Thanks, it looks great and should be ready for launch. Thanks for a job well done. Looks great! I have several students who are excited about signing up for the program! I am sure we all know some deserving students who could benifit from this program. Smokey |
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I know that there are places you can buy and sell BTC using paypal and other forms of payment, charging fairly high fees. Just curious, what exchange do you use for your transactions? Our long term goal is to have a payment gateway or exchange where DNotesVault depositors can sign up for reoccurring savings deposits at the lowest fees possible, along with the best exchange rate to acquire DNotes. I am actively exploring various possibilities. I have yet to come across a near term solution that is sufficiently attractive.
Dyna,
I use Coinbase and once you become a full member then you have instant BTC transactions. I have been using Coinbase for quite awhile now and just to give you an idea: My instant buy power is $1,000 USD (ie I can buy $1k worth of BTC right now and it is in my wallet instantly and available to send anywhere) and my daily limit is $50,000 USD worth of BTC. My daily sell limit is also $50,000 BTC to USD. Once you are verified and have fulfilled their requirements you are very well off. Also there is no fee to send BTC anywhere. The only fee is when you buy BTC and it is not very much compared to the exchanges and what they charge. Coinbase is by FAR the best outlet for USD to BTC in my opinion.
Marc, Thanks for bringing up this important subject. I have been using Coinbase too with the same limit of $1,000 instant buy and a $50,000 daily buy/sell limit. We continue to recommend Coinbase as the first choice. There are false claims of faster service and other bells and whistles. Be very cautious. Not all of them are for real. I am still actively looking at potential option or partnership I use coinbase also. Trust is a HUGE factor for me. For the majority of folks out there, the less you know about something, the more trust is needed. It is a dangerous out there in the crypto-currency world. Trust is SO important that it is one of the most important attributes any currency (bitcoin OR fiat) needs to survive. Smokey |
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On that subject from Dyna, At this stage it is not likely that Bitcoin can be repositioned to be a sufficiently stable currency.I agree, BTC is all over the map. Whereas Dnotes has shown a much more stable floor in its short existence. Even now after the last price rise following the 1 year mark, it has yet shown again a new and higher stable floor. And I credit that to the investment strategy for Dnotes. The biggest problem is now, as with all alt coins is they are dependent upon bitcoin for its final value. Dreaming here a bit, but what could take Dnotes to it own place or store of value" would be to have its own Dnotes Exchange, or even more so a coinbase.com type of US Dollar purchase/sell exchange. From there it could break the chains that bind it to BTC and truly have its own identity. Would like to even see a dedicated multipool that pays out in Dnotes, similar to iHash.co, xpool.ca, supernet and alike, Of course its debatable if it helps a coin to have a multipool go to market and covert the days mining into a specific coin for payout. In my mind that open for discussion. DC  We hear you, DC. It does get frustrating sometime for alt coins to be directly linked to the fortune or misfortune of Bitcoin at this time. I don't expect a viable near term solution. We just have to be practical and work hard towards the day when DNotes can stand alone by merits and perhaps an advantage for other currencies to be pegged to DNotes. That is a real possibility but it may be years away. It is a reasonable statement that no other cryptocurrency is addressing the vital importance of currency stability, trust and integrity as seriously as DNotes. Perhaps we are the only community strongly committed to examine all the issues and focus on total solutions, instead of just pick and choose. Our approach is significantly harder and much more time consuming. Frankly that is what differentiates DNotes from others the most, in fairly significant ways. DNotes is the only one I have come across to look at cryptocurrency as more than just a technology. I would have to agree with the fact that DNotes is a lot more than just technology!! This is by design. In reality, the technology does not mean much at this stage of the game. We are up to our necks in technology. It is the Funtions of Currency that matter. Not bells and whistles or a wierd , funny name. We have identified the Funtions of Currency and have positioned DNotes to fulfill those functions from day one. Smokey Hey guys.....spring is in the air, daylilies will be poping soon! |
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Excellent work Dyna! Wish I had your resources back in the day... WE wish we had Dyna's recourses from years ago. Our own PR staff? Nice. Lawyers on staff? Priceless. Top two floors of a Chicago skyscraper? Would be awesome!! Smokey |
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"Some of the best ideas, including CryptoMoms and CRISP came from our community."
My great interest is the sociology of crypto-tribes.
(My health restricts me greatly; but my impulse is to thoroughly theorise the unique nature of trust-alliances -- universally integral to human societies -- in an environment characterised by (a) [I claim] some misapprehensions about the applications of 'trustless' technology, and (b) psuedonymity.)
For me, focussing on community-building is as obvious as pumping up your bicycle's tyres before you begin your trip; but the fact that all of us here know is that community-building has been overlooked by many coin communities.
[Lived for years in Jakarta. Forgotten so much of my Bahasa. We tried an 'outreach program' in late 2013, through contacts I still have. Sadly, nuh, no go.]
