[ANN][IPO] Spark: New codebase for a new crypto - Fund raising [3/4]

[Spark-crypto]

Spark: The future is now

Thread 3 of 4: Fund raising / IPO



https://i.imgur.com/SZuDdMO.gif



If you are looking for actual information on Spark, follow this link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419

If you want more in depth answers about Spark (and its IPO): https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=527405


Spark is a brand new cryptocurrency made by a team of 3 professional developers who wish to remain anonymous.

It takes the best from all the interesting cryptocurrencies out there (bitcoin, nextcoin, darkcoin) and mixes it with fresh and new ideas.

It is not a fork of existing code, but rather a brand new codebase with core concepts that are thought differently from existing cryptocurrencies.


https://i.imgur.com/Lg6Djwy.png



https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif



Raising money: The IPO



If you do not know what Spark is, begin by reading the following thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419


As announced in our original post, we will never touch any of the funds that are raised. They will entirely be used for the promotion of Spark.

Our escrow will handle the bitcoins for us, and will use them in investments of our choice that promote Spark. None of the invested btc will come back to us.

We will ourselves invest in Spark just like everyone else. After a few days of IPO, we will decide how much we invest. Current plan is 1btc each, not more. We are not rich.

Unlike what we announced in our original post, we will give out 100% of all Sparks right away once the IPO phase is over. They will not be slowly given over 10 months.



The IPO will last for for 20 days. It will be closed at a random time on Sunday, April 13th.




https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif



Investing through our escrows



Most escrow services and private escrows turned us down, as they do not like the idea of handling this kind of business.

We have paid our escrow 1btc in advance, and will give them 1% of all the invested bitcoins to make up for the extra effort required.



Our escrow of choice is btc-asia. They are a well trusted service with a long history of bitcoin escrows.

They will provide instant refunds at any time until the IPO is over if you wish to cancel your investment.




The address to which you should send your bitcoin investment in Spark is: 1BFknD2rTAqTx1cSCdxNiP4smnofCwBohz

There is no minimum or maximum amount. Even one satoshi will get you a fair (but very small) amount of Spark.



Once your bitcoins are sent to the address, send us an e-mail at spark-crypto@linuxmail.org with the following information:

- A nickname we can use when talking to you -

- The amount of bitcoins sent -

- The transaction ID -



If you do not know you transaction ID, send us the precise date and time of your investment instead.

We will ask you to prove you are the owner of the bitcoin address that sent the transaction before we credit you.

https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif


Addressing self moderation



Even though this thread is self moderated, we will not delete the criticism and scam accusation posts.

You can look at our first thread for proof, as it is full of those: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419

We do believe that criticism and hate are a normal part of every IPO, and understand why they happen.


The reason for the self moderation is getting rid of the plague that are advertisements.

The forum is huge, moderators can not remove them all: we will do it ourselves.

Do not bother posting adverts in our thread. They will be deleted right away.

https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif


In closing: Release date




The Spark wallets and your Sparks will be released right after the IPO, on Monday, April 14th.



An altcoin exchange already received a copy of our minimalistic wallet (sparkyd) to ensure that it will be tradeable at launch.

If you represent an exchange and wish to implement Spark trading before April 14th, send us a PM or a mail !

We have successfully set up a testnet with enough nodes to sustain the network and do blank runs.

It works on every major OS (FreeBSD included) and only requires Python 3.




Thank you all for your interest in Spark. The future is now !

- The Spark team -

[1715469732]

1715469732

[1715469732]

1715469732

[ClutchThese]

Can't mine it AT ALL... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Michael Becker]

I might be a complete idiot for this, but I just sent 1btc.

As they say, no risk, no reward.

[IUrry]

Who knows more info about the btc-asia company ?

[leo66]

So interested

[odin99]

this is a little fishy...

how much spark will i get for x amount of btc?  will it be based on percent of btc sent to that address? say i end up sending 1% of all the btc invested... i'll get 1% of spark?  you should be clarifying how you are dividing this all up.  or maybe i'm just an idiot.

how do we know all 1 bill will be released? how will you prove it?

[Gunther]

Looks very good!

