not secure then the goventments and some even more nefarious entities will and they will abuse it without us knowing.
Sure, we would live in a blissful ignorance ... but I'd rather be sure that I am protected as well as I can and that governments, companies, etc. can't spy on me too easily.
Its not about finding out if something is broken of living in blissful ignorance. There are many very talented developers working on the Bitcoin code and testing it for vulnerabilities all the time. It's not an all or nothing contest and we all want to be protected.
I am saying I don't want a treasure a hacker treasure hunt out there because it promotes hackers and creates a competition. I would rather see those coins go back to their proper owners.
See, and there you are contraciting yourself.
You would need a skilled hacker to do that. An altruistic /ethical one but still a hacker.
And there will always be people trying to "get around the system" and make some quick buck,
Not sure what you mean about "creates a competition". Can you elaborate?
Also, from your perspective, wouldn't it be actually better if hackers focused on "defeating Alcatraz", basically something deemed undefeatable and waste their valuable time and resources on trying to break that rather than stealing from regular Joe's as me and you?
I actually don't know :). But that's one side of the coin :). And there are always two.
What I mean by competition is that when ever there is a real competition with a massive potential pay off, people go crazy trying to get it. I have no problem with some hackers trying to work the system here and there to try and steal a bit. You are right about incidents like that promoting overall security and helping seal up vulnerabilities.
But where there is a potential of millions of dollars as a pay off, then its not just one hacker trying to get in, its potentially hundreds of hackers. We have seen what a single group of hackers can accomplish when they attack an exchange. Now imagine 10 or even 20 groups sending out attacks every day for weeks or even months trying to break in. What will that kind of series of mass attacks do to the network?
And if you read the white paper I referenced earlier, you will see why they are very likely to succeed.
PS I do want hackers to succeed in some areas. There is a lot of work for hacktivists out there, I just don't want all the attention on Bitcoin.
That's a very good point :). I will read the white paper in week or three or four weeks.
Though here's another thought. Hackers don't want to break BTC as then the price would go down and BTC and other Crypto Currencies (XMR) are great store of value.
If I was evil, I would steal 10 BTC and fucking retire. (Okay, maybe I'm not that evil if I'd just want 10 BTC :D)
Haha, lol.
I just realized this is not even your post that we're discussing on :D.
Though I'm relatively sure that I follow you. Or at least saw you around.
Your post is nice I will follow you from now on count on our vote! Check mine out tell me what you think? https://steemit.com/merchant/@bpplending/how-credit-card-processing-works-this-helps-businesses-negotiate-good-terms-on-their-service
Nice
of course they have and are ..what a joke
Thanks for the info @dana-edwards
MtGox - that's a name I haven't heard in a while! Brings back memories :P
Thanks for share such a intresting topic,i followed you buddy
If you are commiting illegal activities using Bitcoin these days you have to be pretty stupid, & deserve to get caught! The Open Ledger means tracing is relatively easy, and there are a lot of resources being poured into this now.
This is why I am bullish on Anon coins like Monero, Z-Cash, etc. as they obfuscate transactions & (for now) are untraceable.
I really wonder the safety in the future of bitcoins and the rest
I just started trading... maybe a little to late. lol
It will happen in the future though, quantum-computing will make it possible. Which isnt a bad thing though, considering lots of the abandoned adresses.
Wow it would be nice to see these freed up. I had a few of them go missing when I was using kraken a few years or so ago. I am In the process of some class action law suite, but good luck with that. Cant wait to see the outcome of this.
Good post...however there are many ways to ot manover the feds in this issue...
If someone finds those coins that would technically make the coins worthless no?
That's so funny that after all these years, they are still trying to do. smh smh
They can investigate all they want. As long as they dont stick their noses into the wallets.
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