Quote from: Chuzzlewit on July 14, 2016, 05:47:12 AM

Quote from: patronis on July 14, 2016, 05:35:18 AM

Back to the subject though, authorities would most likely just brush anything being digitally stolen as things they "don't have jurisdiction over" so why even bother? sure it's illegal to steal things, physical or digital, but if the authorities don't follow up then whats been stolen is just gone.

This last part starts to go where I was thinking.
In order for something to be stolen it first needs to have a defined value.
Since most governments have not recognized BTC as a valid currency, or at the very least recognized how it is to be valued, BTC essentially has a value of zero.
Theft involves stealing something of value, no value, no theft.

I wouldn't want to test my theory in some countries and that is not to say you could not be punished in another way, in the US mobsters where often convicted of tax evasion.

In the United States, bitcoin is a commodity and definitely has a value. If you take something of value that doesn't belong to you, it's generally looked at as theft. Digital or otherwise. Also, unauthorized intrusion into someone's network/server is a crime. If bitcoin is essentially valueless, tell that to Mark Karpales and the FBI agent that was on the silk road case. They are looking at cells as we speak (save Mark, he just got out I think) for stealing 'worthless' bitcoin Grin