Seems the first bitcoin wallet stealing malware ha...

2011-06-17T09:14:23.698-04:00

Seems the first bitcoin wallet stealing malware has surfaced

http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/all-your-bitcoins-are-ours

Now that's an interesting one. I'd only se...

2011-06-15T09:10:37.726-04:00

Now that's an interesting one. I'd only seen a little bit here and there about the whole bitcoin thing, but it's unsurprising to hear it's being exploited and used for criminal activities. Like you point out, an accepted currency with little to no oversight - well of course.

However it's going to be another driving force that gets governments into online currencies. WoW gold farming is when they really started getting interested, but we've seen cases with Second Life and Eve as well. As much as I hate to say it, we're probably at that time when governments will start getting involved in digital markets - there's a lot of money to be made there. Even look at that recent case of the guy in China who claimed their government was using prisoners to farm gold. There's even been some real life arrests for in-game thefts. Some people have gone to great lengths to scam others. (I recall a story from Eve where a guy spent months working his way up into the top ranks of a guild, then cleaning them out)

But where does it end? Insurance companies launching guilds to cover your epics or raid repairs? Gold lending companies who you have to pay back or you end up on the gank list of their top "bounty hunters" in the opposing faction? Gambling was pretty prolific for a while in WoW, but Blizzard started banning them.

But what happens when governments and corporations begin regulating or partnering with the game manufacturers?

On a side note, I've always though a free to play MMO would be just fine with in game advertisements... imagine a huge city filled with billboards, bench-signs, bus ads, etc... just like in real life, but with real ads that companies have sponsored. Make the game interesting enough and the advertising subtle enough, and you might have a winner there.

Comments on phro in toronto: the cut-throat side of the coin

Seems the first bitcoin wallet stealing malware ha...

Now that's an interesting one. I'd only se...