On 07/15/2014 07:29 PM, Josh Walker wrote:
> This is, of course, a deliberate design choice by Coinbase and not a
> consequence of any technical limitation in Bitcoin at present. I have
> spoken at length on my feelings about Coinbase balkanizing the space to
> discourage external transactions. (And all their other shenanigans and
> general lack of transparency or consideration for a UX that is good for
> Bitcoin.)

This is bad, but what's worse is creating a huge pile of customer
deposits which can be lost or confiscated.

The more successful Coinbase becomes, the more attractive of a target
they become for a hack or bail-in.