Get ready for it kids, bitcoin is going down the path of specialized criminal enterprise so fast it outstrips belief. The next big disaster is already out there- BFL's and the massive pre-order, that will end up getting the royal shaft in about 30 days.
Ya think?!
I believe that BFL will deliver... If not, it would be a huge blow to bitcoin, one from which it would take months or years to recover. There has been too much pain and suffering these past few months...
I don't think that would be to big a deal really. A fair amount of money may change hands, but it seems to me like the losers would be relatively few in number and somewhat un-loved to boot. That is to say, a lot of people (including myself) would feel perhaps some amount of sympathy but also very much that the losers had it coming.
The biggie would be if Mt. Gox packed it in. Fortunately Mark gives every indication of seeming resistant to such a temptation. OTOH, it is hard to predict the type of pressure that may come up.
A good selling point for an exchange (and any business which held customer's value) would be a functional 'SCRAM' system whereby with the tap of one big red button, all value would be immediately returned to customer's addys and cleanup could proceed from that state.