[NEW] The Bitcoin Block, full block reward from BTCC Mint

[coin@coin]

Take my money!

[BTCC_Official]

Is that an official bid or will there be a seperate thread with auction terms and conditions made...ending time, bid increases, etc.?

Hi all,

It looks like we have enough people for an auction!  Yay. 

I would like to start the auction in a separate thread.  I believe that would be the right practice, correct?
I'm still a relative newbie on this site, so your comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

The auction item:
BTCC Mint - Bitcoin Block
Block #: 418,402
Address: 16AEBbzXfBuZb6atJu5coDMxtqGR8ieCoK
Bitcoins: 26.03392740
Transaction: https://blockchain.info/tx/0d36ca5eb506babc58650d42a42e28f1aef1cf5b6d043c3b4c88b933c464efbe

This is a really cool auction.  This is the largest block that we have mined so far for this product! 
I can't say it's the largest block ever mined, but certainly, it's very rare to see a block with over 26 BTC in size.

(Sorry, I don't have photos of this one yet; will post as soon as that's all ready.)


Some more questions to see all of your input:
- What auction terms should we set?
- I've already said that this would be a NO RESERVE auction, with initial bid at 1 BTC. 
- Again, the bidding price would be for the whole block.  So we are bidding on the whole block, and NOT on the "premium" portion.
- How long should we set the auction to run for?  24 hours? 3 days?  7 days? 
- What's the minimum bid increase amount?  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Bobby

[smoothie]

One thing to consider with your auction is if sniping is allowed or not.

[chronicsky]

Is that an official bid or will there be a seperate thread with auction terms and conditions made...ending time, bid increases, etc.?

Hi all,

It looks like we have enough people for an auction!  Yay. 

I would like to start the auction in a separate thread.  I believe that would be the right practice, correct?
I'm still a relative newbie on this site, so your comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

The auction item:
BTCC Mint - Bitcoin Block
Block #: 418,402
Address: 16AEBbzXfBuZb6atJu5coDMxtqGR8ieCoK
Bitcoins: 26.03392740
Transaction: https://blockchain.info/tx/0d36ca5eb506babc58650d42a42e28f1aef1cf5b6d043c3b4c88b933c464efbe

This is a really cool auction.  This is the largest block that we have mined so far for this product! 
I can't say it's the largest block ever mined, but certainly, it's very rare to see a block with over 26 BTC in size.

(Sorry, I don't have photos of this one yet; will post as soon as that's all ready.)


Some more questions to see all of your input:
- What auction terms should we set?
- I've already said that this would be a NO RESERVE auction, with initial bid at 1 BTC. 
- Again, the bidding price would be for the whole block.  So we are bidding on the whole block, and NOT on the "premium" portion.
- How long should we set the auction to run for?  24 hours? 3 days?  7 days? 
- What's the minimum bid increase amount?  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Bobby

24 hours please
So we bid for block ? and we have to give the 26 btc funded extra?

Big increment ammm 0.05 ? :/
Snipping allowed please

[BTCC_Official]

Do I have to trust the seller with the private key? If I want to keep this long-term, can I ever trust the 25 bitcoin stays in there?

Yes. Same principle of trusting Mike C, smoothie, etc.

Maybe Bobby should explain the manufacturing process, with regards to security, like Mike did years ago.

Hi all,

Yes, I'm happy to explain this.

The manufacturing process for the Bitcoin Block is somewhat different than for the other BTCC Mint coins.
The reason is how the final product looks like, where the Block number, the BTC amount are laser etched onto the nugget.
(We call it the bitcoin nugget!)

First of all, I've set aside and created a bunch of dedicated private/bitcoin addresses to make these nuggets.  The private key creation is all done on an offline computer, and the files are never sent electronically over the wires, nor do they ever touch an online computer at all.  The private keys are all stored securely on a spinning HDD.  The drive is encrypted, and the file is held inside an encrypted volume on the drive.  The hard drive is always kept in a safe, only accessible by me, and not touched by any other members of the company.  The drive will be erased, wiped, and physically destroyed once the printing of keys have been done after this batch of the 25 BTC nuggets.  For reasons obvious to all members of this forum, the handling of the hard drive and electronic file containing the private keys is a very sensitive affair.  I am fully aware of the dangers and security risks associated with this, and I have taken all these steps to ensure the safety of these funds, and the reputation of BTCC.

The corresponding public address have been used to make the hologram stickers, where the address is printed onto the sticker, just like the other BTCC Mint coins.  However, this is a different, second generation sticker, specific for the N Series, and has a few more anti-counterfeiting features, such as micro printing and some 3D effects of our logo.  

