[Interviews] with Bitcointalk members

[LeGaulois]

Thanks for the questions in PM, trying to make it short to not bother people.

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

End of 2013. MTGox was my very first bitcoin wallet.

I used a large make money online forum where dudes were often talking about Bitcoin. I refused to pay attention to it. I even thought it was a currency for video games like Second Life, and since I don't play that....

In a conversation, I explained how I struggle to find an advertising platform for my website. A friend suggested me A-ads.com. This is how I got my very first transactions, I didn't know what to do with it yet but they were paying me very well so I tought I will think about it later. Sometimes I was giving free bitcoins for nothing to people on the forum.

I then tried to play with it and make my own experience, like a child with a new toy.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

The first time I bought bitcoins was in 2014, I did it because a friend was looking to sell his bitcoins for my PayPal, and since it was a good online friend, why not?

3. How did you get on the forum?

Someone online asked my bitcointalk username and didn't believe me I have none since I didn't know it. Then it was often showing on search engine results, I was just reading necessary information. Months laters I discovered there is a French forum, this is what make join Bitcointalk

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

Large topic: AML/KYC regulations, taxes and others stuffs
People are not interested to fill administrative papers, taxes, etc. If people started to use Bitcoin, the fact you don't have to bother with all we have today was one of their motivations. We wanted to be "our own bank", not to be "our own bank but with still a central bank behind".
I could write a lot about it but I did it several times already in discussions.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

Not positive, not negative. The forum doesn't need this for its development and every business should be allowed to be advertised (via signatures or ads space) as long it's not about p*rn, or something illegal

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

There is no need for education. Watching the market for 6 months is enough to understand how it works. I see several people doing well as what you could call "a newbie"

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

I don't think it harms the forum. I would have preferred to see members to use the system differently, which is what it was designed for, instead of confusing it with a Facebook Like button.
As for the signatures, I would have liked to generally see the managers more strict and attentive to the quality of the posts. Like reading the context and not just the post of the user engaged in the campaign.
I think they have a lot of responsibilities behind it.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

I have none. I just have some users I like to read because I know we can have a real discussion from A to Z.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

Roger Ver and Craig S. Wright as Admins   (just joking)

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

I'm not interested in altcoins (except some privacy-centric cryptocurrencies) and also in ICOs and other things. I never participated in an airdrop or ICO  to tell you.
Generally speaking, I'm a real user with real uses cases, not so much interested in investing

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

I still own bitcoins bought in 2014

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

I don't know much about it since I'm not so interested in.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

Both I think. There are things you agree to share and some you don't want to.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

Videos only

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

Bitcoin, and privacycoins like Monero, Zcash, Horizen

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

No idea, I believe between$7,5k and $9k unless Santa Clauss is real and brings back Bitcoin to $20k

[1713921703]

1713921703

[1713921703]

1713921703

[TryNinja]

Interesting. Why not?

Thanks for the invite.

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

I think it was around 2014 when I first started playing CS:GO, a FPS tatical game, which had a big market for their cosmetic items (called skins) ranging from $10 to $30k per skin/knife. I started loving the game and while I played through the week, I also started to follow the competitive scenario. And of course, whenever there is a competition, there is also gambling. So, besides watching the games, I also started betting to get some of those juicy expensive skins, and I was so good lucky that I managed to turn $20 in ~$350 after just 1 month. The gambling website I used had this "Bitcoin" payment method which had no withdrawal fees, so I searched for it and downloaded my first wallet. It was cheap, fast and fun to use. I enjoyed acumulating sats on faucets and other websites, not because of the cents money I made, but because I liked to see my balance growing up.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

I think it was around 2016, when I recalled about BTC for some reason (I had stopped messing with it for some other reason). I bought very little just to mess around since I already saw it as some magical money, which is quite fun to use.

3. How did you get on the forum?

I don't remember (). I'll probably have to say Google as well.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

IMO, the risk. People are used to having their money insured by the governments and BTC just goes up and down too much. They can't bother to lose what they have and they don't understand the technology, so for them is all about gambling to make more dollars.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

My answer would probably be "whatever". IMO, that's just like any other type of advertising. And people who gamble because of those ads would probably just do it sooner or later anyway.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

It depends. Are you here for the technology? Do you want to learn "Technical Analysis" to trade according to the charts? Do you just want to buy BTC and pray for the best? Or maybe you want to bet on shitcoins, ICOs, DeFis or whatever is the hyped money-grabbing scheme of the moment?

I'm not sure how long it would take for the new people to learn how to not lose all their money since I'm here since the beginning (or almost) and everything happened in front of my eyes. Maybe people need to learn what kind of scams there is, what was the ICO-mania, what are ponzis, what hapened with 99% of the shitcoins the past years, etc... basically, what happened in the past, so they don't fall for the tricks some people fell before.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

Yes, we should ban everyone using a paid signature. The merit system is the best thing that has been added to the forum. Simple as that. I know people say this all the time, but the signatures themselves aren't really the problem. Instead of banning the signatures, ban the spammers and the managers who allow them to make money with their spam. Regulations > banning.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

Ninjastic.space - BitcoinTalk Post/Address archive + API
[TELEGRAM] Yet Another BitcoinTalk Notification BOT (merits, mentions, topics,+)

Narcissist too much? Sorry, but I'm really proud of my two projects. Other than that, Loyce's website and BPIP w/ Vod, suchmoon and ibminer. Also, a special shoutout to cryptobaboon, which is one of my favorite members of the Portuguese board.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

Native dark mode because I can't live without it.
Maybe some kind of tipping through the LN would be fun.
Some kind of 'agree/like' button which holds less weight than a merit.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

I usually don't. I basically only hodl BTC. The market is saturated and I don't have time to search for the very small amount of real and worthy projects. I don't bet or hodl any shitcoin and don't risk my coins with any ICO or DeFi hyped project. The only coin/project I trust enough with some my coins nowadays is a company that lends my BTC/USDC and gives me some passive interest.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

I lost more by missing opportunities than actually losing money. I didn't claim some WAVES I won which were worth a few BTCs, I didn't confirm my entry to a famous airdrop (one of the firsts) which was worth a few thousands, I sold some ETH when it was ~$10, and of course, I sold some BTC when it was cheap. My biggest profit (or quickiest/laziest) was the last Uniswap airdrop. I had ever only used it to buy a token and suddenly I woke up with someone saying I could get $2k by just dumping it on the market, so that's what I did.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

Sounds like the ICO ecosystem in 2017. There are good projects, but the majority only wants to ride the hype for some quick free cash. The moment someone creates a token called "SUSHI", and then just a few weeks later there is "HOTDOG", "PIZZA" and whatever, then you know something is wrong.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

I do what I can do preserve my anonymity and I don't go around posting my personal info. But I usually don't take major precautions. If the best detective in the world really wanted to, and really knew where to look at, he could probably find a lot of stuff about me just by looking at what I've posted in the forum. I deleted my FB though, so not that easy now.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

Unfortunately, I've only read Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos, and I haven't even finished it yet. Thanks for reminding me about it.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

Bitcoin, Bitcoin and maybe CEL. But the latter isn't financial advice. If you lose your house, that's on you.

