Thank you SEABOND, we put everything we have into DNotes and hope Cryptsy will recognize that DNotes is a good fit.

Thanks Chase! I've updated on the site for viewing. You clearly put a lot of effort and thought into, thank you for your patience as we all figure out the format as well!

Here is Chase's latest version of the executive summary for CRISP for Kids. Let us know what you think.



CRISP for Kids is an unstructured and self directed cryptocurrency savings plan for children using DNotes. It was created to help the world's children develop strong saving habits early, in order to help secure their financial future. Their long-term investment horizon and the early stage of the digital currency industry allows for significant capital appreciation.

There is little chance that traditional investments and low yielding bank accounts will be enough to provide for a child's future.  They will need to seek alternative investments like DNotes for a portion of their portfolio in order to have a realistic chance of accumulating enough money to meet their goals.




Still working on the full article, but here is the latest version, subject to change:

CRISP For Kids - The Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan is Born

The CRISP For Kids program began as a joint pilot project of DNotes and CryptoMoms in July 2014. It was designed to evolve around CryptoMoms, a currency neutral site dedicated to encourage women's participation in cryptocurrency. This design allows for the easy participation of family and friends. http://cryptomoms.com/

CRISP for kids was created to help the world's children and grandchildren develop strong saving habits early, in order to help secure their financial future. All CRISPs (Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan) are unstructured and self directed plans, using DNotes as the investment vehicle. Re-occurring savings, in a any amount, may be added at any time.

After the launch of the CRISP, it soon became evident that the parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles from around the world are genuinely concerned about the financial well being of the children in their families. In fact, many of the kids currently in the program were signed up by their grandparents who gave them a gift of DNotes to get them started.

Children are great candidates for a long term savings plan in digital currency. Their long term investment horizon and the early stage of the digital currency industry allows for significant capital appreciation.

Anyone can set up or contribute to a child's CRISP, giving this program the potential to help children around the world. A teacher could establish CRISPs for all of his or her students, and at the same time start teaching the class about digital currency. Cryptocurrency can be a powerful lesson tool and what is new and evolving today will be the norm for them in the future.

The funds from the CRISP can be used by the child for their education, travel, their first home, as well as many other things. By the time the children are old enough to withdraw the DNotes, they will be very grateful their parents or grandparents had the foresight to take early advantage of an investment in digital currency.

With the launch of the DNotesVault in December, 2014, you need little more than an email address to start a CRISP. All deposits sent to any DNotesVault address are securely stored offline in DNotes cold storage vault with a 100% guarantee. http://www.dnotesvault.com/

Everyone at CryptoMoms is very proud of the CRISP For Kids program and it is a delight reading the posts of the proud parents and grandparents as they share a little bit about each child. Some have left messages that will outlive the writer and it is starting to have almost a time-capsule feeling.

CryptoMoms and the DNotes team are dedicted to helping anyone interested in starting a CRISP for any child. Please visit:

http://cryptomoms.com/forum/cryptomoms-com/5/kids-with-a-cr-i-s-p/530

Very interesting article.

Bitcoin's Biggest Question Isn't Ease of Use, It's 'Why Use it?'

When asked why bitcoin hasn't taken off as an electronic, online cash, it's become conventional wisdom to blame ease of use as the predominant issue. When compared to other payment methods, most say, digital currency simply isn't as user-friendly.

This is true to an extent. As a payment method, bitcoin could be more user-friendly, and the industry should work to improve basic features of major services. It should be easier for everyday consumers to send the desired amounts without overspending and for default wallet features to be more intuitive.

But, to say that this is the biggest issue the industry faces is inaccurate. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how easy something is to use if no one understands why they would use it at all.

On this paradox, I recently participated in a panel hosted by ZapChain (a bitcoin social network) focused broadly on "branding bitcoin" in the media. The goal of the talk was for myself, my former colleague Daniel Cawrey, Inc's Ben Parr and The Wall Street Journal's Paul Vigna to discuss the gap between the media's interest in the technology and consumer adoption.

[...]


Ease of use

New technologies are often unrefined, and they come with high barriers to usability. But, it's difficult to say that the industry has not made significant headway on ease of use.

