Of course, the big questions are, a.) will you be operating a bucket shop.   and b.) how can you ensure that the funds deposited are secure.

Related:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade#Financial
 - http://bitcoinmagazine.net/bitfinex-bitcoinica-rises-from-the-grave/

Reported here:

That still doesn't protect against a replay attack.


Yup, a lot of that going on.  

MtGox account got cleared out
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=85533.0

All BTC disappeared from my Mt. Gox account
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=88368.0

Another:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=80562.msg941759#msg941759

And another: My mtgox account got compromised, what can I do?
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=84585.0

Yet more: MT.Gox account hacked - lost 2k USD - MT.GOX will not explain how.
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=89142.0

And more again: Bitcoins stolen from MtGox
 - http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/x8lcv/bitcoins_stolen_from_mtgox

And yet more: Stolen from Mt.Gox coins. Help return the coins.
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=119816.0

Or more here: Email from Mt.Gox this morning.
 - http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/z0na5/email_from_mtgox_this_morning

And even more here: I just had $715 stolen out of my Mt. Gox account.
 - http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/12j9gi/i_just_had_715_stolen_out_of_my_mt_gox_account

And the biggie: Bitcoinica MtGox account compromised
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=93074.0

With more here: Unauthorized Account Activity on my Mt.Gox Account - Account Compromised/Hacked?
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=94140.0

And on other services as well. Here same thing happened to some GLBSE users:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=84893.0

And elsewhere, BitMarket.eu in this instance:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5441.msg1259168#msg1259168

And now on bitcoin.de as well: Bitcoins stolen from bitcoin.de.
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=130264.0

In none of these was the person using multi-factor authentication. Mt. Gox has had Yubikey support for a while. Mt. Gox accounts now support Google Authenticator:
 - https://mtgox.com/press_release_20120605.html

If the exchange you are storing funds with doesn't provide OTP, consider using a different exchange:
 - http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/4113/which-two-factor-authentication-methods-are-available-at-which-exchanges

If you are storing funds in an EWallet, consider using a paper wallet.

Here is a fantastic guide: How to use 2-factor auth on mtgox, even without a smartphone (from a second device, of course, not from the same computer you log in on).
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=111943.0

There are others reporting withdrawal delays.  The requests are being processed just not in what might be considered a timely manner:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=63877.0

Perhaps they will let you cancel your withdrawal request, to where you could then buy back the bitcoins and send them to another exchange that will send the funds sooner.

Download and save (e.g., in C:\Temp):
 - https://raw.github.com/joric/pywallet/master/pywallet.py

Then in the directory that you saved that script, run:
 C:\> cd C:\Temp
 C:\Temp> python .\pywallet.py --version
pywallet.py 1.2

You are saying you get v1.1?

I sense foreboding.  

So someone that closes a position today gets 100% of the gains but someone holding to expiration gets capped?  And there's no knowing by how much?

-----------------------
Bitcoin.org client v0.7.x
Estimate for first-time use, syncing the blockchain.  (Estimates obtained via wild-assed guess)

Poor hardware using bootstrap.dat: 2 days 6 hours
Poor hardware with fast internet: 2 days 8 hours
Poor hardware with slow internet: 2 days 12 hours

Fast hardware using bootstrap.dat: 1 day 1 hour
Fast hardware with fast internet: 1 day 2 hours
Fast hardware with slow internet: 1 day 3 hours

-----------------------

Bitcoin.org client v0.8  (Not yet released, or even near release-candidate)
Estimate for first-time use, syncing the blockchain.  (Estimates obtained via wild-assed guess)

Poor hardware using bootstrap.dat: 3 hours
Poor hardware with fast internet: 4 hours (?(
Poor hardware with slow internet: 5 hours (?)

Fast hardware using bootstrap.dat: 1 hour
Fast hardware with fast internet: 3 hours (?)
Fast hardware with slow internet: 4 hours (?)


(With "poor hardware" I'm referring to slower, modern systems.  I'm not referring to your P4 or an atom-based netbook.)

The time for purchasing an FPGA for mining is long past.  If you wanted to buy one anyway to program on, then here are some specs:

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison#FPGAs

[Edit: Prices are still high due to trade-in programs:

 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=120537.0

others:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=129967.0
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=129947.0 ]

Very little of the time in synching the blockchain is spent on downloading the blocks and most of the time is spent on CPU and I/O.   Because you have bootstrap.dat locally, what little time was spent downloading the data is cut but the rest remains.

It can take a day or more.

Version 0.8 isn't ready yet but it uses a completely different architecture and knocks that down to about an hour, on good hardware.


 

TrustCash no longer is serving any Bitcoin merchants -- BitInstant, AurumXChange, etc.  They may have another solution at some point in the future, but for now there is no cash deposit method at a bank.


 - http://blog.bitinstant.com/blog/2012/10/29/recent-service-disruption-and-new-features.html

If you have a Chase branch nearby you might be interested in BitMe, which accepts cash deposited at Chase:
 - http://www.BitMe.com

You might also try a Local Bitcoin trade:
 - http://www.LocalBitcoins.com

And if you weren't aware, there is now a BitInstant support thread that even those in Newbie jail can post on:

Official Newbie BitInstant Support Thread (Active Customer Support)
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=128314.0

It is on their Twitter feed:


 - https://twitter.com/bitmarketeu/status/278375595774210048

I also see that for those in Thailand but without a bank account can use a cash terminal to load an OKPay account.


 - https://www.okpay.com/en/company/news/fund-okpay-with-cash-in-thailand.html

The actual link to get that:

 - https://cryptostocks.com/shareoptions/index

You didn't mention what payment methods you can offer.

e.g., PayPal, Dwolla, etc.

Especially because the transaction you received itself might not be confirmed.  This can cause a problem if you pay someone else and then you find out that the transaction to you was a double spend after you've already paid.

Or if you are sending the funds to something like SatoshiDICE -- you might think you won, but until the transaction confirms your payouts won't confirm either.

Yes.  CoinDL.com was created with this, for instance.

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/OsCommerce_Bitcoin_Payment_Module

Coincidentally, Sirius (forum user #2, after Satoshi) began a discussion you might wish to review:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=130137.0

Here are some financial investment services:
 - https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade#Financial

Liquidity is low with most

I believe you program the Yubikey OTP with the secret from Mt. Gox, just like you would configure Google Authenticator.
  - http://www.yubico.com/products/services-software/personalization-tools/yubikey-otp/

You are producing 3.3 Ghash/s and only consuming 1,120W?  That's atypical, at best.



Not just any old GPUs, and not without a lot of tweaking to get those numbers, I suspect.

Well, congrats -- you get about another 8 BTC worth of profit for the the next month before this happens:


then following that: