> A friend recently had their vehicle broken into. A thousand dollars worth of physical items were stolen. Half of it was recovered quickly by checking local pawn shops. Good luck doing anything like that with Ethereum and a foreign bandit.
That's true, at least for recognizable things. If the thief steals currency, e.g. a stack of dollar bills, you'll have about the same potential to get those bills (or others) back unless you locate the thief. The jurisdiction adds a layer of confusion, but that's not the relevant part imho. If I break into your mail account and illegally transfer your domains to my hoster, you'll have high chances to get them back, even if I'm in another country or continent, because there's a central authority that has the power to make it happen if you can provide sufficient proof. There's no such authority for ether (well ... they could fork, but realistically, they won't) or cash, and that's what makes it hard.
That's true, at least for recognizable things. If the thief steals currency, e.g. a stack of dollar bills, you'll have about the same potential to get those bills (or others) back unless you locate the thief. The jurisdiction adds a layer of confusion, but that's not the relevant part imho. If I break into your mail account and illegally transfer your domains to my hoster, you'll have high chances to get them back, even if I'm in another country or continent, because there's a central authority that has the power to make it happen if you can provide sufficient proof. There's no such authority for ether (well ... they could fork, but realistically, they won't) or cash, and that's what makes it hard.