There's a compelling argument that major US bitcoin-buying services are already pretty user-friendly, despite the kinks. In fact, it's hard to see exactly how, at least in the US, obtaining bitcoin by purchasing it could be much easier for those with the right tools.

Bitcoin-based financial services startups such as ChangeTip, Coinbase and Circle already enable consumers to open an account, attach a credit card or bank account and begin buying and sending bitcoin. This works both ways – it's just as easy to receive and sell bitcoin, whole services enable this without requiring any action from merchants.

Ask yourself, how could these buying services be dramatically improved? Maybe they can and will, but why not emphasize what they've already achieved? The challenge again, is why use these services in the first place.

[...]

Source: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-question-ease-of-use-segway/

Great find RJF. I will read that a couple times to make sure I get all the information.

I think we should come up with a set of questions to answer in order to create a executive brief.

What questions can we address in order to come up with a great executive brief for an article?

Thanks Chase, as we write a few more I think we will get a better feel for it as well.

Summary + brief + article might be a much huh?

We could give those suggestions a shot and see how it works.

Still trying to hammer out the details for creating an executive brief on DCEBrief. The directors have been on email chain regarding. Here are some thoughts, and I encourage everyone to comment.

The ones on the site now were written by me as filler to get a feel for the visual effect. None of them make it over 100 words.

Visually, beyond 2 paragraphs might start to look like a lot to read on the homepage. Which is ok, just something to consider. Another idea may be to have a summary, executive brief, then the article.

In true executive summary form, it would cover all the major points without any fluff or filler.

I think we definitely need an upper limit of words for an executive summary, I don't know exactly what that will be, but most have suggested in the 200-300 range.

Do we need a minimum amount of words, as long as it meets the executive summary criteria?

Thanks Mati, I don't know off hand what reason they chose those specific ones. I'm sure there could be any number of reasons. I know Poloniex is looking for new and innovative coins. Bittrex was looking for popularity and social media. Most others wanted new coins for their immediate volumes, and others stuck with the voting list winners. Hard to say for Cryptsy, it used to be voting list winners though, now I can't say.

http://zadig.akeo.ie/
Download and install Zadig. Open zadig, select Options > List All Devices. Select one of the STM32 Virtual Com Port (Your Device may differ, you should have one for each blade, I think the 5.2 version have 2 blades) and click Reinstall Driver. You may need to do this for each listing of STM32 Virtual Com Port.

Download CGMiner 3.7.2 for Gridseed.
http://cryptomining-blog.com/wp-content/files/cgminer-3-7-2-gridseed-windows.zip
Run with the following options, your settings may differ a little.
cgminer --scrypt --gridseed-options=baud=115200,freq=800,chips=80,modules=2,usefifo=0,btc=0 --hotplug=0 -o stratum+tcp://dnotespool.com:8333 -u YOURUSERNAME -p YOURPASSWORD

Source: http://cryptomining-blog.com/1262-download-cgminer-3-7-2-for-windows-scrypt-mining-on-gridseed-5-chip-gc3355-asics/

Looks like a great place to start your day, sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee. Thanks for sharing.

BitLicense New York Exodus. Apparently it's not just exchanges leaving New York. Coinbase reported almost $100,000 to apply for BitLicense, that is just for New York, imagine if each state takes on the same requirements.

Behind the "exodus" of bitcoin startups from New York

The exits were a strong reaction to the application requirements for a BitLicense.

Last weekend the deadline to apply for a BitLicense came and went, and a slew of bitcoin startups went too—right out of New York State.

The BitLicense is New York’s regulatory badge of approval, required of all digital-currency businesses that are deemed “money transmitters” (companies that hold customer funds, most of them exchanges). And it has been highly controversial in bitcoin circles since it was first unveiled over year ago, after multiple revisions.

Bitcoin executives—even those who chose to apply for a license for their company—have gripes about the final set of rules, and are still hoping to see it change. This weekend, many of them decided to make a statement: rather than apply for the license, they left New York. For some with physical headquarters in the state, that meant literal moving trucks. For others it meant cutting off service to New York-based customers.

To leave New York entirely may seem like a drastic step, but much of the most fevered activity around trading of the digital currency is happening outside the U.S. anyway. The new defectors are all following ShapeShift, a startup led by outspoken bitcoin entrepreneur Erik Voorhees, which was the first to go, cutting off service to New York just days after the BitLicense came out.