[Spark-crypto]

https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

this is a little fishy...

how much spark will i get for x amount of btc?  will it be based on percent of btc sent to that address? say i end up sending 1% of all the btc invested... i'll get 1% of spark?  you should be clarifying how you are dividing this all up.  or maybe i'm just an idiot.

how do we know all 1 bill will be released? how will you prove it?

Yes, you will get a % of Spark that is proportional to the % of btc you invested compared to the total btc in the IPO.

If you invest 1btc out of a total of 100btc invested, you will indeed get 1% of all Sparks.

All the sparks have already been minted and are in the hands of our escrow. They will be distributed by them as soon as the IPO is over.


An escrow has much more to lose by losing their reputation than they have to win by stealing people's funds. We made sure to pick an escrow group that is involved in many projects and wants to keep on doing it professionally, knowing they will lose all their future business if they sabotage their trust ratings.




As for the proof, Spark has a « genesis cloud » with the id 0, you will be able to trace all transactions emitted from this Spark Cloud. 

We can provide a public list of all transactions ids, since it is not possible to follow Spark transactions without knowing their ID (fully anonymous cryptocurrency). Once you know the ID though, you can verify that each transaction did indeed happen, and check that the genesis wallet has 0 balance remaining.

If there is demand for it, we will provide this list after launch.



Concerning any further inquiries, we will drop by here as often as possible, but prefessional, family, and social life get in the way sometimes.



https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

[dylansweb]

Hello there. I am looking for all coins that can be mined using CPU. Can you tell me if these can be mined using CPU? Please msg me back to let me know? Thanks.

[ClutchThese]

unsubscribe

[wizzardTim]

can we have a video/screenshot/code snippet??

Im interested so far..

[Sapphire]

How can we make sure that the BTC address is btc-asia's address? Can the escrow make any public announcement of the whole operation?

Also. btc-asia-escrow@hotmail.com? hotmail, really? There is a website btc-asia.com, is it their website? Why the hotmail then?

[dylansweb]

Hello there. I am looking for all coins that can be mined using CPU. Can you tell me if these can be mined using CPU? Please msg me back to let me know? Thanks.

[sonysasankan]

How can we make sure that the BTC address is btc-asia's address? Can the escrow make any public announcement of the whole operation?

Also. btc-asia-escrow@hotmail.com? hotmail, really? There is a website btc-asia.com, is it their website? Why the hotmail then?

Good point.... why not the email listed on the website (admin@btc-asia.com) or some other email id make for this exclusively (sparks@btc-asia.com ?) or even something from the parent company @bitcoinmalaysia.com. Seems like a good idea and a little too thought out and detailed for me to call scam.... maybe they just overlooked details like these.

[GreekBitcoin]

69.5 BTC

you say you will not delete criticism yet you deleted my post. If you delete it again i will report you and leave you a nice negative trust.

[odin99]

yes. i think the escrow needs to confirm that they are indeed involved.  

for all we know right now, that you be your private btc wallet address... and when finally questioned your escrow may say they had nothing to do with spark.

[odin99]

yes. i think the escrow needs to confirm that they are indeed involved.  

for all we know right now, that you be your private btc wallet address... and when finally questioned your escrow may say they had nothing to do with spark.

and it better be pretty damn good proof.

[sonysasankan]

ok... just noticed the address has been changed in the OP. It is now spark-ipo@btc-asia.com

[leo66]

Who knows more info about the btc-asia company ?

Same question here,any link?

[dawj20]

Here is an announcement thread for the btc-asia.com service posted on June 18th, 2013 by the member "ninjaboon": https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=237121.0. After doing a bit of investigating, things look good enough to me regarding the escrow.

This coin sounds interesting and seems innovative. I am glad that they have decided to distribute all of the coins at once instead of releasing them 10% at a time. I also like that they addressed the question of how much they will invest in the IPO themselves. The long investment period of 20 days and the fact that there is no minimum investment offers anybody who is interested a fair chance to obtain some Spark. I personally feel that this distribution method is superior to mining.

One question I have for the developers is how many total coins will there be? You mention in your earlier thread that one billion will be distributed initially, which could now be outdated information. Please clarify.

