The Latest Bitcoin Hack Highlights a Major Problem

For investors, the regulations for popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum mirrors the law-and-order of the Wild West — as in, there’s still plenty of safeguards that need to be put in place.

This was evident with the latest Bitcoin hacking scandal earlier this week, where 30,000 customers of Bithumb — the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world — had their data compromised. The South Korea-based exchange reported the heist to the country’s Internet and Security Agency after billions of won — an amount of the South Korean currency equal to a few million dollars — had been stolen from its customers.

This pales in comparison to other Bitcoin hacks — $450 million vanished during the infamous downfall of the Mt. Gox exchange in 2014 — but still adds another blemish to the budding industry.

Also Read: Bitcoin's Mystery Creator Comes Forward -- But Not Without Skeptics

In a statement following the breach, Bithumb said it would pay hacked users ₩100,000 — or about $90 (hat tip to Google Translate). The company added “as soon as the amount of damages is confirmed, we will reimburse the entire amount.”

While it remains to be seen if Bithumb will be able to repay all of the victims, the incident shined a light on a glaring issue holding cryptocurrency back: the lack of widespread insurance against evaporating investments. Several of the largest Bitcoin exchanges don’t have a repayment policy, and there is no equivalent to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which backs US bank deposits up to $250,000.

Many Bitcoin users welcome this — the lack of regulation is part of the appeal cryptocurrencies have for many users. And to be sure, the FDIC doesn’t insure investments, and Bitcoin is just like investing in the stock market. But for Bitcoin to continue its climb, the currency needs to be ubiquitous, and this is difficult to achieve without the confidence investments are safe.

Also Read: Inside Bitcoin's Crazy Run: 4 Reasons the Digital Currency Has Surged 40 Percent in 10 Days

Major exchanges like San Francisco-based Coinbase realize this, and have put in place insurance policies to assuage its investors. For Bitcoin to truly go mainstream, more exchanges will need to implement similar policies for their hacking victims.

'Minority Report' and 18 More Movies That Accurately Predicted Future Tech (Photos)

Steven Spielberg's tech-heavy "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise, is now 15 years old. Considered one of the most prescient sci-fi movies to grace the big screen, it predicted multiple future innovations, including facial recognition, personalize advertising and predictive crime fighting. In honor of the movie's anniversary, click through here to revisit 18 more movies that accurately peered into the future of technology:
20th Century Fox
We're so used to touch screens at this point -- we use them every day on our smart phones, and even at McDonald's -- that it's easy to forget that Tom Cruise used the technology in "Minority Report."
20th Century Fox
Long before Siri, there was HAL. The ominous yet soft-spoken computer system was the antagonist in 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Stanley Kubrick's sinister talking computer ended up turning on its crew in a Siri user's worst nightmare.
MGM
Tech giant Elon Musk is at the helm of SpaceX, which will send two tourists to space in 2018. But "2001: A Space Odyssey" imagined commercial space travel decades ago.
MGM
Elon Musk, Google and Uber have been duking it out to bring self-driving cars to the masses, but Arnold Schwarzenegger might have jumpstarted the competition when he took a robot-controlled ride in 1990's "Total Recall."
TriStar Pictures
"The Terminator" predicted military drones in 1984 -- long before they were introduced to police forces and militaries.
Orion Pictures
Virtual reality is taking over the tech scene. You can play games in VR, watch movies and experience Coachella all from the comfort of your living room. But Hollywood predicted we'd have VR more than 20 years ago in 1992's "Lawnmower Man."
New Line Cinema
The 1982 cult classic "Blade Runner," starring Harrison Ford, predicted digital billboards, which you can see now all over the country, from Times Square in New York to the Vegas strip.
Warner Bros.
Remember when the TSA rolled out invasive body scanners and a lot of people freaked out? "Airplane II: The Sequel" imagined airport scanners that revealed a person's naked body to agents.
Paramount Pictures
Just like other industries, robots are taking over jobs in the military, too. There are even listicles outlining the "coolest" military robots. "Short Circuit" predicted this technology with the prototype robot Number 5.
Tristar pictures
Woody Allen's "Sleeper" had robots assisting surgeons by offering advice during surgery. Today, doctors use robotics to add precision to procedures.
United Artists
The beloved 1960s cartoon "The Jetsons" -- which was made into a movie in 1990 -- predicted the use of robots to clean homes. They had a robotic vacuum and a robotic maid. Can you say Roomba?
ABC
In vitro fertilization and at-home genetic testing are common place these days. "Gattaca," with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, predicted this tech in 1997.
Columbia Pictures
3D printing is used today in industries ranging from aerospace to medical. In "Weird Science," the boys 3D printed an actual girl.

Also Read: From ‘E.T.’ to ‘Explorers': When Kids Ruled the Big Screen (Photos)
Universal Pictures
We know how dangerous cyber warfare is, and countless companies have been hacked recently. 1983's "WarGames" with Matthew Broderick is all about a kid who walks the line between gaming and reality.
MGM
FaceTime, and Skype before it, are commonplace today. But it was cool new technology in 1989's "Back to the Future Part II."
Universal Pictures
There are a ton of different options out there for smart watches. This was predicted in 1990's "Dick Tracy."
Touchstone Pictures
It's so easy to order Domino's online -- you can even watch how far along in the process your pizza is. In 1995's "The Net" with Sandra Bullock, they showed ordering pizza online for the first time.
Columbia Pictures
Tinder, Bumble and OKCupid are only a few of the many, many online dating options out there. But Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were on the forefront of the online dating trend in "You've Got Mail."
Warner Bros.
VR porn is growing in popularity. Or as it's called in 1993's "Demolition Man" -- "digitized transference of sexual energies."
Warner Bros.
The 1929 movie "Woman in the Moon" predicted space travel. Obviously, we hit that milestone decades ago. And hey, they even got the shuttle shape right!

Also Read: ‘Top Gun': 30 Things You Didn’t Know About the Tom Cruise Classic (Photos)
Fritz Lang Film

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From robotic vacuums to smart watches, Hollywood got these tech trends right

Steven Spielberg's tech-heavy "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise, is now 15 years old. Considered one of the most prescient sci-fi movies to grace the big screen, it predicted multiple future innovations, including facial recognition, personalize advertising and predictive crime fighting. In honor of the movie's anniversary, click through here to revisit 18 more movies that accurately peered into the future of technology:

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'Minority Report' and 18 More Movies That Accurately Predicted Future Tech (Photos)

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