I saw this post on another forum and think it's worth mentioning here. Bitcoin must be subjected to all rigorous criticism and I'd like to see if the points raised can be countered...
Indeed, the Google employee who (in a personal capacity) wrote a Java version of part of the Bitcoin client has recognized publicly that any sophisticated analyst could shut down Bitcoin at will, and he explicitly opposed calls for tests of the system's security by the general public.
Taken from here:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1090435/?start=192Someone have a reference for this claim?
With 250k of usd dollars trading hands daily (if you choose to believe the info out of mtgox), there is much incentive to game the system, and I actually know there are efforts underfoot compromise the blockchain.
I for one would strongly welcome attacks. Let's get this over with as soon as possible if the protocol implementation and math behind it are not long lasting.
Maybe a bounty in real USD needs to be posted to do exactly that.