Yes... Bitcoin poses many risks, but that is the inherent nature of self custody. It is why custodial solutions like banking are actually an industry, and even current practices can be described as "advancements" that took centuries to develop.
The more relevant question to me is whether Bitcoin can develop to the point that it feels as easy and safe to use as traditional banking does for the normal person. Most likely, that's going to involve some version of custodians, but as I detail in #1030571, the option value of self custody is an inherent advantage that bitcoin has over traditional banking.
Something worth thinking about too is the degree to which money printing can be used to paper over unexpected failures and events like this. "Someone stole a bunch of money from us? Government bails us out by money printing." The ability to use money printing to smooth over pain is actually one of the reasons economists give for the advantages of a fiat system. The question is whether the temptation to print money to smooth over pain leads to negative downstream effects through distorted incentives, and whether the tradeoff is worth it.
Even if you acknowledge the tradeoff, there are still philosophical issues to deal with regarding property rights and the degree to which money printing is a form of theft.
Yes... Bitcoin poses many risks, but that is the inherent nature of self custody. It is why custodial solutions like banking are actually an industry, and even current practices can be described as "advancements" that took centuries to develop.
The more relevant question to me is whether Bitcoin can develop to the point that it feels as easy and safe to use as traditional banking does for the normal person. Most likely, that's going to involve some version of custodians, but as I detail in #1030571, the option value of self custody is an inherent advantage that bitcoin has over traditional banking.
Something worth thinking about too is the degree to which money printing can be used to paper over unexpected failures and events like this. "Someone stole a bunch of money from us? Government bails us out by money printing." The ability to use money printing to smooth over pain is actually one of the reasons economists give for the advantages of a fiat system. The question is whether the temptation to print money to smooth over pain leads to negative downstream effects through distorted incentives, and whether the tradeoff is worth it.
Even if you acknowledge the tradeoff, there are still philosophical issues to deal with regarding property rights and the degree to which money printing is a form of theft.