Idea for expansion

[andTo86]

Long time reader, first time poster..

Sorry if this is an old idea, but I came up with an idea for a way to expand the public knowledge of bitcoins the other day. What if we could start tipping in bitcoins?  i'm not talking leave the whole thing, but for a $4 tip, just leave $3 in cash, and 0.5 (or whatever the current rate is) in btc? Maybe a paper card of some sort that has a link to a website where they can claim their coins, but first they have to learn about it. They get their first btc, start talking to other waitstaff, etc..

Maybe they get only get one, think it's just a gimmick and don't really care to cash it, but at least it gets the word out.

Or maybe you leave 0.5 every day for a month and eventually they realize what value they have.

Thoughts?

[jasonang]

But how do you do that?

[andTo86]

What im thinking is you would have a couple printed cards in your purse/wallet that has a qr code with an encrypted url or even just a text url that they would put into a browser, along with instructions of course... You would scan one at the table using your phone, enter the tip, then finalize it. Next time someone scans that card, they would get a text box to enter their address, and retrieve their tip.

Bitcoin definitely has a nerd vibe right now, and frankly I'd be afraid to come out of the nerd closet by asking to pay in bitcoins, but this way, you could drop it and leave. Youd be spreading the word about btc without showing yourself.

Another big factor: a lot of waitstaff only declare 10% of their tips as income, since the irs considers 8% to be the minimum. If it were to catch on, it would put the government on the spot - they could either a) force them to declare btc as income, legitimizing it as tender, or b) give them an advantage by saying it's valueless, and they would then prefer it, since it wouldnt have to be declared. It would really put the gov in a tough spot, and bitcoin would have an upper hand either way.

[Vanderbleek]

It would really put the gov in a tough spot, and bitcoin would have an upper hand either way.

Unless they decide to prosecute users of BTC.

Really neat idea though -- were you thinking QR scanner and client integrated into an app?

[andTo86]

It would really put the gov in a tough spot, and bitcoin would have an upper hand either way.

Unless they decide to prosecute users of BTC.



Really neat idea though -- were you thinking QR scanner and client integrated into an app?

That crossed my mind as well.... But it has to cross that line sooner or later, and i doubt theyd make a big deal out of it until its already a big deal. How can they prosecute giving a worthless gift, unless they consider it to be 'minting'? From what i understand, in the U.S., its legal to make a fake dollar as long as it is clearly fake, but a fake metal coin is a crime.

Hadn't really thought about it as an app - i was thinking just a url and a qr for that url, so it wouldnt be phone specific. You would buy 'x' cards, and they would be linked to your account. You pre-deposit btc on your account. First time you scan a card, it lets you put as much of your funds on as you want to give, then you hand out the card, and when they scan it, it asks where it should go. Buying the cards would pay for the site.

But an app with a reader and btc client would be nice just for ease of use... If someone were to whip up a little bluetooth thermal printer that would fit in your pocket, that would be pretty sweet too.

[MimiTheKid]

Really good idea.

One restriction with the paper-card. The person, who gets the tip has to check immediately if behind the number is still a coin.
Otherwise it would be easy not to pay.

I heard of the idea, that there are coins, that you have to break to see the url/string/number. If it isn't broken, you can be shure, that you will get your money. You don't have to check the number.

[andTo86]

Well my initial idea was to use it just for tipping... The restaurant can't really tell you what you use to tip, so you could use it anywhere, whether they accept btc or not. As far as checking it right away, its pretty irrelevant if its a tip. If you want to screw someone, you just walk out without tipping at all.