[zifcom]

interested

[boenxia]

I am very optimistic about this coin

[lounge]

interested

[yudfj]

If you invest 1btc out of a total of 100btc invested, you will indeed get 1% of all Sparks

[Spark-crypto]

https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

can we have a video/screenshot/code snippet??

We wanted to keep everything private until release / have everything be a full surprise, but it is obvious that this is not how trust is generated. Bad/naive thinking on our part. We are better developers than social engineers or communication specialists, we'll try to improve on that.


Here is a screenshot of the Windows build of the Spark wallet. We went for a minimalistic style due to being graphically impaired, but the wallet can easily be skinned over / redesigned once we're past release and people offer us better looking graphics:

https://i.imgur.com/Lg6Djwy.png


No point in giving a screenshot of our minimalistic wallet (sparkyd), as text in command line is not exactly what I'd call exciting. We'll add this screenshot to the main post.



As for the code snippet, we had a hard time finding a bit of code that fits the following requirements:
1) Does not expose any of our core working methods before release
2) Is not totally worthless, like a whole file of exception codes or config

We went with the class that handles remote calls:

Code:

# Remote call to another Spark client or node
class Remote(object):
    def __init__(self, cloudid, cloud=None, ident=None, ssf=None, maxwait=15, *args, **kwargs):
        if cloud is None: cloud = 'default'
        if ident is None: ident = ''
        if isinstance(cloudid, six.text_type): cloudid = cloudid.encode('utf-8')
        if isinstance(ident, six.text_type): ident = ident.encode('utf-8')
        if isinstance(cloud, six.text_type): cloud = cloud.encode('utf-8')
        if isinstance(ssf, six.text_type): ssf = ssf.encode('utf-8')
        super(Proxy, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
        self.neutralizer = 0
        self.cloudid = cloudid
        self.ssf = ssf
        self.cloud = cloud
        self.ident = ident
        self.maxwait = maxwait

    def __getattr__(self, name):
        if self.ssf is not None:
            name = '.'.join([self.ssf, name])
        return self.__class__(self.cloudid, self.cloud, self.ident, name, self.maxwait)

    def __call__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        if args and kwargs:
            raise ValueError(u"Should and can not encode both parameters")
        if self.ssf is None:
            raise ValueError(u"Must specify")

        self.neutralizer = (self.neutralizer+1) & 0xffffffff
        hash_ = sha1(b''.join([self.cloudid, self.ssf, self.cloud, Lint(self.neutralizer).serialize(4), time.ctime(), Lint(randrange(2**32)).serialize(4)])).digest()
        id_ = Lint.deserialize(StringIO(hash_[:4]), 4)

        sparkinfo = dumps(id_, self.ssf, kwargs or args)
        headers = {'Content-Type' : 'application/json'}
        reply = requests.post(self.cloudid, auth=(self.cloud, self.ident), data=sparkinfo, maxwait=self.maxwait)
        if reply.status_code >= 500:
            reply.raise_for_status()
        response = loads(reply.content)

        if 'id' not in response or response['id'] != id_:
            raise ResponseError(u"Unexpected reply")
        if ('error' in response and response['error'] is not None and
            'result' in response and response['result'] is not None):
            raise ResponseError(u"Can't have a response and an error at once")

        if 'error' in response and response['error'] is not None:
            raise Fault('code' in response['error'] and response['error']['code'] or -1, 'message' in response['error'] and response['error']['message'] or '', 'description' in response['error'] and response['error']['description'] or None)
        elif 'result' in response:
            return response['result']
        else:
            raise ResponseError(u"Must have at least a response or an error")

https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

How can we make sure that the BTC address is btc-asia's address? Can the escrow make any public announcement of the whole operation?

Also. btc-asia-escrow@hotmail.com? hotmail, really? There is a website btc-asia.com, is it their website? Why the hotmail then?

They try to distance themselves from direct involvement in any operations they are in. This was a major contention point between us and them, but we have just asked them to post something on their website if possible regarding the Spark IPO.

