What is the difference between MtGox and Dwolla?

[grizzlynick]

Can someone give me the rundown on the difference between these sites?

[Gabi]

The fact that the first one is a bitcoin exchange, the second one doesn't exist, what exists is Dwolla, wich is a way to send money but is totally unrelated to bitcoin.

[querior]

You can use Dwolla to get dollars to MtGox, to buy bitcoin. This used to work very well, but, not too long ago Dwolla imposed some identification requirements.

[dancupid]

Using an analogy, Dwolla is like the pre raphaelite painter Dante Gabriell Rossetti, whereas mtGox is like the the American Neo-expressionist painter Jean Michel Basquiat.
Continuing the analogy, Bitcoin is like Public Enemy's album 'It takes a Nation of Millions to hold us Back'

[grizzlynick]

Ok I understand. PayPal doesnt seem to work well with bitcoin so what is your opinion on the most effective way to send cash to receive bitcoins, or vice versa? western union? dwolla?

[DannyHamilton]

. . . what is your opinion on the most effective way to send cash to receive bitcoins, or vice versa?. . .

That depends on where you live.

Localbitcoins.com and BitInstant can both be pretty good options, but in some geographical areas they may not be useful at all.

[grizzlynick]

. . . what is your opinion on the most effective way to send cash to receive bitcoins, or vice versa?. . .

That depends on where you live.

Localbitcoins.com and BitInstant can both be pretty good options, but in some geographical areas they may not be useful at all.

but this site lets you buy and sell bitcoins. You still have get the money to the person. You would need western union for that right? sorry i have never used anything other then paypal. 

[mitty]

Ok I understand. PayPal doesnt seem to work well with bitcoin so what is your opinion on the most effective way to send cash to receive bitcoins, or vice versa? western union? dwolla?

I've found Dwolla + BitInstant to be pretty easy with respect to buying bitcoins with Dollars.  You just need to transfer money from your bank account to Dwolla first (3-5 business days), then place an order on BitInstant and pay with your Dwolla balance.

Dwolla is a way to send and receive money to/from anyone else with a Dwolla account.  It's like PayPal, but doesn't let you draw money from credit cards.
MtGox is a bitcoin exchange, which lets you buy bitcoins in exchange for other currencies.
BitInstant is an easy way to buy bitcoins in exchange for Dwolla, cash deposit, or one of a few other payment methods.  It doesn't require registration or an account which makes it more favorable over MtGox to some people.

[DannyHamilton]

. . . what is your opinion on the most effective way to send cash to receive bitcoins, or vice versa?. . .

That depends on where you live.

Localbitcoins.com and BitInstant can both be pretty good options, but in some geographical areas they may not be useful at all.

but this site lets you buy and sell bitcoins. You still have get the money to the person. You would need western union for that right? sorry i have never used anything other then paypal. 

That depends on where you live.

With LocalBitcoins.com you can arrange to meet someone in person.  You can then hand them the cash as they transfer you the bitcoins.  The idea of LocalBitcoins.com is to find someone local so you don't need to use Western Union, PayPal, Dwolla, or any other processor.

With BitInstant.com, depending on where you are located, you can pay with cash at various retail businesses. I believe they support locations in the U.S., Brazil, and maybe Russia.

[grizzlynick]

Ok I understand. PayPal doesnt seem to work well with bitcoin so what is your opinion on the most effective way to send cash to receive bitcoins, or vice versa? western union? dwolla?

I've found Dwolla + BitInstant to be pretty easy with respect to buying bitcoins with Dollars.  You just need to transfer money from your bank account to Dwolla first (3-5 business days), then place an order on BitInstant and pay with your Dwolla balance.

Dwolla is a way to send and receive money to/from anyone else with a Dwolla account.  It's like PayPal, but doesn't let you draw money from credit cards.
MtGox is a bitcoin exchange, which lets you buy bitcoins in exchange for other currencies.
BitInstant is an easy way to buy bitcoins in exchange for Dwolla, cash deposit, or one of a few other payment methods.  It doesn't require registration or an account which makes it more favorable over MtGox to some people.

That seems very complicated. Soooo many middle men. With Paypal all you need is a credit card and bitcoins.

[DannyHamilton]

. . . That seems very complicated. Soooo many middle men. With Paypal all you need is a credit card and bitcoins.

Yes, if you have bitcoins and are willing to accept PayPal, you will likely find many people willing to give you PayPal for your Bitcoins.  Unfortuantely, since bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed, and PayPal can, you will also find that many of those people are scammers who take your bitcoins and then cancel the PayPal transaction leaving you with nothing.

The problem is that many of the payment systems that exist for transferring traditional currency electronically (Credit Card, PayPal, Bank Deposit) all protect the spender and not the seller.  So selling bitcoins with these systems leaves the seller taking on a huge risk.

Your least complicated options (with the fewest middle men) will be options where you hand over paper cash directly for bitcoins (such as LocalBitcoins.com).  BitInstant uses ZipZap as a middleman, but simplifies the processes quite a bit.

In other processes with "Soooo many middle men", the middle men are there to protect the seller and create a system where the buyer cannot cancel the transaction after receiving the bitcoins.

[Stephen Gornick]

That seems very complicated. Soooo many middle men.

You might like CoinBase.com then.  There's no middlemen.  When you use their site to buy, the funds are drawn from your bank account.    When you use their site to sell, the funds are sent to your bank account.  1% fee either direction.
 - http://www.CoinBase.com