Bitcoin Forum

DoubleCoin is a light-hearted experiment in digital currencies. It is the first digital coin with an exponential pricing system, and the first one with a transaction ledger that is kept by hand.

There are 50 coins, and each one has its own number, from 1 to 50. DoubleCoin #1 was originally sold for 1 satoshi (.00000001 BTC), and the price doubles for each coin sold after that. Coin #2 was sold for .00000002 BTC, Coin #3 for .00000004 BTC, and so on.

The proceeds from DoubleCoin are securely stored in the "DoubleCoin Vault," a pile of loose change on my kitchen table, to spite my wife for saying that this was a terrible idea and that no one would ever buy any.

All buyers of DoubleCoins get:

1) their username recorded in the Owner List next to the coin they have purchased

2) control of the website image header for the duration of the time they are owner of the "top coin" (they can submit an image, or one can be designed according to their specifications). After they lose the "top coin" spot, their header is displayed in the "top coin image archive," as long as it isn't obscene.

3) an email from DoubleCoin asking if there is anything we can do to help them out (we don't have much money, but can help in other ways).

The website was updated today to

- show pictures of the DoubleCoin Vault
- add support for DogeCoin
- add a FAQ
- add a header image, which is controlled by the owner of the "top coin"

http://exponentialsatoshis.wordpress.com/

If you have any questions, shoot away!

more ponzi

OMG, how old are you, 15 ??

clever idea and funny.... i like it... need lots more coins though i think.

cryptohunter - Thanks! I hope to keep it fun. And I've actually learned a lot about the challenges that cryptocurrencies had to overcome by trying to do it by hand. Regarding more coins, it's basically totally impossible for coin #50 to ever be purchased... and after 50 coins, the price approaches the US national debt pretty quickly!

gargouri2001 - It's not really a ponzi, because earlier buyers don't get any money from later purchasers. And, there is no promise of future wealth, just participation in an interesting and slightly ridiculous experiment. Without the promise of any monetary reward, it doesn't really qualify as a ponzi or pyramid scheme.

primer - I wish I had ideas like this when I was 15! Alas, I am older.

im in. Can i buy number 2? What is the lowest number that is not taken yet? Let me know and ill buy it :)

edit: i see 2 to 20 are bought by 1 guy. This is not fair. I like the idea but it should be possible to buy ONLY 1 per user as there are only 50 coins. 40% owned by one guy makes this shitty for me. Will not be buying.

Hi Albert,

I'm in negotiations with Im-Probably-Lying on Reddit to buy back some of the early coins so that I can sell one to you.

I should have one freed up soon, hopefully.

Thanks for your patience.

wow looks funny.goodluck for you.

Thank you for the kind words, saycoin33!

Do you have any questions about how it works?

Albert,

You'll be happy to know that we just announced a new rule -- starting now -- that people can only own one DoubleCoin at a time, not counting Im-Probably-Lying, who has been grandfathered in.

http://exponentialsatoshis.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/new-doublecoin-rule-one-doublecoin-per-person/

But, I've negotiated a deal with Im-Probably-Lying to buy back coins 2 through 10, so that I can re-sell them to broaden the ownership base of DoubleCoins.

Hopefully those two developments address some of your concerns about DoubleCoin.

Thanks for your helpful feedback,

Payment sent for coin #20

TXID:  370bc1cd84184c7fefb6b0a8fe6762a0e1161d443ef05022c70e634b8c477cac

Mortimer452 - Fantastic!

What image would you like to see in the website header in your honor?

You can send one or send specifications and we'll make it for you.

No image is necessary . . .the honor is all mine :)

i belive the honor is all mine Smiley .

Ah yes i read the OP over again and now notice you are doubling each time not adding 1.... well that will get expensive very quickly.  

Yep like the idea for sure.... personally though i would refund people and start again because the one position per person is certainly the way to go.  

i will take coin 3 or 4 or 5 whatever is the lowest one available to be part of the new experiment.... pm me and tell me how much btc it will be.

CryptoHunter -

We bought back coins 2 through 10 to re-sell them to individuals, so that will improve the situation a little bit hopefully, and maybe more people can offer Im-Probably-Lying some doge, or cool barters, to try and pry some more of those coins out of his (or her) hands.

It wouldn't really be fair to him (or her) to refund and start over, because they were the first big initial supporter of the whole thing, and they took a chance on buying all those coins when no one else was interested in even paying a fraction of a penny for a DoubleCoin, so it would feel like I was betraying the very first person to believe in the whole thing.

But, it is in his/her interest to ensure that DoubleCoin appears fun and fair for people, so hopefully he/she transfers ownership of a few more coins over time.

Also, ridiculousness is a core element of DoubleCoin, so the fact that a person named Im-Probably-Lying is hoarding early coins is kind of appropriate, from a certain perspective, and ripe for entertainment down the line. This person is sure to be a central character as the saga unfolds, whether for good or evil, only time will tell...

okay cool so i sent btc for coin 2... will pm you transaction id

It's worth a risk I guess at the 0.005ish BTC that I paid for #20.  Made me smile, it was worth the BTC

But I doubt we will see it go much further than this . . . couple more coins and we're getting into some real money.  By the time we're at coin 50, the entire stash will be worth (2 ^ 50) * 2 -0.00000001 BTC, which is like, a bajillion dollars.

