If you will not send them to the OP, can you explain what you intend to do with the funds you have confiscated?

Well, that has to be the only reason why forum members decided to teleport (and/or register other) accounts there. They knew they could get paid by posting in the other forum and knew mixers would be paying the highest rates therefore they followed where another revenue stream went. I have not read any reason from members stating they went there (or want to go there) in order to improve the other forum with their contributions.

If a lack of "your highness" can destroy a reputation in that forum, just imagine what would happen to a reputation if you got on the wrong side of a group/gang/clique

Even though it has a lot of spam, it still seems to be in better standing than the Cryptotalk from by the Yobit team because that is almost completely full of spam.

I had a look at that donation page and ended up with a headache. There are far too many options: Patron, Royalty, Donor, VIP and Immortals. The lowest amount to donate is 0.05 ETH but as you scroll down the page a new donor rank (Monarch) appears.

Seriously, who would pay to receive special treatment:

"Special Treatment:

All above ranks get special treatment, here's some examples of perks:
- Get some of the tokens we collect from the different ICOs & Airdrops
- Get Speedy distribution of tokens
- Get access to some reserved sections of the forum
- Get 3 to 10 token distribution transaction fees covered by us."

It is still possible for members from here to register there to earn from signature campaigns without donating (just as most of us are doing when we use this forum) but keeping that aside, who is behind that forum? Rather than operate their alternative forum for crypto discussions to benefit the community they seem to be using it as a front to get as much money as possible via so-called donations.

It is true, some people do use exchanges as though they are mixers but that should not alter the issue because the exchanger is doing what it is supposed to do (take coins A and convert to coin B). Add XMR to the equation as the OP did then that also should not really matter from the perspective of the exchange.

You have a valid point about exchanges that might want to keep dirty coins away from their services but I was under the impression Fixedfloat and Sideshift were both famous for not using KYC and absolutely yes, there is definitely a clear risk when using them.

In future, I would recommend the OP and others to consider using as they have an excellent reputation: https://exch.cx (https://hszyoqwrcp7cxlxnqmovp6vjvmnwj33g4wviuxqzq47emieaxjaperyd.onion/)

Well, I am sorry to read everything they forced you and your client to go through. Put simply, they have to be avoided by everybody otherwise they face the possibility of being put in the same situation as you find yourself in.

First, I am quoting the OP images in order for them to be seen without going off site. Second, I thought Fixedfloat had a no KYC policy therefore what happened is a complete surprise.

Not only did they freeze your transactions they went a step further and asked you for (what they cite as) evidence that the conversation between you and your client actually took place and this is absolutely unacceptable conduct on their part. I have never heard of a situation such as that before.

I have no intention of either using their services or recommending them. They literally destroyed their reputation with their own hands over something that was not even necessary.

There is no conspiracy, it would be difficult for an single entity to manipulate the price as a rule for ETF approval. If there was some form of collusion between whales and/or investors, it might be possible but the way this looks it seems more to do with people rejecting investing after the ETF news was released. Exactly how the price has fallen to where it is (after the announcement many people had been waiting for), is difficult to understand.

It might be unfortunate but that is how things work sometimes. There was a clear stretch going back many years which allowed mixers to be promoted here freely and many members enjoyed the benefits of participating in various signature campaigns. As part of the evolution of this forum a decision was taken by the administrator to exclude/ban mixers therefore we have to move.

I see nothing positive nor constructive when reading about how the ban has affected people. It was not nice when you made a partial refund to that mixer for your bespoke deal and also to read you stating you receive peanuts to promote the same mixer on a different forum therefore I sympathise with you but it will be better if the comparisons stop and we all move forward.

If in the end as a result of the ban other forums start building momentum, traffic and popularity then that simply is another option for those that want to register and effectively join signature campaigns. I hope you get over the money you repaid and simply enjoy looking at what possibilities await after the mixer ban dust settles.

Which source for visitor numbers would you recommend or suggest using as a comparator for what could be deemed more accurate statistics?

In the scenario you mentioned in the OP, if there is no hard fork there would be no alteration to the supply. It would split the chain again and those that wanted the newer increased chain to be what they deemed to be the real Bitcoin would use it and those that rejected it would keep using the chain that is being used now.

As an example, when BTC was forked to create BCH (under the guise of it being the real Bitcoin) the supply remained 21 million but as time went by it was clear BCH was rejected by the masses and was never considered as the real Bitcoin and I would be inclined to think the same would happen if there was another fork but this time to increase the supply.

Agreed, they should be banned. In an attempt to try to force the hand of moderators I placed a negative tag on a Stake signature spammer that either uses AI or employs others with less English grammatical understanding to write posts for him. The spammer started writing in perfect English complaining at every possible opportunity that he should not have received a negative tag (and was no longer wearing the Stake signature therefore it is safe to say he was kicked out as a result of my negative tag).

I eventually withdrew the negative tag as advised and replaced it with a neutral. The Stake signature campaign spammer immediately returned to the gambling board to spam there after he was wearing the Stake signature again (albeit he was celebrating that 3 members added me to their distrust list because I gave him a negative tag). What this incident shows is that using AI does not get members a ban. Using others to post on your account to meet signature quota does not get a ban. Something does need to change at some point.

If the Stake campaign manager was operating with a due-diligence policy then the discussion would never have happened. These spammers cannot get on to other campaigns therefore the Stake campaign manager has contributed to the problem by giving them a platform and paying them to spam with farmed accounts. Moderators do not ban signature spammers and that is also part of the problem.

