The biggest problem with bitcoin is these imcompetent exchanges

[olloman]

I am trying to setup a Bitcoin exchange in the UK however I have found it very difficult to get support. 

btcsense.co.uk

the design looks really cool, good luck! 

[1715117033]

1715117033

[1715117033]

1715117033

[Desensitizer]

I think the big problem is that all the mainstream large bitcoin exchanges have problems with them, but given the fact that massive quantities of people use them and they are considered go-to's they end up getting away with having less than adequate conditions. Furthermore, the fact that you have to have a lot of startup cash, servers, and web/money knowledge means that there is a huge barrier that up and comers have to hurdle just in order to start up. This really puts a damper on innovation.

[zimmah]

kraken

localbitcoins.

two very valid options often overlooked.

[bryant.coleman]

I am using BTC-E for a year now and never had any problems. Still some people spread false rumors, because it is owned by Russians. And BTC-E is the place where you get the cheapest BTCs.

[olloman]

I am using BTC-E for a year now and never had any problems. Still some people spread false rumors, because it is owned by Russians. And BTC-E is the place where you get the cheapest BTCs.

as I said, btc-e works fine for coins-coins exchange, but I don't think I will ever deposit money on it. That's because I actually wanted to but had some issues, contacted support and I got this precise answer from their support team: "change bank coz our details correct"...I swear this was the answer I got, as if it was written by a 12-years old brat...does it seem professional to you?

[PenAndPaper]

bitcoin.de is a blessing compared to all the other exchanges, very nice design and functions, you don't have to deposit money on it, only bitcoins, and you pay directly to the seller with bank transfer, and you can even spend up to $2,500 before needing a complete registration...only problem, if we want to call it so, is that you need to be in the Euro zone, sorry Americans&Asians&rest of the world  btc-e and the others are good only for coin-coin exchanges...anyway I have no affiliation at all with bitcoin.de, just sharing my experiences, all other exchanges should be like that, and not only for the Euro zone...

bitcoin.de is not a traditional exchange like gox or bitstamp. Pretty much it brings together buyers and sellers and that can cause problems because people often change their mind based on how the price moves and transactions are never completed.

[Nagle]

kraken

It's not clear who "Kraken" is. Their street address in San Francisco is a cheap mailbox service on Market St. The same one Tradehill used. No audits. No broker/dealer license. And, already, user complaints about failure to pay up.

localbitcoins.

You get to deal with anonymous individuals trying to use PayPal in violation of PayPal's TOS. Plus the spreads are huge.

[samurai1200]

just want to drop a note here that btc-e can interface with MT4 (metatrader 4).

[miner2002]

There's no reason to be upset about it, as another person mentioned it just shows how early we are in crypto and how much room there is to grow.  You need to guard yourself against well known exchanges going belly up and running off with your coins.  Only do trades in batches you can afford to lose.  

What needs to happen is someone, who is willing to NOT be anonymous, goes offshore (Cayman Islands, etc) and works locally with that gov to establish some rules for how things will go. Then put together a team, also NOT anonymous, that includes people with experience running/maintaining true exchanges like BATS/NASDAQ/ETC.  In addition, they'll need a team of programmers who can put together a website that can handle the volume and also provide support.

If you can do the above, you'll have a golden business, but that's going to take multi-millions of dollars and time to put it together correctly. Based on the market continuing to expand, you can bet someone is working on something similar to what I have described above as we speak.

[VforVictory]

There's no reason to be upset about it, as another person mentioned it just shows how early we are in crypto and how much room there is to grow.  You need to guard yourself against well known exchanges going belly up and running off with your coins.  Only do trades in batches you can afford to lose.  

What needs to happen is someone, who is willing to NOT be anonymous, goes offshore (Cayman Islands, etc) and works locally with that gov to establish some rules for how things will go. Then put together a team, also NOT anonymous, that includes people with experience running/maintaining true exchanges like BATS/NASDAQ/ETC.  In addition, they'll need a team of programmers who can put together a website that can handle the volume and also provide support.

If you can do the above, you'll have a golden business, but that's going to take multi-millions of dollars and time to put it together correctly. Based on the market continuing to expand, you can bet someone is working on something similar to what I have described above as we speak.

Why Cayman, when you can go to Cuba? 

[QuestionAuthority]

If you have a better way to do it then you should make one yourself. I'm sure that's what Jered Kenna thought too. We all know how that worked out.

[PenAndPaper]

kraken

It's not clear who "Kraken" is. Their street address in San Francisco is a cheap mailbox service on Market St. The same one Tradehill used. No audits. No broker/dealer license. And, already, user complaints about failure to pay up.

