Talk:Storing bitcoins

Verifying that something looks/is genuine

@Belcher, you edited the text to say "you wouldn't accept [banknotes or gold coins] without inspecting them and verifying that they are genuine". However, most people would in fact accept banknotes without verifying that they are genuine. Often its simply infeasible to verify things like that. How do you verify a banknote is genuine and not a copy? If its a perfect copy, its impossible. If you think this nuance is important, maybe we can find a more accurate way to say it. But even with bitcoin, you can only verify it looks genuine from a number of angles. Verifying it is genuine for certain is not strictly possible. Fresheneesz (talk) 06:48, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

It's not infeasible at all to check a banknote, in fact central banks have designed their banknotes so that checking them is quick and easy. Have a look at these links: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/security/html/index.en.html and https://www.uscurrency.gov/ and https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/counterfeit-banknotes/how-to-check-your-banknotes. There is some seriously detailed content there, including videos and podcasts. Security features are a very important part of any currency. It's perhaps true that most people don't check these features but the people that matter do check them, for example cashiers and others who deal with lots of cash. In terms of my edit, I was thinking about checking not just with seeing but also touch, as banknotes usually have a security feature involving raised bumps. Belcher (talk) 19:03, 5 December 2019 (UTC)