Kind of unrelated but this is the most current thread regarding Dwolla. There are now over 100,000 Dwolla users. - http://mashable.com/2012/04/19/dwolla-buy-buttonThough there may be issues with transferring money into exchanges using Dwolla, going the other direction is pretty fast and painless. What this means is that as Dwolla's userbase grows there will be more and more merchants and individuals who accept Dwolla for payment. Thus bitcoins, with a quick conversion step to Dwolla USDs, will be spendable with more and more merchants and individuals as well. Sure, it would be better if they took Bitcoin directly, but if they are at least taking Dwolla then value stored in Bitcoins can be redeemed for a greater number of real-world goods and services and for online purchases as well. Without there being a well funded effort to do the design, marketing and promotion like what Dwolla, Square and PayPal do, Bitcoin will have to suffice riding on their coattails. By patronizing a Dwolla-friendly merchant (when no Bitcoin-friendly alternative is available) we get an opportunity each time to make the case why Bitcoin payments should be an option as well. When we see a Square Dongle being used or a merchant with an iPad running PayPal Here we get the opportunity to let that merchant know that the same device (mobile phone or tablet) can be used to take Bitcoin transactions as well. Not every merchant needs to accept Bitcoin for it to grow. The bitcoin community will become repeat customers where their coins are valued. We just need a strategy -- like this, perhaps, to get a foot in the door. It will grow organically from there as the network effect starts to take hold. |
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There are probably hundreds of people out there who can look and browse through the actual users data.
Employers, window cleaners, hackers, gov agencies - each of them doing a lazy job, dreaming about doing a profitable private project...
Of course they are going to look into all the wallet.dat files - the first, the better.
Privacy: Dropbox employees are prohibited from viewing the content of files you store in your Dropbox account, and are only permitted to view file metadata (e.g., file names and locations). However, they may have a small number of employees who must be able to access user data. Dropbox has strict policy and technical access controls that prohibit employee access except in these rare circumstances. In addition, they employ a number of physical and electronic security measures to protect user information from unauthorized access. You should also note that Dropbox will cooperate with law enforcement if needed and will release your data in unencrypted form in these cases. - http://www.kimpl.com/1297/secure-online-backup-file-sync-serviceDiscussed here as well: - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1679.msg29488#msg29488 - https://www.dropbox.com/help/27Incidentally, that Kimpl review stated that Spider Oak was more secure than Wuala (2nd place), Dropbox, and SugarSync. - http://www.spideroak.com But that also says "for even better security you should encrypt" using TrueCrypt. |
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As we all know Dwolla has become a trade nightmare by imposing new transaction rules stated
1.30 days deposit validity - first of its kind learned through this site
2.Linking social network - i want to avoid it due to privacy concerns
3.verify social security - alright
4.create hub page - don't own any website to accept dwolla also don't want to do so
seeing all these i just want to spend the dwolla balance for BTC/MTGOX or LR and leave dwolla for good Requirement #2, social network, has since been rescinded. BitFloor does not yet have these restrictions in place: - http://www.BitFloor.com |
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Very true, already sold a bunch, but unfortunately I have no use for GBP other than to buy more coins with it  If you do enough trading, there are options: - http://currencyfair.com - http://transferwise.com (GBP <--> EUR) among other options. Unfortunately there is no way to do a person-to-person transfer on Intersango of any of their currencies (e.g. GBP, EUR, PLN, USD), similar to what Mt. Gox offers for MTGUSD redeemable codes. That way you could trade your Intersango GBPs for PPUSD or for whatever trade with somone who wanted GBPs is willing to offer. The entire account could be traded, I suppose. Though that can become a mess too. |
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so no idead why Gox is so slow.
