Can anybody tell me if this is normal, or how I can resolve it?

I deposited just a small amount of BTC with MTGOX, while my account was pending verification, under the impression that I would be able to transfer BTC in and out, but it seems I can't even do that.  MTGox let me deposit BTC but won't let me take it out.

I still have the message saying my account is pending verification and will be done within 10 days  - although it was over 3 weeks since I submitted all the documents.

Emails to support remain unallocated and not responded to.

It feels like someone is holding my money to ransom.  How do MTGox survive with service like this? 

I fear for BitCoin's future as I think MTGox will be the place quite a few newbs will go to if they want to start buying/trading a few BTC, they will not have a good experience and BitCoin's reputation could be risked.


Anyway - is there anybody here able to help?  Are there known delays at MTGox in account verifications?  Anything I can do?

So.. when someone the gawker had an article along these lines it seemed to catalyse an explosion of BTC value.  Is that feasible again - Should we all be mortgaging our houses to invest in BTC today.

Just kidding, but will be interesting to see whether theres a rise in BTC purchasing over next couple of weeks.

Well I made 28 cents off trading with 2 BTC over a couple of days.

Peanuts I know but at least my first experiment was a success. 

I can't buy BTC on bitcoinica anyway - "no reserve"..

If someone can confirm transactions working in and out of Intersango then really the OP should edit the thread title to something less FUDdy

That makes sense.  You make a profit on something when you sell it for more than you paid.

But I assume there is more to it than that / other ways of trading?

I guess so then.

Trial and error is a valid way of doing this though right?   

First of all - I hold my hands up - I know I could search and read to understand all this but I'm lazy and I know that I will learn quicker and easier by doing it.    

I like to think I'm reasonably intelligent, maths stuff is OK with me, but I have never been involved in any trading so I don't understand the jargon and principals.  

Just messing around with a couple of BTC to start with..   I've created an account and deposited 2BTC.  

Essentially I want to bet that BTC goes up vs $  


Anybody up for talking me through what I need to do or am I being too cheeky?  

As a bitcoin noob this is the thing that stands out to me as well.

I tend to believe the exchanges are the victims of the banks but do we know this is the case?

These exchanges seem to be very powerful really.   If they are the ones who can control whether or not an individual can withdraw their funds to a "real" currency then the possibility that they could be corrupted must be a pretty big threat to bitcoin as a whole. 

But I'm still learning. I may well read something tomorrow that convinces me that this aspect is really safe and then get paranoid about something else instead..

Well over £15 per BTC?!  

 

Somebody desperate to get hold of BTC?  Or a bunch of people intent on scamming the seller somehow (surely nobody is really going to pay out that much?)

edit - forgot link

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-Twenty-Bitcoins-BTC-w-Screenshot-Transaction-Bitcoin-/280805019105?pt=UK_Coins_World_RL&hash=item4161488de1

So if someone sends me BTC when my computer's off.   I switch on a few hours later and fire up bitcoin - the transaction should be showing straight away?

Like the title says.  I did search but couldn't find an answer.

Cheers - but I am in UK...

I'm not trolling at all. 

I'm completely new to bitcoins, not adverse to a small gamble and also generally interested in the privacy aspect (and the fact that this it's not controlled by lizards)  Also not keen on throwing money away however!

Before coming here I'd presumed that bitcoin exchanges were pretty secure legit companies able to operate on an open/honest basis.

I look into buying some coin though and find the company I am about to deposit money through (Intersango) have an intermediary company set up at a residential address that they want me to send funds to, and their bank has frozen their accounts.  In fact they seem to need to change their banking arrangements every couple of months.

Then I read about another large exchange where people are unable to withdraw money from recently (TradeHill).

With a healthy degree of paranoia, I think then that it's maybe not a good idea to make a payment direct from my bank account, so I am not put on to some sort of watch list circulated at the next Bilderburg  meet, so I look at alternatives, and see Paxum as a method.  I create an account with them but their system seems a bit strange.  Researching the company on google is not reassuring.

It all adds up to create a feeling that bitcoins are somehow not legit.  Quite possibly not "bitcoins' fault", perhaps the bitcoin system is victim here.

What is the issue between banks and exchanges though?  From a n00b perspective, this is something that seems to need resolving as a priority.  OK I can understan why banks don't want BTC to take off but if it's a legit then how can they get away with messing around?  The exchanges need to find a way to work with banks because if people cannot get money into and out of BTC from currently conventional forms then what's the future?

I came to this site expecting to learn how to buy bitcoins to invest in them, as a bit of a gamble.  Maybe see if it's worth thinking about getting into mining at some point in the future.

In reality, the more I read the more of a risky business it seems.

The risk of value rising and falling is something I can accept - it's probably the reason I'm interested (that and general curiosity about something new).

The danger seems to be however in the possibility of never being able to exchange your money back from bitcoins to a real world currency (you know - one that you can buy food and pay bills with).  Bitcoins are worth nothing if they cannot be exchanged or used to buy stuff.  You can't really buy stuff and all the major exchanges seem to have had problems with banks, stopping people from getting their money back.

Paxum seems to be a possible solution to that, but this seems to be a company founded in the porn industry by someone who sold penis enlargement pills, with allegations of being connected to scams (epassporte) all over the internet.  Their account verification process and the need to upload ID seem questionable.  The fact this is the sole epayment company used by most of the bitcoin exchanges doesn't instill an air of legitimacy and confidence.

Why are their problems with Banks?  Why not use CCBIll or paypal?

If Bitcoin is to take off it needs to work to feel a bit more mainstream imo.

I see from other threads that they have difficulties with their bank - for the 3rd time in a few months.

Also note that other banks have had issues with transferring money to them.

Joining this site and reading more has been a bit of an eye opener.  I think maybe BTCs are more "underground" than I had appreciated.  I kinda got the principal but had presumed it was easy to just exchange money for bitcoins.

MtGox can do it though?  I will take a look.

Just wondering if anybody has any good / bad recent experience with these.

I am looking for an easy way of buying a small amount of bitcoin (£50) with GBP to get me started.

What seems a little odd is that I have to transfer money to a different company (Interteni LTD) which when I look them up find was only incorporated a couple of months ago.

Why would that be?  Britcoin/Intersango has been going longer - why wouldn't I just be transferring money to them to exchange for bitcoins?

Just a bit paranoid after reading about bitcoin7 disappearing, people not being able to get their money out of Tradehill recently. 

What other options are there for converting GBP -> BTC

Hi peeps

First post to introduce myself:

I am in the UK and heard about bitcoins for the first time recently.   Possibly interested in mining at some stage but at the moment don't think I have the hardware to earn enough.

Mainly I'm just generally curious about the whole thing and interested in a different way to invest (/gamble).

Joined the forum because I want to find out more before I risk any of my hard earned cash!