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

Being reasonable, the first price that comes to my mind is ~$15k. But, AFAIK, it could also be $10 or $300k, so...

[Vishnu.Reang]

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

First heard about Bitcoin in 2011, when Wikileaks started accepting it. But I wasn't much interested then. I became interested towards the end of 2013, but back then it was difficult to purchase Bitcoins in India. I got my first mBTCs in 2017, after I joined this forum.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

February 2017, through Localbitcoins India.

3. How did you get on the forum?

One friend recommended me this forum. He encouraged me, saying that it is possible to earn Bitcoins through various campaigns and give-aways.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

We had a perfect opportunity in 2017, which was wasted. Back then, the media coverage was mostly positive. But a few scammers made use of the media hype and made money by cheating unsuspecting users. As a result, the media coverage once again became negative. Also, there are a few other issues, such as high transaction fee and lack of legality in countries such as India.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

Gambling is not a banned activity. There are casinos all around the world. So I don't believe that advertising online gambling (as long as it is legal) has a negative impact on the community.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

I have seen users with less than 6 months of experience who have a great deal of knowledge regarding cryptocurrencies. At the same time, I have also seen experienced users falling victim to the scams. So I would not use experience as the only parameter here.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

Merit system has helped to improve the quality of the posts. Earlier anyone could become a Hero Member or a Legendary member. That situation has changed now.

Also, I don't think that signature campaigns are having any negative impact on the forum. If cryptocurrency-related projects are not being allowed to advertise here, where they will go?

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

I am someone who gambles a lot, especially with sports (cricket mainly). So I find the cricket gambling related threads in the "Gambling discussion" sub-forum very useful. And the users whom I find most helpful are JSRAW and Royse777.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

a. More restrictions on who can post a thread in the Altcoin Bounties sub-forum
b. A strict rule that only those who do fraud or cheating receive negative trust from DT members
c. Freedom of speech (as long as it is legal)

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

Back in 2017, I invested in a few, but ended up with loses. Since then I have stayed away from investing.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

I joined quite late (in 2017), so I never received 100x or 200x profits from any projects. But that said, when I first purchased BTC, it was trading at $900 per coin. The current price is $11,400.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

I believe that it is over-rated. They are creating the hype, even before it is being implemented in a big way. I don't want DeFi to end up like ICO or IEO bubbles.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

Yes, considering the lack of legality for Bitcoin in my country.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

Never read any.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

Apart from Bitcoin, I would prefer these three: a. Cardano b. Litecoin c. BNB

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

I don't expect much change from the current level. May be around 12K.

[CryptocurencyKing]

Thanks for this opportunity Bitcointalk and it's very nice initiative@Zasad and it's my pleasure to feature in this interview.

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

- I have this senior student back in my junior high school days, he was known for his excellence in academic performance and happens to have been almost everyone's role model, at least he was mine. He continued in his path of excellence upto high school and I kept trail on him through Facebook. At some point in course of his carrier, he began advocating for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, writing articles regularly on them, that was 2016 through 2018. I never really knew what it was but, choose to read from what he then seemed passionate about and motivated most of his readers to invest in. I never saw it as some sort of article campaign as it now seems to me but then, it caught my interest in late 2018, I did my research on Bitcoin and found it to be a valuable web currency that could be sent or spent almost anywhere in the world and as well converted to fiat using certain interface. I also noted that, the price is often appreciating and as such, stocking it over time is an added advantage. Sadly I had not enough spare cash at then so, I wasn't able to invest. In time, I later met few friends who happened to own a few coins, they introduced me to bitcointalkforum in 2019 but, the rules scared me as first with the series of ban penalties for almost the slightest fault. I later devoted myself to reading a few contents and opened an account October last year. Taking things rather slowly and now, I've got the hang on it and it's cool.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

- I bought my first Bitcoin in that first Bitcoin in 2019. It was just a few dollars worth and as such, I learnt of trading and went on a goose chase in a bid to increase it through trading. Unfortunately I lost it all in one swipe.

3. How did you get on the forum?

- I knew the forum from a friend but, failed to open an account untill much later when I was researching on Bitcoin, I stumbled upon it on Google and created this account.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

- Looking from the world I come from, technology remains a imported part of our lifestyle and a growing field hence, most persons are yet to get the hang of it, government agencies seem to be very much against it and it's been stigmatized as a way in which scammers perpetuate crime and still escape security operatives.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

- with the mass rate of gambling platforms in our world today and the possibility of gambling being done peacefully by a single act of digitalizing the gambling system, it becomes an added advantage to keep forum users in the forum by providing what they deem necessary to enable them earn a few bucks and also, it encourages users to stay active in the forum.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

- Well, I guess it's going to be persons specific on this as some persons are quick to understanding a concept more better than others but on a general, after 2-3 years of experience, a user should be better experienced on how Bitcoin works

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

- Merits are surely a way to rank up as well as it discourages spammers from spreading spam messages in the forum with a need to grow in rank having at the back of their minds that, quality posts are rewarding.
Anyone who has tested bounty campagnes and after all the work done wasn't paid for their effort certainly turn towards signature and avatar campaign and are often been stock by the merit system. This in turn creates in the users the need to be good posters and as well provides the forum an opportunity for a reorientation which is rather advantageous to the forum if they are able to learn.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

- Most useful topics
Newbies - Read before posting
LoyceV's biginners correct use of the trust system

- Most helpful users
* DdmrDdmr
* OgNast
* LoyceV
* Fillippone
* Suchroom
* Royse777

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

- The forum is okay as it is but should there be a need for improvement and it should come from my side, I won't hesitate to provide my solution and add meaning to the forum.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

- Trading yes, I'm passionate about trading though, I'm yet to perfect my knowledge of the market. As per investing in projects, I haven't done that yet.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

- I won't say I have experienced any huge lost yet as I've been applying caution after losing my very first Bitcoin to trading.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

- I don't really know much about it especially with the fact that it's a work in progress but, it's surely creating a lot of awareness in the cryptosphere.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

- Yes and I hope it stays that way. You might not know what it saves you from until you become public so, I just like it this way.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

- I'm yet to read any, I explore articles on the web and people's experience for my lessons.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

- BTC
- BTC
- ETH

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

- $14,000 - $15,000

15. P.S. (Optional)

- I'll like to say a big thank you and encourage Bitcoin enthusiast to protect that which we have with jealousy against all who might seek to destroy our beloveth forum.

