Noob Biting the Bullet

[Old No. 7]

I almost bought some BTC on localbitcoins just now, but I've decided to appeal to this forum for advice on which bitcoin apps to use and where to buy from.

Anyone here have any reccomendations?

 

[kpitcher]

If you have a checking account and can wait a few days for verification for ACH transfers, coinbase.com is one of the easiest ways to buy bitcoin.
Coinbase also allows merchant accounts for accepting bitcoins and smartphone apps to trade in person.

Depending on where you're at you could get some from a Bitcoin ATM which would be cheaper than localbitcoins http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-atm-map/

For a hot wallet I personally like https://blockchain.info/wallet

It's an online service however it's secured so only you have access to your bitcoins. There is also a smartphone app tied to the website.
This gives you the ease of QR codes and sending/receiving coins in person.

Oh and have fun jumping in the crypto rabbit hole!

 

[mczerone]

If you have a checking account and can wait a few days for verification for ACH transfers, coinbase.com is one of the easiest ways to buy bitcoin.
Coinbase also allows merchant accounts for accepting bitcoins and smartphone apps to trade in person.

Depending on where you're at you could get some from a Bitcoin ATM which would be cheaper than localbitcoins http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-atm-map/

For a hot wallet I personally like https://blockchain.info/wallet

It's an online service however it's secured so only you have access to your bitcoins. There is also a smartphone app tied to the website.
This gives you the ease of QR codes and sending/receiving coins in person.

Oh and have fun jumping in the crypto rabbit hole!

is blockchain.info running well again? I have the bc.i app for my iphone, and haven't been able to send btc for a couple months from it. The web version has worked for me, but others have had problems with that, too. Also there was an issue with bc.i "verifying" transactions that had few-to-no node verifications that weren't proven to be true via the core blockchain after the fact.

They seem to be losing market reputation lately, and I haven't seen anything recently that's made that turn around.

I'm going to try the breadwallet app and see how that works in the next few days.

 

[presence]

I keep my coins split between btce and bitfinex, but I rarely visit either exchange moving my coins by api key.

I like them because 1) they're both secure 2) you can move coins in and out without papers 3) they don't trade too many alt coins which introduce vulnerabilities.

I bought in many moons back via ZipZap MoneyGram from Walmart, I'm not sure that option even exists anymore.

I trade using the cloud services at tradewave.net where I also lease botscript, "Honey Badger".

You can find my "litepresence report on crypto currency" with news and technical analysis here at ronpaulforums.com



If you really want to become a vibrant part of the crypto economy... become a vendor or run some business that accepts bitcoin then use your earnings to buy from other vendors. When you've completed that loop a few times you'll come to appreciate what bitcoin REALLY is.

 

[Danke]

Is bitcoin broken? Prominent developer cashes out

By Paul Vigna
Published: Jan 17, 2016 7:23 p.m. ET

Cybercurrency roiled by network congestion issues


Bloomberg News
The price of bitcoin plunged 20% last week.
A prominent bitcoin developer has labeled the currency a failed experiment, widening the rift over an arcane but critical technical issue that has divided the community for nearly a year.

“The fundamentals are broken, and whatever happens to the price in the short term, the long-term trend should probably be downwards,” developer Mike Hearn wrote on the blogging platform Medium. “I will no longer be taking part in bitcoin development and have sold all my coins.”

The fight stems from growing congestion on the bitcoin network caused by size limits within the currency’s ledger of transactions. If the limits aren’t raised, the result could be debilitating bottlenecks. But fixing it requires altering a system that has been profitable for those that use heavy computer power to record transactions.


Hearn has been a vocal proponent for expanding the size limits. The problem is bitcoin is open-source software, so any change has to be approved a majority of the community, and it hasn’t been able to agree.

This isn’t the first time somebody has written bitcoin’s obituary. What is different is this obit was being written by a prominent insider, and it hit a raw nerve in the community. The price of bitcoin, which had been stable for months, dropped sharply, down 20% last week to $358. The price regained some ground over the weekend, and many are still defending the currency in the wake of Hearn’s comments.

Bitcoin has always had a divisive edge. Believers laud it as a currency that is free from central banks and a transaction system that works outside the normal financial system. Skeptics see it as a kooky currency whose values soar and crash unpredictably, a casino for computer nerds. Governments can’t even agree whether it is a currency or a commodity.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-bitcoin-broken-prominent-developer-cashes-out-2016-01-17

 

[mczerone]

Is bitcoin broken? Prominent developer cashes out

By Paul Vigna
Published: Jan 17, 2016 7:23 p.m. ET

Cybercurrency roiled by network congestion issues


Bloomberg News
The price of bitcoin plunged 20% last week.
A prominent bitcoin developer has labeled the currency a failed experiment, widening the rift over an arcane but critical technical issue that has divided the community for nearly a year.

