BitCrate - break crates, get free Bitcoins

[Matoking]

So, after spending some of my time learning PHP and MySQL, I've come up with my first Bitcoin-related site : BitCrate

The premise is simple. You enter your Bitcoin address, solve the CAPTCHA, select a crate and get your free Bitcoins. (Payments processed every 24 hours or so) You can repeat this every 24 hours.

The site will be funded by advertising (Operation Fabulous and Anonymous Ads) and voluntary donations, which can be sent to 1GVm5g3Xrvmk7mGXe61UxipGY5DghP6kG

http://www.bitcrate.net

EDIT :
As of June 17, 2012, BitCrate has been closed and will no longer payout visitors.

EDIT 2 :
BitCrate's source code and domain up for auction here :
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=88483.0

EDIT 3 :
BitCrate has relaunched under the ownership of mark_logan.

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[rjk]

Nice. I bet "crate breaking" will become the next "wow gold farming".

[DeaDTerra]

yay! I got 0.015 BTC thanks
//DeaDTerra

[Matoking]

Yeah, looks like you got the best prize at the moment at your first try.

If this happens too often, I may have to turn the value of the prizes down a bit. Don't want to go bankrupt during the first hours. (I have no idea how much attention the site will get, so I'll most likely adjust the prizes soon)

[tarrant_01]

Awww 0.002

Cool idea though!

[Matoking]

Currently implementing a new CAPTCHA. Hang on there. Done.

Lowered the value of the prizes. Will probably continue to change depending on what's feasible.

[Stephen Gornick]

(I have no idea how much attention the site will get, so I'll most likely adjust the prizes soon)

Is that because you don't know what kind of ad revenues you'll get from the Captcha and/or banner ads yet?

Great to see you support Bitcoin advertising networks -- Anonymous Ads and Operation Fabulous.

I've added it to the wiki:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade#Samples_and_Marketing_Offers

You might want to post to this thread so that BitCrate gets added to the OP:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=74046.0

Same here:
 - https://ogrr.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1424

[Matoking]

(I have no idea how much attention the site will get, so I'll most likely adjust the prizes soon)

Is that because you don't know what kind of ad revenues you'll get from the Captcha and/or banner ads yet?

Yes, I can't throw free Bitcoins at people forever, so the site should be able to cover itself in some way. Advertising is planned to be the main source of revenue, but that remains to be seen. I could end up implementing something different than Operation Fabulous, similar to what CoinAd and Daily Bitcoins are using at the moment.

Thanks for adding the site to the list.

[mcorlett]

I would suggest using Ads Captcha, for both verification as well as extra income.

[Matoking]

I would suggest using Ads Captcha, for both verification as well as extra income.

I've looked at it. They don't allow people under the age of 18.

[SgtSpike]

I just won 0.001 BTC to the donation address.  

Would be cool if a person could see "already broken" crates for a specific time period.  So, all the crates that were broken during a given day would show a broken crate with the amount inside of it that was won, then they would all reset at the end of the day.  Or something like that.  That would make it a little more interesting/different from the existing coin-a-day sites.

Would you consider adding firstbits support?  That way, I don't have to worry about whether I am at my home computer or elsewhere - I'll always have an address to put in and use.

[Matoking]

I just won 0.001 BTC to the donation address.  

Would be cool if a person could see "already broken" crates for a specific time period.  So, all the crates that were broken during a given day would show a broken crate with the amount inside of it that was won, then they would all reset at the end of the day.  Or something like that.  That would make it a little more interesting/different from the existing coin-a-day sites.

Would you consider adding firstbits support?  That way, I don't have to worry about whether I am at my home computer or elsewhere - I'll always have an address to put in and use.

That actually sounds kinda neat, need to think how to implement it. I may put up a bounty for some graphics and/or site logo at some point. The site looks pretty bland at the moment.

I'll try my hands at implementing the Firstbits support tomorrow.

[mcorlett]

I'll try my hands at implementing the Firstbits support tomorrow.

I have some PHP code, hold on!

