We the hodlers believe that Bitcoin can be hacked only by hacking cryptografic hash-functions, which will lead to collapse all the banks, all passwords on all websites, maybe some data structures like hash-maps.
> or I get scammed in some way, where is my legal recourse?
How will you get scammed if you have a backup which you promise to yourself to not even introduce to computer with online? Also nobody recommends you to hold all your wealth in crypto. Some metals work not bad also, my favorite example is copper.
> But state regulation nullifies a lot of what bitcoin advocates claim is the advantage of cryptocurrency.
Let me guess, you have not read / have to reread the bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf whitepaper?
I'm not talking about the hash function being hacked, I'm talking about websites like Coinbase that provide wallet and exchange services being hacked. Banks of course are also vulnerable to social engineering etc but there is more regulation and consumer protection for when that happens.
And by "scammed" I mean someone providing a fraudulent or faulty service or product. In the UK we have "Section 75" which protects consumers who pay via credit card or paypal: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-w... . Is such protection possible with bitcoin?
> I'm not talking about the hash function being hacked, I'm talking about websites like Coinbase that provide wallet and exchange services being hacked.
What part of Bitcoin whitepaper tells you have to rely on third-parties? I'm not a trader, I'm a hodler, I even do not have a Coinbase account.
Of course if third-parties get lost you lose everything you have believed they will guard for you.
upd after reading responses
Sorry guys I forgot that average person needs to be an idiot. My bad, usually I consider an opposite.
Because they are more trustworthy than my own ability to not screw up. I lose/break things all the time. I didn't want a fragile token or backup costing me 5 figures.
Remember that the comment started with "My best guess at why the average person is hesitant to use bitcoin".
The "average person" needs something roughly equivalent to a current bank or credit card in terms of simplicity. Currently, that basically means using third-parties like Coinbase, not reading the Bitcoin whitepaper, managing their own hardware wallets and encryption keys, thinking through backups and disaster recovery scenarios, and being dilligent about maintaining opsec.
"Don't worry, you can manage your wallet completely yourself without any 3rd parties" is in absolutely stark opposition to "adoption will grow and grow." If the only people that use BTC are hobbyists who are willing to go through the trouble to find a way to safely manage their own wallet then BTC will never see widespread use.
> upd after reading responses
> Sorry guys I forgot that average person needs to be an idiot. My bad, usually I consider an opposite.
Right. Wanting simplicity and low risk around basic daily purchases and transactions means that someone's an idiot. You seem like a lovely person. Thanks for representing the crypto/BTC community so well.
I mean, if being secure requires an average person having an airgapped computer holding the wallet keys, it's not going to see much adoption. Also you can't really use it as a currency if you do that.
We the hodlers believe that Bitcoin can be hacked only by hacking cryptografic hash-functions, which will lead to collapse all the banks, all passwords on all websites, maybe some data structures like hash-maps.
> or I get scammed in some way, where is my legal recourse?
How will you get scammed if you have a backup which you promise to yourself to not even introduce to computer with online? Also nobody recommends you to hold all your wealth in crypto. Some metals work not bad also, my favorite example is copper.
> But state regulation nullifies a lot of what bitcoin advocates claim is the advantage of cryptocurrency.
Let me guess, you have not read / have to reread the bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf whitepaper?
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