Why are they upset?

Critics of the BitLicense see limitations in the specific rules, such as the requirement of new licenses for every new service offered. But the application process, too, has left some companies wringing their hands.

The application costs $5,000, which alone does not necessarily seem excessive. But executives say that the paperwork was extensive and required legal help, which carries additional fees. Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO of Coinsetter, tells Fortune his company spent nearly $50,000 to apply for the BitLicense. George Frost, chief legal officer at Bitstamp, told Coinbase it was more like $100,000 for his company. If either of those figures is remotely accurate, that cost would certainly be prohibitive for smaller companies.

“You’d hope that the costs are outweighed by the value, but for some, maybe not,” says Lukasiewicz. He says that Coinsetter seriously considered not applying, but, “I definitely don’t need the legal risk.” Lukasiewicz is not a fan of the BitLicense, or of regulation in general for the space, but he says, “I don’t want to have to hide in New York. And I viewed it as something that could have marketing upside in terms of helping people feel safer using us.”

Those who leave and those who stay

This is not a comprehensive list, but here are some of the companies that packed up and left New York: Bitfinex, BitQuick, BTCGuild, Eobot, Genesis Mining, GoCoin, Kraken, LocalBitcoins, Paxful, and Poloniex. Xapo left New York back in May.

Almost all of them published statements about their reasons for refusing to apply, and most of them read similarly. “This particular piece of legislation is unnecessary and is an obstacle to free market innovation,” wrote Genesis Mining on its blog. Kraken, an exchange headquartered in San Francisco, said that the license, “comes at a price that exceeds the market opportunity of servicing New York residents. Therefore, we have no option but to withdraw our service from the state.”

Even some digital currency companies that are not money-transmitters, and thus do not need to obtain a BitLicense, voiced their criticism of the regulations and support for companies that exited. Paul Puey, CEO of Airbitz, wrote, “Luckily at Airbitz, we aren’t affected… With all the companies announcing these restrictions today, it should remind the community of the importance to be, and to support, decentralization. Bitcoin was intended to give people true control and access to their money and every time we use a centralized service, we aren’t truly using Bitcoin.”

[...]

http://fortune.com/2015/08/14/bitcoin-startups-leave-new-york-bitlicense/

Also, do you think you can come up with an executive brief for this?

Looks great to me Chase! I think you've hit on the key points and benefits of the CRISP for Kids program while minimizing any fluff. The only thing I can think of is giveaways, but that probably isn't good for this type of article.

Thanks all, looks like we need to catch up a bit to be included. Is this like another coinmarketcap?

"The most popular theory was that the Bitcoin taken by companies like Dell Computers and Toshiba Electrics was being put immediately back on the market."

Even though people purchasing with Bitcoin might feel they are helping to support the Bitcoin ecosystem, when it is in fact not helping it much at all. As you said, the holy grail will be a chain of payments where the digital currency is never converted to fiat, employees are paid in digital currency, and merchants use it to buy and sell. That will take some time.

In this one, they are proposing using fiat wallets as a stepping stone to bitcoin. Allowing people to pay and receive in local fiat, but transacting in bitcoin. It's an interesting concept, which might make it easy for users to understand, but I'm not sure it is a good solution. Anyway, take a look, I would like to hear your thoughts.

Fiat Wallets: The Key to Bitcoin Going Mainstream?

Since bitcoin was introduced in 2009, we have seen endless efforts to make it mainstream.

These efforts have spanned the launches of the world’s ‘easiest bitcoin web wallet’, ‘easiest bitcoin mobile wallet’, ‘consumer multi-sig wallets’ and ‘easiest way to buy bitcoins’.

The user interface has improved by leaps and bounds. We as a community even spent more than a year debating ‘bits’ vs ‘bitcoin’ in an effort to make new bitcoin owners feel wealthier. Startups who act as custodians of customers' bitcoins began advertising "we are fully insured", "we have proof of reserves", "we have the world’s most secure vault" and "we are fully licensed".

What has been achieved so far?

One could argue that instead of mainstreaming bitcoin as a payment network, we’ve instead encouraged the speculation on bitcoin prices.