A specific email inbox for the Spark IPO is meant to be opened by them, but we're waiting for confirmation that it's operational. I added it to the main post, awaiting confirmation from them now. Timezones and family life make communication between us difficult, we will do our best. We will delete this email address until they confirm it is working.




https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

you say you will not delete criticism yet you deleted my post. If you delete it again i will report you and leave you a nice negative trust.

This was a misunderstanding, we thought that your gif was some form of advertisement, like the others we removed from the thread (namely « crypto tower », « crypto calendar », and some mining pool). You can keep your post and gif if it's just a scam accusation: as we said in the main post, we're ready to live with those. They come with the territory.




https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

One question I have for the developers is how many total coins will there be? You mention in your earlier thread that one billion will be distributed initially, which could now be outdated information. Please clarify.

From this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419 : « There will be 1 000 000 000 (one billion) sparks distributed initially, with nothing at all premined or reserved for the developers »

This information has not changed since, we will stick with this number.



https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

[Gunther]

I'm going to invest. The only strange this is this sentence:

Most escrow services and private escrows turned us down, as they do not like the idea of handling this kind of business.

Why would they turn you down, but accept some random crap/clonecoins at the same time?

[dawj20]

One question I have for the developers is how many total coins will there be? You mention in your earlier thread that one billion will be distributed initially, which could now be outdated information. Please clarify.

From this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419 : « There will be 1 000 000 000 (one billion) sparks distributed initially, with nothing at all premined or reserved for the developers »

This information has not changed since, we will stick with this number.

Yes, I saw that. It says INITIALLY. I wanted you to confirm the TOTAL lifetime amount of coins. Is the total one billion? Thank you.

[Spark-crypto]

https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

I'm going to invest. The only strange this is this sentence:

Most escrow services and private escrows turned us down, as they do not like the idea of handling this kind of business.

Why would they turn you down, but accept some random crap/clonecoins at the same time?

Here is how our escrow search went:

Step one: Finding a serious escrow that does other things than bitcoin. This was actually a very hard step, there needs to be a good index of escrows somewhere. We'd have even been ready to pay to see a detailed lists of escrows, their trust rating, and what kind of business they accept.

Step two: Having the escrow accept us. Most escrows did not want to be associated with IPOs or with people who decide to remain anonymous because they are the ones who look bad if the IPO fails or ends up being a scam. We offered a testnet wallet to prove that we were real, but all but two didn't even want it and stopped their business with us at this step.

Step three: We had only two escrow options left. One of them was not looking serious enough however. We believe that he was probably a scammer, as he was offering to do it for 0% fee and without any cost. In our eyes, this was extremely suspicious, and felt like he was just waiting for an opportunity to run away with some big money.

Step four: The escrow service we were left with is a semi-automated service. For small escrows, they have a website, but they are ready to handle big escrows like IPOs for us in exchange for 1btc in advance and a fee of 1%. We also have to keep track of investors ourselves, and tell them who to give the Sparks to. This might sound like a lot of negative things, but there is a much bigger positive with them: They were  willing to give us a real life identity and prove (through a bank payment of 0.01$) that they are the two persons they say they are.

Communication with them is not easy as they are in an asian timezone and are slow at writing english in real time chat, but when we take our time we can understand ourselves just fine. We did not even ask for the real life identity verification, they offered it themselves, and we appreciated that gesture a lot.




It seems like cryptocurrencies that are not established yet and IPOs have gained an association with scams, and when looking for an escrow you are caught in the middle of this. In their eyes, you are just like the rest, a scammer trying to make quick money. Even after offering to give them a working version of our wallet on testnet, they mostly refused and dismissed us as they do not want to be attached to something that is not big like bitcoin.




https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

One question I have for the developers is how many total coins will there be? You mention in your earlier thread that one billion will be distributed initially, which could now be outdated information. Please clarify.

From this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419 : « There will be 1 000 000 000 (one billion) sparks distributed initially, with nothing at all premined or reserved for the developers »

This information has not changed since, we will stick with this number.

Yes, I saw that. It says INITIALLY. I wanted you to confirm the TOTAL lifetime amount of coins. Is the total one billion? Thank you.

Yes, with no mining, the number of coins can not go up.