Here is the assembly sequence:

1) We mine the block into the address.  We check and double check, to make sure the addresses, block height, and amounts are recorded correctly.
2) We then laser etch the information of the mining details onto the top side of the physical block, including the corresponding QR code of the bitcoin address.  Optionally, we would laser etch the Forever message on the backside of the block, if that was custom ordered.
3) After the block is made, we check again, to ensure the bitcoin address, block number, and BTC amounts all match.
4) Then, in a private setting, I would personally print the private codes, machine cut them into the small circles, and then attach to the block with the hologram sticker, one block at a time.  (This whole step is done by me completely, with at most one senior company management team member helping, but never leaving them alone with the sensitive private ket material.)
5) Once the full block is made, it is wrapped and then sent for storage in a safe/vault, before being sold or shipped.

Please let me know if you guys have any other questions.

thanks,
Bobby

[BTCC_Official]

One thing to consider with your auction is if sniping is allowed or not.

I know what sniping is, but what would be the technical way to distinguish sniping?
How to allow or disallow?

[BTCC_Official]

Is that an official bid or will there be a seperate thread with auction terms and conditions made...ending time, bid increases, etc.?

Hi all,

It looks like we have enough people for an auction!  Yay. 

I would like to start the auction in a separate thread.  I believe that would be the right practice, correct?
I'm still a relative newbie on this site, so your comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

The auction item:
BTCC Mint - Bitcoin Block
Block #: 418,402
Address: 16AEBbzXfBuZb6atJu5coDMxtqGR8ieCoK
Bitcoins: 26.03392740
Transaction: https://blockchain.info/tx/0d36ca5eb506babc58650d42a42e28f1aef1cf5b6d043c3b4c88b933c464efbe

This is a really cool auction.  This is the largest block that we have mined so far for this product! 
I can't say it's the largest block ever mined, but certainly, it's very rare to see a block with over 26 BTC in size.

(Sorry, I don't have photos of this one yet; will post as soon as that's all ready.)


Some more questions to see all of your input:
- What auction terms should we set?
- I've already said that this would be a NO RESERVE auction, with initial bid at 1 BTC. 
- Again, the bidding price would be for the whole block.  So we are bidding on the whole block, and NOT on the "premium" portion.
- How long should we set the auction to run for?  24 hours? 3 days?  7 days? 
- What's the minimum bid increase amount?  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Bobby

24 hours please
So we bid for block ? and we have to give the 26 btc funded extra?

Big increment ammm 0.05 ? :/
Snipping allowed please

For the auction bidding, I was trying to say that the price you bid would be for the whole thing (the physical block, plus the 26+ BTC in it...)  This means that the market value of the item should be at least 26 BTC...  But in any case, we will start the auction at 1 BTC, as a form of sincerity. 

The BTCC Mint store is selling the Bitcoin Blocks for 30 BTC, and all of those block are under 26 BTC in size.
So I wouldn't be surprised to see this sell for over 30 BTC, but that's really up to you guys, to see who wants this the most! 

Again, this is a special treat to this Bitcoin Talk Forum community, to offer you this very special large block, #418,402.

I will suggest increments of 0.10 BTC.

As for sniping, what are ways of disallowing it?  Are you suggesting that we require minimum "cool-off" time after the last bid, for that bid to be valid as the final bid?

thanks,
Bobby

[coin@coin]

For the auction bidding, I was trying to say that the price you bid would be for the whole thing (the physical block, plus the 26+ BTC in it...)  This means that the market value of the item should be at least 26 BTC...  But in any case, we will start the auction at 1 BTC, as a form of sincerity.  

The BTCC Mint store is selling the Bitcoin Blocks for 30 BTC, and all of those block are under 26 BTC in size.
So I wouldn't be surprised to see this sell for over 30 BTC, but that's really up to you guys, to see who wants this the most!  

Again, this is a special treat to this Bitcoin Talk Forum community, to offer you this very special large block, #418,402.

I will suggest increments of 0.10 BTC.

As for sniping, what are ways of disallowing it?  Are you suggesting that we require minimum "cool-off" time after the last bid, for that bid to be valid as the final bid?

thanks,
Bobby

The way to prevent sniping is to say every bid made within X minutes before the end of the auction extends bidding by Y minutes.
For example, every bid within 5 minutes to the end, extends the auction by 10/15/20 minutes...
However that could drag on forever, I like more when bidding ends at time x and get it over with. Bid within that time and you have a chance to win.
See what others say too as many don't like sniping. Seen that BTCC is a Chinese company how would Chinese people bid on this?
Maybe you could try some Chinese Auction style (if any different), curious to see if there are alternatives we could try on this forum for such an exciting and worthwhile item.

I will also be surprised if this would sell for 30BTC or over but you never know. It would be a good test.

Increments of 0.10 sounds reasonable for such a valuable item. I also like the no reserve price for the whole thing, that will make the bidding even more interesting.

Also yes another thread would be nice, with pictures and terms of the bid as well as start and end date and time. I suggest using the forum time so it's easier for everyone to figure it out.
Add details on if winning bid is not paid within x hours, second bid will be taken in consideration, and so on.

