Giving advice is one , securing your own stash is something different.
"Securing" a "stash" of 256-bit strings of information of an experimental technology in beta...
The closest to securing bitcoins, as I see it, is offline-generated paper wallets printed and physically cut into pieces stored in separate locations, with 2 instances of each piece. This is what I solicit also to my clients.
The reason to keep bitcoins in 3rd party systems is
not securing them, but
using them, or
speculating with them. In order for these to be possible, the systems need to work honestly.
After recovering from the crash to 382 (during which I had made a nice chunk of money), I sold too early in 600-700, and as a result lost much more than in this gox-bank-run case (compared to selling at 800-1000, which I would have done if I had not sold already). I don't recall even once lamenting over this money. Why? This money I lost because of my
own fault, and there was
no malice involved.
I also quickly ate the loss of
BTC1 in
transaction fees to Easywallet, which I found extortionate (0.9% of the sum), but they had indeed changed their terms since last time (when it was fixed 0.002), and given the nature of Easywallet's service, they had no way to inform me about it, so the
fault was again mine.
The market leader Mt.Gox who has my email, home address, SSN, passport pic, etc. and whose top-tier customer I have been since 2011, has no excuse for their misinformation policy. During my struggle to get my money out, I exchanged messages with them (and with sturle), with the result that
after a month of trying, I now have
my bitcoins, but their number is much smaller than the original value I diligently but in vain tried to withdraw in every way they and sturle claim to be possible but in fact are not (proving in the process that they are possible to
some).
I have already expounded the allegation that Mt.Gox action so far is indeed a crime, and I am available to be contacted by people seeking to sue them in a suitable criminal court.
The important part of the post begins now:
1. People can lose money because of stupidity, and that is lamentable.
2. But when people lose money because of crime, the criminal should be prosecuted.
Anyone who thinks that liberty means liberty to
defraud others, is wrong.
Note that I am taking a risk even replying to sb with a new account. Please try to continue the conversation in a positive way.