[zasad@]

Thanks to everyone who took part in the interview and those who are going to do it.
I don't have enough merit to reward everyone. Whoever has the opportunity, support the participants.

[Porfirii]

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
Although I had previously researched a bit about Bitcoin and participated in Decred's airdrop, greatest interest arose in early 2017, when Bitcoin hit $1.000 for the first time.

2. When and why did you buy your first Bitcoin?
It was in 2013: surfing the Internet I remember reading about the topic, and although it wasn't easy in my country for the average Joe to buy cryptos, I managed to buy a whole Bitcoin for more or less €50.

3. How did you get on the forum?
It was via search engine almost for sure. I think that I created an account long time ago, in 2013, but I can't remember my credentials. So I created this alter ego in mid-2017, after getting excited on the price action of cryptocurrencies

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
Time. Cryptos are still very new, even though for many of us who have been wandering here for a few years it is not so obvious. Just a few people are innovators or early adopters of new technologies, so why should it be different with cryptocurrencies? Nobody used Internet the first decade and look at it now, a few decades after.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
I don't think it is beneficial nor harmful for the community: you can still gamble outside, even States have National Lotteries. As long as the gambler has the legal age and has no psychological/psychiatric problems it seems to be a neutral practise.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
I think common sense is crucial and, unfortunately, I think there is a lack of it in general and many people fall in obvious scams or invest more than they can afford to lose. As long as the projects are legit, I think that the success in an investment has more to do with timing (buying just before or at the beginning of a bull run or FOMO) than with the projects themselves.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
I don't really love the current Merit system, as now it is much harder to rank up in the forum: I preferred the older system, based on posts and time, but I understand that it was being abused and some actions had to be taken. Signature campaigns, on the other hand, are a great way to me for gaining visibility on interesting projects. I don't think any of these things harm the forum.


6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
Most useful topic: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2683530.0
Most helpful users:
DdmrDdmr
LUCKMCFLY
CryptopreneurBrainboss
Sylon
Wapinter
Deeperx
Many others, but I'm afraid I can't name everyone.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
Tor integration
Exchange and/or Marketplace
Chat

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
I hardly ever trade, I consider myself more of a strong handed hodler.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
There is one story that I have told a couple of times and I stopped telling it as I understand that it is hard to believe, but in fact it's true and a few members in this forum were witnesses: Once I got paid by mistake more than $100K in crypto from a project I provided some bounty services and I gave them back. As there are many opportunities in the crypto-world, if I ever get the desired financial freedom, I want it to be for a good reason, for a story that I would be happy or proud of, and not for someone's painful mistake.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
  total mystery to me the idea of ICOs seduced me back in 2017, but buying tokens with the name of food is not appealing to me (unless it is ONION). As a funny coin we already have DOGE, I don't think we need SUSHI or HOTDOG anymore.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
I'm quite introverted in real life, so I feel comfortable in the skin of an alter. But the real reason for anonymity in my case is that when I started reading this forum, I remember a thread on this topic and some members regretted being public, as they made good money and everybody knew their identities, and if they could go back in time they would have decided to be anonymous. Thanks to their experience and wisdom on the topic, I followed their advise.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
Not concretely about cryptos, but during the lockdown I read Taleb's "Black Swan" (could you imagine a better moment to read it than during a Pandemic?), and as long as it talks about trading, probability, hope etc. I couldn't stop thinking on similes with cryptos.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
I take Bitcoin for granted, so the ones I would choose apart from the King, from lesser risk to higher potential and higher risk would be:
- Ethereum (ETH)
- ICON (ICX)
- DeepOnion (ONION)

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
I forgot my crystal ball in the caravan so I will fail for sure, but what about 9K? Some sideways before a clear bull run in 2021 wouldn't hurt as we have waited long time already.

15. P.S.
Thanks for interviewing me. I don't know how was I chosen among so many thousands of members in this forum, many of them with much more to say than me, but thanks for reading

[Shasha80]

I am very happy and honored to get PM from zasad@ as one of the good posters in this forum. I will try to answer all interview
questions well, and I apologize if any grammar is wrong. Because my English skills are not very good.

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
As I remember in 2015, I started getting to know about cryptocurrency, when I was browsing looking for income from the internet and
accidentally came across an article related to Bitcoin. I am interested in cryptocurrency because of blockchain technology, which in my
opinion is a very good technological breakthrough to use.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
I bought my first Bitcoin in 2016, after one year I studied Bitcoin. I buy Bitcoin because the price keeps going up, make me believe the
potential Bitcoin can provide profit.

3. How did you get on the forum?
I know this forum from google, when I was searching a question about Bitcoin, one of the options that came up was this forum.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
I think a government that fears that fiat is being replaced by cryptocurrency makes it difficult for governments to accept crypto as payment.
So this is what is preventing the massive adoption of crypto.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
Of course mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on this forum and the crypto community. Because this forum is increasingly
visited by people to help promote certain gambling sites, or it could also make it easier to get reliable gambling site information.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive
special education?
It only took me one year to really understand crypto investment, some even understand crypto investment in a shorter time, around a few weeks.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
To be honest, the merit system that is currently running is quite effective in making this forum more qualified, because it makes the members of
this forum more creative and productive in making posts or topics. Although I have to admit it has become very difficult to get up the rankings nowadays.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
Everyone has their own favorite topic, for me the most useful topics are those in Bitcoin discussion, Trading discussion and Gambling discussion.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
I want to apply 3 things in this forum, namely adding local boards, rewards given to members who have quality posts, the highest activity and
merit every month.And the last thing I want to implement is that the projects team must pay directly for the bounty hunter in Bitcoin, so ensure
bounty hunters get paid well and reduce bounty scams. Especially on the altcoins bounties board, where there are indeed many project scams.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
I did both, but trade on exchanges was more profitable for me.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
I managed to get my biggest profit in the crypto world in 2017-2018 when the crypto world was in its golden age. Then regarding the biggest
loss that I experienced in 2019, but sorry I don't want to tell about it. Because just remembering it makes me pissed off, so I don't want to
remember about the biggest loss I experienced.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
I made a big profit by investing in several DeFi projects, so it's a good thing DeFi projects are a trend these days. But you must be careful in
choosing DeFi projects, because not all DeFi projects are profitable. Do your own research properly, so as not to choose the wrong DeFi
projects for investment.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
In the real world I am a person who is not very social, I prefer to spend time with my pets than with friends or family.  So anonymity is
a vital necessity for me.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
I have not read many books about cryptocurrency, because I usually get a lot of information about cryptocurrency from watching videos
on the YouTube platform, articles on the internet and from this forum. So there are only two books I've read about cryptocurrency, namely
"Bitoin Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich and "The Age of Cryptocurrency" by Paul Vigna and Michael Casey.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
I have always believed in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple to be good coins for investing in the next 1-2 years.