However, as we mentioned on the original post, there is an annual 10% proof of stake inflation of the total amount of coins. This gives a small advantage to people who decide to have their Sparks in a wallet (even locked/cold storage) where they can hoard them or spend them in shops and e-commerces. The reason for this is that we want to encourage people to use wallets for their Sparks instead of keeping them on exchanges.

The PoS minting is done every day (about 0.028% inflation per day), and is the only way new Sparks can be introduced. It would not even be possible for us to insert more Sparks in the economy without making a hard fork, as only the cloud with the id 0 can contain new Sparks, and that cloud has already been generated and locked.


The stake generation will only start after a bit over one year, on the 1st of May 2015. Until then, the number of coins in circulation will be exactly one billion, not less not more.



https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif     https://i.imgur.com/rRY7MUg.gif

[dawj20]

One question I have for the developers is how many total coins will there be? You mention in your earlier thread that one billion will be distributed initially, which could now be outdated information. Please clarify.

From this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=525419 : « There will be 1 000 000 000 (one billion) sparks distributed initially, with nothing at all premined or reserved for the developers »

This information has not changed since, we will stick with this number.

Yes, I saw that. It says INITIALLY. I wanted you to confirm the TOTAL lifetime amount of coins. Is the total one billion? Thank you.

Yes, with no mining, the number of coins can not go up.

However, as we mentioned on the original post, there is an annual 10% proof of stake inflation of the total amount of coins. This gives a small advantage to people who decide to have their Sparks in a wallet (even locked/cold storage) where they can hoard them or spend them in shops and e-commerces. The reason for this is that we want to encourage people to use wallets for their Sparks instead of keeping them on exchanges.

The PoS minting is done every day (about 0.028% inflation per day), and is the only way new Sparks can be introduced. It would not even be possible for us to insert more Sparks in the economy without making a hard fork, as only the cloud with the id 0 can contain new Sparks, and that cloud has already been generated and locked.


The stake generation will only start after a bit over one year, on the 1st of May 2015. Until then, the number of coins in circulation will be exactly one billion, not less not more.

Great! Thanks for clearing that up. I knew about the staking, I just wasn't clear on if the "1 000 000 000 (one billion) sparks distributed initially" was still accurate or if that information was based on your previous plan to release the coins in 10% increments. I understand fully now.

[dawj20]

https://i.imgur.com/bThyafc.png

Combined them into one image and smoothed out the jaggies a bit.

[KyLins]

I hope that the success of the project, participants can share the joy of success.

[Polycoin]

No Offense, I'm not trolling this one post, but to get money from Me for a IPO, you would need a website already for your coin, a working wallet for your coin, and all the details/specifications on that website, along with forums, AS WELL AS having your full identity in the public which includes your name date of birth and LINKEDIN profile or at least a list of places or projects youve done/worked on so users know your qualified and not scamming the shit out of them. That wiill show me that you're prepared to actually fully develop your coin until the end.

Not fully sure on what to think...

[Gunther]

Here is how our escrow search went:

Step one: Finding a serious escrow that does other things than bitcoin. This was actually a very hard step, there needs to be a good index of escrows somewhere. We'd have even been ready to pay to see a detailed lists of escrows, their trust rating, and what kind of business they accept.

Step two: Having the escrow accept us. Most escrows did not want to be associated with IPOs or with people who decide to remain anonymous because they are the ones who look bad if the IPO fails or ends up being a scam. We offered a testnet wallet to prove that we were real, but all but two didn't even want it and stopped their business with us at this step.

Step three: We had only two escrow options left. One of them was not looking serious enough however. We believe that he was probably a scammer, as he was offering to do it for 0% fee and without any cost. In our eyes, this was extremely suspicious, and felt like he was just waiting for an opportunity to run away with some big money.

Step four: The escrow service we were left with is a semi-automated service. For small escrows, they have a website, but they are ready to handle big escrows like IPOs for us in exchange for 1btc in advance and a fee of 1%. We also have to keep track of investors ourselves, and tell them who to give the Sparks to. This might sound like a lot of negative things, but there is a much bigger positive with them: They were  willing to give us a real life identity and prove (through a bank payment of 0.01$) that they are the two persons they say they are.