“The fundamentals are broken, and whatever happens to the price in the short term, the long-term trend should probably be downwards,” developer Mike Hearn wrote on the blogging platform Medium. “I will no longer be taking part in bitcoin development and have sold all my coins.”

The fight stems from growing congestion on the bitcoin network caused by size limits within the currency’s ledger of transactions. If the limits aren’t raised, the result could be debilitating bottlenecks. But fixing it requires altering a system that has been profitable for those that use heavy computer power to record transactions.


Hearn has been a vocal proponent for expanding the size limits. The problem is bitcoin is open-source software, so any change has to be approved a majority of the community, and it hasn’t been able to agree.

This isn’t the first time somebody has written bitcoin’s obituary. What is different is this obit was being written by a prominent insider, and it hit a raw nerve in the community. The price of bitcoin, which had been stable for months, dropped sharply, down 20% last week to $358. The price regained some ground over the weekend, and many are still defending the currency in the wake of Hearn’s comments.

Bitcoin has always had a divisive edge. Believers laud it as a currency that is free from central banks and a transaction system that works outside the normal financial system. Skeptics see it as a kooky currency whose values soar and crash unpredictably, a casino for computer nerds. Governments can’t even agree whether it is a currency or a commodity.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-bitcoin-broken-prominent-developer-cashes-out-2016-01-17

Thanks for reposting old news without any personal interpretation.

If you want to dissuade people from buying in to bitcoin, at least present your own argument. Don't just dump a slanted article on the thread and run away.

 

[Danke]

Thanks for reposting old news without any personal interpretation.

If you want to dissuade people from buying in to bitcoin, at least present your own argument. Don't just dump a slanted article on the thread and run away.

Old news? Posted here before? The date of this article is two days ago.

Information= bad

 

[dannno]

Is bitcoin broken? Prominent developer cashes out

By Paul Vigna
Published: Jan 17, 2016 7:23 p.m. ET

Cybercurrency roiled by network congestion issues


Bloomberg News
The price of bitcoin plunged 20% last week.
A prominent bitcoin developer has labeled the currency a failed experiment, widening the rift over an arcane but critical technical issue that has divided the community for nearly a year.

“The fundamentals are broken, and whatever happens to the price in the short term, the long-term trend should probably be downwards,” developer Mike Hearn wrote on the blogging platform Medium. “I will no longer be taking part in bitcoin development and have sold all my coins.”

The fight stems from growing congestion on the bitcoin network caused by size limits within the currency’s ledger of transactions. If the limits aren’t raised, the result could be debilitating bottlenecks. But fixing it requires altering a system that has been profitable for those that use heavy computer power to record transactions.


Hearn has been a vocal proponent for expanding the size limits. The problem is bitcoin is open-source software, so any change has to be approved a majority of the community, and it hasn’t been able to agree.

This isn’t the first time somebody has written bitcoin’s obituary. What is different is this obit was being written by a prominent insider, and it hit a raw nerve in the community. The price of bitcoin, which had been stable for months, dropped sharply, down 20% last week to $358. The price regained some ground over the weekend, and many are still defending the currency in the wake of Hearn’s comments.

Bitcoin has always had a divisive edge. Believers laud it as a currency that is free from central banks and a transaction system that works outside the normal financial system. Skeptics see it as a kooky currency whose values soar and crash unpredictably, a casino for computer nerds. Governments can’t even agree whether it is a currency or a commodity.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-bitcoin-broken-prominent-developer-cashes-out-2016-01-17

That news hit the market days ago, it already took a dip but after further analysis it appears that guy is at least partially full of shit. This dip may be a good time to get back in.

 

[dannno]

Old news? Posted here before? The date of this article is two days ago.

Information= bad

Do you not follow litepresence's thread? YOUR article was written 2 days ago, but that's because they were late in the game - the originally Forbes article came out more than 4 days ago..

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...yptocurrency&p=6099205&viewfull=1#post6099205

Some people got scared, market dropped, people realized the guy wasn't fully telling the truth and now it's over.

 

[mczerone]

Old news? Posted here before? The date of this article is two days ago.

Information= bad

You're posting an article from an old-media site (marketwatch = CBS's version of MSNBC.com), written about events from over 5 days ago, that were addressed by the bitcoin community at least 4 days ago.