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
My prediction is that Bitcoin could return to $ 12,000 by the end of this year.

15. P.S. (Optional)
Don't ever give up on achieving Legendary rank, because I'm also sure I can reach Legendary rank someday. No matter how long it takes,
as long as we give our best for this forum, we should have achieved our wish to reach Legendary rank. And be grateful for those who have
reached the Legendary rank, because for me reaching the Legendary ranking is the best achievement we can get in this forum.

[Naida_BR]

Just saw your invitation at my DMs and I am happy to take part!

So, Let's go!

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
I started being involved in crypto at the mid 2016 when I was a student in the university and trying to find ways to make money with a friend. If I am not mistaken the price of Bitcoin was around $100 but still I was thinking that it was too expensive to buy. Additionally, I was finding very difficult the whole process of buying crypto - now I have changed my mind - and I bought my first Bitcoin at the end of 2017.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
I was first fast that I answered that in the previous question!  
I bought my first Bitcoin at the end of 2017 after a lot of research on how I can make the whole process from the beginning till the end successfully. It was very hard for me at that time to understand it.

3. How did you get on the forum?
A friend of mine introduced me in the forum. It was that time that we were trying to find work in the crypto space and introduced me the "Services" board. For a lot of period it was the only board that I was reading - noticing closely due tot he fact that I was waiting for a job post that would match my skills and abilities.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
In my opinion, mass adoption is prevented by two factors. The first is the volatility of the market which makes people being afraid to buy - get involved in crypto -  because they are going to lose their money. The second factor is the whole process of buying bitcoin. It was harder in the past, now we have easy funnels to buy in even like making a purchase from your credit card. The fees are still high however...

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
The gambling industry is one of the strongest in the cryptocurrency space. Due to the fact that many people feel guilty when gambling in traditional casinos, blockchain has helped a lot in this part of the society making gambling an anonymous activity. The best advertising that I have seen is this one of Sportbet.io which is advertised on the jersey of a football team in one of the most competitive European Leagues.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
This actually depends on the kind of investment we are talking about.
There are a lot of risk free investments out there where people are able to invest from the first week of their involvement. If they want to start day trading for example then of course they will need more education to do that.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
I don't think that the forum is harmed by them. Actually, those two are weapons that made the forum well known and used by people.
People are getting incentivized to help others and provide help, thus merit system is a part of spreading knowledge in the crypto community.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
Personally, I like the Bitcoin Discussion Board... As far as the most helpful users, it is hard to say. There are a lot of honorable people - in every board that help and educate others or protect people from getting scammed (i.e. fillippone, Loycev, Marlboroza, suchmoon, OgNasty, etc.)

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
Chat room
Way to block users who try to scam - negative trust is not enough for me
Marketplace

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
Yes, I am investing in projects mostly. I used to be trading but they need a lot of time which I do not acquire right now.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
It was that time when I first started trading futures. After a lot of days of reading and watching videos I started trading futures.
During the first days I made a significant profit of around 500%. I thought that I am going to make "easy" and "fast" money with futures, but then the day came which I lost all my profit and my initial investment in just two hours because I was emotionally attached to my decisions.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
It is one step ahead to bring adoption but still there is a lot of risk of losing money or getting scammed as scammers have found a new way to steal money.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
Anonymity is a necessity for me and for everyone in here, I believe.
It is part of our freedom and a basic characteristic of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
I used to read articles on the web and whitepapers of projects.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
Apart from Bitcoin?  
ETH, LINK, BNB

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
My speculation is that it is going to hit 13k till the end of 2020.

15. P.S. (Optional)
This is my chance to make you a question! How did you choose me among all those reputable members of the forum?
Thank you very much in advance for this interesting interview!

[muslol67]

Today I received a PM from zasad@ and thank him for including me.


Hello.
I want to interview you. I hope for your consent.


Thank you for your kindness. I will try answer your all question.


Questions:

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

Like most of us, I first heard of Bitcoin in mid-2014. I witnessed conversations about Bitcoin in a local forum online. Frankly, I did not take it too seriously at first sight. I thought it was just another SCAM attempt. Later, I saw Bitcoin being used on an online gambling platform. Technically, my first Bitcoin purchase was here. I deposited USD on the platform and requested some of the money I earned as BTC. My biggest luck and regret starts here actually. If my first BTCs that I had that day were standing now, I could have been among you as a millionaire. When I needed to learn how to store Bitcoin from this point on, my research started. So my interest in cryptocurrencies started.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

I think, I already answered in 1st question.

3. How did you get on the forum?

My story of registering to the Forum is quite different. I have visited Bitcointalk frequently during my research on what Bitcoin is. But I was a little late to register. We often shared information about Bitcoin with my friends. It was 2015 when one of my friends told me to sign up for Bitcointalk. Although I cannot be very active from time to time, I have been following the forum regularly for years. I've been around day and night for a long time.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

I massively think that cryptocurrency adaptation is not as easy as thought. In some places I am seeing utopias like everyone will be paying with Bitcoin soon.
I don't think this is possible in the next short period of time. I think the biggest obstacle to this is legal regulations.

You know that a great struggle is going on in the world economy. I don't think it is easy for governments to lean towards the use of an asset that is not under their control as "money".

Also, using cryptocurrency requires some technical knowledge. Everyone here may be familiar with that technology, but I think at least half of the world may be far from this technology. We can include people such as the elderly, those who have difficulties in accessing technological equipment.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

Some countries have gambling bans, including my country. Considering that the most important elements of the forum are on Bitcoin and decentralization, I think it is correct to have discussions on every subject including gambling.

Advertising is something else entirely. Gambling, social media promotion or anything. Recently, there was someone in the forum asking to pray for him, and if he got rich he promised to distribute money to those who wore a prayer signature.

Gambling is a sector that hosts a large economy in the world. I can't imagine it doesn't exist in this forum. And there is a saying in our country. There is no good or bad advertisement and the advertisement always reaches the relevant person.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

Perhaps this is the hardest question. I don't want someone to read my opinion here and influence their decisions. It is necessary to experience some things to learn. I think it is not possible to learn these transactions without getting into the trade business and without damaging them. So it is not easy without trying, experimenting.

I respect the guys who are dealing with technical analysis, but I think your Technical Analysis for crypto assets does not give very healthy results. Because whatever the charts show, any development, partnership announcement or even FUD can affect the price. This causes the graphics to evolve into different formations.

I have been trading in this market for about 4-5 years and still many of my transactions result in losses. So it is not easy to constantly make money. For this reason, I think you need to improve very much for your dreams of getting rich.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

There is a classification all over the world. And every system has aspects that are not right or are missing. This is the merit system in the forum. He brought order, a loyalty system, to the forum. However, there are some not right sides. But is there such a thing as "pure justice" anywhere in the world?