Mark (IndiaMikeZulu), Australia
Dyna has been busy working on projects. But you are absolutely correct, community building is extremely important. Working together for mutual benefit is always better than trying to go it alone. As a community we can evolve as a species and as a group to the next level because of the constant brainstorming. Friendly competition within this brainstorming process can also help us all access parts of ourselves and stretch ourselves to limits we previously never thought were possible in our time. By becoming a think-tank of ideas and being open to every idea, however outlandish it may sound at the time we can certainly go to frontiers never before explored. We have to be an OPEN-MINDED AND ACCEPTING Community of course to achieve this kind of process and result. Community = Cooperation Yes indeed, a community tends to think alike over time but with enough variation to maintain a healthy spread of somewhat differing view points on a common focus while a group tends to maintain individual agendas constantly seeking balance. Also, groups, can be poorly focused, tending to break into smaller groups which dilutes the power in numbers even more. Communities have leadership and structure while groups struggle to find a common focus and leadership, if present, may change often which further weakens the cohesion of the individual members. DNotes supporters and investors represent a community. While we don't all know each other personally, we do share a common focus and a common goal. We have leadership and we are focused on success. A word about leadership. In it's simplest form, leading is simply showing the way. It is providing an example for others to follow and it is helping people solve problems using available resources. What it is not, is telling people what to do especially if the leader does not practice what is preached. It is also, in many cases, a tool for building a community to pull members together toward achieving the common goal. In DNotes, we are fortunate to have leaders who understand these principles. I have been on both sides of the coin, so to speak, throughout my life and I have seen many organizations thrive that looked like they would fail and many fail that had all the necessary parts to thrive, because of leadership issues. Those leaders who made their groups into communities and gave them the tools and guidance to win, prospered. Those who only found fault and demanded obedience, failed. This has been proven over and over throughout history yet, people still take the wrong approach time and time again. Human nature I suppose. Individuals need to feel they are contributing something valuable to the community, no matter how small. Good leaders will nurture and recognize this need bringing guidance and cohesion to the group. At some point, a community forms. Yes, DNotes will prosper, we have the leadership, we have the community, we have the focus, we have the goal in site and we enjoy what we do. So, no matter what, don't loose site of the goal. What is the goal you ask? Success. Pure and simple, whatever your definition, whatever your measure, success is the goal. Some of you may have a value in mind, a certain exchange rate in your native currency. Some of you may want to see DNotes helping the worlds unbanked. Some of you might want to see DNotes displace the Bitcoin before success can be achieved. And, my personal favorite, some of you may want to change the financial system to improve our quality of life, in all areas, through new and exciting offerings and features that allow the individual to take charge of their own financial future. The beauty of community is, it doesn't matter what your idea of success may be, as long as you recognize the other persons idea of success as well. And that my friends, will keep us moving toward the light... That was very inspirational RJF, thank you. What you have written made me think of what it takes to give a family strength as well. A good parent will display these same characteristics and a parent that "only finds fault and demands obedience, will fail". Our community of good parents is shaping the growth and future of DNotes. "It Takes A Village To Raise A Child" (African Proverb) RJF, that is an excellent post. Building an ideal community to advance DNotes missions is vital to our long term success. This seems to be a subject of great interest to many of you. We appreciate your participation. I am committed to work on a number of other projects this week and will not be able to participate in the on going discussion as much as I would like to. However, I will make a few brief comments and suggest that we try to expand the concept of our community building to a global level. We may want to turn it into a news article at some point in the new future. Some of you may remember that we mentioned the importance of building a strong community right after DNotes was launched. We presented our argument that just wanting a “strong community” like our industry peers was not good enough. It must be a productive community with good leadership directions backed by a never ending commitment to support the community with the needed financial and other resources. Perhaps someone can to do a quick look-back and quote what was said. To avoid potential misunderstanding, let me stress on one of our very important guiding principals in building DNotes’ community. We are not building a charity, a not for profit entity or an organization with strong political or extreme view points. We are building a business consisting of a digital currency and related businesses to generate fundamental values to support the currency with a healthy growth path. As a community we seek to identify large scale global problems with practical local solutions. By working together, in different groups, and as a community with common goals we believe that together we can be much more successful than any single individual or single group efforts. We are committed to projects that will mutually benefit everyone individually, as a group and as a community. We also believe that by working with others including charity organizations and high net worth individuals, DNotes will help to alleviate some major global problems including under funded retirement, declining productivity, unemployment, crippling student loan crises, poverties and the unbanked. We that said, let us try to add and expand on the following headline, which could be a future article to be published: A New Approach in Building A Worldwide Community With DNotes To Alleviate Global ProblemsI love it, I really have just about nothing to add! This project is so much more exciting with more people involved, we are all working towards a common goal and will share in the excitement together. All of the CRISP projects, marketing projects, and social change projects like cryptomoms.com undertaken by the DNotes team definitely benefit everybody as a whole, and market to a wide variety of people so that they too may have the opportunity to choose to be a part of the DNotes mission. The best part is, is that the team is tackling all the most important issues that plague this world financially. The team quickly realised that currency was only a part of the equation, and that to truly alleviate these 'global problems', people must be encouraged to save and/or be able to afford essentials for a new currency system to actually change anything. Nice. CRISP for Students coming soon, DYNA and I will be working closely together to ensure task requirements are met. I know DYNA is a busy man with many a press release and other DNotes related projects on the go. The next 2 weeks will begin to be very post intensive with we hope a wide audience reached, but taking it slowly - so we can ensure that we grow at an acceptable speed, and have time to make adjustments as necessary. Great observation, TeeGee! It is NOT just the currency. It seems to me that a lot of currencies are looked at as just a "trading stock". Buy low. Sell high. Just a game. To truley be a viable currency takes MUCH more than just the currency itself. The DNotes team (this includes the entire team) has tried to identify and problem solve BEFORE they become problems. Great post, TeeGee. Smokey |
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For discussion:
What can a crypto community do that a group of individuals cannot?
Be correct a larger percentage of the time. A larger group of folks will make the right call more times than a smaller group. Even the smartest person is not smarter than a larger group. Combined brainpower! Also, even the smallest contributions are sometimes built upon to make a huge difference. Different points of view can get a person (or group) to think differently, seeing it from another angle. Dyna and I think alike in many ways, but in many ways our different way of thinking can affect the other in very positive ways. Our VERY different background and upbringing helps us, as does the diversity here at DNotes. I have had the opportunity to work with very diverse groups in the past, but this group is more diverse than any other. Bodes well for our future. Great ideas here, keep up the GREAT work. Smokey |
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@ Dyna: I shall sit quietly and read for some time. In a word though: the discipline that I see here is unique in my experience of crypto communities.
