zlacker

>>mikeyo+(OP)
In a hypothetical, if the two did not breach Bitfinex servers (unauthorized access to others systems) but instead managed to "guess" the private key to the Bitfinex wallet and transfer the funds, would this also be a crime?

Would this be treated the same way?

>>kisamo+j6
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act covers any unauthorized access regardless of how the credentials were obtained or... magically guessed.

>>realce+f7
In the scenario outlined there would be no unauthorized access to any systems, whether owned by Bitfinex or anyone else, so I really don't see how the CFAA could possibly apply here. As for the cryptocurrency network itself, the protocol is that anyone who has the private key is authorized to spend the corresponding funds—how the key was obtained is irrelevant.

Of course, correctly guessing a 256-bit random private key is exceedingly unlikely, though if they key is based on a lower-entropy password (a "brain wallet") then the odds of a correct guess improve dramatically.