BTCSense UK Bitcoin Exchange * JV?

[uMMcQxCWELNzkt]

BTCSense is a UK Bitcoin exchange that I built a few months back. At the moment the project has reached a stand still, I am happy with the design and I keep getting emails asking me when the service is live and how badly the UK needs an exchange. BTCSense is also ranked very well considering I have not yet bothered with the SEO. However there are some critical components that I feel are missing from the service. At the moment the transactions are manual, this means that without staff I need to be online to complete the transactions, this is inconvenient and I would rather work with an automated system. Also at the moment I am very low on Bitcoins so more capital is needed. Perhaps getting some investors onboard is a good idea, plus crowdfunding and maybe even getting some sellers to join. I think a lot of the technical issues could be resolved with an initial 3 man team, a designer (me), a programmer (?), and a marketer/promoter (?).

I guess the elephant in the room is the legal side of founding a new exchange here in the UK, this is the main reason I have had this project on hold. Perhaps scaling up and working on those issues as the service matures is an option, or even expanding beyond the UK if our reg's are not in favour of a Bitcoin service like BTCSense? Please leave your thoughts below on suggestions and ideas.

http://www.btcsense.co.uk/

[1715581377]

1715581377

[1715581377]

1715581377

[1715581377]

1715581377

[woodsandhillsplc]

You do have to think about the legal side if you plan on going big... though don't let it stop you!

The UK government want new business, especially digital.

Have you spoken to an accountant?

There are also incubator things out there.

Good place to look is http://startups.co.uk/

[jballs]

why do you have that strip across the top showing your progress if you are already up and running to the point of functionality?

My immediate perception is a super snazzy "This website is coming soon!" page that you often see for 4-5 years back in the day.

I only happened to see there was more on the page because my finger hit the down arrow on my keypad.

Get rid of that. If someone stumbles on your site, email them you aren't ready if that's the case. Then you have an email list to announce when you are ready, instead of guys like me who clicked on your website and had a "eternally coming soon!" flashback, who just leave and forget we were there.

Never let legal stop you. To borrow the best quote ever, sometimes it is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. This does not expand to the realm of criminality, judges will agree! But starting a business in an industry that does not exist you are creating something for a future regulator ro do. Rule of thumb, if you cannot afford a lawyer, you are not going to need one until you can. Just don't neglect the legality if you grow to the point you can afford to. I have never seen a legit business get shut down in its infancy by regulators. Let alone online startups. Nobody cares until you are making money. Something like failing to file paperwork is way way different than something like scamming people in the eyes of the law, so as to be clear of what I am saying here. don't scam people. Do just proceed.

Loosen your parameters. If you are in the business, you should never be out of coin. You should be making the market, and posting a spread for buying. Never mind if it is not in line with mtg (within reason obviously). Make it wide enough to function for your business model. As a newbie to bitcoin (with decades of trading/market experience) I can assure you I would pay a large premium to not be on the main exchanges, because I will never let my money sit somewhere for unreachable for 3 months. I don't even know what that means but I don't want any of it. And BTCe is in where the hell again? No way.  But if you are taking the orders yourself you should be able to just buy the coin after you receive the payment and that should be a locked profit for you, so I don't get how you run out of coin?



 


 

[P_Shep]

Just signed up...
2FA?
HTTPS/SSL!!?
My account is missing quite a few options, but has billing/ shipping address???
You have to buy/sell in discreet units?
So it's not trading, you buy and sell directly with the site?

I'd also suggest this will need to be a full-time job for you, not a side project, else this will all fall apart quickly.
It's all looking really quite amateur right now.

[uMMcQxCWELNzkt]

Apologies for not replying, since the recent forum issues I have had problems logging in. I will get back to the PM's sent shortly.

why do you have that strip across the top showing your progress if you are already up and running to the point of functionality?

My immediate perception is a super snazzy "This website is coming soon!" page that you often see for 4-5 years back in the day.

I only happened to see there was more on the page because my finger hit the down arrow on my keypad.

Get rid of that. If someone stumbles on your site, email them you aren't ready if that's the case. Then you have an email list to announce when you are ready, instead of guys like me who clicked on your website and had a "eternally coming soon!" flashback, who just leave and forget we were there.
It's all looking really quite amateur right now.

I am not sure what you are referring to, you do have to scroll just like any other website and I don't think anything is hidden away?

Just signed up...
2FA?
HTTPS/SSL!!?
My account is missing quite a few options, but has billing/ shipping address???
You have to buy/sell in discreet units?
So it's not trading, you buy and sell directly with the site?

I'd also suggest this will need to be a full-time job for you, not a side project, else this will all fall apart quickly.
It's all looking really quite amateur right now.

I have already set up 2 Factor, that was one of the first things I did so it should be accessible during registration/login. I will eventually add the SLL, BTCSense is at an early stage of development and I need to make sure the project is viable from a technical perspective. The buy/sell in discreet units is indeed an issue, and also the primary reason I am looking for a JV programmer. I would like users to be able to enter a specific amount so that the order is calculated plus a small fee, the current system does work, it is just not ideal and certainly not suitable for day traders.

I am a student (final year) so I have a few months before I can make any projects full time unfortunately, until then I plan to build up the infrastructure and scale up once he system is working sufficiently. I will admit that I am an amateur considering the fact I have never built and exchange before, Bitcoin needs new blood to get the ball rolling, especially here in the UK. In addition, test transactions were all completed without a hitch, all in less than 30mins which is not bad. No money actually passes through the site which is an added bonus in terms of security.

[jballs]

Apologies for not replying, since the recent forum issues I have had problems logging in. I will get back to the PM's sent shortly.

why do you have that strip across the top showing your progress if you are already up and running to the point of functionality?

My immediate perception is a super snazzy "This website is coming soon!" page that you often see for 4-5 years back in the day.

I only happened to see there was more on the page because my finger hit the down arrow on my keypad.

Get rid of that. If someone stumbles on your site, email them you aren't ready if that's the case. Then you have an email list to announce when you are ready, instead of guys like me who clicked on your website and had a "eternally coming soon!" flashback, who just leave and forget we were there.
It's all looking really quite amateur right now.


I am not sure what you are referring to, you do have to scroll just like any other website and I don't think anything is hidden away?

This




Probably ask around but the half closed circles I just see as the site isn't actually functional. Like the only thing you have completed is being made in the UK. I gather upon looking at it for awhile it is supposed to convey something else...but it doesn't. That piece of your website (what people see first) should have a call to action and option to engage immediately as the first thing people see. All you have there are open circles that are subject to interpretation and not doing anything for me at all. ANd the "test successful" circle not being closed would totally turn me off the site, what does that mean like 70% of the time my deal will get done or what are you testing anyway? I would altogether get rid of that whole thing, replace it with fields to enter how much they want to buy or sell and place payment buttons next to them. Never make people click through or even scroll through your site to find what they came there for. All should be implicit before they arrive.

Also I would take the hanging social network thing off or at least shrink them so they don't overlap the text/graphics at all. I prefer buttons, I've never used one of those simply because it was dangling in my face, if I want to share a page I will look for a share button so it doesn't have to be imposing just available.

Good luck, is a great space to be in anyway and should work out.