Mark (IndiaMikeZulu), Australia
Mark, I appreciate that observation. There is a lot of truth to that. Without the discipline to hold back from reacting instinctively we would have made a lot of mistakes and created a very different culture, one that is not always productive or one that is as inspiring. Our guiding principal is to treat everyone with respect and not quickly jump into the wrong conclusions. We make every effort to promote a supportive and respectful culture so that we all can work productively together for the mutual benefits of everyone. Such an environment is significantly more productive and stress free. In contrast to our industry, that is a different mindset, a different philosophy and a different believe system. However, that defines DNotes as the currency we trust. With a level of trust that we can consistently depend on, many of us will help promote it, protect it, save it and use it as the medium of exchange. Its superiority over fiat currency will eventually makes it the preferred medium for the more fortunate to help those who are less fortunate. But that is not all. DNotes’ fundamental value will be supported with different for profit properties that have a healthy growth rate. Those are some of our highly scalable building blocks. The discipline to do the right things at the right time without taking advantage of some at the expense of others is an integral part of our model for success. The one quote that stands out among all others, sums up DNotes: "With a level of trust that we can consistently depend on, many of us will help promote it, protect it, save it and use it as the medium of exchange". That is the ONLY way for DNotes to thrive, having EVERYONE pull on the rope, in the same direction!! Smokey |
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I love the direct attack on the frailties of the current prominent financial system DYNA.
I too am looking very forward to this press release!
Thank, TeeGee. Put in a lot of hours but well worth it. I will let you guys be the Judges tomorrow. We should be getting very good coverage for this. No big post today. I should have a little more time tomorrow. I was honored to read the outgoing press release. It is a VERY GOOD and well written assessment of teh current situation. Way to go Dyna!! Smokey |
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Up coming Press Release:
As a result of our community’s efforts, it has inspired us to issue a press release to be published sometime next week. This will be the most widely distributed press release and expected to be well received by the mainstream media. Next week will be quite exciting. Be sure to visit this forum often and participate when you can. We also encourage our student supporters to offer TeeGee as much help as possible. We are fortunate to have his leadership as the Director of CRISP For Students. He works hard to pay for his schooling and contributed in many ways to the success of DNotes. We all appreciate that very much, TeeGee.
Very well said. We are very fortunate to have very capable directors in all the CRISP programs. I have found in past experiences that successful and capable leaders attract successful and capable people. You are all an inspiration for me. (and the entire DNotes Team) To see so many come together to solve problems and create value humbles me. Makes me want to work even harder to make this a success. P.S. CRISP...not C.R.I.S.P.........my nickels worth (inflation)....... Smokey |
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Bad news for Apple Pay: "APPLE PAY FRAUD RATES INCREASE 6000% OVER NORMAL DEBIT SWIPES" "As the technology wars heat up in the merchant payment industry, the establishment’s foray known as Apple Pay has run into some major identity theft and fraud issues. NFS (Near Field Communications) may be clever. Biometric fingerprint scans into iPhones can make a user feel safe and secure, or just forward the user’s information to unknown third parties. At the core of the problem is the weakest link in the Apple Pay chain. The debit card itself. Fraud and Identity Theft quickly join Apple Pay Apple gets a nice .15% fee for every Apple Pay based on Apple’s salesmanship on the idea that their new system is more secure than the average credit or debit card swipe. According to Cherian Abraham, who is an advisor to SimplyTapp, which provides the host-card-emulation technology used to allow contact-less payments on devices using Google’s Android operating system, this problem came to light last month. He exposed it in his original blog post, and the problem appears early on in the Apple Pay process. When a new credit or debit card is entered into the Apple Pay system, Apple sends the user’s information, such as last four digits of the social security number and location. If the information doesn’t match up, the bank will require a call from the consumer to confirm. The bank usually asks for the user to verify the last four digits of their social security number. Banks are reticent to ask too many questions, which would make the process arduous and more inconvenient, dissuading users from using Apple Pay. According to Abraham, organized crime rings hand out pre-provisioned devices to mules, who then commit fraud with them. Hotbeds for this type of activity occurring include the areas around Miami, FL, and Dallas, TX. Untraceable prepaid cards are the preferred tool of choice, with their quick ability to exchange for goods or cash. Many times, the fraud ring hits Apple stores areas themselves. Isn’t that ironic? This scourge has shown fraud rates rise from 0.1% of overall debit/credit swipe transactions to up to 6% in recent Apple Pay transactions, dependent on bank and area. Unable to refute the rampant fraud claims, all an Apple Pay spokeswoman could say in response was “Apple Pay is designed to be extremely secure and protect a user’s personal information. Banks are always reviewing and improving their approval process, which varies by bank.” Are fraud and identity theft exclusively an Apple Pay problem? Of course not. The new system just has some weaknesses that the criminal underworld has quickly borne out. Debit/credit card based programs are rife with fraud, as shown by the recent cases of mass consumer compromise at major retailers like Target and Home Depot. Tens of millions have had their personal accounts compromised throughout the U.S. using these now antiquated monetary transfer systems. Criminals with 21st century computer technology easily prey upon debit/credit card users. These kinds of issues are some of the many upgrades Bitcoin provides over the 1950’s technology of the debit card. Transactional fraud and identity theft are virtually non-existent in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Apple Pay didn’t say they could beat that juggernaut in the debit card system, but they did say it would cut it from it’s current rates, and that hasn’t