Signature campaings is, in my opinion, an indication of how reputable the forum is. Some companies distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars via bounty. In doing so, they make a payment to the high reputations of the forum. This is a 3-sided gain. Forum, forum members and advertiser. Everyone benefits from this process.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

How can I answer that? The forum is full of useful information. I think there are a lot of forum members who really like to help.
Especially some friends can share their interests by putting their interests on the second plan. I can see useful information in every corner of the forum. However, for "certain reasons" I am mostly active local board now. For this reason, most of the names I will list will only be from the Turkish section.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

I have written articles on this subject many times in the Meta and Reputation section. But I was frivolously criticized by people with our differences of opinion.
Freedom of expression is a very important thing for me. But in every training I have learned, freedom is not and should not be unlimited.

1) It is not considered very important, but the local boards of the forum need to be improved.
2) It is necessary to work for the merit distribution to be more fair & more trustable trust system.
3) Forum management should take a more active role. Freedom of expression should not be confused with insult. In my opinion, someone mocking or disrespecting my national views cannot be described as freedom of expression. Yes, there is such a thing as freedom of expression, but some things such as swearing, insults and ridicule should not be considered within this scope.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

Of course, I am actively trading on exchanges. But mostly I am using Uniswap lately. I think Uniswap changed our trade vision deeply.
Investment is different subject. But yes, I am investing some new projects also. Even if we can find the right projects, I think it can be more profitable than the old ones.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

My biggest gain was in 2017.
All tokens was getting pumped one by one. We believed in NXT! NXT had a hard fork and new coin would be issued after that hard fork.
I made a lot of profit from NXT and its hard fork. Actually I missed some opportunity at the same time.

And loss... It was almost right after it my biggest profit. I joined an ICO. And I invested so much money( ETH was over 1000$). There has never been an exchange listing ever! The remaining tokens turned out to be garbage. Until 3-4 months ago it was in a web-based wallet, I deleted it because I had no hope anymore. I had trouble even remembering his name right now.

You may hear airwire. That was my biggest loss!

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?


DeFi was actually a very suitable environment for blockchain and cryptocurrency promotion and use. It is obvious that the sector that blockchain best suits is finance. And DeFi is the most important fruit of this.
But unfortunately, as always for cryptocurrency, this is already overrated. I think it would be better if we stayed with Maker DAO.

DEFI has high potential, but I think it's being manipulated as it often is.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
It is a very nice privilege to be able to remain anonymous. That's why I like being able to stay anonymous the most. It allows people to express themselves better.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
Actually, I have not much time to read books. I have a very busy working tempo and a social life that I try to maintain. That's why I like to read less binding instead of books.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
Another difficult question. As I said before, I find it dangerous to give ideas about investment.

I can also make a general statement. My investment preference is to focus on projects that have not yet reached their potential and projects with low market cap. About this 3-4 months ago, I posted a post with recommendations for the first time.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5258997

The list I have given here made a lot of profit compared to that period. (Except one)

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

I believe in Bitcoin price have own cycle. And its cycle running for 4 years.
So my expectation this year will follow same progress like 2016 and the next year we may see new ATH for BTC.

End of this year it may reach $15.000-$16.000 but I have no biggest hope for this year.

15. P.S. (Optional)

Actually, there would be a lot I would like to explain by pouring out what's inside in this section. However, in order not to exceed the title purpose of this thread, I am delaying my comments for later expression.

Thank you for reading and giving the opportunity to be here. I hope I was helpful.

[xxjumperxx]

Hey,

first of all thank you for the invite!
Kindish still a newbie in the forum but finding my way around so Im glad to asked to inerview.


1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
Wow, its been a while. I can remember Bitcoin in the early stages from a german forum called klamm. You could refer members to different sites and I remember hearing bitcoin reading about and at the time collecting the mini amounts at the faucet... (I should have remembered the sites and transfered them to a wallet). I then lost interest and totally forgot about them until they hit about 700-800€ and thats when my Interest peaked again!

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
I bought my first Bitcoin in 2016-Beginning of 2017. What made me buy it? Good Question, I just had some money leftover that was sitting around in an account unused and saw an opportunity. First kept it a secret because well I didnt want to look bad when it crashes and I lost all my money. Then read up on it, told my friends (which said I will lose my money) and havent looked back. I now keep to myself, read about the tech and just talk about Bitcoin when someone seriously interested asks me about it.

3. How did you get on the forum?
I think it was Google that got me here and then I liked what I saw and got more and more involved. So much knowledge in this forum!

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
The negative news that is being pushed by the media... The media doesnt highlight the positive sides of crypto but is the first one to bash around when there is negative news to spread. Bitcoin has gone through some falls and these falls always make it to the media and makes a normal person afraid to invest. Then theres news about illegal Dark Web stores using bitcoin and people just think its a dangerous thing to invest in or use in general. The Government is seriously afraid so thats why they arent interested in implementing it.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
I dont think it harms the community in general. Gambling sometimes gets associated negatively and makes some people think this forum is not very legit. It does make people aware that there are alternatives to FIAT Gambling and promotes Bitcoin so in those points its a positive effect also.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
You can have experience and still be considered stupid. Just use common sense and your brain when investing. If it sounds too good, well then its probably a scam. Inform yourself, read others opinion and listen to your gut.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
No, in fact I think they are a useful. Merits if used the right way can make a user seem more reputable and yes I would trust a user with more merit. Of course not blindly but it sure has a trust factor. As for signature campaigns, hard, yes they promote spam in some way but also make the forum more active.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
Way too many to list, I like browsing the Bitcoin discussion, Trading discussion and Gambling discussion boards. I like looking in the marketplace because there is usually very interesting things being sold.
As for users, too many, the one that made me feel welcome was def. Fillippone.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
I couldnt list 3 things to add honestly. What is missing would be a chat to just have some common small talk with some of the users.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
I invest in projects, dont want to go into details but I am not a person to trade, I tried and failed. Dont have the patience or knowledge.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
Big Profit investing, when the site was relatively small and now has grown bigger and my investment has made a big profit.
As for big loss, trading, wow Im just not good in it. I started trading and I was doing good, thinking to myself "This is easy and I can make some serious coin", but oh my was I wrong. Havent traded since then since I lost too much.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
I don't know much about it, I will make sure to read up about it since it seems to be something big.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
I am not a very social person in real life so I keep to myself other than friends and family. Anonymity is important to me, I dont post personal info on the internet but I dont take serious steps to make myself anonymous.
a vital necessity for me.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
I really havent read a paper book regarding crypto. I read online articles, news, wikis and such and thats what I use to build up my knowledge.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
Bitcoin, thats the only Currency I advise.

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
Oh no not this question, Im gonna predict 13k.

15. P.S. (Optional)
Thanks for the invite.

[nakamura12]

I did not expect that I would get an invitation to answer these questions.