One important note would be on shipping, first, does the auction winning bid include shipping to whatever country? Are there any country excluded? (Maybe US?)
Second, how is BTCC going to declare the shipping of the item? With the total value of BTC? Insured... Or just the value of the block?
Because import taxes could be huge depending on the choice above. Also important for people who are interested to bid (as well as buy in-store) so they know what to expect and are ready for eventual extra charges.
Any extra info you could add to the auction OP would be appreciated.

Looking fwd to it!  

[smoothie]

One thing to consider with your auction is if sniping is allowed or not.

I know what sniping is, but what would be the technical way to distinguish sniping?
How to allow or disallow?

Allowing it is setting a hard date and time.

Disallowing it would to either:

1) allow for time increments between bids near the end of the auction and after that time increment has expire with no new bids the auction would end.

2) another option is to say "the auction will end at or around x day"

This way you can end the auction randomly at a moment's notice.  This way people are forced to put in their highest bid and there isn't a rush of bids at the last minute.

It's all dependent upon your approach.

 

[Zepher]

I want one, but 30 BTC.  
Planning to sell these unfunded?

If its sent funded, can it actually be insured....and would you take the risk anyway? And if its insured, wont the import taxes be calculated on it?
Tis the reasons why i wont post my 25BTC Casascius.

However, really like this coin/bar.

All Bitcoin Blocks will be sold funded.  (How could you have an unfunded bitcoin block reward?  )

We will self-insure for the shipping, and hence the premium.  In other words, we will not declare the full BTC value for shipping purposes, and therefore we will not receive the full insurance protection from the shipper.  It's a compromise that our customers prefer.  (Or do you prefer a lower price, and shipped to you with full declared BTC value?)

thanks,
Bobby

So... Let's get this clear for everyone before we start bidding shall we?
You WILL definitely self-insure for this item, so in effect lowering the customs declaration? What value will you place on these? And what protection is in place for the consumer if something goes wrong?

Thank you Bobby

[defcon23]

Do I have to trust the seller with the private key? If I want to keep this long-term, can I ever trust the 25 bitcoin stays in there?

Yes. Same principle of trusting Mike C, smoothie, etc.

Maybe Bobby should explain the manufacturing process, with regards to security, like Mike did years ago.

Hi all,

Yes, I'm happy to explain this.

The manufacturing process for the Bitcoin Block is somewhat different than for the other BTCC Mint coins.
The reason is how the final product looks like, where the Block number, the BTC amount are laser etched onto the nugget.
(We call it the bitcoin nugget!)

First of all, I've set aside and created a bunch of dedicated private/bitcoin addresses to make these nuggets.  The private key creation is all done on an offline computer, and the files are never sent electronically over the wires, nor do they ever touch an online computer at all.  The private keys are all stored securely on a spinning HDD.  The drive is encrypted, and the file is held inside an encrypted volume on the drive.  The hard drive is always kept in a safe, only accessible by me, and not touched by any other members of the company.  The drive will be erased, wiped, and physically destroyed once the printing of keys have been done after this batch of the 25 BTC nuggets.  For reasons obvious to all members of this forum, the handling of the hard drive and electronic file containing the private keys is a very sensitive affair.  I am fully aware of the dangers and security risks associated with this, and I have taken all these steps to ensure the safety of these funds, and the reputation of BTCC.

The corresponding public address have been used to make the hologram stickers, where the address is printed onto the sticker, just like the other BTCC Mint coins.  However, this is a different, second generation sticker, specific for the N Series, and has a few more anti-counterfeiting features, such as micro printing and some 3D effects of our logo.  

Here is the assembly sequence:

1) We mine the block into the address.  We check and double check, to make sure the addresses, block height, and amounts are recorded correctly.
2) We then laser etch the information of the mining details onto the top side of the physical block, including the corresponding QR code of the bitcoin address.  Optionally, we would laser etch the Forever message on the backside of the block, if that was custom ordered.
3) After the block is made, we check again, to ensure the bitcoin address, block number, and BTC amounts all match.
4) Then, in a private setting, I would personally print the private codes, machine cut them into the small circles, and then attach to the block with the hologram sticker, one block at a time.  (This whole step is done by me completely, with at most one senior company management team member helping, but never leaving them alone with the sensitive private ket material.)
5) Once the full block is made, it is wrapped and then sent for storage in a safe/vault, before being sold or shipped.

Please let me know if you guys have any other questions.

thanks,
Bobby

Bobby,

i would like to thank you a lot for all those clarifications.
I think this should help many of us to understand  on how BTCC own this part of security purpose , what is indeed a really important part of the process..  especially for these kind of amounts.

defcon23

[isvicre]

Can you clarify how shipping would work, with customs and import tax,  insurance,  etc?

