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repentance
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October 11, 2011, 06:41:42 AM |
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Get bitcoin ATMs that function as normal ATMs and can give fiat currency exchanged from your bitcoin wallet would effectively kill western union. Its user friendly, "intuitive" (because of people's previous experience with ATMs) and does not require a lot of trust (if an ATM was cheating people it would probably be smashed with a bat before it could cheat too many more).
The thing is that converting BTC to local currency involves somebody buying your Bitcoins. You need to find a counter-party who's willing to do that at the time you want to convert them, and I don't really see anyone being willing to buy unlimited amounts of Bitcoins at the spot rate - which is effectively what an ATM operator would be doing when giving you instant cash in exchange for your Bitcoins. The fees the operators would have to charge in order to make operating such a service viable would almost certainly be too high for anyone who isn't absolutely desperate for cash right this moment to use them. |
All I can say is that this is Bitcoin. I don't believe it until I see six confirmations.
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netrin
Sr. Member
 Offline
Activity: 322
Merit: 251
FirstBits: 168Bc
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October 11, 2011, 07:22:09 AM |
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(if an ATM was cheating people it would probably be smashed with a bat before it could cheat too many more). A bigger issue is when the ATM cheats the operator. I have vivid memories of an ATM on campus that dolled out $20's rather than $10's, I've never seen a 'secret' spread so quickly. 'Customers' quickly established a protocol, two transaction per customer before returning to the end of the line. By lunch time, the queue went around the block. I was amazed an ATM could hold so many pieces of paper. |
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EhVedadoOAnonimato
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October 11, 2011, 07:52:14 AM |
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Silk Road is a retailer. I mean, a market for retailers. Other bitcoin retailers have been working rather successfully too. The main difficulty has been with e-wallets. It's true that Silk Road has an e-wallet, but I don't think people keep much money there, only enough to conduct their transactions, so there's neither much incentive for the site operators to cheat, nor for someone else to try to hack it. And well, I suppose someone willing to pioneer such a risky venture is not a newbie on security/privacy either.
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WiseOldOwl (OP)
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October 11, 2011, 01:41:14 PM |
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They should set SR up so you can access it thru the normal web and see legal products. But if you go thru Tor then additional products show up. That way it could handle all products and expand it's customer base dramatically (not sure of the ability to detect if Tor is used though but presuming it can select content based on origin).
Anyways, It dawned on me that despite it being a blemish on the bitcoin surface, it could very well be a strength we haven't been using. What if we flooded it with legitimate stuff, like graphics cards and trillion dollar notes  I agree with you - Silk Road does most things right. However it is set up so that it needs to be accessed through Tor, so that's a major usability hit. Someone mentioned a 'sister site' - that's exactly where the opportunity is. A site that runs on the regular old WWW with pretty much the same model as 'Silk Road'/'Ebay Stores', dealing only in uncontroversial goods. See the link in my sig for more info. In my first post I said clone the site. Rename it and make it more accessible. |
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Shortline
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October 11, 2011, 02:13:49 PM |
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Why would you clone Silk Road for legit stuff? There's already ebay for that, a bigger and better site that supports multiple currencies in multiple countries and has an incredibly large userbase and variety of crap for sale.
I'm not even being facetious here. This is how the majority of the world buys regular crap, from ebay. Bitcoin appears to be absolutely irrelevant to this process.
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error
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October 11, 2011, 02:56:33 PM |
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I hate to say it, but Silk Road -- the "black" market -- is the killer app for Bitcoin.
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3KzNGwzRZ6SimWuFAgh4TnXzHpruHMZmV8
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WiseOldOwl (OP)
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October 11, 2011, 03:02:15 PM |
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Why would you clone Silk Road for legit stuff? There's already ebay for that, a bigger and better site that supports multiple currencies in multiple countries and has an incredibly large userbase and variety of crap for sale.
I'm not even being facetious here. This is how the majority of the world buys regular crap, from ebay. Bitcoin appears to be absolutely irrelevant to this process.
Just wondering, Why are you here if you love ebay so much? I cant believe this is too complicated. The problem I am solving is a safe BTC commerce site... Why the **** would you suggest ebay if they dont take bitcoins? Also, the last thing i need is a full definition of their workings, I have been using it since they opened. I am just saying that the SR has the most btc commerce experience with the least amount of problems, therefore they have the best model. Its sad when the drug dealers are more legit then a online wallet. |
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netrin
Sr. Member
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Activity: 322
Merit: 251
FirstBits: 168Bc
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October 11, 2011, 04:50:33 PM |
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It would be fine if Silk Road already sold all sorts of things and also happened to have a wide variety of drugs. It would highlight the decentralized unregulated nature of bitcoin. However, given that it is already exclusively in the market for selling illegal goods, any early-adopting legit merchant (with a public identity) would rightly fear that he is committing legal and financial suicide. If it were such a good idea, why aren't merchants cluttering up SR selling graphics cards and socks already?