happened. The establishment is fighting a tech battle against Bitcoin using technology that’s only sixty years old. It seems to be going about as well as can be expected." https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/apple-pay-fraud-rates-increase-6000-normal-debit-swipes/This is extremely important Breaking News. Perhaps the Headline should be revised to Read: “Bad news for Apple Pay (and Credit Card Companies)”. It may take years for enough people to understand, but there are radical differences in the production, accounting, storage, and transfer of digital currency as oppose to fiat currency. Essentially there are two very different systems with different philosophies in the creation, storage, book keeping, exchange of assets, and transfer of wealth. Many major business decisions and investments have been made without a sufficient understanding of the total package. Too many articles have been written and published with the wrong conclusions due to a lack of sufficient understanding of both systems. I can write a book on this, or include a chapter in a book if I only have enough hours left at the end the day. Let me briefly cover three vital differences between the two systems that are in play here. There are more, in fact many more, to the extent that I have no doubt that digital currency is far superior to fiat currency when we compare and contrast them in a complete and object manner. I am conclusive that digital currency is the future of money, in this digital age. Of course, there are problems, issues or weaknesses, including volatilities, liquidity, store of value and mass acceptance as a medium of exchange. DNotes will continue to resolve all those problems over time and at a minimum, DNotes will reach a level that is equal to or better than any other fiat currency within the next few years. Fiat currency and its associated credit and debit card payment network systems are based on an absolute dependency on personal identity with multiple exposures that can be and have been compromised. With multiple intermediaries requiring proof of identity for the release of funds, loans and credit approval based of the “holder” of the required private information, this has been proven repeatedly to involve high risk exposures. In practical terms, your personal records are not so private because they are required to be exposed during the transaction, approval and data storage processes. This has been and will continue to be a huge problem. There is no viable solution on top of a highly inefficient and costly banking and payment network system. Another major difference is that, whether you are going consider it as good or bad, they do keep their ledger and book keeping private. Furthermore, you don’t always need to have the funds already in your account to write a check and pay someone. The holder of your private information is the one granted the ability to add funds to your account (new loan and credit card) or pull funds from your account. In brief, our current banking, credit and debit card payment network systems must have your private information to conduct business. However, they do keep your transactions private. You can also get away in writing a check to pay someone without money in your account. By comparison, digital currency does not require or store any private information. It can only be pushed out, or spent by the holder of the private key to the digital wallet. If don’t have the key to get inside the wallet, you can not “push” the funds out. In addition, you can not send more funds than what is available in the wallet. In this case, it is like the cash in your fiat currency wallet. You can not spend more in cash than you have. Furthermore, all of your transactions and balances are verified and confirmed, by a massive peer to peer computing network, based majority consensus to be legitimate and correct. Only then it is recorded and displayed in a public ledger for everyone to see and verify. Once confirmed, the transaction is not reversible. This is a far superior system. Those who are yet to be convinced are either uninformed, misinformed, totally misled, or given up on the possibility that digital currency can be stable and a good store of value. Bitcoin alternative DNotes has demonstrated that stability and good store of value are achievable as demonstrated throughout its existent since February 18, 2014. It is now taking the next major challenge to demonstrate that digital currency is a superior medium of exchange. Equipped with CryptoMoms, DNotesVault, and a whole family of savings plans for the consumers and small business owners, mass acceptance of DNotes as a store of value and a medium of exchange may be only a couple of years down the road. As obstacles of volatilities and store of value are put to rest, the doubt on the superiority of digital currency over fiat currency will become more compelling. Supportive mainstream media and regulators will go a long way in extracting the best of an immensely innovative technology with positive world changing implications. ******************************** Dear DNotes supporters, Please make an extra efforts to comment on this post. I am considering using the framework of this article for an industry press release. Thanks. I regret that this cannot be used for your article, but to me, Apple Pay is like "putting lipstick on a pig". The current payment system is out of date, and will someday be obsolete. That someday, however, may be many decades away. All Apple is doing is building another "layer" on top of a flawed system. Smokey |
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animated trading over poloniex today, i dont know if its a bot war or whats going on, but its oscilating between 3850 and 4200  make grow a little my bag. Yep, been watching it. Looks like we have some action. Also, AllCoin is down, looks like it is being attacked. Looks like Allcoin is back up. I was able to log on, all my Bitcoin and DNotes are still there. Lots of action on Polo! Smokey |
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You guys are doing great. Don't expect much participation from me till Sunday. I am prepearing a Chinese New Year feast for tomorrow, the third day of the year. It is typically for New Year's Eve but we don't get any day off in the US.
For those who do not know......Dyna is also a world class chef. His first biz when coming to the US was a chinese restaurant in Chicago. Very successful, had a huge waiting list, sold it for a huge profit (to start a REAL biz........lol). He spends a lot of time cooking for his freinds and family. When he says feast....he means FEAST!! I am glad to be part of that group! Smokey |
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Happy Birthday DNotes! I am so thankful to Chase for bringing me into DNotes!!! The year 2015 will be of major significance for DNotes and the CR.I.S.P. family of programs. Very exciting!