Now with Dwolla's new requirements that cash sent TO most bitcoin exchanges must (be verified, be at least 30 days since first bank transfer deposit, etc.), there is probably much less Dwolla USDs arriving into Mt. Gox than is being withdrawn. Mt. Gox doesn't want to keep more than they need to at Dwolla so they probably estimate daily and send or withdraw from their balance at Dwolla as needed. The pain to you and I as customers is likely less (to them) then the pain of one day the Dwolla clawing back for previous fraud or by government order or whatever and in an instant a quarter million of Mt. Gox's USDs go along with it. (I'm speculating here, I don't know the actual reason their level of funds held at Dwolla isn't maintained at higher levels.) So I'm guessing it is either a nip and tuck approach or they don't offer Dwolla as a withdrawal method. Since many bigger accounts know in advance how much they'll be transferring and when, Mt. Gox could probably poll these accounts to know ahead of time the demand and as a result do a better job of managing the balance. |
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First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you.
Now we are approaching step 3.
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Is Open Transactions really a topic for Bitcoin "Alternative clients"? Though I can't think of a more appropriate forum and I suppose technically the OT server could be considered a Bitcoin client?
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It's amazing how few people have ever even heard of bitcoin
And all that many of those who have heard of Bitcoin know about it is what they learned from Gawker (i.e., just the sensationalist events over the past year). To help explain the real story about the number of areas where bitcoin is used, here's a thread I replied to which might come in handy for you: - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76633.0 |
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Its not on their list, but after you give them your SSN they then spring on you that they need a copy of your drivers license or passport.
I didn't have to do that, and have never given them photo id or anything like that. I did have to call to voice verify after a withdrawal to my bank got held up once. I've had a Dwolla account since Dec, 2010 though. And I've never held a balance there more than $1K, which also means I've never transferred more than $1K in a single transaction either -- something that I think might trigger the need for a D/L or passport check. |
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Can anyone else verify? I may take Dwolla off my shitlist.
I can confirm that today I was shown just these three requirements (and the fourth, to connect to a social network, was not shown). This was my first time logging into Dwolla this week though. I already had the 30-day requirement filled and the Hub Page enabled as well so the last step was to verify my SSN. After clicking on the link for that and entering my SSN (though had to restart the send money process from Mt. Gox after each step) I was then able to send funds today from Dwolla to Mutum Sigillum, LLC and shortly after those funds showed as being credited to my Mt. Gox account. |
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I use the blockchain to monitor the activity on that address and they are poluting it with their accounting system.
Mt. Gox is an exchange, not a system for tracking your mining proceeds. You can always use your own wallet if you really need a method for accounting for that. if they were so inclined,
They are regulated in Japan and I'm going to presume that doing what you suggest would be a criminal offense. If you don't trust them and believe they would commit a criminal offense like what you suggest they could then withdraw your funds. It is simple as that. Have we not learned anything from how the Federal Reserve was created.
Mt. Gox is not a bank. They do not have the right to lend customer's deposits, nonetheless to do so leveraged ten times over deposits like a bank in the U.S. does. Yes, we have learned. That's why we use this Bitcoin thing. The reasons we choose it include how we can store value in our own wallets under our own control. I get that you are concerned for everyone else -- but you ... as an individual are not forced to leave your bitcoins with any exchange or hosted wallet provider. |
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Digital currencies like bitcoin are, for a very near analogy to a gift card or a group on voucher. You buy your proof of value and then later you use it in a store that accepts it.