In the past couple of years, as volatility became an issue in light of a more than 70% drop in bitcoin prices, merchant services offered retailers the ability to accept fiat over the bitcoin network.

The way it works is that consumer bitcoins would be sent to the merchant processor, who then settles with the merchant in the desired fiat currency. However, the benchmarks of success for these services have included statistics on the percentage of revenues merchants keep as bitcoin.

It begs the question: Why does that even matter?

This spring, on the consumer side, services such as OKLink, Coinbase, and Circle have solved the volatility issue for consumers by adding or pre-announcing fiat wallets linked to the bitcoin network. CNY (OKLink) and USD (Coinbase and Circle). This will let users pay and receive in their local currency, while the transfer is made using bitcoins in the background and without any currency exchange risk.

Thus far, this is being offered as somewhat of a side feature. These services are maintaining the dual mode of allowing users the choice to use bitcoin as the front end (bitcoin wallet over the bitcoin network) or the back end (fiat wallet over the bitcoin network).

This is akin to a gas station offering you a core service of buying and storing oil, while giving you the optional side service of filling your car.

In no way am I disparaging bitcoin’s long term value and the promise it holds as the best money the world has ever seen. A different approach towards mainstreaming adoption of the network won’t weaken this function, and could in fact strengthen it.

[...]

http://www.coindesk.com/fiat-wallets-the-key-to-bitcoin-going-mainstream/

This article caught my attention. A company selling tech for coins saved $17,000 in fees last year alone by accepting digital currency for payment. That is an outstanding figure, for that cost savings you could hire another employee, or imagine what that amount could do for your marketing campaign.

Should Small Businesses Bet on Bitcoin?

Imagine stepping into a cafe where you're worried they don't take credit cards. But while you're painstakingly counting out your dollars, the cashier says: "We take cash, cards and bitcoin."

That's what's happening every day at Pittsburgh ice cream parlor Oh Yeah! And the small eatery isn't the only place offering an expanded range of payment options to its customers.

Why Investors Should Beware of Bitcoin

Bitcoin, created in 2009, is a form of digital currency that can be exchanged via an electronic device like a smartphone. According to bitcoin payment processor BitPay, more than 100,000 businesses globally have opted to accept bitcoin as a payment method, and many of them are small businesses.

The most important characteristic of bitcoin, making it different from conventional currency, is that it's decentralized – no one authority controls the money network. Users can store, spend and receive bitcoins by using virtual bitcoin "wallets," offered through services like BitPay or Coinbase. These wallets help convert dollars, euros, or other currencies into bitcoins.

Users can get bitcoins from a bitcoin exchange – a platform similar to a stock market where bitcoins can be bought with conventional currencies. People can also receive bitcoins directly from other bitcoin users.

Getting rid of middlemen and higher fees can spur small businesses to jump into the bitcoin community. Unlike big companies, mom-and-pop stores often don't have the negotiating power to bargain on the fees they're charged when accepting credit card payments, said Bruce Fenton, executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit that focuses on bitcoin advocacy and education.

"Now with an electronic device, you can make payments easily with low or even zero transaction fees," Fenton said.

Lee Marburg, founder of CoinsForTech – an Australia-based, bitcoin-only online electronics store that ships to more than 60 countries – said his operation saved $17,000 in fees alone last year. "We processed over $500,000 in transactions and paid nothing in processing cost," he said.

Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/11/should-small-businesses-bet-on-bitcoin

To really make an impact in other languages, it may take a full time translation staff. We do have resources available, such as infovortice's Spanish DNotes blog, and some translations of the site.

Agreed, it still may take some time to get listed. It is good news that they have added new coins. We could very well be on the list for future additions. I still encourage everyone to politely ask if they will add DNotes.

The tool is an excellent example of how the DNotes team is solving problems. When I say team, it is everybody who actively got involved to work towards a common goal, not just me and Alan. Whether that is contributing on the forum to help shape the future of DNotes, to those who have accepted official roles and responsibilities, and those who have taken the initiative to create tools and site to help. You are all part of our team and we sincerely appreciate your involvement.

I just looked at the latest version of the application again. One can quickly learn the best practices and help avoid the pain making mistakes when first getting involved in digital currency. It has a very sleek and intuitive design, which makes it easy and fun to use. I've said it before, but great job on the app!