[mcorlett]

I rewrote it from scratch instead:
http://bitcoincash.com/firstbits_demo/
Enter your Firstbits and click outside of the text field.

resolveAddress.php:

Code:

<?php
function firstbits($q) {
	$blockchain = file_get_contents('https://blockchain.info/q/resolvefirstbits/' . $q);
	$blockchain = trim($blockchain);

	// Check if address begins with 1 (very lenient, needs to be improved)
	if ($blockchain[0] == '1') {
		return $blockchain;
	} else {
		// Blockchain.info failed, fall back to Firstbits.com
		$firstbits = file_get_contents('http://www.firstbits.com/api/?a=' . $q);
		$firstbits = trim($firstbits);

		// Check if address begins with 1 (very lenient, needs to be improved)
		if ($firstbits[0] == '1') {
			return $firstbits;
		} else {
			return 'no_match';
		}
	}
}

// Get the query via GET.
$q = $_GET['q'];

// The function output is stored in $firstbits.
$firstbits = firstbits($q);

if ($firstbits == 'no_match') {
	echo 'no_match';
} else {
	echo $firstbits;
}
?>

[schnell]

AMAZING site.
Love the random amount paid out
Any chance of renting some advertising space?
Reviewing you for freebitcoins.co.uk and free-bitcoins.net

[SgtSpike]

I rewrote it from scratch instead:
http://bitcoincash.com/firstbits_demo/
Enter your Firstbits and click outside of the text field.

resolveAddress.php:

Code:

<?php
function firstbits($q) {
	$blockchain = file_get_contents('https://blockchain.info/q/resolvefirstbits/' . $q);
	$blockchain = trim($blockchain);

	// Check if address begins with 1 (very lenient, needs to be improved)
	if ($blockchain[0] == '1') {
		return $blockchain;
	} else {
		// Blockchain.info failed, fall back to Firstbits.com
		$firstbits = file_get_contents('http://www.firstbits.com/api/?a=' . $q);
		$firstbits = trim($firstbits);

		// Check if address begins with 1 (very lenient, needs to be improved)
		if ($firstbits[0] == '1') {
			return $firstbits;
		} else {
			return 'no_match';
		}
	}
}

// Get the query via GET.
$q = $_GET['q'];

// The function output is stored in $firstbits.
$firstbits = firstbits($q);

if ($firstbits == 'no_match') {
	echo 'no_match';
} else {
	echo $firstbits;
}
?>

Mind if I post this to the firstbits website as an example how to use the API?

[mcorlett]

Mind if I post this to the firstbits website as an example how to use the API?

She's all yours!

[viboracecata]

Cool one

[Nyaaan]

Yay, I won the jackpot and got 1 Bitcoin ^_^

[Matoking]

AMAZING site.
Love the random amount paid out
Any chance of renting some advertising space?
Reviewing you for freebitcoins.co.uk and free-bitcoins.net

Yes, send me a PM.

The value of the prizes were lowered after the first 50 payments, 0.015 BTC is no longer the best prize.


In other news, I'm going to send out the first batch of payouts out very soon. (Miners are going to hate me)

18k1X3Lcxd6dF6aykjLzWEGnulfEbD4yS6 was an invalid address, although the site didn't apparently catch that.


First round of prizes have been paid out!

http://blockchain.info/tx-index/3677027/57d1ce4604ef550f138736120acd7d579174ca5d63d793989ed5c7558297e8a6
Looks like it added a whopping fee of 0.602 BTC against my wishes. I'll most definitely go bankrupt soon at this rate. Well, at least miners are happier this time.

I may have to add a minimum payout rate (0.005 BTC? 0.01 BTC?) or get something better than the vanilla Bitcoin client that doesn't get too generous in the name of miner satisfaction.

EDIT :
Ignore all that, I misunderstood how the txfee was set. (It was per kB, not per transaction)
The minimum payout has been removed for now, I'll take a look into it again if it becomes a problem.

[Kluge]

I heartily approve of this service and have added it to my ever-growing list of ways to recoup tx fees.

[SgtSpike]

I heartily approve of this service and have added it to my ever-growing list of ways to recoup tx fees.

LOL, that's a good way to look at it.

[payb.tc]

i was a bit lost for words.

[SgtSpike]

i was a bit lost for words.

That is so perfect in so many ways.

[Xmufa23X]

0.002 Rupees - Not too shabby

[Matoking]

I will probably start working on an advertising system very soon with pay per click, impression and day models.

If there is demand, that is.


Payments out, this time I didn't screw up the transaction fee. I really need to rethink how the site is funded if I want to keep it up long-term.

[TECSHARE]

I am not certain, but demand MAY increase if you pay out more than half of a penny. Just a guess.