So far, we are talking about a "cryptocurrency" with a ledger kept track of on a piece of paper, and the owner stacking up loose change.  

No wallet, nor a promise of one :-\

yeah i like the idea..... had to way over pay though :) lol noticed i paid a transacton charge a magnitude more than the position cost :)

i can see it now.... soon there will be a bidding war to become top dog on this.... next a media frenzy as someone pays a fortune in btc for top double coin spot.........next his site is getting millions of views per day to see what is all about ..... the next bigger company sees opportunity to advertise and write off big tax .....pays even more.......

the guys bed is full of bank bonds for millions.... my spot2 won't even have a cent on it... although if you include the tx fee i should really deserve one on there. But who would bother looking at spot 2 when we are talking about spot 42 being bid for.

heh . . . 2^50 * 2 - 0.00000001 = 11,258,999.07 BTC

By the time the last one is purchased, mr. satoshinakamoto here will own about 90% of all bitcoins in existence.   ::)

mortimer452 - The website has been updated in your honor! Hope you enjoy it.

cryptohunter - Haha, yes, that is one way that would be fun to see it play out! For now, my wife lets out a depressed sigh when she hears I've been working on "DoubleCoin," like I've lost my marbles and am wasting my time, so personally, I'd love to just have enough money on the kitchen table that she realizes that sometimes there is a small hidden grain of intelligence behind my crazy ideas. Nevermind millions, it would be pretty satisfying to have $200 in change on the table! She never even thought people would buy 1, much less 20.

Personally, I was expecting the early coins like #2 to be coveted, and more valuable than the later coins, (although I knew the "top coin" would always get the most attention), but I guess the current presentation of the site makes them look like they'll be totally forgotten as the higher coins are purchased.

But, I can change that, and will do so... It is an unfolding adventure, and I'd like to keep it interesting for everyone involved!

Thank you - but looks like you wrote Mortimer 472 on the website :)

Mortimer452 - Doh! I just fixed it though, by making the 7 look like a 5. I even made the 4 and the 2 look a bit thicker, so people can't tell what i did there to cover up the mistake. This is the kind of efficiency we are proud of at DoubleCoin.

Also, I'm not sure if you saw yet, but the DoubleCoin Vault has been compromised. You can see all the details below the header dedicated to  you.

Cryptolemaik - Your suspicious are totally reasonable, but I can assure you I'm only controlling one account here... For all I know, everyone else could be one person, but I think it's different people.

What are you confused about?

Let me know how I can help clarify...

Thank you - although I do not see anything different when I view the page

I appreciate the transparency you are giving all of us regarding the disturbance of funds in the DoubleCoin vault.  Despite even the best measures taken, every security system has its weaknesses.  Hopefully you can learn from this experience and develop an even more secure vault for the future.

I'm coming out of Lurk Mode to say thanks. Just as sinking profits and cynical pump-and-dump coins were starting to get me down, DoubleCoin restored my faith in cryptocurrencies.

Mortimer452 - Hmm, maybe I didn't update the Wordpress page correctly. I'm still learning the ropes. Sadly, the next coin was purchased, so there's a new banner at the top of the page now. But, when I build the "banner archive" sometime this week, I'll make sure your banner is there with the correct number at the end of your handle!

Esnm - Thanks so much for the support! We just bought back some early coins from the person who bought the first 18 coins, so if you want you can buy a DoubleCoin for around a penny. Would be great to have you on board the DoubleCoin train (to nowhere in particular).

If you'd like to purchase one of the early coins (#3 - #10), since they've already been purchased once and therefore "activated", I've decided that an alternative way to claim one would be to submit a coin claim accompanied by a POK ("Proof of Kindness") which would be accomplished by posting to the DoubleCoin website (or here on the forum) any kind of media that proves that you did something nice for someone.

thats a good idea.... actually the guy that bough 1-19 sounds quite cool. His place in double coin history is set in stone now :)

I wonder how high it will go?

i mean right now it should be at the very top of coin market cap... i mean you have premined them all and giving them out. So the 50 full minting has taken place. According the average pricing of the coins.... double coin should be number 1 :)

cryptohunter -

Hehe... That's a good point regarding market cap!

Currently, I was thinking of each coin as not really coming into existence until it was purchased. Because, it's like that coin doesn't really become "real" until the market has shown that someone is willing to pay that much for it. But, it's an interesting angle to see them all as mined, with an insane market cap.

I just added a poll to the website to see how far people will think it will go, along with a few new blog posts with new rules and other thoughts. It will be interesting to see how far people tend to think it will go. So far there seem to be two camps.. Camp 1: "This won't go anywhere" (i.e., my wife), and Camp 2: Who knows, but it's fun to watch and see.

For now, I'm taking the "it's all about the next game" that athletes use when you ask them about whether they are going to win the World Series or the Superbowl this year.

So I don't think at all about whether those big coins will ever sell... "It's all about the next coin!"

