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Coinbase offers FULL digital currency insurance against theft, underwritten via a Lloyds of London Syndicate:

http://www.coindesk.com/facebooks-ben-davenport-leaves-bitco...

Lloyds isn't getting involved unless they have an incredibly high degree of satisifaction in security processes, in fact they stripped Elliptic of their first ever "vault" insurance shortly after awarding claiming they didn't like the "publicity".

http://www.coindesk.com/lloyds-back-bitcoin-insurance-deal-e...



I'm not sure where you got this impression but it's very wrong. Coinbase does hold insurance but it does _not_ apply to the scenario described in this Forbes article where individual user's security is compromised.

This Coinbase support article[0] succinctly describes what they are insured against. Important points are that only about 2% of their total Bitcoin deposits are insured, those that they keep "online". The insurance does _not_ apply to losses suffered due to an individual's account being compromised.

[0] https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/166237...


If you use coinbase, you don't own your bitcoins. Coinbase does, and they pinkie promise to give them back when you ask.

Get a mobile wallet like Mycelium. It's very simple, and you back up your wallet forever with a short string of words. You also retain control of your private keys.


The difference being that Lloyd's isn't going insure your personal wallet.

How is using Coinbase different from holding a balance with any other bank?


> The difference being that Lloyd's isn't going insure your personal wallet.

If you follow modest security practices (like spending $100 on a hardware wallet), you certainly don't need Lloyd's to insure your wallet.

> How is using Coinbase different from holding a balance with any other bank?

It's fairly similar. Half the point of Bitcoin is that you aren't obligated to use a bank. You can just take care of it yourself.


Coinbase unilaterally decided to hold my coins hostage until I submitted a bunch of ID papers to them. This is for coins already in my wallet, not about buying more or selling them and getting cash to my bank account.


Do you think they were making sure nobody was stealing from you?


I already had 2FA - they force it IIRC. They also refused to delete any of my documents. It was related to connecting with my bank account. (Which they removed, as my Canadian passport somehow means I am not allowed to use banks in the US as a permanent resident.)


FDIC insurance




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