Topic: If Banks started to accept bitcoins, would you trust them with yours? - page 2. (Read 3488 times)

Ok, thanks.  I understand it a little better now.  Those are some good points.

One thing that comes to mind is that as I understand it you can keep bitcoins out of your control by using a flash drive and/or paper wallet and keeping it somewhere safe, eg a bank safety deposit box.  A bank account might be more convenient though.

I can definitely see the value in requiring additional authorization before allowing large amounts of money to be moved out of the account.  That would limit the damage potential of keyloggers and such as well.

Ok, you guys have successfully convinced me.  A bitcoin bank could provide some good security measures.

Because banks generally have policies in place that PREVENT rapid and immediate withdrawal of all funds into cash.  Trying withdrawing 6 figures from a bank account and ask for cash.   That is why there are limits on cash advances and ATM usage.

Sure someone who has $100 it doesn't really matter but do you honestly think Warren Buffet is going to keep $22 billion (in BTC equivelent) in an android phone wallet on his nightstand? (hypothetically imagine Bitcoin is the only global currency).  The fact that thieves can easily force him to unlock his wallet makes him a target.  Having the funds OUTSIDE of his control is actual an advantage. 

If he CAN'T unlock it then he is less of a target.  If theives KNOW he can't unlock it (because every billionaire they tried to rob so far also had funds outside their control) they may not even attempt to rob him.  So maybe he has $10,000 in his personal wallet and $21.999 billion in a bank (with controls which ensure the funds can't be moved with just access to a private key.

Alternatively the bank could act as a second key with protocols in place to ensure funds are protected.

So the bank may auto sign any tx up to $1000
The bank may require voice authorization for tx up to $10,000
The bank may require in person authorization for larger tx (possibly involving bio-metrics).

That sounds like a terrible ordeal.  Sorry you had to go through that, and I'm glad you survived.

I'm having trouble understanding your solution.  How would the thieves know beforehand whether or not they can get all my money?  Furthermore, what protection would a bank provide to bitcoin account holders that they don't provide to fiat account holders?  Why couldn't they force me to withdraw all my bitcoins, same as if it were a regular account?

excuse me for sharing a personal history:

I was flash-kidnapped once. I stayed on the car with 2 burglars while another went through ATM machines to pick my money. I had to give them the PIN codes of my cards. I had a old card that I didn't have the PIN and it was tough to convince the thief that I really didn't have the PIN for that old card*. I stayed with them for 2-3 hours and they released me after spending roughly U$ 500,00 in fiat and U$ 1000,00 in credit card purchases (refunded later). I can't imagine how long I would stay with them if they were able to take all my money.

That's why I'm looking for a deterrence model to protect my BTC's. A model that keep the burglars away from even trying to assault me, and keeping my BTC's in a bank maybe is one of the possible solutions.

* I don't want to trying to convince someone with a gun again that I don't have access to my money (hidden-volume or brainwallet). Maybe it won't work all the times. I'm looking for deterrence. The thieves have to know beforehand that they can't get all of a person's money.

Yes, they can. See Rubber-Hose. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-hose_cryptanalysis