I'm already totally thrilled that a few nice people are involved and enjoying it, so as far as I'm concerned, it's already gone to the moon, and the rest is gravy :)

And it's a nice built-in filter that DoubleCoin is something that no self-respecting pessimist would ever touch with a ten foot pole, so it's turning into a fun group of coin owners.

so which coins are left and whats the price?

I'm in.  Please Pm with purchase details.  Will send btc as soon as I hear back

I'd like to purchase one of the lower position coins, but I can't workout which is next. Is it OK if I just join the queue now, and then see which ones are left when I get to the front?

Dear Stinky_Pete, dbt1033, and tylerderden,

Very excited to hear you guys are interested!

All the details are available at http://exponentialsatoshis.wordpress.com/

But here's the lowdown on what coins are currently available...

The "next coin" in the series is coin DoubleCoin #21, which is .02097152 BTC, so you could buy that one by announcing that you are claiming it, and sending to:

1MEmHp8hRmG3F962N6xPWqhe1J4e5ZuUEe

If you buy that one, you'll own the "top coin" and the website banner gets dedicated to you, which any image you want.

But also, we recently did a coin "buy back" of coins #2 through #10, because so many of the early coins were all owned by the same person, and we wanted to have a wider base of ownership. Of those coins, #7 has been purchased, but the rest are available.

There are two ways to purchase one of those early coins:

1. Announce which coin you want and send the price of whatever the current "next coin" is to finalize the purchase, (Currently the amount is .02097152 BTC, but it doubles each time a "next coin" is purchased.) The proceeds will go into a DoubleCoin "Pay it Forward Fund" (which is totally separate from the DoubleCoin Vault of coins which doubles every time a new "Next Coin" is purchased).

2. Announce which coin you want, and submit proof of some kind deed you have done to make the world a better place, and submit some nominal BTC sum to the DoubleCoin "Pay it Forward Fund", the amount of which is totally up to you, all the way down to a penny.

The DoubleCoin "Pay it Forward Fund" is used for random acts of kindness and charity purposes.

For example, with the proceeds of the BTC from the sale of coin #7 to Pontifier, I bought a homeless man a hot chocolate today and recorded a quick audio clip of handing it off to him, so Pontifier could know that his money was actually paid forward: http://picosong.com/e4K5

To be more clear, here is the full list of available coins, and their current prices:

Current NC (Next Coin)

D#22 - .02097152 BTC.

Available ECs (Early Coins)

D#3
D#4
D#5
D#6
D#8
D#9
D#10

The price of these coins is set to match the price of the current "Next Coin," and the proceeds go into the DC "Pay it Forward Fund." So every time a new NC is purchased, the price of these ECs doubles also.

Alternatively, these Early Coins can be purchased by posting a POK (proof of an act of kindness) along with a BTC amount of your choice, which also goes into the DC "Pay it Forward Fund." So, anyone willing to do something nice, and post something that shows they did it, can have an Early Coin for as little as a Satoshi if they want.

Lastly, you are always welcome to try and buy a coin from one of the current owners of the other coins. Many of them were purchased for next to nothing, so you might be able to get a good deal from one of them, though you would have to go through a negotiation process, so that isn't the fastest way to get on board.

I understand this still might be unclear, so definitely feel free to ask any questions, or raise any issues & concerns you may have.

So D#3 would now cost 0.02097152 BTC ?

hmm,  so moon,  such far   :o

Hi Stinky_Pete,

Exactly... if you want to claim coin #3 with pure BTC, it would cost 0.02097152 as long as coin #22 hasn't sold yet.

Alternatively, you could claim it via POK (proof of kindness) + BTC donation, where you post online proof of some act of kindness, and then send any amount of BTC you want.

So, you could buy someone flowers, or text a friend a nice complement, or whatever you want, and provide any kind of proof you want, and then send any amount of BTC whatsoever, from 1 satoshi up.

The point of these early coins was to broaden the base of DoubleCoin Ownership, so the POK + Donation option allows people who are short on BTC to still participate by doing a small act of kindness. Kindness is worth more than money anyway :)

The address is: 1MEmHp8hRmG3F962N6xPWqhe1J4e5ZuUEe

Let me know if you have any more questions...

One of the current DoubleCoin rules is that the "top coin" owner gets to control the top banner on the website, and put whatever image they want there.

But people have pointed out that that kind of leaves the other coin owners with almost no attention, and so dramatically less value compared to that top coin.

What do you guys think of making it so that every coin owner gets to submit one banner image, and the top banner cycles through them?

And then maybe the top coin owner gets extra time during the image cycle, and has some special flair to set them apart from the earlier coin owners?

I'm hitting the hay, but please let me know soon if you guys would like to claim a coin for yourselves, because I'd like to get all the early coins claimed so we can get back to the "next coin" being the only one available for purchase.

So I might try and sell a few of the remaining early coins to my friends tomorrow, if no one here wants to buy any, and if that's considered ethically okay with everyone.

Let me know if there's any reason why I shouldn't sell them to my friends at the current going rate, for some moral reason that I might be missing. I know people have expressed concerns that this is some kind of scam, so I'd like all my decisions to be "above board" and kosher with the community.

Cheers,