I have to give credit where credit is due. It was a family effort (DNotes family) and I was just the messenger. The DNotesVault made it so easy to reach out to people, give them some DNotes, and see why we are so excited about them. DNotesVault is a very important asset and I don't think it can be replicated. This has been a great day! A big thank you to Chase! It has indeed been a great day. We should be getting more press coverage tomorrow and looking forward to another great day. DNotesVault is not easy to replicate because of the strategic positioning and commitments behind it. It is just the tip of the iceberg, the first of many more building blocks to come. I am VERY impressed with the team that Dyna has assembled. The Directors for the CRISP programs are a great example. VERY impressive group. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!! Smokey |
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Hi everyone. I got a forum posting education from my kids so I could try and help out with your open house. The education came with a lot of eye rolling  and sighing as I am the ONLY mother on the planet that doesn't know how to use Facebook, Twitter, or a forum. This seems like a really friendly bunch here and I haven't seen anyone who looks like they might bite, so I will start by telling you my retirement story. Both my husband and I work hard and save for retirement. He has a pretty good government pension that he will get when he retires in about 10 -15 years. My savings are mostly in mutual funds and the magic number is no where close to where it should be at this point in my life. 2009 was a real blow to my retirement fund. We both contributed to Canada Pension Plan which we will receive at 65 but it won't be much. I was told you are supposed to be debt free 10 years before you retire and with a mortgage and kids in university, we just seem to keep spinning our wheels. We seem to have missed out on every gold rush, oil boom, and internet craze that came along. When a friend explained DNotes to me, even though I didn't understand anything technical about it, I knew I had to take a chance. I won't cry if I lose the $100, but I will cry if it becomes the best investment in history and I had a chance to get in on it and didn't. Thank you everyone for giving me this chance and I'm holding you all to all the case of wine promises you made. Honored to have your confidence! Check your DNotes Vault balance (it may take 24 hours to hit). 2009 was hard on a lot of us. Here is a little help from Smokeyland. Smokey |
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Posted by Dyna June 8, 2014
"DNotes is not just another crypto currency. It is started and managed as a business. This will become more apparent over time. Being low profile while building a strong foundation to justify the increasing value of DNotes, is of critical importance in our strategic moves. As a matter of discipline, we take our time and prefer to make each move from a position of strength.
DNotes’ core mission from the day of launch is to be the digital currency of choice in global commerce. This is the biggest challenge of all, and consequently, comes with the biggest payoff for the few that can make it to the finishing line. We fully intend to be one of them and accordingly, from day one, we branded “DNotes is the Digital Currency of the Future with Lasting Value.” That is what DNotes is about. We set the bar very high. It is important for our stake holders to understand that this will take years to accomplish. Active support and involvement of our community will go a long way and could hasten our timeline."
The bitcoin and altcoin today reminds me of the 1990s. Anyone who knew where to order motherboards, power supplies, computer housings and computer mointors could claim to be a computer manufacturer. There were thousands of them. Very few were left standing in less than ten years. I believe it takes a lot more than just building a large and strong community. It takes a total package that is sustainable and backed by truly trustworthy commitments. This is a quote by Dyna last spring. How true, only the crypto-world is moving at light-speed!! A number of industries have gone thru this evolution. The auto industries in the first half of the 1900's. Took them decades to "mature". The Personal Computers took less than ten years. Crypto will take a fraction of that time to "mature". Look around the Crypto-World. See anyone else with a "sustainable package"? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DNOTES!!! Smokey |
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Here is a very interesting bill that was introduced in New Hampshire last month. In January, New Hampshire State Rep. Eric Schleien (R) introduced HB 552, a bill that would implement a plan for the state to accept bitcoin as payment for taxes and fees by mid-2017. The bill was introduced with 7 bipartisan co-sponsors. Last week it made progress when the Ways and Means Committee announced it will hold a public hearing on this bill on Thursday, February 12. There is also another bitcoin related bill in the NH legislature, HB 356, which would exempt “persons using private virtual currencies for Internet commerce from the licensing requirements for money transmitters.” HB 356 only has 3 Republican co-sponsors, and the committee of jurisdiction (House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee) has not made any plans to move this bill forward. http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/billtext.aspx?billnumber=HB0552.htmlThanks for bringing this to our attention. “persons using private virtual currencies for Internet commerce from the licensing requirements for money transmitters.” This would be huge if most states would pass this as a law, even just granting a honey moon grace period of 10 years. Unless we as an industry can change the political climate, this may be somewhat wishful. Here is one I prefer to be wrong. I've actually been talking about an unrelated matter with a Canadian political party, and the subject of cryptocurrency came up. They don`t know enough about it to take a stance, so I`m going to educate them. I`ll make sure to include some examples of favorable legistlation like this. With the Federal election date set for Oct. 19th/2015, cryptocurrency could in to play and be a game changing issue... Digital currency will indeed be a game changer. I am becoming more convinced that the problem our industry has for not doing as well as it should have is due to some very serious misunderstand on the concept of a decentralized peer to peer trustless system policed by miners without the control of any central authorities. This concept sound so cool. In fact, it is cool. Being able to transfer currency and asset of value, legal contracts and other instructions and messages between to parties with two cell phones or computers with internet connection anytime, anywhere worldwide is cool and potentially game changing. The biggest mistake our industry has made is forgetting importance of the human side of the enterprise. Trust is central to the currency that is used as the vehicle of transport. The human side of the enterprise is the driver of the vehicle, and it is critical in completing and winning the race, or causing a wreck resulting in crush and burnt. Should we be so surprised? Perhaps we should not be. There are plenty of real world cases to study if we need. No single person owns or controls a currency. Ownership and participation is at will, meaning that you may be a large DNotes stakeholder today, but you are at you own will to change your ownership and dump everything any time you want. It is also true that if one of us tries to buy up all the DNotes to drive up the price, he will bankrupt himself and the value of the DNotes will be worth nothing; zero. We have been well aware of the problems and challenges and decided to build a currency from ground up. For it to work we have to do all that we have done over the last 12 months and a lot more. DNotes will be one year old on Wednesday, Feb.18. We have a lot to be proud of but the hard work just started. There nothing wrong with Bitcoin as a technology. It has been misunderstood and abused. Let us do our part to help clear things up a little. It just needs a little more love, some due respect and a truck load of trust. I mean from the mainstream media and our political leaders representing all of us. I will not be available until late this evening. See you later. Dyna asked me to check on the forum and make sure everyone was behaving themselves! You guys are like the boring family that everyone always envies. No fighting, no bickering. Only constructive dialog, and problem solving. Easy money for me, keep up the good work! Smokey |
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This post will be dedicated to maintaining a systematic list of items important to the future of DNotes. Alan's list of issues slowing mass acceptance of cryptocurrency inspired the idea. When you come across something or have an idea to be added, please quote this post and I will keep it updated. Hopefully I can keep all items in order of importance, if you feel something should be moved up or down the list, please state your argument.
