I've started an experiment with some people in my community. I call it BTC PTF (Personally Traded Fund).
I have a friend I'll call C. C and I have known each other for many years. C is a good businessman but has little tech background. C and I also trust each other implicitly.
C wanted two bitcoins but doesn't want to mess with the hassle of installing a client or holding bitcoins. He doesn't want any records of any Bitcoin exchanges or services near his bank records. So he gave me the money for 2 btc (plus 5%) and I sent 2 btc to a generated address and sent him the blockchain.info URL. I still hold the private keys.
Our agreement:
Should C decide to cash out any part of his 2 btc, I'll take 5%.
Should C decide to sell all of his btc back to me if Bitcoin goes as high as we think it might, I'll get a substantial discount - 40%. I can pay him in installments if the price is astronomical at that point.
Should Bitcoin dive in price more than 50%, I'll give him back half his money and take back a bitcoin.
C is able to speculate in Bitcoin without being completely exposed to it. I get to "rent" out my bitcoins to trusted friends that trust me in return, with the potential for me to buy a higher priced bitcoin at a heavy discount in the future. It's a formal arrangement in an informal environment, much as members of the the banking and political classes do with each other over dinner. It's wealth sharing. This is an arrangement that can only work between people that already trust each other. People that screw their friends and customers over don't keep friends and customers for long.
I wanted to start this thread to keep track of this experiment and to put the idea out for critique for improvement.