Would other forums (that see themselves to some degree as competition against this forum) allow that to happen on their platforms as their traffic flow increases? I have not studied any of them long enough to know but if they view what is happening here they should at least try to emulate the good parts and dispose of the worst parts.

If people did think about it in the manner you describe, then I think they are setting themselves for a huge fall. One of the things Bitcoin is synonymous with, is the fact it will have a limited 21 million supply. Without a maximum supply it will be less appealing to investors. Look at Dogecoin for example, it has an unlimited supply but do we want Bitcoin to go the same way?

That is the problem with these types of collectors items they do not really have much value. The value being artificially placed on them is by investors that have already paid a premium to get it in the first place and they are now hoping for others to add a premium and buy it from them. As you stated, they do it with the intention the chain will keep building until/unless the last person realises nobody wants to buy.

Call it virtual art or anything else but it does not sound too dissimilar from how a ponzi scheme works.

We all saw what happened with the transaction fees becoming painfully expensive at times but it is something we will have to endure because so-called ordinals will continue (for the time being at least). The biggest losers in this battle for transaction fees will be those that want to make micropayments, as you stated it will discourage people from using Bitcoin.

RESULT:

Chelsea 6-1 Middlesbrough

The first semi-final second leg was played yesterday and Chelsea ended it with an emphatic 6-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. Middlesbrough were losing 6-0 but managed to get a consolation goal before the final whistle. Overall, Chelsea make it to the final with a 6-2 aggregate win.

The second semi-final second leg takes place this evening between Fulham and Liverpool (which is 1-2 after the first leg).

There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to online space (and if there is, the definition of the word 'loyalty' changes between perceptions). Though many of us have an affinity and soft spot for the forum, we will go where the money is. If signature campaigns are banned in totality, the forum will remain open but the traffic flow will become almost non-existent. As a result, alternative forums will thrive to fill the void.

After the mixers ban, it is difficult to see what else could be banned next because pretty much everything else is allowed. Scams are not moderated so scammers continue to post. AI posters only receive neutral tags. Signature spammers only receive neutral tags. Banned account operators return to make new accounts and do not get banned again when reported. Account farmers only receive neutral tags when all their accounts are linked together. I guess, everything else is (and will be) allowed for the foreseeable future but the more restrictions that are placed in this forum, the more other forums will grow.

Bitcoin was trading at $40,300 when I mad my first post in this thread. Seeing it fall below $40,000 was not exactly a surprise, it is now £39,800. I think we have all been witnessing what has happened to the value of BTC and to a degree have expected it but it was all very different when people we celebrating ETF announcements.

I do not know why the market has turned away from Bitcoin to the point it has lost almost $8,000 in the space of a few weeks but if investors do not start buying we could be the start of a wider problem where falling prices becomes expected and the norm.

How many people gave Ngannou much hope before the fight took place? Fury did not seem as though he was in the best shape and he obviously thought it was going to be an easy night. The amount of money he made from the Ngannou fight should never have been the reason why he might not be in the best mental or physical shape to face Usyk. Fury might regret fighting Ngannou if he loses his titles to Usyk.

Of all the possible fights you mentioned, I think Fury vs Ngannou is the one that will not happen. I just cannot see them getting in the ring to face each other again. I think Wilder should retire after the manner in which Parker outclassed and outboxed him therefore Fury, Usyk, Joshua and Parker remain. Ruiz should also have been in the mix but he did have surgery on his shoulder and was inactive since 2022 therefore he will need to work a lot to get a chance at a title.

If Fury vs Usyk and Joshua vs Ngannou go ahead as planned, where do you think Parker fits in with his next fight?

Though you are right about those that do not have a full time job, there are also those that employ others to post for them while they themselves concentrate on building up other accounts. I recently tagged an account that used either AI or had someone with less understanding posting on his behalf and that is another aspect of what lengths some people go to in order to pocket some cash whether at this forum or elsewhere.

Though everything related to the fight is muted I think it will be a public relations disaster for the Saudi government promotions machine if the fight is called-off. What was Fury and his team thinking when he decided to fight Ngannou just a four months before a heavyweight unification fight? I have no doubt Usyk would have been empowered by what he saw when Ngannou took the fight to Fury but Usyk dropped a few levels in standard when he beat Dubois in th 9th round back in August.

If Fury vs Usyk goes ahead on 17th February and then Joshua vs Ngannou take place on 8th March, these fights will define the rest of the year when it comes to heavyweight boxing. Parker is not going anywhere especially after he dismantled Wilder, he deserves a title fight. If Ngannou beats Joshua (as I am sure he will), this is going to be a year of a couple more title fights.

I tried looking for the thread that was the main discussion point for Wasabi wallet but after reading what icopress stated, it makes sense why it cannot be found. Ratimov was the OP and he has deleted it. I think icopress added a different link or the sake of having something there but I am sure he will clarify in good time.

I do not think much about the forecasts or the forecasters because how often do they even get it right? It is easy for people to look at graphs and make a statement about what will transpire next but I do not have nay faith in them.

It is looking quite bad as far as $40,300 shows. I will not be surprised at all if we are in to c.$39,000 and below within hours but I am not expecting a rebound this week.

Every so often threads with similar questions appear to be asked by newbies and the cycle starts again. The newbie gets a few merits and members start posting versions of events that might be economical with the truth.

I think most people do at some stage have regrets but it is a fact of life. Those that are able to easily move on and look forward to what else could be achieved in Bitcoin (as they participate in campaigns or buy small amounts of BTC regularly) probably have a better chance to enjoy what comes next. Having regrets will not help anybody unless they use that regret to ensure they do not repeat their mistakes.