What technologies are most important to the future and success of DNotes?
Cloud storage of the blockchain. Wallets sync with cloud instantly and no lag time at startup. This is a centralized item, however, but would be of great benefit. Instant syncing, instant sending, etc.
What major issues with the existing financial system can DNotes solve?
Instant transfers of money. We all know about the float time a bank has with checks, etc. This is archaic and has to be eliminated. This is a time of speed and now and this float time of days to transfer money has to be replaced. Also fees on these bank transfers, etc. are also a major hindrance.
What services are most important to the future and success of DNotes?
Accessibility, easy of use, fiat to DNotes website, and CLEARLY outlining benefits, programs, future of DNotes.
What major obstacles does DNotes face to achieve success?
Mainstream media negativity of any cryptocurrency in general. This will be the biggest hurdle in my opinion. Once this has been overcome, in a few years, we will all see the benefits as people realize/wake up to the potential that cryptocurrency has in store for the world. AND DNotes WILL pave the way for us ALL!
Soapbox mode: ON Mainstream media negativity is, in my humble opinion, the biggest obstacle. The media these days only focuses on sensational actions and illegal activity. Headlines need to be bad and damaging to catch attention, in their mind anyway. We are all fed up with this though not many of us are doing anything about it. I propose a "Crypro Coin Media Watchguard" group specifically dedicated to searching for negative news and providing a counterpoint to each article. In truth, most headlines and stories about our industry have many mistakes and suppositions to the point of being totally inaccurate. Even outlets that claim to be dedicated to Bitcoin are publishing garbage for ratings. There is no editorial oversite, very rarely a correction when called out and writers who are still clueless being praised for their "investigative journalism". It's a mess and we will be held back until we do something about it. Yes, I know there is the "Bitcoin Foundation". What a joke that is. They can't decide whether to use the boys or girls bathroom without a vote and 4 weeks of discussion. That is not the answer. We, as an industry, need to act swiftly and with great precision in putting out all the little fires before they burn down the house. Soap box mode: OFF WOW!!! Great minds think alike I guess. Dyna and I discussed that VERY point a couple of hours ago on the phone. He thought that that was the number one obstacle to mass adoption. Great observation!! Smokey |
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This is another sick day for the industry. Here are my prospectives. Many bad things have been done using money by bad actors, including countless ponzi schemes. This happened to be another one "that used the veneer of Bitcoin trading as its lure." That is sad. What is worst is how the media exploited the situation and greatly exaggerated the amount recklessly to make it sensational. This kind for negative headline and false narrative will affect our ill informed political leaders and regulators to react in very damaging ways in the name of consumer protection. Our industry's concerned supporters should take serious notice of this and unit to protect the hugely innovative Bitcoin technology that has very positive and significant implications for the betterment of humanity. A united and positive push-back is in order. *********************************** Hong Kong's MyCoin Disappears With Up To $387 Million, Reports Claim Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on February 9, 2015 at 10:12 GMT NEWS http://www.coindesk.com/hong-kong-exchange-mycoin-disappears-387m-reports-claim/Reports are emerging from Hong Kong that local bitcoin exchange MyCoin has shut its doors, taking with it possibly as much as HK$3bn ($386.9m) in investor funds. If true, the supposed losses are a staggering amount, although this estimate is based on the company's own earlier claims that it served 3,000 clients who had invested HK$1m ($129,000) each. For perspective, bitcoin's entire market cap today stands at around USD$3bn. The issue came to light on Friday when about 30 people claiming to be victims of the company's actions petitioned a local member of the Legislative Council, Leung Yiu-chung. The victims are reportedly due to make a statement to Hong Kong police on Wednesday. Ponzi scheme suspected Adding to the mystery are reports the company never operated as a genuine bitcoin business at all. Testimonies from customers describe an operation more like a Ponzi scheme that used the veneer of bitcoin trading as its lure. One local woman was quoted as saying: "We were told by those at higher tiers [of the scheme] that we can get our money back if we find more new clients." Adding to the business' pyramid-like feel were promises of cash prizes or Mercedes-Benz cars if customers could recruit new investors, said a report in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. Customers were promised returns of HK$1m in four months, and had been pressured into buying bitcoin-based contracts by real estate agents, insurance agents and law firm clerks. But after slowing down the release of payments, the exchange's office boarded up its doors for "renovations" last month, the report says. Regulation trigger The incident could lead to greater regulation of the bitcoin industry in Hong Kong, which has so far operated with little scrutiny. Councilor Leung has said he wants to meet with Hong Kong's Monetary Authority to discuss better protections for bitcoin investors. It's not the first time Hong Kong bitcoiners have found themselves out of pocket. Chinese trading platform GBL, purportedly based in Hong Kong, also disappeared in November 2013 with $4.1m in customer funds. At the time of writing, MyCoin's site appeared to be still up and running, although there are clear indications all is not well. It is not possible to create a new account, and the listed bitcoin price is under $2. Another Hong Kong exchange, KBBEX, has informed Leung that it is willing to provide assistance to help those affected, in order to regain trust in bitcoin and perhaps perform technical analysis if required. Some posts in public forums appeared to confuse MyCoin with Maicoin, a reputable Taiwan-based bitcoin services company that is still functioning and healthy. A Maicoin spokesperson said there had not been a material impact on the company's business, but an end to the confusion generated by the similar names would be welcome. It is like the wild west right now, without protections in place. When you hand over your bitcoin it is like handing over a pile of cash. Except when you hand over a pile of cash no one demonizes the cash... This has been going on for as long as I can remember with fiat currency. The really sad thing is a new emerging industry is suffering because of this. I realize the company is to blame as well as the media exaggerating the facts, but greed also seems to be playing havoc with the investors' common sense. Correct, correct, and correct. It is very over-sensationalized by the media, and is greatly hindering mass adoption. The numbers do not add up at all. And kanus is right, when they bust a drug deal they do not villianize the cash they used for the transaction. Don't expect ANY good coverage from the media. Aint gonna happen. Smokey |
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Happy birthday Dyna, thanks for everything you do for us DNotes holders.