So yes, information is good.

But blindly posting things that your barely understand and haven't researched more thoroughly than copying and pasting a single marketwatch.com link isn't very good information. You're letting your confirmation bias get in the way of actual information, which could have been the start of a productive discussion about whether or not now is a good time to expose yourself to bitcoin.

"It is no crime to be ignorant of [bitcoin] economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on [bitcoin] subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance."

 

[FindLiberty]

If fiat paper money is all a scam, BTC may be the best improved scheme for the future.

For now, it's just a bit more appealing, as an alternative. Banks/gov want "in"!

 

[Old No. 7]

I keep my coins split between btce and bitfinex, but I rarely visit either exchange moving my coins by api key.

I like them because 1) they're both secure 2) you can move coins in and out without papers 3) they don't trade too many alt coins which introduce vulnerabilities.

I bought in many moons back via ZipZap MoneyGram from Walmart, I'm not sure that option even exists anymore.

I trade using the cloud services at tradewave.net where I also lease botscript, "Honey Badger".

You can find my "litepresence report on crypto currency" with news and technical analysis here at ronpaulforums.com



If you really want to become a vibrant part of the crypto economy... become a vendor or run some business that accepts bitcoin then use your earnings to buy from other vendors. When you've completed that loop a few times you'll come to appreciate what bitcoin REALLY is.

I work for a very large eBay business, and I have a dream that I could save the company over 15% by programming a website to auction off our stuff with BTC on our own site and giving eBay the finger. That's a super long term goal though. I have to learn how to move BTC myself first lol.

 

[Old No. 7]

If fiat paper money is all a scam, BTC may be the best improved scheme for the future.

For now, it's just a bit more appealing, as an alternative. Banks/gov want "in"!

I'm convinced that long term bitcoin is the money of the future. The main reason I believe so is because businesses will not ignore the possibility of free money transfer forever.

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.

 

[presence]

I work for a very large eBay business, and I have a dream that I could save the company over 15% by programming a website to auction off our stuff with BTC on our own site and giving eBay the finger. That's a super long term goal though. I have to learn how to move BTC myself first lol.

Probably easiest method would be to use bitpay. Tradewave uses them to automate my bot sales.

https://bitpay.com/pricing

 

[Jackie Moon]

If you have a checking account and can wait a few days for verification for ACH transfers, coinbase.com is one of the easiest ways to buy bitcoin.
Coinbase also allows merchant accounts for accepting bitcoins and smartphone apps to trade in person.

Depending on where you're at you could get some from a Bitcoin ATM which would be cheaper than localbitcoins http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-atm-map/

For a hot wallet I personally like https://blockchain.info/wallet

It's an online service however it's secured so only you have access to your bitcoins. There is also a smartphone app tied to the website.
This gives you the ease of QR codes and sending/receiving coins in person.

Oh and have fun jumping in the crypto rabbit hole!

Yeah, if you don't mind using your checking account, debit or credit card then the cheapest and easiest options to buy and sell are Coinbase and Circle.

Agree with Blockchain.info as a good wallet. Like kpitcher said, you get the benefit of a web wallet but they don't have access to your bitcoin.

I also like the Airbitz app for a mobile wallet. It's so slick and simple, and again they don't have access to your bitcoin.

is blockchain.info running well again? I have the bc.i app for my iphone, and haven't been able to send btc for a couple months from it. The web version has worked for me, but others have had problems with that, too. Also there was an issue with bc.i "verifying" transactions that had few-to-no node verifications that weren't proven to be true via the core blockchain after the fact.

They seem to be losing market reputation lately, and I haven't seen anything recently that's made that turn around.

I'm going to try the breadwallet app and see how that works in the next few days.

Hmmm, I haven't had any issue with the Blockchain.info app... but it's Android.

 

[Austin]

I recommend www.gocelery.com for low volume buying and selling. The fees are fair. Even if they are a bit higher than the exchanges, the interface and convenience are top notch.

 

[kpitcher]

I work for a very large eBay business, and I have a dream that I could save the company over 15% by programming a website to auction off our stuff with BTC on our own site and giving eBay the finger. That's a super long term goal though. I have to learn how to move BTC myself first lol.

I haven't seen any very popular bitcoin auction sites, the mass market popularity of ebay just doesn't exist in the crypto world yet. In time as more people use bitcoin I could see it happening. Ebay takes what, 11% in fees? That adds up fast! Good goal to aim for.