Bitinstant removed cash deposit option USA

[Crypto0]

Quietly without announcement they removed cash deposit option for US customers, other countries still can deposit cash

[oblongmeteor]

Of course they did. It's the same reason Kraken, Coinsetter et al haven't launched. They are all scared to death of the US government - and rightly so - a few million of VC investment is not going to shield you from a DHS seizure.  Bitcoin is an awesome technology, but it disrupts one of the most fundamental tools of Western government; money. They're not going to let that happen without a fight.

[worldinacoin]

It seems that the USA govt is slowly squeezing and tightening the noose on Bitcoin.

[wolverine.ks]

can't they just locate servers  and bank accounts off shore and use something other than a . com TLD? what could dhs do then?

[bulanula]

can't they just locate servers  and bank accounts off shore and use something other than a . com TLD? what could dhs do then?

This.

An attitude that will get BTC nowhere.

If you can't beat them, join them.

[oblongmeteor]

can't they just locate servers  and bank accounts off shore and use something other than a . com TLD? what could dhs do then?

No is the short answer. Not if you want any legitimacy and longevity. Do you think PayPal founder Elon Musk would be as wealthy as he is or if PayPal would have lasted as long as it has if he'd moved PayPal offshore to avoid US regulation? They (The US government) had Kim DotCom's entire MegaUpload operation terminated... and the guy was living in New Zealand. My point is that you can't work against them (the US or pretty much any Western Government), or at least not for long - and instead you need to work with them (and of course, this costs money and limits your options... E.g. no more cash deposits).

It's a painful and bureaucratic situation, but challenging the status-quo always is.  

[wolverine.ks]

megaupload and PayPal are/were both .com tld's, both within the claimed jurisdiction of the USG.

legitimacy? longevity?

bitcoin has never been concerned with the former and has never been worried about the latter.

bitcoin has been concerned with decentralization. and that just might mean leaving the us behind and going offshore with bank accounts and servers and abandoning the verisign controlled tld's.

[oblongmeteor]

bitcoin has never been concerned with the former and has never been worried about the latter.

bitcoin has been concerned with decentralization. and that just might mean leaving the us behind and going offshore with bank accounts and servers and abandoning the verisign controlled tld's.

This argument often comes up... but Bitcoin is not what most of the world transacts in - not yet anyway. Until that day comes, you'll be using your Pounds, Euros, Dollars, Yuan etc and that means you need somewhere to change from one to the other. And that's where "they" get you.

No government will wage an active campaign against Bitcoin the technology, they don't need to. They just wage war on the arterial routes that give Bitcoin its value; the exchanges and money service businesses that convert your BTC into something you can use to buy your Bottle of Pepsi at the local 7/11.  And for the record, before someone says "yay, everyone can go OTC" - they won't. The average person doesn't want the hassle or uncertainty of interacting with strangers. Sure, a few will - it's a bell curve - but the majority won't.

Humans generally want an easy and automated life. Like it or not, Visa/Mastercard and to a degree the monolithic banking system currently provide that.

[URSAY]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

[Franktank]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

Huzzah!

[oblongmeteor]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

That shut me up

[CommanderVenus]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

Phew, i was worried for a second there.

[KSV]

hmm, sounds bad. .  time for the american people to realise that their greatest enemy may not necessarily be in the "middle-east" but quite possible in D.C.

[hate_the_face]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

maybe an announcement or something on the front page would have been nice

but thank you for the response

[URSAY]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.  

maybe an announcement or something on the front page would have been nice

but thank you for the response

We did make an announcement on the front page of bitinstant.com as well as announced this on Twitter @bitinstanthelp

I realize the current site design could be better to bring these issues to the forefront.  However, new.bitinstant.com is just around the corner...  

[bronco]

whoever uses cash to bitcoin address: were you asked by zipzap to fax them copy of id?

[The 4ner]

Just noticed that as well.

[maco]

Horray to BitInstant! Thanks for this update

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

[The 4ner]

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   

I'm in the process of creating my account but when it came down to verifying my ID the creepiest thing occurred. It asked me questions about my pops! It asked me to clarify what year he was born. First of all how the hell does BitInstant know my pops name!? 

[The 4ner]

whoever uses cash to bitcoin address: were you asked by zipzap to fax them copy of id?

Nope.