Thanks, CrytoBroker79. I am honored to be of help. I don't get involved unless I am very passionate about it. DNotes is now getting all my attention. It is very important to me that we all can work well together, learn from each other and appreciative of the contribution of everyone. When we can stay the course and do the right things our mission will always prevail. That is the true power of the unity of force from a great community. I am privileged to be a part of history in the making. You guys are great. I will make one last "light, fluffy" post today, Dyna's birthday, then back to serious work! Dyna, DNotes and my wife and I have spent the last 7 years building Smokeys Gardens to be "Best in Class". In those seven years, we have had many, many obstacles thrown in our path: Dyna had heart surgury (was back in the gardens in about 3 weeks I think, can't keep a good man down) I had Esophageal Cancer (Stage T3,N1,M0, with a 7% survival rate) Looks like I will be part of the 7%, as the 5 year anniversary date is March 1 of 2015, meaning on that date, I am officially cured of cancer!! WOO FREAKIN HOO!! (if you are in remission for 5 years, you are considered cured, but I knew I was gonna be fine from the start) We had one of our "divisions" almost totally wiped out within a year because of a huge dropoff in the Recreational Vehicle industry (We were installing huge Outdoor Woodburning Furnace Systems for companies that had to heat huge buildings and landfilled LOTS of wood scrap, and our "sweet spot was 2 counties over, Elkhart County, where over half the RV's in America are made). In fact, Obama gave an important speech there in 2008, cause it was the county in America with the highest Unemployment Rate at the time. Our "core business" was a retail fireplace store that was suffering from a huge loss of income because of the recession. We went from 1.7 million in sales to under a million in a few short years. The 20,000 sq. ft. building in a prime location I had purchased in 2004 became worth half of what it was over a few short years. I suffered huge losses on rental properties I owned, due, among other things, to the recession, loss of nearly half the value of the homes, and the fact that tax laws were changed, lowering homeowner's taxes, and drasticly raising commercial property taxes. Despite all these obstacles, we were able to make Smokeys Gardens "Best in Class". How do we know that we are best in class? In some ways, by visiting our compitition, and seeing for ourselves how we stacked up against them. We have devoloped the most efficient way of harvesting and planting in the industry. When we started, it would take a couple of young, strapping boys a half a day or more to dig 500 clumps of flowers. We developed a machine on a tractor that one person can now dig the same amount of flowers in about 15 minutes. Hand planting took HUGE quantities of labor. We converted a 50 year old vegetable planter to have it plant daylilys, and now a 3 man planting crew can plant 2000 to 3000 plants PER HOUR! When we started, we needed 6 people full time to rinse the dirt off the flowers before shipping. (daylilies are shipped "bare-root", no state-to-state shipment of dirt allowed). We found a vegetable washer made by a company in Canada that we converted to washing daylilies, now we have a person "washing" about 3 or 4 hours a day, instead of 6 full time. There are also some solid, factual ways we know we are best in class also. It only took us about 4 years to have the highest traffic of all our competitors on our internet sites. We offer more varieties than anyone, especially newer, much more valuable varieties. We have perfected our methods, so that we can ship a daylily fan to your door for under 25 cents, on average. On the higher-value daylilies, Dyna did not let me machine harvest or machine plant them until we could prove that the sucess rate would be at least 95% or greater. We reached that point, and now, it does not matter if you pay 50 cents a fan for a Stella de Oro, or 100 bucks (yes $100.00) for a double-fan of a daylily called "Easter Egg", it still costs us less than a quarter a fan to deliver it to your door, because all the daylilies are planted and harvested using the same efficient methods, no matter if it sold for 50 cents or a hundred bucks. Last fall we finished a two year project, moving all our flowers about 30 miles to a 40 acre farm we obtained. Grueling two years. So, now that we are convinced we are Best in Class, how did we become "Best in Class"? Simple: By doing things others CAN'T or WON'T do. We put in the hours. We did the hard work. Our strategy was disscussed over and over, and constantly revised. Dyna commuted weekly from West Chicago, IL, to Ashley, IN for almost ten years, a five hour drive. He would spend 4 to six days a week in Ashley, staying at our home. Some weeks he would leave, go home and do his "chores at home" and head back the next day. Believe it or not, Dyna does all the cooking in his house (his first business in the USA was a VERY sucessful Chinese Restaurant, he is the best cook I have ever seen (sorry Mom!) but that is for another story). So Dyna would go home, kiss the wife, water his very impressive gardens, cook all his wife's meals for the next week, and head back to Ashley. We discussed strategy every nite till midnight. EVERY NIGHT! I learned more from him than I learned in 25 years of being in business before meeting him. I think we were brothers in a different life. Strange freindship, we are so alike, yet so vastly different on so many levels. Dyna was raised on the other side of the world. He was "rich and famous", hobnobbing with "the elite", I was raised on a farm in Indiana, and do not even own a good suit that fits me. I would not know which damn fork to use for what course during a fancy meal. Dyna was VERY humble, very quiet. I was loud and obnoxious. Dyna did not cuss very often, and spoke very eloquently. I cussed like a drunken sailor, and used all kinds of slang. We both had humble beginnings, but had taken divergent paths since then. Dyna went to college, and got an MBA, and kicked the world's ass. I graduated from high school and was ready to take on the world. No college for this chump. Dyna was meeting Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Micheal Dell. I was running a fireplace store, laying bricks building fireplaces. We do have much in common, though. We both have an inner drive to succeed. We both have unquestioned work ethic. We both genuinely want to help others, espcially others who try their best and get shortchanged, and folks who