This sounds super bullish -is there some catch?

[neutrinox]

Did you guys just read the Moneero news articles?

Here's a few:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=320401.0

TL;DR:
Moneero claims they now have a system that can move bitcoins with sms. So basically all the 7 billion mobile phones in the world can now use bitcoins..

That sounds almost too good to be true! So what's the catch? How does their sms-system work?

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[600watt]

wow, curious....   

[Alty]

Could this be the killer app? 

[neutrinox]

Where are you Walsoraj when we need you? Sprinkle us with your pessimism and explain why this shouldn't turn us all into mega-bulls!

[bobdude17]

They are doing the entire suite : SMS, all social networks, ATMs, Bitcoin Xpert consulting network, Banking, and hosting an online exchange - through multiple continents with licensing included for all their partners.

This is the real deal.

[ronaldlee0917]

Just a startup company

[neutrinox]

Also, they are not US based, which will surely help them with the legal side of things!

EDIT:

They explain on their website why Uruguay is a perfect country for their business:

Why Uruguay?
Stable democracy
Philosophy of financial deregulation
Culture of financial secrecy
Friendly to foreign investors
Lack of foreign exchange controls
No limits on fund transfers and profit remittance
Lower crime rate than many Western European countries

I wish all countries were like that!

[somestranger]

Very promising. This kind of technology is needed to push into Africa where there are already popular systems like M-PESA that Bitcoin offers significant advantages over.

[bobdude17]

Just a startup company

It's not like they are some startup by college kids with crowdfunded money. Their offices are in the World Trade Center building in Montevido with the rest of the banks...

[prophetx]

Did you guys just read the Moneero news articles?

Here's a few:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=320401.0

TL;DR:
Moneero claims they now have a system that can move bitcoins with sms. So basically all the 7 billion mobile phones in the world can now use bitcoins..

That sounds almost too good to be true! So what's the catch? How does their sms-system work?

interesting.

i think mpesa (kenya) uses sms for shuffling funds but they use a centralized system - though recently i thought i saw an article about some bitcoin company integrating with mpesa

wonder how their tech works

[windjc]

Did you guys just read the Moneero news articles?

Here's a few:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=320401.0

TL;DR:
Moneero claims they now have a system that can move bitcoins with sms. So basically all the 7 billion mobile phones in the world can now use bitcoins..

That sounds almost too good to be true! So what's the catch? How does their sms-system work?

interesting.

i think mpesa (kenya) uses sms for shuffling funds but they use a centralized system - though recently i thought i saw an article about some bitcoin company integrating with mpesa

wonder how their tech works

https://kipochi.com/

[SheHadMANHands]

I spent a few weeks last January camping in Uganda (not a recommended vacation destination, I was playing music for my cousin's wedding). The area I was in was very primitive, we camped on the edge of a village of 8,000 people that have never seen an ice cube, and have a life expectancy of 45 years.

On the way there, I was intrigued by many billboards advertising "Mobile Money". It's an offshoot of Western Union, so there is a cut involved. It is not bitcoin, but it is P2P payments.

There are people living in cardboard boxes that barely have clothes, but they have old candy-bar phones, doing peer to peer SMS money. They have kiosks everywhere for buying air time, cashing in/out with their currency, and charging (solar charging works very well in equatorial Africa).

The capital of Uganda is Kampala, English is widely spoken. I asked someone what happens if they lose their phone, he waved his hands in the air and said "It's all up there". They get a new phone, and as long as they can remember their password, their account is still there. Apparently 'the cloud' hasn't emerged as a buzzword there yet. Doubly impressive is the fact that they don't use the same charset as English, so they are memorizing foreign squiggles for their password.

Coinbase performs basic SMS functions, as a USA-based company as well.

It is all well and good to do TA, and chase the markets, but this is the type of thing that will change the world.

Maybe.  These ideas don't sell themselves though.  Who is actively "marketing" Bitcoin as a P2P, low fee money system in Africa right now?  Africans who haven't ever seen an ice cube aren't going to learn about Bitcoin on their own, or even know it exists.

[hacknoid]

It is all well and good to do TA, and chase the markets, but this is the type of thing that will change the world.

Maybe.  These ideas don't sell themselves though.  Who is actively "marketing" Bitcoin as a P2P, low fee money system in Africa right now?  Africans who haven't ever seen an ice cube aren't going to learn about Bitcoin on their own, or even know it exists.

The social media integration alone, if successful and implemented, would be enough to allow Bitcoin to reach mainstream audiences. 

[revans]

People can already move Bitcoins around on even the most basic Android smartphone, all the recipient needs to do is install the App. The fact that Bitcoins cannot currently be transacted via SMS is not what's holding it back, rather it is too unstable and accepted by so few retailers that it is of no interest to people other than the cultists.

[SheHadMANHands]

It is all well and good to do TA, and chase the markets, but this is the type of thing that will change the world.

Maybe.  These ideas don't sell themselves though.  Who is actively "marketing" Bitcoin as a P2P, low fee money system in Africa right now?  Africans who haven't ever seen an ice cube aren't going to learn about Bitcoin on their own, or even know it exists.

The social media integration alone, if successful and implemented, would be enough to allow Bitcoin to reach mainstream audiences.  

Africans who haven't seen an ice cube are on facebook and "tweeting"?

[Anon136]

It is all well and good to do TA, and chase the markets, but this is the type of thing that will change the world.

Maybe.  These ideas don't sell themselves though.  Who is actively "marketing" Bitcoin as a P2P, low fee money system in Africa right now?  Africans who haven't ever seen an ice cube aren't going to learn about Bitcoin on their own, or even know it exists.

The social media integration alone, if successful and implemented, would be enough to allow Bitcoin to reach mainstream audiences.  

Africans who haven't seen an ice cube are on facebook and "tweeting"?

Its not beyond the realm of potability. many Africans who do not have freezers do have cell phones. its not so amazing really, frictionless communication is more important for survival than cold drinks.

[nanobtc]

The place I went, they did not have phones. I saw Mobile Money billboards on the way there.

It's not bitcoin, it is a P2P Western Union service. Check the link I embedded for more info.

[windjc]

It is all well and good to do TA, and chase the markets, but this is the type of thing that will change the world.

Maybe.  These ideas don't sell themselves though.  Who is actively "marketing" Bitcoin as a P2P, low fee money system in Africa right now?  Africans who haven't ever seen an ice cube aren't going to learn about Bitcoin on their own, or even know it exists.

The social media integration alone, if successful and implemented, would be enough to allow Bitcoin to reach mainstream audiences.  

Africans who haven't seen an ice cube are on facebook and "tweeting"?

Maybe you could start a revolutionary service and kill two illuminating birds with one stone - and offer them bitcubes - bitcoins made of ice.

[Rassah]

People can already move Bitcoins around on even the most basic Android smartphone, all the recipient needs to do is install the App. The fact that Bitcoins cannot currently be transacted via SMS is not what's holding it back, rather it is too unstable and accepted by so few retailers that it is of no interest to people other than the cultists.

There are now three services that let you use SMS to send and receive bitcoins. But regardless, this major problem you mention sounds like the same problem that the internet had. Remember that fad?

[ElectricMucus]

So it's a third party controlled wallet which you can access via SMS?