Bitcoin startup Circle unveils no-fee digital currency banking

[minimalB]

Is this US only service? Haven't found much on their website...

[molecular]

Is this US only service? Haven't found much on their website...

Allister (!) specifically says in the video it's a global service.

[newIndia]

Banking is always a NO-NO as long as BTC is concerned. Every user of BTC are their own bank.

[whynotbit]

Thx Hunyadi !  
Luckily I sent by pm a help request for a wrong password for nxt wallet, ended up I was mistyping it each time (spaces and all) would have been a fail first post !!

 

Banking is always a NO-NO as long as BTC is concerned. Every user of BTC are their own bank.

It does need some knowledge to be able to do that, competences, material, not everyone can afford having a computer never connected on internet just to back your coins on cold wallet, not talking about the manipulation in softwares, keys, it seems a lot here think all humans are born with computer skills, which is not the case, you don't skyjump alone on first time do you, so wity bitcoin it can be the same, to begin a clear system letting time for the user to develop the right skills, but abling him to have quick coins, and that's what bitcoin community wants, even if security and decentralization take a little hit, (I did hear many have a cold wallet in a safe in some bank cause a house can burn), it's not smart to be your own bank when you are worth 1000000 let's say, imagine the possible situations that could come up.
The "compliance" part is the essential difference with many stock exchanges that did ignore all legal aspects, totally not protecting the end-user,  so cryptos will spread apart, have a basis of really involved, skilled users and developers staying with their habits and the average human, finding it a good potential money, but not more, needing strong back ups in the "before cypto" world, making it simple cause it is hell not right now !!
 

[bithalo]

Jeremy Allaire, the CEO, was one of the main keynote speakers at the last NYC Bitcoin conference.  He has been involved with other projects for many years, including helping to create Adobe Flash for Macromedia, and there has been a lot of VC funding in Circle.  I personally have a lot of faith in the company.  I currently use Coinbase, but plan to try them out.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are willing to lose money up front on the $10 bonus and no fees to grab market share away from Coinbase.  

Back around 1999, before Paypal was popular, I started a small business.  Paypal spoke to us to use their services.  I recall them saying that they profit on the float on using people's deposits, like a bank will use customer's fiat deposits or checks to make interest off it.  Paypal used to/may still offer a similar free bonus deposit in new accounts, and Coinbase does too.  Thats nothing new.

But I wouldn't be surprised if Circle will have other avenues of making profit, such as through their merchant services.

[minimalB]

Allister (!) specifically says in the video it's a global service.

Yes, it's global service in a sense that anyone can create an account, but when I contacted the support, I was told it is US only for now if you want to link your bank account, credit or debit card.

[Biodom]

so far it has been...Nothing. i gave them my name and email.
This is what i've got in response:

Thanks for signing up to receive an invite to join Circle. We're working hard on exciting new digital currency products that aim to make money easier to use, more secure and friction-free. We'll be sending periodic updates on our progress and your invitation will be forthcoming. And don't forget to connect with Circle on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

i don't want to be social with my bank. What a bunch of baloney; mosolo or solomo or lomoso? Freaking gibberish (as per "Silicon Valley").
You lost me at "hello"
Forget about it.

[DooMAD]

The latest Let's Talk Bitcoin podcast goes into quite a bit of depth about Circle.  Overall it's quite balanced, but they do refer to it as a "bridge service".  Something that may be useful in the interim, but also something that could be surpassed later as Bitcoin matures.  Andreas says he'll likely use the service, but purely as an exchange to buy bitcoin, not to hold it like a bank, due to the inherent risk of them controlling the private keys.

[Alley]

Anybody received an invite yet?  Been 2 weeks with no word for me.

[Quibbler28]

Bitcoin is not complex... It really isnt.

[Alley]

Sorry but if I can get coins from them with no fees Im signing up in a heartbeat.

[molecular]

Sorry but if I can get coins from them with no fees Im signing up in a heartbeat.

If you're not paying, you might not be the customer, but the product.

[Melbustus]

Sorry but if I can get coins from them with no fees Im signing up in a heartbeat.

If you're not paying, you might not be the customer, but the product.

Much of the time yes, but Circle (and other providers of bitcoin liquidity) will often be able to make money from large off-exchange bitcoin-fiat transactions.

[tvbcof]

Sorry but if I can get coins from them with no fees Im signing up in a heartbeat.

If you're not paying, you might not be the customer, but the product.

