First airline ticket bought with bitcoin.

[Nefario]

I'm coming to Seattle, China (especially where I am) is not a place to try to start or run a world changing business.

I'm hooking up with bitoption and a few other cool guys there for a couple of months, it's going to be awsome.

However there was one little problem, I don't have a lot of cash(and no credit card), I've got bitcoin, not cash. So I set out on my epic journey to find a way to pay for the ticket with bitcoin. I wouldn't really be able to use MtGox and have them do an international transfer (do they even do that?).

My search led me to bitcoin-otc where I found a trader who was willing, for a small fee to act as a proxy and buy the tickets for me(thank you jjjrmy).

The price I paid for a roundtrip? 99btc

And there you have it, the first airline ticket bought (via proxy) for bitcoin.

On a related note, I'll be paying rent with bitcoin and getting some hacking space paid directly(no exchange), bitcoins growing.

https://glbse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=131#p271

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[lacedwithkerosene]

Don't take that flight! Customs won't let you into the country! Don't ask me how I know!

[Nefario]

On a related note, I'll be paying rent with bitcoin

cool and this is even cooler to me. didja toke up with the landlord and tell him a tale of bitcoin, upon which he did the research and said fine, pay me in BTC ?

No, I'm planning to stay with a bitcoiner, said bitcoiner has convinced the guy who's running the hackerspace to accept bitcoin. There are a few people there who are into bitcoin so were turning it into something of a bitcoin hacker hub.

[RogerR]

Great! Although I may have to ask - what part of China were you at and why do you think it's not a good place to start a bitcoin business from?

I understand that animosities from the Chinese government may occur and would be harsh in any way. But so would be any other countries attempted crackdown. Did you have any bad experience or is it just the general social sentiment that made you think it wouldn't work out?

I'm asking because I'll be going to Shanghai myself in a bit and plan on convincing some retailers there to start using bitcoins for their import/export business.

[FreeBitcoins.org]

I understand that animosities from the Chinese government may occur and would be harsh in any way. But so would be any other communist country that already censors the internet and the press's attempted crackdown.

Fixed that for you.

Also I suggest you read about Wu Ying for an example of why China isn't the best place for an entrepreneur:

http://www.economist.com/node/18560729

[RogerR]

I understand that animosities from the Chinese government may occur and would be harsh in any way. But so would be any other communist country that already censors the internet and the press's attempted crackdown.

Fixed that for you.

Also I suggest you read about Wu Ying for an example of why China isn't the best place for an entrepreneur:

http://www.economist.com/node/18560729

This is not the point I tried to bring across. I am in no way arguing that China is a just and fair society by Western standards, for it is clearly not. As far as I can tell it is still highly corrupt with investors having to rely on political connections more than anything rather than entrepreneur spirits and competence. However, this also seems to leave lots of room for major errors of judgement. It is just too easy to deamonize everything there is about China.

We have to understand that the dynamics at work there cannot ever be the same as is here in our cozy European or American homes for their social (culture/politics/history/economy) situation is completely different from ours. As a matter of fact, if you put some effort into it, it is not very difficult to understand the intentions behind many of their actions. If I had to run a billion people company that had a tendency for civil war, I'd also try to control the media - and so would you if you wanted to live.

Now, I am not saying we should all embrace the Chinese dream now and completly ignore our lessons from the past. I do however find it counterproductive and unwise to completely ignore the Chinese market. It simply is too big for that. So instead, I ask for the community to be smart enough to consider the context and not just see everything in black and white.

And just for the record: our societies are hardly without errors either. When busy critizing others, it is all too easy to forget about that.

But back to my original question here addressed at Nefario: was there no way to make thinks work "over there"? Maybe you could share some personal experiences with us, so we all learn from our mistakes. Thanks.

[FreeBitcoins.org]

Umm...I was simply pointing out that it would indeed be different than "any other country," as a reaction to your statement suggesting that the Chinese government's actions would be equal to that of any other country's government.

Anyway, I'm also interested to hear about Nefario's experiences.

[ctoon6]

I don't care for china's way of doing things. They have very heavy censorship, and a communist government by nature is no good for any kind of investing.

This is also not mentioning some very unethical trafficking ventures they do in prisons.

If i had a choice i would defect from the world and conduct business in limbo.

[cbeast]

(stuff snipped)
If i had a choice i would defect from the world and conduct business in limbo.

We call that cyberspace. 

[ctoon6]

(stuff snipped)
If i had a choice i would defect from the world and conduct business in limbo.

We call that cyberspace. 

I did have a bunched typed to say how that is wrong before I posted the first post, but its beyond the scope of this discussion.

[EhVedadoOAnonimato]

I'm asking because I'll be going to Shanghai myself in a bit and plan on convincing some retailers there to start using bitcoins for their import/export business.

Inspired by Falkvinge text?
This has enormous potential. Particularly if entrepreneurs like you manage to make it faster than regulators can act. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to be stopped.

@Nefario, if your goal is to create a business, wouldn't Singapore be a better call for you? They are ranked better than US in all economic freedom indexes I've seen, and they are closer to you.

[Nefario]

I'm in Nanchang, not a big or coastal city. Shanghai should be better in that there are more services tailored to non-Chinese but apart from that it's more or less the same.

Currently it is illegal to accept virtual currency for real world goods in China, only for virtual goods also sold by the currencies issuer.

My main reasons are:
Banking- it's really hard to move money out of China, doubly so if you're not Chinese
Transport- Might just be my city, but it takes me more than a day to get to somewhere I can catch an international flight.
Connectivity- Getting worse with more VPN services being blocked or shut down, and being slow in general.

[murfshake]

Glad to hear people are using it other than to just trade for cash or on gambling and SR.

[ctoon6]

Glad to hear people are using it other than to just trade for cash or on gambling and SR.

don't forget porn. after all that's what the internet was made for.

[billyjoeallen]

If you want to immigrate, you should look at Vancouver, British Columbia. It's only a few hours drive from Seattle, but twice as big and with a large Asian community. Canada has much less strict immigration laws as well and you can buy Cuban cigars there.

[FreeBitcoins.org]

If you want to immigrate, you should look at Vancouver, British Columbia. It's only a few hours drive from Seattle, but twice as big and with a large Asian community. Canada has much less strict immigration laws as well and you can buy Cuban cigars there.

But a much higher cost of living...

Edit: I guess that depends on how you live, though.

[BTC Economist]

My understanding after reading your post is that a plane ticket was bought using US Dollars.

[twobits]

Grats on the ticket purchase and the planned move.  What do you plan to do with  glbse?   Given how strict the investment laws are in the USA I hope you have plans for a smooth turnover to keep it running and  not just shut it down!

[Nefario]

Grats on the ticket purchase and the planned move.  What do you plan to do with  glbse?   Given how strict the investment laws are in the USA I hope you have plans for a smooth turnover to keep it running and  not just shut it down!

BTC Economist, eventually most things must be converted to local currency at some point. The fact is I paid with bitcoin.

twobits, the move is specifically for GLBSE, were heading there to grow, not shutdown.

[jjjrmy]

Just please don't hijack the plane. I don't want the FBI barging in on charges of aiding terrorists.
lol

If you need anything else you can always reach me on IRC.