Communication with them is not easy as they are in an asian timezone and are slow at writing english in real time chat, but when we take our time we can understand ourselves just fine. We did not even ask for the real life identity verification, they offered it themselves, and we appreciated that gesture a lot.

Okay, well. Your answer still doesn't convince me. Why should you trust some random (?) Chinese guys? I'd rather give you my money directly, than give it to an unknown (?) Chinese company.
Sorry for being sceptic, but it's money we're talking about. I'm willing to invest 1 BTC in your project, because i do believe it has big potential, but with an escrow like that? Hmm...

Do they have references? Did other people already used their services at this board? You can always send me a PM if this is too much offtopic.

[freet0pian]

I still think its a poor choice having a self moderated topic. Is the little spamming doing harm that outweighs the fact this topic is self moderated?

I'm interested in investing but in the free world of crypto + anonymity thrown in the mix I have to be extra careful where I put my coins.

[lemfuture]

ipo tried

[dawj20]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

[wizzardTim]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I'd like that too. I'm ready to invest.

[ninjaboon]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I cannot confirm anything until Spark-crypto emails me with some validation or more information. my email is admin@btc-asia.com
Till now, I have yet to get any info from user = Spark-crypto.

Until then, please stay tuned.

[TomGreed]

I think you should use an escrow on bitcointalk.org.

[IUrry]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I cannot confirm anything until Spark-crypto emails me with some validation or more information. my email is admin@btc-asia.com
Till now, I have yet to get any info from user = Spark-crypto.

Until then, please stay tuned.

Sounds interesting now.   The dev said they will use the escrow service, but the manager of escrow service didn't know about that!!!

Dev, do sth to show ur trustable!

[ownerbest]

why there are few people

[TOYJJWGS]

take a seat  i like  it
hope you

[sw3200211]

why there are few people

[ownerbest]

Honestly, I'm very interested in this project. But I doubt whether your dev team can realize the functions you said.
Please proof that! Thanks

[qingmu1992]

Can you give me a update of how many btc have you ipo now?
So we can decided how many btc to invest....

[koinjoin75]

I don't think we need to coin IPO so much, really.
Can you issue the coin it another way?
I feel like c2coin, faircoin and their pattern is very good.

[qingmu1992]

I don't think we need to coin IPO so much, really.
Can you issue the coin it another way?
I feel like c2coin, faircoin and their pattern is very good.

Now many people want the free coins.
But , There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[ownerbest]

Up for spark, let more people see this

[wizzardTim]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I cannot confirm anything until Spark-crypto emails me with some validation or more information. my email is admin@btc-asia.com
Till now, I have yet to get any info from user = Spark-crypto.

Until then, please stay tuned.

Waiting to see how this evolves.

[Painful Truth]

complex project... but competition is good...

all the best 

[ownerbest]

I'd like to wait some  days to invest, take a seat

[highscore]

soon send

[Gunther]

Can you give me a update of how many btc have you ipo now?
So we can decided how many btc to invest....

https://blockchain.info/address/1BFknD2rTAqTx1cSCdxNiP4smnofCwBohz

1.10 BTC.

[dreamboy]

So interested

[qingmu1992]

Can you give me a update of how many btc have you ipo now?
So we can decided how many btc to invest....

https://blockchain.info/address/1BFknD2rTAqTx1cSCdxNiP4smnofCwBohz

1.10 BTC.

I see, thank you.

[sw3200211]

I don't think we need to coin IPO so much, really.
Can you issue the coin it another way?
I feel like c2coin, faircoin and their pattern is very good.

[blueangel01]

I would encourage people limit their investments in IPOs. Do not be too greedy. This project sounds promising. Another evolution in POS. With the success of mintcoin and blackcoin, it seems that the interest of investors are leaning towards POS. I would invest 1btc after confirmation from the Escrow. I trust tomatocage as an escrow, he did escrow in IPO for the pawncoin.

I hope all future developers would do the same - not copying the source but rather just get the idea and improve it.