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
I became interested in cryptocurrency on january 2018 because my brother-in-law told me that you can earn profit if you own crypto yourself and he also told me that there is a forum where I could earn crypto by joining signature campaigns of ICOs.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
I can't seem to recall when I bought my first bitcoin since I don't really mind if I did bought bitcoin at all. What I care is I finally have my own bitcoin to store in my wallet.

3. How did you get on the forum?
It is because of my brother-in-law who told me about the forum. I never had any idea that it's not only signature campaigns on ICOs but also providing services and skills you can offer to earn.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
Being banned on country and less people using bitcoin or hoarding bitcoin rather than using it or spending your crypto funds.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
Mass advertising of gambling projects can cause harm to the forum which will make people to join the campaign that will result in spamming. It could also brings traffic to the forum. If many of those projects are scam then it will not be very easy to find which gambling project to advertise.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
In my opinion, you don't really need to have special education just to be able to invest if it's all about a paid specisl education. If it is not or you study it yourself. All you need is to have experience on investing and learn from your mistakes then you'll know when and where to invest based on your experience and what you have learned, also it depends on what kind of investment.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
The Merit System is important which will help lessen people to join campaigns when they don't have enough rank to participate. In my. point of view, signature campaigns can't harm the forum at all, why?. It is the person who join the campaign thay harm the forum with bad posting habits.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
I can't really choose which is the most useful forum topic. Most of the topics created in different boards there are different kind of topic that you can discussed. So, whatever topic that is useful then it's what i'll choose to be the most useful topics instead if topic.
There are many users who are helpful and I can only mention a few.
DdmrDdmr
Tranthidung
LoyceV
CryptopreneurBrainboss

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
Dark mode (Which is good when it's night time)
Whatever is best for all and the forum.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
I did trade on exchanges short term and invest in projects short term as I am not an expert when it comes to investing and trading.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
I may call it profit but some may not. I am able to earn around $1k+ when I trade a token. I don't remember the total amount that is loss since i'm not much of a trader or investor.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
I don't have much to say about DEFI. It is indeed a trend but we don't know if it can survived for long term or short term. The y Only time can tell.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
My anonymity is either vital necessity or precaution but mostly precaution. We don't know if there will be something bad happen at any time.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
I haven't been able to read cryptocurrency books at all.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
BTC, ETH, MONERO

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
I am not an expert at doing technical analysis about price movement. I think the price will increase to $13000+ and if not then it's between $11k and $13k.

15. P.S. (Optional)
No matter what, no matter how hard the challenges it will be, just don't lose hope and think positively. Don't focus on negativity and rather focus on positivity then you can do things that you think you can't do at first. Thanks for inviting me.

[zasad@]

BitMaxz (Legendary)

Let's start

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

"I was interested only in bitcoin before around 2015 because someone told me that it can convert into real money. Until I exchange them for real money that's why I end up believing that this is real money.
I save a lot of satoshis before and found an investment site for Bitcoin and invest all my satoshis but at the end it shutdown that's why I came here on the forum and ask if how to recover my investment from the scam investment site."

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

"I bought my first Bitcoin I think around 2015 when I was addicted to some gambling casino from this forum."

3. How did you get on the forum?

"Like my answer above I'm looking to someone that can help me recover my Bitcoins from the investment site that's why I came here and learn a lot here."

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

"I think it's because of many scammers and the anonymity of the Bitcoin.
Other people say about Bitcoin it was a pyramid scheme they let you invest but never make a profit and being scam at the end.
I tried to introduce Bitcoin to my friend but some of them telling me it was a pyramid scheme this might be the reason why it prevents mass adoption."

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

"Well, I don't know actually if it has a positive effect or harms the community but since before Bitcoin gambling was advertised here and outside of this forum and some people become interested in bitcoin. So I think mass advertising has a positive effect on both the forum and Bitcoin."

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

"I think they don't need the special education about crypto this forum can help you a lot(They shouldn't be shy to ask)
If you are a newbie in Crypto you must learn first about crypto how it actually works and they should know that crypto price is not stable anytime the price may change.
And honestly, if you know how to trade you can be successful in investing(perfect timing always makes you a profit)"

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

"About the merit system, I think it won't harm the forum instead it helps a lot from spammers and scammers.
About the Signature campaign, I don't think it can harm the forum instead for me, honestly it helps the forum to become an active forum and helps projects and new businesses to spread here on the forum. About SEO for the signature campaign, the business or the project can help a lot to get more visibility on any SERP because of this forum(Our forum has high PA and DA that's why they want to get a link here on the forum)."

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

"I don't think which one is a useful forum topic but I would like to add the one topic here that can help newbies
- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4928968.0
(I honestly want to add the useful users who have all reviews and guides in their signature related to miner)

I think there are so many helpful users around here I can't decide who is a very helpful user because I'm also another one who help our community with their issues."

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

"I can't add anything here on the forum because for me the forum is fine it doesn't need to add anything here. The forum is compatible with any device it's very responsive you can access the forum anytime and any device."

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

"I trade on some exchanges I always lose but right now I can make a profit but not the big amount the price movement right now is different compared before.
Never invested in any projects because I don't see any project right now has potential."

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

"I don't have a big loss because of this forum but I have a big profit when I joined in claiming rewards from
Raiblocks around 2016 and sold around 2018."

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

"I heard this but I don't have idea about this but I think they are focusing on decentralized since it's talking about decentralized for me, it's worth it."

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

"Anonymity is important that's why we like bitcoin and we here on the forum but the problem almost all exchanges are centralized but there are many people always want to have decentralized exchange without any personal identification. Like me I don't want to give my personal information because everything here are online have risk.
So if it's vital necessity I provide them but it depends if I trust them."

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

"I never read any crypto book but mostly I learn a lot here on the forum and some from github related to crypto and mostly for Bitcoin."

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

"No, I don't want to advise altcoin/token if it's related to altcoin except for Bitcoin."

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

"I don't know how much will be the price of bitcoin(Unpredictable) but before I believe that the price of bitcoin will reach around $30k. However, these days it's different it is not the same as what happen before after block halving."

15. P.S. (Optional)

"I can't add anything here but thanks for question and I think it can help other forum members about this to have some idea."


Thanks to BitMaxz for the interview!

The end.

[Halab]

Zasad@ solicited me, so here are my answers :

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
In ~May 2017, due to a colleague who spent his days on whitepapers and charts.
I made a little remark to him that we had some work to do and in the end he explained to me what Bitcoin was, its philosophy, the speculative aspect...
And that's when the drama began, everything escalated very quickly for me .

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin ?
I bought fragments of Bitcoin a few weeks later (early July 2017) on Kraken. At the time, it was complicated to connect to Kraken.