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WiseOldOwl (OP)
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October 11, 2011, 10:31:06 PM |
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...I am talking about cloning their business model. It doesnt have to be on Silk Road. I am just talking about the basic features they have???
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FreeTrade
Legendary
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Activity: 1428
Merit: 1030
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October 11, 2011, 11:14:38 PM |
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...I am talking about cloning their business model. It doesnt have to be on Silk Road. I am just talking about the basic features they have???
The chief problem is not a technical one. The chief problem is adoption - how to get sellers when you have no buyers, and how to get buyers when you have no sellers. Also known as the chicken and egg problem or the network effect. SR solves this by having a very unique selling point - goods that are not available anywhere else on the internet. To replicate with non-controversial goods, you're going up against entrenched competition with a very similar offering. You need very good execution and some good ideas to break into this market. |
Membercoin - Layer 1 Coin used for the member.cash decentralized social network. 10% Interest On All Balances. Browser and Solo Mining. 100% Distributed to Users and Developers.
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FreeTrade
Legendary
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Activity: 1428
Merit: 1030
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October 11, 2011, 11:17:30 PM |
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This is how the majority of the world buys regular crap, from ebay. Bitcoin appears to be absolutely irrelevant to this process.
The eBay/Paypal company will never support Bitcoin. A successful Bitcoin requires a credible eBay competitor that accepts Bitcoin. |
Membercoin - Layer 1 Coin used for the member.cash decentralized social network. 10% Interest On All Balances. Browser and Solo Mining. 100% Distributed to Users and Developers.
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Electrongolf
Full Member
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Activity: 139
Merit: 100
What's Your Gig?
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October 11, 2011, 11:52:40 PM
Last edit: October 12, 2011, 12:58:16 AM by Electrongolf |
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I don't know if Silk Road has the best setup for commerce. If they do, I'm sure there are people here who could easily duplicate the system.
The fact is, Silk Road provides products with value proposition that cash can't match. Silk Road works because it has to work. People have bought into the system. Trust is the only way to keep this exclusive product available.
With online wallets like MyBitcoin, there is no incentive to be honest. There is no guarantee that people will continue to use your wallet service, because there is no product/service that guarantees people will continue to use BTC. You can make more money stealing than improving the system.
We need to find a 'killer app'. If a product is valuable enough, people will support a system to keep the product easily accessible.
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MoonShadow
Legendary
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Activity: 1708
Merit: 1007
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October 12, 2011, 12:50:01 AM |
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We need to find a 'killer app'. If a product is valuable enough, people will support a system to keep the product easily accessible.
If VALVe would only start accepting bitcoin directly in Steam... |
"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank...sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."
- Carroll Quigley, CFR member, mentor to Bill Clinton, from 'Tragedy And Hope'
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WiseOldOwl (OP)
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October 12, 2011, 01:14:57 AM |
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We need to find a 'killer app'. If a product is valuable enough, people will support a system to keep the product easily accessible.
If VALVe would only start accepting bitcoin directly in Steam... "That would be sweet" - Beavis |
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BitcoinPorn
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October 12, 2011, 01:33:17 AM |
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What are the requirements to become a Silk Road seller? How does a person go about that?
I figure a few things you could drop off as requirements if you were not concerned about the legality of your goods. I would love to sell people on the idea of taking their merchandise to the marketplace that supports alternative goods.
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BitcoinSEC
Newbie
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October 12, 2011, 10:44:16 AM |
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They should set SR up so you can access it thru the normal web and see legal products. But if you go thru Tor then additional products show up. That way it could handle all products and expand it's customer base dramatically (not sure of the ability to detect if Tor is used though but presuming it can select content based on origin).
First of all, there is nothing illegal about using TOR. TOR is great. My buddy whose stationed in Iraq uses TOR all the time to prevent people attacking his computer. Second, visiting SR is not illegal either. SR does sell drugs and "illegal" items but SR is worldwide. What may be illegal in one county doesn't mean its illegal in another. SR is a marketplace, and any intelligent adult should know the laws of his country and the risks involved when making a purchase from that site. In addition, SR offers many legal products, and when I say legal I'm talking about US laws. It can very from computer programmers to math tutors, SR offers more than drugs. |
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