"!st ever"... cmon
First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
31–40 of 64 posts
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
"No one should keep their coins in any wallet except their own" That's just not going to fly if Bitcoin becomes mainstream. There's too much dogmatism around this in the Bitcoin community. Sometimes a hosted wallet is the right solution for a particular user.
Bitcoin arguably cannot become mainstream without secure hosted wallets. Most people won't use Bitcoins until wallets start looking like debit cards, with authenticated access, insurance, and so on. Even so, prudent investors will keep large balances in offline wallets, securely encrypted and backed up. In my experience, it's simplest to use multiple offline wallets, each in its own VM. To start using a wallet, one m…
Not sure I'd call that "simple". A hardware wallet like Trezor seems like a much better solution.
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#33"As is typical of most bitcoin/fiat intermediaries when promoting their products, the new exchange is being touted as a first and a means to bring legitimacy to Bitcoin." - Qntra. We've heard that story many times before. Kraken makes similar claims. (Kraken uses the same address, 548 Market St, SF, as Coinbase. It's a mail-forwarding service. Few people know where either exchange really is.) So what is this "license…
Is there any significant difference between this exchange and the upcoming Winklevoss exchange?[1] Both claim to be "regulated," but it doesn't look like the Winklevoss version will offer SIPC protections either.[2] [1] http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/winklevoss-twins-aim-... [2] http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579346/0001193125132...
The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust is not an exchange, it's an Exchange Traded Fund. Basically you can think of it as a shell company that exists solely to possess (approximately) 0.2 BTC per share; buying into it is _approximately_ equivalent to buying BTC (less the trust's expenses). It's no different in theory from precious-metal ETFs like GLD or PPLT, although I'd expect expenses to be lower since no precious metals need to actually be stored.
The operation of a trust like this is simplified by the fact that the Trust itself never buys bitcoins, and sells bitcoins only as necessary to pay the Trust's expenses. The day-to-day arbitrage that causes the price to track that of actual bitcoins is something that third parties do; they can exchange a certain number of bitcoins for a certain number of shares (and vice versa).
Anyway, it's a lot easier to run a trust like this than an actual exchange; you don't need to track lots of tiny transactions, allow every random person on the internet to open accounts, generate 1099-B forms, hold significant US dollar deposits, etc.
Heck, it doesn't even need a hot wallet; in that prospectus, exchanges of BTC for shares take three business days for settlement, which is more than enough time for a quorum of people to get their keys out of their respective bank safe deposit boxes around the country and sign a multi-signature settlement transaction offline.
The big advantage of this trust, though, is that once it is listed on a big stock exchange, you'll be able to go to any stock broker and buy an interest in bitcoin. Your accountant will be able to deal with the tax implications easily, since it's just a stock, and you'll even be able to do margin transactions through properly licensed and insured brokers. It'll take a lot of the infrastructure risk out of a bitcoin investment (although volatility risk will of course remain in full force).
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#34"As is typical of most bitcoin/fiat intermediaries when promoting their products, the new exchange is being touted as a first and a means to bring legitimacy to Bitcoin." - Qntra. We've heard that story many times before. Kraken makes similar claims. (Kraken uses the same address, 548 Market St, SF, as Coinbase. It's a mail-forwarding service. Few people know where either exchange really is.) So what is this "license…
Is there any significant difference between this exchange and the upcoming Winklevoss exchange?[1] Both claim to be "regulated," but it doesn't look like the Winklevoss version will offer SIPC protections either.[2] [1] http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/winklevoss-twins-aim-... [2] http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579346/0001193125132...
Note that the S-1 for Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust linked by the parent describes the forthcoming ETF and not the Gemini exchange.
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#35And Google now tracks Bitcoin as any other currency. https://www.google.com/finance?q=CURRENCY:BTC https://www.google.com/search?q=50btc+in+usd
How new is this?
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not about whether it's going to fly. It's certifiably insane to trust your coins to any third party unless you either have multisig control to prevent those coins from leaving, or they have insurance to replace your coins. Do not ever trust anyone, or you'll lose your money like I did. They won't replace it unless they're legally obligated to replace it (insurance) or they're technically incapable of losing it (…
This is a religious view speaking. More bitcoin has probably been lost due to people thinking they should handle it themselves, and doing it wrong, than has been lost to all the big hacks including Mt. Gox. A survey from a while ago reflects this likeliness: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2bjefu/results_of_a...
A survey from a while ago reflects this likeliness:
Umm. No it doesn't. Have you even read your own link?
Moreover keeping your wallet secure is not rocket science. Set a password, make backups.
If that's too much asked then you should stay far away from bitcoin and in particular from services that offer to store your bitcoins for you.
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
I didn't say everyone should manage their own bitcoin. I said people should manage it themselves if they have the technical ability to do so. For everyone else, stick with banks. If you're borderline unsure whether you can store your coins in an encrypted wallet and make regular backups and not lose those backups, then keep your money in an FDIC-insured bank. But sticking your coins into a webwallet like Coinbase wit…
The problem is that people who think they have the technical ability to do it right is astronomically higher than reality, not because people overestimate themselves, but because they underestimate the difficulty of "rolling your own bitcoin storage." I mean, you can make these arguments, but the history proves that so far centralized storage has been safer than self storage, on average. Further, Coinbase does give u…
but the history proves that so far centralized storage has been safer than self storage, on average.
No it doesn't. History proves the polar opposite; MtGox alone ate more coins (>750k) than all known incidents of wallet theft together.
Best practice is to use your own wallet. Has always been this way, will likely stay this way for a long time to come.
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#38And Google now tracks Bitcoin as any other currency. https://www.google.com/finance?q=CURRENCY:BTC https://www.google.com/search?q=50btc+in+usd
How new is this?
Implemented in June 2014 [1], [2].
[1] http://cointelegraph.com/news/111786/both_yahoo_and_google_f...
[2] http://blog.coinbase.com/post/88679063982/coinbases-api-brin...
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#39"As is typical of most bitcoin/fiat intermediaries when promoting their products, the new exchange is being touted as a first and a means to bring legitimacy to Bitcoin." - Qntra. We've heard that story many times before. Kraken makes similar claims. (Kraken uses the same address, 548 Market St, SF, as Coinbase. It's a mail-forwarding service. Few people know where either exchange really is.) So what is this "license…
SIPC doesn't insure all types of investments, I'm not sure if BTC would qualify. And if it doesn't qualify cash intended to purchase BTC probably wouldn't be insured either.
Re: First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange Set to Open
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there any significant difference between this exchange and the upcoming Winklevoss exchange?[1] Both claim to be "regulated," but it doesn't look like the Winklevoss version will offer SIPC protections either.[2] [1] http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/winklevoss-twins-aim-... [2] http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579346/0001193125132...
The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust is not an exchange, it's an Exchange Traded Fund. Basically you can think of it as a shell company that exists solely to possess (approximately) 0.2 BTC per share; buying into it is _approximately_ equivalent to buying BTC (less the trust's expenses). It's no different in theory from precious-metal ETFs like GLD or PPLT, although I'd expect expenses to be lower since no precious metals ne…
Apparently they are launching both an ETF and an exchange("Gemeni")...