3. How did you get on the forum?
In June 2017, my productivity at work has dropped significantly. I started to be interested in Bitcoin, reading articles, videos, etc... And each article/video made me ask more questions about another aspect of Bitcoin. And 90% of the time Google took me to Bitcointalk.
In the end, I created my account here to save time.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies ?
The bad reputation of cryptos in general. When I speak to friends about Bitcoin, they think I'm a drug dealer. Hacks and scam don't help either
It's not very user friendly yet.
And for example when I say that if you lose your private keys, you lose everything, it discourages them from using Bitcoin right away.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
Advertising for a good project is not a problem. It is a problem when the project is a scam.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
We all make mistakes every day whether we are beginners or experienced.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
Ha, vast debate.
When the merit system was introduced, I cried all the tears of my body (I was just a simple member). But the situation was unbearable, something had to be done. Now the serial-spammers can't go up in ranks. But at the same time it can also discourage new comers. No system is perfect.
Let's be honest, signature campaigns generate spam (see 10 people giving the same answer, it's not really useful). I wish campaign managers didn't put a minimum quota (like ChipMixer), it would take the pressure off thinking that I have to make 100 characters messages in some sections in a week.
What I like about signature campaigns is that for some people (especially in so-called poor countries) it can change their lives. If/when the BTC is going to get the $1 million, I could say thank you to Theymos, to the signature campaigns because I wouldn't have to worry too much about the money anymore. And this by posting 3-4 (or more) messages a week.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users ?
I don't want to put these or that users in the spotlight for fear of forgetting some others.
Of course, the "Unofficial list of (official) Bitcointalk.org rules" is worth reading.
And also use the search function (even if it's not perfect).

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
A notification system.
That mods can leave notes on a profile that is only visible to them. For example "I banned this user for 7 days because he was spamming too much". If we see that a user has been banned 9 times for spamming, the 10th will perhaps be definitive. Epochtalk can do this kind of thing.
Put back the shadow banning for hyper-trolls.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
Sometimes I sell, sometimes I buy, but that doesn't make me a trader.
And I've never really invested in a project.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
No sorry, I don't have a story to tell, I didn't make a big profit or a big loss.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
That's the thing that's making people talk right now. But for how long ?

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
Being mod, we can be a little more exposed than others, so I would say that anonymity is a vital precaution.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
Does Crypto, the movie, count? (if you haven't seen it, you haven't lost anything)

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
I'm too bad to advise anything.
Make your own choices, take responsibility for them and learn from your mistakes.

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
No idea, but this guy's gonna be right one day.

[zasad@]

kassex (Legendary)

Let's start

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

"My acquaintance with cryptocurrency happened at the end of the 16th year, I completed a task on the site https://freebitco.in/ and since then I have been fond of cryptocurrency."

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

"I didn’t buy bitcoin. I earned my first bitcoin and the subsequent ones too on bounty, trading, and just clicked on faucets."

3. How did you get on the forum?

"I came from another forum. I heard a lot about bitcointalk and decided to register."

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

" A lot of scam. A lot of scammers. Yes, and propaganda works against the crypt. As long as the crypt is associated with a pyramid."

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

"Unlikely to hurt. Las Vegas doesn't do much harm to the United States, but rather the opposite."

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

"Education is always an important thing. But it is better to combine theory with practice. Smart people, regardless of profession, learn all their lives."

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

"I didn’t think about it. I accept innovations calmly. If it doesn’t suit me, I just find more acceptable conditions for me. So far, everything suits me."

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

"There are many useful topics, but it’s hardly possible to name all of them."

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

pass

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

"I invest for a long term."

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

"The biggest profit came from the ONION signature campaign. The biggest loss is participation in trust management and investment in the EOS."

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

"A good way to make money, but you definitely need to understand the topic."

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

"As a precaution, I don't need anonymity."

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

"What is defi?"

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

"Litecoin, dashcoin and bitcoin"

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

"About 12k. It is unlikely to rise above."

15. P.S. (Optional)

"I wish all the other survey participants a great investment in the new year 2021."

Thanks to kassex for the interview!

__
Translated from Russian by me.

The end.

[ethereumhunter]

I get invitations from zasad@. Thank you for that.
Hello.
I want to interview you. I hope for your consent.

Questions:
1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
I don't remember when I knew cryptocurrencies but I am sure that is from 5-6 years ago. I don't have any interest in the first time and I think it is fun to get a free coin from the internet without doing anything. I don't invest any money that year because I can get bitcoin from the faucet like other people.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
I bought my first bitcoin about 2014-2015 for trading after I sold some of mine. And after that, I often buy bitcoin and sell it again because I can make money from trading.

3. How did you get on the forum?
I found this forum by coincidence. I search on Google about bitcoin, and I click one by one the website on the list. I even don't know this forum has been used by Satoshi to introduce bitcoin to people.

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
I don't know. But maybe legality will be the most thing that prevents the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies in many countries. Besides that, scammers are the other thing that can prevent people from using cryptocurrencies because scammers will always trick people and invite them to be the next target.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
I think the gambling project helps the growth of cryptocurrency, not just in this forum but also in out there because each gambling site will try to promote their site in other places such as social media to gain more members. It is a positive effect to invite more people to join with the crypto worlds. But maybe that people need to have many things to avoid addicting to gambling.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
Yes, I think it is enough to start investing in cryptocurrency, as long as that person can have a responsibility to his funds. People need to learn by themselves, and they don't need to have special education to use cryptocurrencies because they can search for the right lesson they needed.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
The current merit system and signature campaigns don't harm the forum. The signature campaigns can help the project grow, and the members can advise the team of the project to make their project better.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
I am confused to answer the question because many forum topics are useful for all people, especially for new people who want to learn about cryptocurrency. That happens too with the question about the most helpful users because many users try to help each other. It's not about they got so many merits from other users because of their posts.

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
I don't have any idea about that because I only a regular member who doesn't know much about programming or some skills about the forum.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
I am trading on the exchanges, but I will invest in some funds if I think that the project is good.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
The big profit that I can get is in 2017-2018 when the bitcoin price increase to $19k. That year, I sold almost all of my coins at the highest price, which makes me get a huge profit. I want to repeat what I get in that year in the next bull run.

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
I think the DEFI ecosystem is a new way for every people to make money after draining our money with useless projects in the last 2 years. The DEFI project's presence can help us make a huge profit, and I think that was the same as when the ICO comes to us.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
I think anonymity is something that I want to have on the internet, not just in the cryptocurrency, especially for people I don't know. I only tell my identity to people who I know and meet in real life. Except for my friends from my neighborhood, I don't tell other people about me. I am really afraid of the internet because once we tell the public, they can easily track us, especially if we use social media to tell our activity.

