I don’t try to be rude, but so to say for the non-techies Bitcoin can be very frightening for people who are not into IT.
Well, I hope you're not going to be rude because it's going to get worse. I'm laughing when you say your app is "granny proof". Looking around me, grand mothers do not have smartphones. They don't like touchscreens. They prefer a conventional keypad. Same thing for the millions of people who don't have a bank account in the third world, but for another reason: smartphones are just too expensive for them. It's no accident that Mpesa in Kenya works with text messages. The people there do not have the fancy phones which are so popular among the young in rich countries. So I wonder who will be interested in your app. |
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I've been using BTC for about 18 months, but I had never heard of Apple Pay before this post.
Maybe if I had an iphone but I found them overpriced like all Apple products. BTC wins hands down.
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All right, so it has an unique interface, but nobody cares about that. What we'd like to know is how it's any safer and more private than existing solutions like the e-wallet from blockchain.info.
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Hi Everyone - my name is Ted Rogers and I am Chief Strategy Officer at Xapo. I just want to offer a few clarifications on the Xapo debit card. First, it is a true debit card, not a prepaid card. You can get prepaid card from other bitcoin companies, as mentioned on this thread but they are pre-load cards -- you need to sell your bitcoin and load the cards before you can spend. The Xapo card is linked directly to your Xapo wallet and the bitcoin in your wallet are debited automatically when you spend. I suggest checking to see whether this is the case when considering other cards. Second, the card is accepted anywhere Visa is accepted and also works at ATMs. It also works online. To the extent transactions are declined at ATMs or online: if it happens it tends to be for reasons specific to the account, the ATM or the store. If it happens and we can help you with it, we will. Access our support here http://support.xapo.com/ Third, if you have questions about Xapo, our funding, our backers or our team, you can find out more on our site https://xapo.com/about/. Fourth, regarding fees: Xapo does not charge a monthly maintenance fee to our card holders. Therefore, when you compare the total fees paid for using the Xapo debit card, we believe we are competitive with other debit cards. There are certainly others that are cheaper, as well as others that are more expensive. Finally, since issuing a card involves multiple parties, we don't fully control the timing of card issuance. We are working very hard every day to get cards to everyone that wants one. We sincerely appreciate peoples' interest in the debit card and in Xapo! Thanks very much, Ted Thanks for your answers. You help! Glad to learn that Xapo is accepted just like a Visa is though I find it surprising, unless Xapo has an agreement with Visa. I know I have a standard Visa, and a Visa Plus which is much less useful... Regarding the monthly fess which are listed but not charged, logic would command to unlist them. |
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You forgot one important fact: to use Western Union, you must go to a shop, whereas BTC can be exchanged at home.
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Paypal wouldn't change much, and your image is wrong. I have a paypal account with several currencies in it, and it doesn't look like that. It happens often that I'm getting a payment in US $ ,then I'm buying something in €, but I don't like it as there are fees. BTC is better because it's international.
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Gold investors and BTC investors are very different people. I've seen here that a few BTC owners were interested in gold, but real gold owners (not the people who own paper gold or a few bullions) have no interest at all in BTC.
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I fail to understand how Easbit is any better than having an e-wallet at blockchain.info.
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Thanks for this info, I wasn't aware they've had several issues already. It's quite common to see negative comments regarding the banking sector on this board, but at least, they're professionals. BTC is still new, but we shall expect companies offering services around it to have the same level of competence we take for granted at a bank. I know it's not easy, but if they can't provide, well, they should do something else. |
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The safest option is always to diversify. Get both currencies, $ and €. Some Swiss francs and British pounds are also nice.
I agree with diversification in general but the idea above is terrible. In the case of currencies you are pretty much generating a Zero Net Return. For instance the dollar goes up, the euro goes down. And viceversa, that is how it works. Yes, that's the plan. Commodities traders excepted, nobody sees fiat money as an investment. The idea is only to safeguard your cash against the sudden drop of a given currency. If you have a large sum of money to invest, there are other options than cash, but that isn't the question here. |
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The safest option is always to diversify. Get both currencies, $ and €. Some Swiss francs and British pounds are also nice.
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Xapo looks definitely unprofessional to me. To the question, Where can I use my Xapo Debit Card? Their reply is: Your Xapo Debit Card can be used at any merchant that accepts the card network listed on your card. (from http://help.xapo.com/83749-Can-I-use-the-card-anywhere---in-any-country ) To the very best of my knowledge, Visa and Mastercard are accepted everywhere but the Xapo card isn't accepted anywhere. No shops and no ATMs. Then, there are fees. http://help.xapo.com/95219-What-fees-are-associated-with-the-Xapo-Debit-CardYou must pay to get the card, you must pay every month to keep it, and you must pay to withdraw money. Are those guys serious? They have a lot to learn if they have any intention to compete with the banking sector. I'm also surprised that all their fees are in fiat currencies. Shouldn't they be in BTC? |
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If it's anonymous, I could enjoy one. But it has to be like a real debit card, I mean usable everywhere in the world. You'll load it with BTC and it will debit local fiat currency if you shop at a place which doesn't accept BTC.
I'll pay 0.05 BTC to get one. Maybe more if it comes with more services.
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From my almost an year old observation and experience I feel there is a sort of cold war being waged between 2 kinds of people!
The first are some Anarchocapitalist, anarchist and some techno libertarians who want bitcoin to be a product of the Darknet and be used for buying drugs, childporn and whistle blowing and care much about anonymity.
Your description of anarchists is wrong. I'm possibly a true anarchist, and as an anarchist I can't speak for others, otherwise I wouldn't be an anarchist, but I've burned my social security card in 1991, and few people can make such a claim. I support BTC because I favor a currency which can keep my business out of the sight, and out of the knowledge, of all governments (I travel a lot), with all its tax men and various regulators who tell people how to do things. |
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The rich and powerful usually resort to violence to achieve their ends.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet were the two richest men in America last time I looked, and they're not street-fighters. |
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Note that bitcoins are only dangerous to people who actually buy some. So it's less dangerous than, say a car, with which you can kill yourself, and other people, too.
Walking down the street is dangerous too. Hundreds die every year by crossing the street. Maybe it should be banned to walk down the street.
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Reversing the subject, I guess the best way to convince ISIS not to use BTC would be to let them believe that Satoshi Nakamoto is a CIA agent. Let's keep trolling about that. Is this true that Satoshi has moved? I've been told he works for the NSA, now.
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Sorry, but I think gold is much more secure.
I have a deposit box in a bank which has never been robbed, while I've already lost loads of data because of hard disk failures.
That box of gold can be seized by authorities at any time. Remember over the last 2 years bank accounts and safety deposit boxes have been being seized in large numbers for suspension of money laundering(for no reason other than to ask you where your money came from). It cost $20,000 to get your money/gold back if you can prove where every penny came from. Most of the accounts had $30,000 or more in them and are owned by "mom & pop" businesses, but the Feds are making a lot of money seizing accounts of innocent people right now. If you live in a fascist country where your bank account "can be seized by authorities at any time", I can only advise you to move immediately. I don't. My money's safe. |
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Sorry, but I think gold is much more secure.
I have a deposit box in a bank which has never been robbed, while I've already lost loads of data because of hard disk failures.
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I wouldn't divulge too much information to them.
That sounds smart. And I hesitate about sharing my thoughts. I guess that somehow the more people will reply, the more they will feel they should regulate BTC. |
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