[ownerbest]

Have you got the comfirmation from the secrow? I think this coin has a great idea. But I doubt the ability of the dev team.
And still, I don't know whether we can trust the dev?

I would encourage people limit their investments in IPOs. Do not be too greedy. This project sounds promising. Another evolution in POS. With the success of mintcoin and blackcoin, it seems that the interest of investors are leaning towards POS. I would invest 1btc after confirmation from the Escrow. I trust tomatocage as an escrow, he did escrow in IPO for the pawncoin.

I hope all future developers would do the same - not copying the source but rather just get the idea and improve it.

[provenceday]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I cannot confirm anything until Spark-crypto emails me with some validation or more information. my email is admin@btc-asia.com
Till now, I have yet to get any info from user = Spark-crypto.

Until then, please stay tuned.

？

[blueangel01]

there so few that have donated so far. I would not donate until the escrow is the one who owns the bitcoin address. Dev please respond. Tomatocage is a good bet if you can't find anybody else.

[CarlosWing]

Why like IPO
IPO for what?

[yshuifejng]

keep watching and wait for a trustable escrow. After all, the investment need to be cautious. this Project looks big, whether developers can achieve complete. Any project plans?  At present the information look some confusion.

[nextgencoin]

I dont see how someone and claim they have Escrow before they even contact them. Seems fishy...My hunch is the Escrow is half hearted without planning so most dont even use it but send money striaght to the IPO address. It could be legit but i will wait to see if the coin exists and is traded. Too much risk. Little upside.

[provenceday]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I cannot confirm anything until Spark-crypto emails me with some validation or more information. my email is admin@btc-asia.com
Till now, I have yet to get any info from user = Spark-crypto.

Until then, please stay tuned.

？

dev please explain this, thanks!

[sw3200211]

dev please explain this, thanks!

[wizzardTim]

dev, we are interested. We need to see some proof regarding the escrow's address. Then, I will happily invest.

[Forobitcoins]

reserved

[Sanglotslongs]

You are on Bitcointalk, use bitcointalk escrow if you want to be truth in this forum, that's all. With unknown china escrow out this forum nobody will hope in your project.

[blueangel01]

Still no response from the Dev....

[provenceday]

It would be great if ninjaboon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64005) could post in this thread to confirm that his service (btc-asia.com) is involved in the escrow.

I cannot confirm anything until Spark-crypto emails me with some validation or more information. my email is admin@btc-asia.com
Till now, I have yet to get any info from user = Spark-crypto.

Until then, please stay tuned.

？

dev please explain this, thanks!

？？

[blueangel01]

I thought i read that he promised to be active.

[ThinkGreen]

Still no response from the Dev....

Dev, if u want investors put them into your pocket, plz give a quick response.

You are on Bitcointalk, use bitcointalk escrow if you want to be truth in this forum, that's all. With unknown china escrow out this forum nobody will hope in your project.

Plz use btt escrow. That is convenient for us.

dev, we are interested. We need to see some proof regarding the escrow's address. Then, I will happily invest.

Me too.

[Spark-crypto]

https://i.imgur.com/bThyafc.png

Hello everyone,

We have been trying to settle this whole thing behind the scenes, but it's gotten far too messy to handle.


Here's how we are going to proceed from here:

First step: We give everyone who invested their funds back, and we'll get our escrow funds back. You can check in the blockchain for proof that the btc have been given back. We're not here to screw with people's money.

Second step: We found someone who has experience launching a very successful cryptocurrency in the past. He's willing to help us get it right. We're going to take a bit to work on having real, better plans for launch.

We'll do a thread like this again once we're ready, but this time with better proof of Spark being legitimate (probably a video of Spark in action, a limited demo wallet for people to play with, something like that), and we'll find an escrow who understands how to work with us, or not use an escrow at all.


If you think you can help us in any way, or just want to discuss Spark before the launch, feel free to send us private messages on bitcointalk. Until then, the IPO is closed and the launch postponed indefinitely.

We will keep the current name and brand, even though this thread probably hurt our image more than everything else.



See you later,

The future is now,

- The Spark team -

[/size]

https://i.imgur.com/bThyafc.png