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
I don't read cryptocurrency books, but I search for the news from the internet. I prefer to search from the internet than to read from the book because most books need to be bought before reading the content.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
Bitcoin, ethereum, the last one will be your option

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
I don't want to tell you my prediction because I am afraid that I can be wrong

15. P.S. (Optional)
I am surprised to get your invitation

Once again, thank you.

It seems my fellows from 777coins get zasad@ invitation.

[zasad@]

We are already 99

Who will be the hundredth?

source image: zen.yandex.ua

[BrewMaster]

Thanks for inviting me. let me be the 100th.

1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
I don't quite remember how it started because it happened slowly. but i think it was mostly in 2016 that I kept hearing about bitcoin from my friends and how its price is on the rise and will reach $1000 and things like that.
Sadly I wasted some time on faucets back then instead of buying bitcoin.

2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
I made my first purchase in 2016 and because I wanted to join the profit wagon but slowly I became fascinated with bitcoin as a currency and that led to more investment or I should say me dumping fiat every month for bitcoin. and I've been doing it with any amount of extra fiat that I have and don't need ever since.

3. How did you get on the forum?
The same friends that introduced me to bitcoin and faucets introduced me to this forum so that I could learn more from experts since they stopped being able to answer my questions!

4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
Oooh that's a tough question to answer. I guess there are a lot of reasons and I see most of them are mentioned by others. The only thing I could add is that lack of adoption is itself a preventing force. For example a merchant sees there is little bitcoin adoption so they don't bother adding it as a payment option, the average Joe sees there is no merchant accepting bitcoin so they don't adopt it. like the chicken and egg problem.

4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
I think it has been very useful. The online gambling business is growing and like many other things it suffers high fees, terrible regulations, taxation, issues with banking system, and a lot more. all of these are fixed by using a decentralized currency like bitcoin.
These gambling sites have created a niche business that is also introducing bitcoin to many people all around the world.

4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
I don't think there is any kind of education that can teach investment in general. Of course we have lots of it available for investment in general and the knowledge can be used in cryptocurrency world too but the problem is that the whole thing is more of a pseudo science.

5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
The merit system has been one of the greatest things added to this forum. It single handedly cut down the spam to very little amount.

6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
I would reference the merit stats page that contains both:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=merit;stats

7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
The new version of the forum with a little bit more modern look would be nice.
Some additional security measures such as 2FA
Removing cloud-flare...

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
I'm mostly buying bitcoin but yes I also sometimes trade altcoins specially when we have these big altcoin pumping seasons when there is a lot of easy profit to be made.

9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
My biggest loss was in gambling and with the damn martingale strategy where you keep increasing your bet until you win back all you had lost so far. the best thing out of that was my decision to never gamble again.
My biggest profit is simply owning bitcoin!

10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
I'd stay away from it because all I can see is the same ICO scams with different names and different dev groups.

11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
Obviously a necessity. Specially when you hear about all the crimes that happen against people who flaunt their dirty laundry in public (eg. those getting robbed at gunpoint).

12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
I've been meaning to finish reading Mastering Bitcoin, but so far I've read only some of the chapters.

13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
I don't think it is a good idea to make such advice. People have to always make their own choices when it comes to investment.

14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
Another hard question. I see in my magic ball that price will be $16420

15. P.S. (Optional)
I'd like to thank Satoshi Nakamoto for all the efforts he put into inventing bitcoin and changing all our lives.
And hope everyone stay healthy during this world wide pandemic.

[Mauser]

Thanks for the opportunity to write my part here.

Damn I missed the 100th place by 10 minutes.


1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?

I became interested in crypto currencies around 2014. There were a few newspaper articles about bitcoins which made me curious to find out more about the this new currency. At first I was just reading news artible before finding this awesome forum here.


2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?

My first bitcoins I bought 2016 after doing faucets for some time I decided to actually spend FIAT money to buy bitcoins. Today I am very glad I bought bitcoins before the huge demand.


3. How did you get on the forum?

Noticed a few recommendaitons on a crypto blogs about this forum.


4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

First of all I think the older generations are to afraid to go into cryptos. If I look at my parents or grand parents they don't even like to do digital banking, they prefer talking to the bank employee and have personal interactions. For the younger generations it's more about understanding what crypto currencies are and if the have high security with their coins and wallets.


4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?

I think mass advertising can help the cryptop community, there are still plenty of people who have no idea about bitcoins and the crypto world in general. With advertising we could reacg many new people who maybe never heard of it before. Without a lot of advertising I would have probably never found this forum.


4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?

I think so yes, because bitcoins and other crypto currencies don't require you to add a lot of money. You can start small and grow your way up. The thing with investing that you learn a lot of things with actually using money. You can read as much as you want about it, but once you start using your own money everything becomes different. In my opinion it is best to just jump in the cold water and try yourself while you keep reading more and build up knowledge.


5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?

Signature campaigns are great way for people to earn a few coins on the forum. I think they are a good way for new people to get into cryptos and offer a first step to earn some coins. It's also nice to get a little bit of play money for the casinos each month.

With the Merit system it's quite hard for new people to rank up on the forum, it might seems a bit overwhelming at first.


6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?

I like the Alt Coin section a lot on the forum, I learned so much about other crypto coins than just bitcoins. Also the gambling section is quite interesting, I enjoy reading about new strategies.


7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?

First of all I would implement an extra APP for bitcointalk. So many people like to check the website from their mobile phone. It would be nice to get a better layout on the phone.

Second, I would add more emojis to the forum. There are so many cool emojis on platforms like Twitch we could copy here.

Third, I would adjust the Merit system to make it a bit easier for Newbies to earn some Merits and rank up.

8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?

I mostly trade on exchanges, or I use coins to cash out when winning in betting or cash out some trading wins in CSGO skins.


9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?

So far I didn't make a bit profit yet. Most of my coins I am holding for more than 1 year now. Almost all of my coins are in the green but I am just not realising any gains, I want to keep holding them.

My losses are mostly coming from gambling.


10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?

I think it's a good idea and big pillar of the crypto coins, but my understanding is still too low to have a really well informed opinion.


11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?

Anonymity is mostly a precaution for me. There are a lot of scammers on the internet, it's better to protect our identity.


12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?

Anarchy, Inc.: Profiting in a Decentralized World with Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain

Not really about cryptocurrency but about Blockchain, still a nice book.


13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?

Bitcoins, ETH and LTC.


14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?

Probably close to today levels because of Corona. My bet would be 12,000 USD


15. P.S. (Optional)

Not much to add here. Great questions, I hope my answers could help.

[Use Your Brain]

i want to make intwerview but know one will care

[zasad@]

i want to make intwerview but know one will care

Try it, just please be serious.
Questions:
1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?
2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?
3. How did you get on the forum?
4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?
4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?
5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns?  Do they harm the forum?
6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?
7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?
8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?
9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?
10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?
11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?
12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?
13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?
14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?
15. P.S. (Optional)