[terrytibbs]

I am not certain, but demand MAY increase if you pay out more than half of a penny. Just a guess.

We've missed you, Sherlock!

He pays as much as he sees fit/can afford/wants to. If you don't like it, you're not forced to partake.

[Matoking]

I just added a rarer prize.
The point is that I can't just pay out bitcoins indefinitely if I don't get any back, and running out of bitcoins during the first week and having to close down doesn't exactly fit in my plans.

[Bitsky]

I think you might have a bug. When I break a crate, the page telling me the amount says that I need at least 0.0025btc before it's paid out.
After trying it two times, I received each 0.001btc I won to the same address in two transfers.
Perhaps you can add an option so that a user can check his current balance and request a transfer if a certain minimum is reached?
I would not mind leaving the coins I won in your care until I request them

[Matoking]

I think you might have a bug. When I break a crate, the page telling me the amount says that I need at least 0.0025btc before it's paid out.
After trying it two times, I received each 0.001btc I won to the same address in two transfers.
Perhaps you can add an option so that a user can check his current balance and request a transfer if a certain minimum is reached?
I would not mind leaving the coins I won in your care until I request them

Oops, I don't have such a limitation at place at the moment. Removing the incorrect text.

[Stephen Gornick]

First round of prizes have been paid out!

http://blockchain.info/tx-index/3677027/57d1ce4604ef550f138736120acd7d579174ca5d63d793989ed5c7558297e8a6
Looks like it added a whopping fee of 0.602 BTC against my wishes. I'll most definitely go bankrupt soon at this rate.

I just read something that I hadn't known about -- from the Bitcoin Wiki:

As of bitcoin 0.5.3 the required fee it will ask for will not be higher than 0.05 BTC,

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#How_much_will_the_transaction_fee_be.3F

[Matoking]

I solved the transaction fee problem. Apparently settxfee() sets the transaction fee per kB, not per transaction.

Transaction fees are not really important at the moment, as miners will accept pretty much anything, no matter how low transaction fee it has.

[marked]

Transaction fees are not really important at the moment, as miners will accept pretty much anything, no matter how low transaction fee it has.

be careful on that. I've had a 0.7BTC transaction take 2 weeks to complete through only spending 0.0001 as a tx fee when the satoshi client wanted 0.025.

marked

[Kluge]

So. I figured (off using a .001BTC winning) that I could make ~$.15/month playing every day.

If I deposit with Pirate (+ middleman fees) each month @ 28% (and we exclude the first month), then after the first year of depositing with Pirate, I would have $12.58.

Next year, still including the $.15/month, I would have $255.91.

The year after that.... $4,962.60

.... The year after that.... $96,003.22

... Year after that.... $1,856,984.92


Yep, using BitCrate, in 5 years, you can be a millionaire. Dare to dream.

(P.S. next year, you'd have $36m)

[payb.tc]

(P.S. next year, you'd have $36m)

and pirate would have a new boat

[Matoking]

The small milestone of 1,000 broken crates has been reached.

[kingkatari]

Hey it is saying that i am using a proxy even tho i am not what the hell is up with that

what info do you need to fix this

[Gabriellz9]

I've been having the same issue as Kingkatari for quite some days now. On two different computers (2 different IPs), on both Chrome and IE.

[uuidman]

Same proxy issue here, a bug I guess. Never ever any problems with that.

[Matoking]

If you have the port 80 open it'll detect you as a proxy. It's possible for me to whitelist you if you provide me your IP address.

EDIT:
I have changed the way proxies are detected.

[Matoking]

Okay, I have really bad news.

WebHostLayer, the current web hoster of this site is going down May 14th 2012. I bought a half year worth of hosting, so I'm obviously pretty annoyed by the situation, made worse by the fact that I have no chance of getting a refund.

I'll try to make the switch to the another host as painless as possible.

[Matoking]

New web host has been found and everything will be up and running like normal when the domain has propagated.

EDIT :
Everything seems to be up and running correctly.

[Global BTC]

Nice to see the service is working. I've requested my first payout.

[Dansker]

Just tried a couple of times to break a crate, but all I got was a page with the text: "Fail #4"

I used BTC address: 1MAnAx5m1bCJXKicCv3o2puaFaN61zET2

[Bitsky]

Add a button that lets the player donate the prize to you.

