Backers of Bitcoin experienced a setback this week with the collapse of one of the first exchanges of the digital currency. Comments from Twitter and Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

There needs to be an easier, more convenient way to buy and sell Bitcoin. Right now, it involves jumping through hoops and multiple websites.

— @ZGrinders

I have never used it. Bitcoin always seemed shady!

— @antoniesousa

I've never used it and don't plan on it. Although for tax reasons, buying a house with it would certainly be beneficial.

— @MikeSpiro1987

Get your real money out of it and be happy you didn't take a bath. Where is Bernie Madoff now? He's in jail. Bitcoin sounds like something he'd invent.

— @jstusport

It was just a matter of time before this scam came crashing down. Legal tender is backed by the government.

— @FilmProfessor9

I would use Bitcoin only if there were no such thing as the U.S. dollar.

— @StosStos

Too bad Bitcoin theft is unrecoverable. Banks are insured, and credit cards are protected. But Bitcoin is completely unregulated and unprotected.

— Czerny Ambrose

I can't feel much sympathy for people who took hard currency and invested in a digital one that has no regulation, and then lost their money. You use Bitcoin, you take your chances.

— William Travis

Everybody's money on Bitcoin is a bunch of data floating around. The interesting thing is most money today is just numbers in a bank account.

The main difference between the dollar and the Bitcoin is that there's a government willing to say a dollar is worth what it says it's worth.

— Preston Lenze

Many people using Bitcoin have less than noble intentions. Bitcoin has been a trendy currency for drug dealing, and the sale of illegal merchandise and services. It doesn't always happen that bad intentions yield bad outcomes, but the concept of karma exists for a reason.

For those who are engaged in Bitcoin transactions for more legitimate purposes, not least of which because they support alternatives to government and private manipulations, I am sorry for the breach of trust. I hope this turns out to be nothing worse than your version of last year's "Target breach."

For those who have consciously avoided Bitcoin, please refrain from being smug. When was the last time you benefited from having someone say to you, "I told you so."

— Jay Ensley

The U.S. government backs my money, not some random guy who knows how to start a website. If you have a substantial amount of money in Bitcoin, it's probably because you'd be involved in a criminal indictment by passing it through federally regulated banks. Why else would you put hundreds of thousands of dollars into a super volatile currency?

— Justin Garver

Bernie Madoff didn't destroy the dollar just like possible theft at Mt. Gox, the exchange that collapsed, won't destroy Bitcoin.

— Nick Moore

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