(this video is actually really good)

Mt. Gox, the world’s first and largest bitcoin exchange, rolled over and died yesterday. It stole a bunch of people’s money and the price tanked a bunch. Media freaked out.

Bitcoin dropped to about $400ish, and at this writing is now $588 on Bitstamp. People flocked to the cheap coin. People still believe in Bitcoin.

You see, Mt. Gox has been pretty broken for months now. A lot of Bitcoin enthusiasts had stopped using it, or were migrating off of it. There are plenty of super great exchanges out there all over the world. And guess what? You don’t even NEED an exchange to buy Bitcoin. It’s mostly for daytrading or if you want a super good deal. There’s always Coinbase and localbitcoins. There’s always buying from a friend. There’s always making something rad and selling it for bitcoin.

EXCHANGES ARE NOT WALLETS

If you do have your heart set on using an exchange, please don’t treat them as wallets. Don’t store your money there. They’re not insured like a bank. Anything can happen. Practice good internet habits and make sure your computer is clean of viruses and trojans. Install a nice wallet. Keep some money there. The rest? Print them out on paper and put it in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box.

You’re like a dragon and those paper scraps are your gold. PROTECT THEM.

And please, please, learn how to make good passwords and don’t use the same one everywhere. Your financial passwords should never be the same ones as your facebook or okcupid or pokemonvillagewhatever account.

I like you guys and just don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.

Bitcoin can be a lot of fun. Let’s keep it that way.