I'd let you keep a price now and then if I could.

[Matoking]

Add a button that lets the player donate the prize to you.

I'd let you keep a price now and then if I could.

I'd prefer to keep it fair and simple. Just use the donation address if you're feeling generous.

In other news, I'm planning on implementing a referral system that rewards users when other people break a crate as their referral. It would mark a certain visitor as your referral once they've requested a payout under your referral link. The referred person would continue to give you referral rewards even if he/she didn't use your referral link to request payouts, as long as he/she doesn't use a different referral link.

Nothing ready yet, I've still got a few things I need to check first.

Just tried a couple of times to break a crate, but all I got was a page with the text: "Fail #4"

I used BTC address: 1MAnAx5m1bCJXKicCv3o2puaFaN61zET2

It means 24 hours hasn't passed since the last time you broke a crate. It could mean you are trying to access bitcrate.net/start.php directly, which you should not do.

[Global BTC]

I'm planning on implementing a referral system that rewards users when other people break a crate as their referral. It would mark a certain visitor as your referral once they've requested a payout under your referral link. The referred person would continue to give you referral rewards even if he/she didn't use your referral link to request payouts, as long as he/she doesn't use a different referral link.

Nice! That pretty much puts you on par with CoinAd and Daily Bitcoins, since they already have such referral programs.

[Dansker]

Just tried a couple of times to break a crate, but all I got was a page with the text: "Fail #4"

I used BTC address: 1MAnAx5m1bCJXKicCv3o2puaFaN61zET2

It means 24 hours hasn't passed since the last time you broke a crate. It could mean you are trying to access bitcrate.net/start.php directly, which you should not do.

Nope, been several days since I last tried, if not weeks, and never tried to do anything but normal browser access.

[mintymark]

I tried this and won the princely sum of a milli bitcoin (or something). But 12 hours later it still hasnt arrived.

How long does it normally take?

[Matoking]

I processed transactions about a hour ago.

[Matoking]

BitCrate has been updated with a new Referral Program and some other neat little changes.

The referral program in particular is still under testing, so let me know if there are any bugs or problems with it.

[Tittiez]

Love the site, been using it the past few days, just one my first 0.005 BTC crate

After you select a crate, you should be able to see what was in every other crate.

[Global BTC]

After you select a crate, you should be able to see what was in every other crate.

Yes, that would make the game more fun.

[whiskers75]

Great site, thanks for making!
Excellent source of free BTC.

[Tittiez]

Fuck Yeah!

Also bump.

[payb.tc]

Fuck Yeah!

Also bump.

i got 0.001 btc!

[Matoking]

Two 0.50 BTC prizes will be given out soon. Try your luck!

[tosku]

I've made a service with a timer and colour-coded links that makes it easier to visit BitCrate at the appropriate time every day. The service is located at skude.se/BTC.

If you wish to discuss my service, there's a thread here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=82450

Matoking: Some of the other "free bitcoins" sites have a feature where you can put an address in the URL, like this: http://www.bitcrate.net?a=1G2jqJzWoxLsHhTk6rYPNoDGAzRgt8JaH2
That would, if your site also had the feature, fill in the address for the user, so it doesn't have to be entered on every visit (if the visit came from that URL). Do you have any plans on adding a feature like that?

[Matoking]

I've made a service with a timer and colour-coded links that makes it easier to visit BitCrate at the appropriate time every day. The service is located at skude.se/BTC.

If you wish to discuss my service, there's a thread here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=82450

Matoking: Some of the other "free bitcoins" sites have a feature where you can put an address in the URL, like this: http://www.bitcrate.net?a=1G2jqJzWoxLsHhTk6rYPNoDGAzRgt8JaH2
That would, if your site also had the feature, fill in the address for the user, so it doesn't have to be entered on every visit (if the visit came from that URL). Do you have any plans on adding a feature like that?

Just implemented that feature.

[tosku]

Great! It now works with Skude.se/BTC. If you have your address saved, it will be automaticly filled in for you at BitCrate.

[nimda]

Site is down?

[Matoking]

I'm aware of the "can't open the socket" error people have been getting.

It seems that the Solve Media CAPTCHA verification is failing for some reason, even if the CAPTCHAs themselves show up fine.
The CAPTCHA verification works locally, so the problem is most likely with the site's host. I've sent our web hosting provider a support ticket.