[naypalm]

Very cool idea, I like that you have the ability to lookup a coin via their address on your website. Not many have that option... usually if they do its a txt file or a smattering of bitcointalk postings.

Any chance on getting a public address list for 3rd party scanners like me? 

[superresistant]

I wouldn't be quick to pay for an item with such a value/premium.  Nice bar/coin, but you're marketing to maybe a handful of users on this forum.  
With the premium you're charging (>$4K USD) I would expect this thing to be made of gold.  

If it were really made of pure gold, then it would be forever stuck in your country, as it won't be feasible for you to move it across any national borders.  Remember that border crossing require the declaration of all money, and that includes all precious metals like gold and silver.

True. Gold is highly regulated, taxed and controlled. Very hard to move around and sell legally.
Physical titanium BTC > Physical Gold

And one more thing:  collectors always want rarity and low issuance.  If this really doesn't sell more than just a few, then there you have it, the ultimate collectible, so rare and with so few in existence.  Such that more cannot be made.  

A fact that need to be reminded even to collectors.

[BTCC_Official]

Can you clarify how shipping would work, with customs and import tax,  insurance,  etc?

We'll ship it to you, and only declare the item for around USD $100, as a titanium collectible.  This way, you will have minimum import tax/duties on your end.

We will self-insure the item, and won't insure via the shipper (which would obviously require a much higher declaration, if we used shipper insurance).
However, we will require signature on delivery.

We will start the auction soon!

[BTCC_Official]

Very cool idea, I like that you have the ability to lookup a coin via their address on your website. Not many have that option... usually if they do its a txt file or a smattering of bitcointalk postings.

Any chance on getting a public address list for 3rd party scanners like me? 

Hi naypalm, yes, certainly!  could you PM me your email, and we'll correspond privately?

[BTCC_Official]

Auction has started!

in separate thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1540484

Let me know if you guys have any further questions, comments, or suggestions for the auction.
Happy to incorporate your feedback as appropriate.

[Michail1]

I gotta bid on that one. 

[NattyLiteCoin]

Thanks for raising the bar Bobby Lee, that's fucking spectacular and I'm taking notice. Watch.

[klondike_bar]

Hi all,

Yes, I'm happy to explain this.

The manufacturing process for the Bitcoin Block is somewhat different than for the other BTCC Mint coins.
The reason is how the final product looks like, where the Block number, the BTC amount are laser etched onto the nugget.
(We call it the bitcoin nugget!)

First of all, I've set aside and created a bunch of dedicated private/bitcoin addresses to make these nuggets.  The private key creation is all done on an offline computer, and the files are never sent electronically over the wires, nor do they ever touch an online computer at all.  The private keys are all stored securely on a spinning HDD.  The drive is encrypted, and the file is held inside an encrypted volume on the drive.  The hard drive is always kept in a safe, only accessible by me, and not touched by any other members of the company.  The drive will be erased, wiped, and physically destroyed once the printing of keys have been done after this batch of the 25 BTC nuggets.  For reasons obvious to all members of this forum, the handling of the hard drive and electronic file containing the private keys is a very sensitive affair.  I am fully aware of the dangers and security risks associated with this, and I have taken all these steps to ensure the safety of these funds, and the reputation of BTCC.

The corresponding public address have been used to make the hologram stickers, where the address is printed onto the sticker, just like the other BTCC Mint coins.  However, this is a different, second generation sticker, specific for the N Series, and has a few more anti-counterfeiting features, such as micro printing and some 3D effects of our logo.  

Here is the assembly sequence:

1) We mine the block into the address.  We check and double check, to make sure the addresses, block height, and amounts are recorded correctly.
2) We then laser etch the information of the mining details onto the top side of the physical block, including the corresponding QR code of the bitcoin address.  Optionally, we would laser etch the Forever message on the backside of the block, if that was custom ordered.
3) After the block is made, we check again, to ensure the bitcoin address, block number, and BTC amounts all match.
4) Then, in a private setting, I would personally print the private codes, machine cut them into the small circles, and then attach to the block with the hologram sticker, one block at a time.  (This whole step is done by me completely, with at most one senior company management team member helping, but never leaving them alone with the sensitive private ket material.)
5) Once the full block is made, it is wrapped and then sent for storage in a safe/vault, before being sold or shipped.

Please let me know if you guys have any other questions.

thanks,
Bobby

sounds very thourough, but i can only imagine how difficult it would be to wipe/destroy the harddrive at the end knowing it has everything you need to access thousands of bitcoins. even to keep it safely hidden in secret for 20 years could make you redonkulously wealthy if/when you decided to access even just a few of the keys.

can a buyer submit thier own address (ideally BIP32), or allow you to produce the BIP32 address for them? it would eliminate the risk of theft by BTCC or after-sales theft from wherever the buyer keeps his block