I think the key words are "closed loop" and "open loop". The Forbes article describes how if there is a $50 Groupon offer to buy something normally sold at $100, the store must charge sales tax (in most states) on the $100, and then apply the $50 as payment towards that balance. We all know that is bunk because the only reason we bought it is because the was much less than the $100, so really only $50 of commerce happened. If I understand the article correctly, the desire is to get rid of that and treat the $50 sale as a $50 sale. But then the states want the time of the sale to occur immediately, when the $50 payment to Groupon happens, and not later at the purchase at the store. Bitcoin is not a closed loop. It is accepted globally for any number of uses. There is no way the state knows that the bitcoins are going to be used for a taxable purchase or used for a purchase within that state even. What this myriad of rules means though is that just to comply a company like Groupon has to have a team of tax specialists. Here's a listing: Key responsibilities will include coding for tax engine to ensure tax accuracy. Researching the taxability of goods, services, and vouchers sold by Groupon. Working with outside sales tax compliance firm relative to coordinating domestic sales tax compliance. Review and file monthly sales tax returns, create and maintain sales and use tax files for purposes of audit, and lead sales tax audit defense efforts. Creation and maintenance of a process for the review of procurement activity to ensure the proper payment of tax. - http://www.linkedin.com/jobs/jobs-Sales--Use-2867622Some day a marketing company is going to figure out that Bitcoin has properties that solve a lot of problems. For instance, this groupon thing. Maybe there is a groupon competitor to come along that doesn't charge the customer, and instead simply charges a deposit (paid in bitcions) to reserve the deal from the retailer. If the customer follows through with the purchase as agreed, the bitcoin deposit is returned. If not, the fee is allocated partially to the groupon competitor and the balance to the retailer. No sales tax mess. In the mean time these companies just can't seem to think out of the VIsa/MC/Amex and PayPal box. When will the first bitcoin-powered category killer arrive, I have no idea -- but there certainly is the potential for something like this to happen. |
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There's an escrow service that you could consider trying: - http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#bitcoin-escrowYou agree to which person you both trust for escrow (check ratings on the #bitcoin-otc Web of Trust (WoT). The seller sends the bitcoins to the escrow, you send Western Union, and the seller releases the BTCs to you. If the seller doesn't agree to this, then chances are greater that it was a scam attempt. |
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While reading these last few comments it occurred to me sounds like 'MF Global', and the whole thing about how the the customers money was to be kept segregated, but really that isn't the case. MF Global's deal was that they used customers funds to cover shortfalls from MF Global's bad bets. That's not the same as what I'm describing. A hosted EWallet service such as what Mt. Gox uses for customers deposits may send the funds from those deposits to other customers for their withdrawals. And because it is prudent to have offline, cold storage of funds to protect against any security breach, Mt. Gox may send the funds from your deposit to a cold storage address. This is simply putting customer's funds into certain buckets. The concept of segregating account means in this case that Mt. Gox doesn't draw from those buckets to pay salaries or expenses. They need to have their own buckets for corporate funds. There are regulations directing this in Japan where Mt. Gox is located. I have no reason to believe that Mt. Gox would dip into customer's funds so for that reason and others I'm willing to trust them with amounts that I plan to use for trading. They aren't located in the same country as me though, and I don't want to study up on their regulations there. As a result, I simply don't store much money with them. |
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I see that the "newbie" tip says to get a proper wallet. Does "proper wallet" mean no hosted EWallett, or does it mean something else? For sites that return the wager to the address from which it was sent, using a hosted EWallet means any winnings will be lost. I know of at least two such sites that operate in this manner, but I suspect there are others -- particularly any that payout instantly. The two I'm aware of are: - http://www.BitLotto.com - http://www.SatoshiDice.comSo if there were an icon (e.g., ⚠) that warned of this requirement that would help warn the person which sites should not be used of the payment is coming from InstaWallet, PayTunia, Mt. Gox, Flexcoin, and other EWallets. (Local bitcoin clients run fine. Hosted EWallets do not. EWallet that are the exceptions are: BlockChain.info/wallet and StrongCoin as they are Javascript-based wallets that essentially run locally. BitcoinSpinner and Bitcoin Wallet for Android mobile apps are thin client wallets and they work as well.) |
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Oh, .. mtgoxlive. Yes, that's different. I thought somehow the number of web visits to mtgox.com and/or connections for their API were being reported somehow. Still that metric shows much lower counts than it showed for much of late 2011 and earlier this year. I don't have the numbers but when there was a rally or selloff, there was numbers like 600 or more concurrent if I remember correctly. Although, it just as easily could have been bots / fabricated connections since people are using it for making trade decisions. Trading volume for a 10% move like this (since the weekend's $4.72 low) is pretty weak. Bitcoinica shows 10K for 24 hour volume. I think during the runup yesterday it was about 25K if I remember correctly -- way lower than the 100K to 200K earlier this year. Mt. Gox 24 hour volume is 45K at the moment. Transaction volume is really zipping up though. Hope that isn't fabricated. 60 day history, 7-day average: - http://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions?showDataPoints=false×pan=60days&show_header=true&daysAverageString=7&scale=0 |
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