It seemed pretty obvious to me that they are planning to make money in the 'normal' way.  That is by data mining, analytics, and advertising.  This has proven a remarkably successful business model.  So ya, the 'product' is the intel coming off the userbase which, for all intents and purpose, does make the user qualify as 'the product'.  Akin to 'eyeballs' which is not a metric which I believe to be secret.  We'll have to use some imagination (but not a lot these days) to identify Circle's actual customers.

That said, I'm having a lot of trouble with mainstream banks + Coinbase of late.  I'll totally welcome another means capitalizing on my speculation.  I'll look forward to a more concrete and less fluffy description of what, exactly, these guys can offer ME.

[CEG5952]

Have fun with a "digital currency bank" controlling your Bitcoins.

I know, I get it, but at the same time, this might be the type of "bridging the gap" sort of service that we need to get average joes involved with bitcoin.

[MrWDunne]

Sorry but if I can get coins from them with no fees Im signing up in a heartbeat.

If you're not paying, you might not be the customer, but the product.

It seemed pretty obvious to me that they are planning to make money in the 'normal' way.  That is by data mining, analytics, and advertising.  This has proven a remarkably successful business model.  So ya, the 'product' is the intel coming off the userbase which, for all intents and purpose, does make the user qualify as 'the product'.  Akin to 'eyeballs' which is not a metric which I believe to be secret.  We'll have to use some imagination (but not a lot these days) to identify Circle's actual customers.

That said, I'm having a lot of trouble with mainstream banks + Coinbase of late.  I'll totally welcome another means capitalizing on my speculation.  I'll look forward to a more concrete and less fluffy description of what, exactly, these guys can offer ME.

I think you're most likely wrong.

I would imagine they are zero fees in the same way as Coinbase. Sure they have no fees but they do have a hefty spread.

[tvbcof]

Sorry but if I can get coins from them with no fees Im signing up in a heartbeat.

If you're not paying, you might not be the customer, but the product.

It seemed pretty obvious to me that they are planning to make money in the 'normal' way.  That is by data mining, analytics, and advertising.  This has proven a remarkably successful business model.  So ya, the 'product' is the intel coming off the userbase which, for all intents and purpose, does make the user qualify as 'the product'.  Akin to 'eyeballs' which is not a metric which I believe to be secret.  We'll have to use some imagination (but not a lot these days) to identify Circle's actual customers.

That said, I'm having a lot of trouble with mainstream banks + Coinbase of late.  I'll totally welcome another means capitalizing on my speculation.  I'll look forward to a more concrete and less fluffy description of what, exactly, these guys can offer ME.

I think you're most likely wrong.

I would imagine they are zero fees in the same way as Coinbase. Sure they have no fees but they do have a hefty spread.

One would be at a disadvantage to one's competition if one neglects to monetize an information stream as rich as that coming off something like Bitcoin.  I've never had any doubt that Coinbase shares whatever info they have about me at least as liberally as needed to stay on the right side of LE and our internal corporate/government intelligence bodies.  Just like any other internet based player these days.  There is no reason to believe that they wouldn't take advantage of other revenue streams other than the possibility that it would alienate their users if/when the scope is discovered.  But a brief skim of this board indicates that very few people give a shit about that kind of stuff.  Even in the ratified Bitcoin ecosystem.  This is particularly pronounced among the more recent participants in this forum.

Time will tell if I'm right on this.  My projections are skewed somewhat by having spent some time working in related environments.  At this point it is pretty difficult to understand what Circle are even expecting to offer in terms of services.  Their site is characteristically opaque about this, and most observers seem only to be able to guesstimate about it.  Probably it is still a bit unclear even to them until they work through some agreements about how they'll be allowed to operate.

 - edit: spelling.

[JohnFromWIT]

Just sent a request. Just to see what it's all about.
There really isn't much information.

[Ron~Popeil]

Still no invitation. I think their business model at some point will incorporate merchant services as well. Just speculation obviously but it would make sense. 

[mel2000]

I'm still trying to understand any advantage this service has over Bitstamp or Coinbase.

Does this service allow clients to keep their assets in either BTC or $$ like Bitstamp?
Does the service allow selling BTC and holding the $$ proceeds in their Circle account, like Bitstamp?
Does the service allow selling BTC and depositing the $$ proceeds directly to one's bank account, like Coinbase?
Does the service allow one to sell their BTC for $$ without fees (not sure if Coinbase charges a fee upon selling)?