Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#31

Post by yayitswei » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 9:39 PM UTC

kerkeslager wrote: post #24

I don't have a Facebook account, so I can't sign up. I think this is probably true of a lot of Bitcoin users--for a lot of Bitcoin users, Bitcoin is a way to stay off the grid, and being on Facebook would defeat the purpose. My suggestion is to provide a way to sign up without Facebook.

Agreed that being on Facebook takes away anonymity, which is one of Bitcoin's benefits. There are also many great non-anonymous uses for Bitcoin- "free PayPal", for example. That's the angle we're taking in this app.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#32

Post by btbuildem » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 9:48 PM UTC

I've always wondered, is interest possible on BTC loans? Technically, it should not be, since there's a limited amount of coins.

Are you qualified/classified/stamped/branded/innoculated/whatever to comply with US regulation bullshit?

What's your business model here? Keep a % of the loan?

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#33

Post by milesokeefe » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 10:04 PM UTC

ErsatzVerkehr wrote: post #29

kerkeslager wrote: post #24

I don't have a Facebook account, so I can't sign up. I think this is probably true of a lot of Bitcoin users--for a lot of Bitcoin users, Bitcoin is a way to stay off the grid, and being on Facebook would defeat the purpose. My suggestion is to provide a way to sign up without Facebook.

Bitcoin... a monetary system that requires internet connectivity and CPU usage... in which every transaction is recorded forever and the database is replicated by all participants... is "off the grid"?

It's the closest you can get to off the grid.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#34

Post by wmf » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 10:36 PM UTC

btbuildem wrote: post #32

I've always wondered, is interest possible on BTC loans? Technically, it should not be, since there's a limited amount of coins. Are you qualified/classified/stamped/branded/innoculated/whatever to comply with US regulation bullshit? What's your business model here? Keep a % of the loan?

There's nothing stopping you from loaning, say, 1.0 BTC and asking for 1.1 BTC to be paid back later, but Bitcoin does not have any mechanism to help enforce such loans. There's a forum dedicated to it: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=65.0 Many people are skeptical of Bitcoin loans since the expected rate of return of holding BTC exceeds the rate of return of almost all legitimate businesses.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#35

Post by richerd » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 10:43 PM UTC

kerkeslager wrote: post #24

I don't have a Facebook account, so I can't sign up. I think this is probably true of a lot of Bitcoin users--for a lot of Bitcoin users, Bitcoin is a way to stay off the grid, and being on Facebook would defeat the purpose. My suggestion is to provide a way to sign up without Facebook.

While its true for a lot of Bitcoin users, one of our goals was to make bitcoin more accessible to the public and the average person who is interested in bitcoin but doesn't quite know how to get started.

We are using Facebook as a trust network.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#36

Post by yayitswei » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 10:53 PM UTC

tlrobinson wrote: post #14

Very nice. Definitely one of the better looking Bitcoin services out there.

Thanks! Interestingly, one piece of feedback we got was that the site made bitcoins seem like play money. They definitely have real-world value though. I just used it to pay a friend back for an Amazon order.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#37

Post by vhf » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 10:56 PM UTC

milesokeefe wrote: post #33

ErsatzVerkehr wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin... a monetary system that requires internet connectivity and CPU usage... in which every transaction is recorded forever and the database is replicated by all participants... is "off the grid"?

It's the closest you can get to off the grid.

Nope. Zerocoin is.

(Disclaimer : I'm a fervent Bitcoin supporter, I like its pseudonymous property and discard any anonymat claims. I've never used zerocoin because I don't have any use for it.)

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#38

Post by gus_massa » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 10:57 PM UTC

btbuildem wrote: post #32

I've always wondered, is interest possible on BTC loans? Technically, it should not be, since there's a limited amount of coins. Are you qualified/classified/stamped/branded/innoculated/whatever to comply with US regulation bullshit? What's your business model here? Keep a % of the loan?

Interest is not only to protect the bank (or lender) against inflation. It's also (one of ) the way that the bank gets paid.

For a moment suppose that there is no inflation, no fraud, no bankrupts and no administrative commissions: If the bank gives you $100 and you pay in total $110 then the profit of the bank is $10.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#39

Post by vidarh » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 11:21 PM UTC

btbuildem wrote: post #32

I've always wondered, is interest possible on BTC loans? Technically, it should not be, since there's a limited amount of coins. Are you qualified/classified/stamped/branded/innoculated/whatever to comply with US regulation bullshit? What's your business model here? Keep a % of the loan?

Interest is just a function of a loan agreement - it is an entirely separate issue from the available supply of the currency in question.

Even if you borrow monopoly money from a specific monopoly set, there can still be interest required on the loan. It may be impossible for you to fulfil your loan obligations if your supply of whatever currencies the lender will accept (which does not necessarily only have to be the original loan currency) is limited, but that's a separate issue.

Re: Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends

#40

Post by throwaway2048 » Wed, Jul 03, 2013, 11:35 PM UTC

vhf wrote: post #37

milesokeefe wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the closest you can get to off the grid.

Nope. Zerocoin is. (Disclaimer : I'm a fervent Bitcoin supporter, I like its pseudonymous property and discard any anonymat claims. I've never used zerocoin because I don't have any use for it.)

zerocoin is only a proposal at this time.