don't even get a chance to succeed. We both have very supportive, very close families. We both have a dogged tenacity. We don't quit when the going gets rough. We help each other flesh out fresh ideas. It really did all boil down into one thing: We did things others would not, or coud not do (mostly would not). Simple as that. We are using the exact same strategy for DNotes. By doing things others will not or can not do. Again, very simple stuff. Interesting Story: Since I have been picking on Dyna a little today, I will tell a story that is one of his favorites. (this is a story at MY expense). When we started the flower biz, it was out of necessity. This was right after the Hydronic Biz (wood furnaces) collasped. We were looking to "branch out" to utilize our workforce, and fully utilize our 20,000 sq. ft. building. Dyna came to me with this crazy idea of selling daylilies online. I thought he had lost his mind. I was a bricklayer, a builder, and a master of the service industry. Daylilies? I did not even know what the hell a daylily was. I thought it was just the weeds growing along the road. We called them "outhouse lilies", or "ditchlilies". I did not know there were 60,000 varieties. I did not know they were gorgeous. I did not know they were the number one selling perennial in the US (#1 in volume, in dollars they are #2, behind hosta). He had been a gardener for years, and had an impressive garden at his home. He finally won me over with this example: OK, Smokey.....see that woodstove in the crate setting on the shelf? Yup. What will be there in a year if you dont sell it? A woodstove, I said. He said, OK, what if somehow you left if there and did not disturb it, and a year later there were THREE woodstoves (or more) setting there you could sell? I said it would be a VERY profitable biz. He said: BINGO....that is the dayily biz. In this biz, you buy product once, multiply it and sell it for as long as the public still wants it! So, we were in the daylily business. Now comes the funny part. The first summer, we were planting flowers. (hand planting then). Dyna came over to see how we were doing. He looked at what I was planting, and started laughing out loud. Not just a chuckle, not just a laugh or two. A huge, drawn out belly laugh. What the hell, I thought. Here I was, hot as hell, on my knees, dirt up to my elbows, and he was laughing at me. I WAS PLANTING WEEDS, NOT FLOWERS!!! I knew what corn was, I knew what beans were, but apparently, I could not tell a weed from a daylily!!! Made his day, he still loves that story! OK, Dyna's birthday is over, time for me to get back to work....... Smokey |
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Happy Birthday Dyna! Is Smokey in the doghouse??  Thanks, Chase. Smokey is a funny guy. i HOPE You are all celebrating well and maybe next year we can all meet you in the forst DNOTES convention? DYNA'S Birthday with Dnotes peeps/ I am kinda in the doghouse.....Dyna gets real embarrassed when folks talk him up. He is the most humble guy I know personally. I thought......hell with it. I just make sure I do not embellish the truth. Just the facts, ma'am. Interesting note: Dyna was part of the third-world's "poor masses". He grew up in the mountains of Malaysia, his family farmed coconuts and palm oil. No electricity. Dirt floor hut. Only thing they had with a motor on it was a WW2 British Army Jeep. Farmed with water buffalo. But....out of six kids, they all graduated high school, most (or all) went to college. All were VERY successful. Secret to the family: A VERY extraordinary mother, AND an exceptional dad. When he talks about the "poor masses", he knows what he is talking about. Correction. Eight kids. Two girls and six boys. One time eight out of eght had their own business. One of the sisters finally gave up and decided to work for a large company. We never had a fight or a serious argument, but lots of passionate debates though. I also come from a business-minded family, BUT at our house, the were no "quiet discussions". We were loud, proud, and as competitive as the hogs at the troth. Thier were four of us, 5 years apart youngest to oldest. (dont think my parents had TV then, nuttin else to do I guess). We played Monopoly, Risk, Poker, and every other thing that could have a winner. Second place was the first loser. Only thing that saved us from being hooligans was a dad that was as strong-willed and as smart as his children, and a mother that showed unconditional love to all her kids, all the time. Funny, Yoda......how we grew up literally a world apart, but somehow found each other, and we are gonna change the world! Rock On, Old Man!!!!! Interesting note: Dyna came to America in his early 20's, with hardley any money (a couple hundred bucks I think). He flew into New York in Janruary. He had never seen weather as cold as this. THEN, he flew to Chicago (New York was just a layover). It was about zero degrees there and he had lived on the equator all his life! Welcome to Winter, Old Man! Smokey Hey! Are you planning a tell all? If you don't hold back some, you may not sell a single copy, lol. Lol. I just about fell out of my chair laughing. Just figured since it was your birthday, I would tell a few stories that made an impact on me. (And mebbe embarrass you too!) We were not "poor", but damn close to it. Us kids just never knew it. Your family was VERY poor, but look what hard work and tenacity will do for you. You taught me this: He who does things that others cannot or will not, will win the race. Dont matter if it is a business, or a family, same thing applies. There are plenty more stories for the book that DEMANDS to be written. A book needs written about how the three of us were brought together, (Dyna, me and DNotes) mostly by fate, and by what we have accoplished. But the story is not finished just yet. Interesting Fact: Dyna is a genius in several areas, but comes up a little short in other areas. While commuting from Chicago to Ashley a few years back, he said his car would not go over 30 miles per hour! I started questioning him about the car, and asked him when it was tuned up last. He said what? I said, ya, change the plugs, rotor cap, ect? He said: Ya mean I need to tune it up? The car had over 200K miles on it, had oil changed regularly, but NEVER tuned up!!!! The guy does not even know which way to turn a nut to take it off.......I was driving trucks for dad and was so small dad had to put blocks on all the pedals!! Dyna was riding Water Buffalo when I was driving trucks and tractors! Smokey |
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