Imagine a world where the ownership of a house belongs to the
one who has the physical possession of the door key. If you lose
your key, no locksmith will be able to help you. If someone
steals your key, the police and courts will offer no assistance.
The thief is now the rightful owner. Welcome to bitcoin!
The Bitcoin World can be compared to the Stone Age. Back then
property belonged to whoever could physically defend it or
successfully hide it. As society evolved we have invented
numerous safeguards. Most important is perhaps the notion of
private property. Most of us know by instinct the difference
between mine and yours and that stealing is wrong. But this is
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The Economics of Bitcoin
not sufficient. We have police, laws, constitutions, courts, land
registers, the eight commandment, and much more to enforce the
sacredness of private property. Without these measures people
would spend their efforts on a protecting their own values and
on stealing