MORE FRIGHTENING

FACTS ABOUT BITCOIN

Theft Happens:

Bitcoins are stored in digital wallets. Are they secure? Not

so much. Over 600 reported thefts have already occurred, including one heist

of 50,000 Bitcoins. (That’s equal to about $45 million at current prices.) Same

goes for Bitcoin exchanges. They’ve already been hacked, too. Heck, there’s no

guarantee that an eWallet service won’t one day close shop and disappear with

all of your Bitcoins. Still interested in converting your life savings into the cryp

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tocurrency? Read on...

Not So Anonymous After All:

Bitcoin enthusiasts love to tout the fact

that Bitcoins can be exchanged outside of the prying eyes of, well, everyone.

Of course, such anonymity opens up the door for illicit activities. Seeing that

leading Bitcoin exchange CEO, Charlie Shrem, just got busted by the U.S.

Department of Justice for money laundering, it appears that Bitcoin isn’t so

anonymous after all. It also confirms that Bitcoin is, indeed, tied to criminals.

No thanks!

Welcome Pretty Much Nowhere:

Aside from

Overstock.com

(OSTK),

you can’t really use Bitcoins to purchase everyday goods and services. For the

most part, owners hoard their stashes. So what’s the point? Outside of being a

speculative investment, that remains a mystery.

No Inherent Value:

Bitcoins are nothing but a bunch of ones and zeros.

There’s nothing standing behind the value except other Bitcoin investors. No

governments pledging their full faith and credit. No national banks. No eco

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nomic unions. Nothing. Sounds more like a bit-

con

than a system we can trust.

Far From Irreplaceable:

In addition to lacking trust, we have no guarantee

that Bitcoin won’t be replaced. I mean, what’s going to stop a better Bitcoin

from coming onto the scene? Speaking of which, at least five “altcoins” have al

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ready popped up, each trying to address a Bitcoin shortcoming. Seeing so much

competition this early on points to a major problem with the original. Don’t you

think?

Of course, if you choose not to heed my stern warning about Bitcoin’s riskiness, listen

to Gavin Andresen, a lead developer on the Bitcoin Project. He readily admits, “Bitcoin

is an experiment... Treat it like you would a promising internet startup company: Maybe

it will change the world, but realize that investing your money or time in new ideas is

always risky.” No, thanks! Bitcoin is too risky to even bother