The biggest issue with Kraken is the low daily volume. I mean its something like 300 btc right now. 

[Nagle]

kraken

It's not clear who "Kraken" is. Their street address in San Francisco is a cheap mailbox service on Market St. The same one Tradehill used. No audits. No broker/dealer license. And, already, user complaints about failure to pay up.

The biggest issue with Kraken is the low daily volume. I mean its something like 300 btc right now. 

Given their flakyness, it's good that nobody is using them.

[Abdi Shakur]

As others have stated it is early days, patience will be required it does take a lot of technological, legal and financial resources
to start and run an exchange effectively.

Hopefully others who are looking to start are reading the feedback, and will learn from 
problems the early exchanges have had.

[mateo]

bitcoin.de is a blessing compared to all the other exchanges, very nice design and functions, you don't have to deposit money on it, only bitcoins, and you pay directly to the seller with bank transfer, and you can even spend up to $2,500 before needing a complete registration...only problem, if we want to call it so, is that you need to be in the Euro zone, sorry Americans&Asians&rest of the world  btc-e and the others are good only for coin-coin exchanges...anyway I have no affiliation at all with bitcoin.de, just sharing my experiences, all other exchanges should be like that, and not only for the Euro zone...

So, when I sell BTC on bitcoin.de that particular member will have to make a bank transfer to my account? Not the exchange itself?

[Barek]

bitcoin.de is a blessing compared to all the other exchanges, very nice design and functions, you don't have to deposit money on it, only bitcoins, and you pay directly to the seller with bank transfer, and you can even spend up to $2,500 before needing a complete registration...only problem, if we want to call it so, is that you need to be in the Euro zone, sorry Americans&Asians&rest of the world  btc-e and the others are good only for coin-coin exchanges...anyway I have no affiliation at all with bitcoin.de, just sharing my experiences, all other exchanges should be like that, and not only for the Euro zone...

So, when I sell BTC on bitcoin.de that particular member will have to make a bank transfer to my account? Not the exchange itself?

Yep, asks/bids are not matched automatically. You pick your bid/ask and then wire the money or wait for money to be wired. There are some deadlines and trust rating. It is a little bit like localbitcoins, but with specific bids/asks. Bitcoin.de does escrow and identity verification, but they don't seem to do much in fraud cases (canceled wire transfers, delayed transfers, ...).

[olloman]

bitcoin.de is a blessing compared to all the other exchanges, very nice design and functions, you don't have to deposit money on it, only bitcoins, and you pay directly to the seller with bank transfer, and you can even spend up to $2,500 before needing a complete registration...only problem, if we want to call it so, is that you need to be in the Euro zone, sorry Americans&Asians&rest of the world  btc-e and the others are good only for coin-coin exchanges...anyway I have no affiliation at all with bitcoin.de, just sharing my experiences, all other exchanges should be like that, and not only for the Euro zone...

bitcoin.de is not a traditional exchange like gox or bitstamp. Pretty much it brings together buyers and sellers and that can cause problems because people often change their mind based on how the price moves and transactions are never completed.

I made more than 10 trades (only buy) on bitcoin.de, and for example most of the times, by the time I received my bitcoins, the price was already doubled, but the sellers always confirmed the transaction. I might have been lucky, but as I said, the community so far looks really friendly and mature (in terms of user-user private messages during trades and respect of the trade even with high price changes between bank transfer and btc transfer)

[Jcw188]

I agree with this.  I'd love to be more involved with BTC but especially in US, I think, it's tough to fund and withdraw.  They all claim to be special and professional but they just seem to be incompetent or fraudsters.

[Nagle]

I agree with this.  I'd love to be more involved with BTC but especially in US, I think, it's tough to fund and withdraw.  They all claim to be special and professional but they just seem to be incompetent or fraudsters.

True. What's needed is for some existing small securities firm to start a Bitcoin exchange. A firm that is already an SEC registered broker/dealer, has banking relationships, SIPC insurance, FINRA supervision, auditors, and people who have passed the FINRA exams.

The reason for all those requirements is that stockbrokers were once, in the 1920s, as flaky as Bitcoin exchanges are now. That got fixed. It's very rare for customers of a US registered broker to lose money through broker fraud. Even Madoff's customers got their first $500,000 back from SIPC insurance, and are gradually getting more of their money back as the receiver claws back profits from Madoff's friends. (Madoff himself, of course, is in a cell in the federal pen in Butner, NC.)

[subcoin]

MtGox, Bitstamp, and BTC-e are not acceptable exchanges.

Nobody is stopping you from setting up a new, perfect one.

P.S. BTC-E is not Russian. I never had any problems with them.
Trading, depositing or withdrawal was quick and problem-free.