[tosku]

Any news on fixing the problem?

[Matoking]

Any news on fixing the problem?

The web host is currently looking at the issue. No idea when it will be fixed yet, though.

[Matoking]

The issue has been fixed and everything should be running correctly now.

[Tittiez]

Am I doing it right?

[Matoking]

I'll probably have to close BitCrate soon. Revenue I've been making with BitCrate has been very unstable and bumpy, and I personally want to move into bigger and more ambitious projects.

BitCrate started as an exercise in web development, so I'm more than pleased with the end result. I may start a new Bitcoin site sometime in the future if a good idea pops up, so don't lose your hope in missing out on some free Bitcoins yet.

EDIT :
I've closed BitCrate and paid the last batch of prizes. It was a good run and I had fun doing this, even if it didn't pay out in the end.

[iSleepyFTW]

Ok, hope to see you again in similar projects

[tarrant_01]

Goodbye BitCrate!

[Littleshop]

I'll probably have to close BitCrate soon. Revenue I've been making with BitCrate has been very unstable and bumpy, and I personally want to move into bigger and more ambitious projects.

BitCrate started as an exercise in web development, so I'm more than pleased with the end result. I may start a new Bitcoin site sometime in the future if a good idea pops up, so don't lose your hope in missing out on some free Bitcoins yet.

EDIT :
I've closed BitCrate and paid the last batch of prizes. It was a good run and I had fun doing this, even if it didn't pay out in the end.

Please change title if possible too add something like [closed]

[Gladamas]

Bitcrate has always been my favorite Bitcoin faucet website. Thanks for all of the time it was in service!

[tosku]

Matoking: What's your take on selling the code and the bitcrate domain name to someone else?

[viboracecata]

Pity, BitCrate is the best bitcoin faucet of the world!

[Matoking]

Matoking: What's your take on selling the code and the bitcrate domain name to someone else?

The code is quite simple and is quite amateurish compared to the newer PHP stuff I've coded.

I'm willing to sell the source code, the domain and related utilities for 5 BTC, although I'll probably clean up the code a bit before handing it over. Feel free to offer more if you feel it's worth it.

EDIT :
I'll put up an auction soon now :
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=88483.0

[Global BTC]

Bitcrate is now running again. It's not really working though. I get no captcha image, and this error message: "domain / ckey mismatch (fVO-AypXSrwFNBV2l537Dd3iduHCCBnE)"
Without solving the captcha, payouts can't be requested.

[Dansker]

It just worked here!

Remains to be seen if the payout comes, but I have faith

[ShireSilver]

It just worked for me, but I had to go to bitcrate.net, not www.bitcrate.net.

[Ricochet]

Worked for me, but getting to the crates page took a long time, as did going from clicking on the crate to the "You won x.xxxx BTC" page.  As slow as it was, it still went through.

[Matoking]

I've changed the title, but you should probably create a new thread since the owner of the site changed.

[Trance104]

I love the site! It's pretty aweomse!

Well done.

[gnpeer]

We are out of Bitcoins to give out. Yes, this is rather embarassing.

huh?

[Trance104]

The site appears to be broken for me. I keep having to enter in the captcha. It accepts it and then reloads. I checked very carefully to make sure that I was entering it in properly.

[Dansker]

Works for me

[whitewhidow]

Ok i realise this topic is 2 YEARS OLD ...

Do these guy pay their referrals ?

I have Total value of all referral bonuses   0.0112 BTC

But they havent payed me   or answered my twitter requests, or answered my emails ...

[whitewhidow]

Quote from: whitewhidow on Today at 07:34:08 PM
Ok i realise this topic is 2 YEARS OLD ...

Do these guy pay their referrals ?

I have Total value of all referral bonuses   0.0112 BTC

But they havent payed me   or answered my twitter requests, or answered my emails ...



According to https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=88205.0, the message "As of June 17, 2012, BitCrate has been closed and I will no longer payout any Bitcoins" was shown on the site, and so I am 100% sure you will never receive your 0.0112 bitcoin.

Someone replied to this post,   but then removed it again


what i dont get, why are the posting PAID!! and a transaction id, on their twitter regularly, if they are shut down for 2 years ?    just a bot grabbing a fake tx id and posting it ?

[CrackedLogic]

Wow, I remember this faucet. I think this was the first faucet I visited. Memories...