I think the fact that all your arguments against BTC are so razor focused on the exchanges that it shows how little you understand BTC or why it has value to so many to begin with.
Hate on incompetent exchanges, that is fine...do what you wish. I hate Comex. But I don't hate on silver for it.
Your finger pointing is reversed.
The reason why I'm razor focused on the exchanges is--BECAUSE!-- *drum roll*
*keep drum rolling*
The exchanges determine the value of Bitcoins! Without the exchanges, you have one guy asking for $20/bitcoin while another asking $200. The time and trouble it would take to matchup and make a "good" deal would make it rather impractical.
This is how the entire food supply of the world works. They use exchanges. Chicago is the dog that wags the tail for much of the global grain trade. Smaller exchanges price off of Chicago. Then, when you're in the middle of Kansas looking to sell wheat, you adjust your price based on the supply/demand around you. That's called the "basis". Basis determines whether your grain is sold at a discount or premium vs. the futures' price in Chicago. Basis does a tug of war between processing plants across small markets in the USA, which all then influence the futures' price in Chicago.
That's how exchanges work. And that's how food is produced, and how the market knows how much to produce and where to send it to based on supply and demand.
So yes, I understand quite well the meat and potatoes behind exchanges, and their importance. Furthermore, I understand that without Mt.Gox, you can still use other exchanges. Without other exchanges, I understand you can still send Bitcoins from wallet-to-wallet. I *get* all that. You seem to think I don't. My point isn't whether you can transfer Bitcoins to people. My point is whether the pricing is efficient, which it's not.
And the exchanges are very, very, VERY much important to the value of your Bitcoins. Without an exchange to draw some sort of figure from, you're left to doing literally peer-to-peer research, which is 18th century stuff. It's why they made exchanges. So when Mt.Gox is on lockdown, that affects the value. So, therefore, everything I've said makes sense and is true. Quit trying to discredit my arguments by saying I don't understand how Bitcoin works, when I clearly do. The value is derived from individuals on Bitcoin's exchanges. If the exchanges are shutdown, Bitcoin transactions become far more cumbersome. The valuations are wildly diverged from person to person, and you have to matchup your buying with another's selling.
This is why exchanges were created.
