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6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

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Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#41

Post by sgornick »

shell0x wrote: post #21

Anyone of you got more bitcoins then me?(0) ;) I tried to get a single bitcoin for multiple times, but it never worked out ;) I guess my hardware is too bad.

Consumer-grade mining is a temporary phenomena. In a few months, the block reward will be dropping in half, and most people with GPUs will no longer be able to operate them profitably for mining. This is because FPGA mining hardware has been shipping in volume.

In addition, if ASIC hardware starts shipping, GPU is completely out of the game and FPGAs will be hard pressed to stay powered on.

GPU mining had a good run for nearly two years, but it is about to be obsoleted.

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#42

Post by weavejester »

femto wrote: post #17
pkulak wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of how Gmail has turned email into a centralized communications system? The existence of a bank based on Bitcoin doesn't remove your ability to store your wallet on a flash drive any more than Gmail removes your ability to run your own mail server.

Keep in mind that every transaction, whether it be email or bitcoin, has to involve two parties. If the centralised solution become widespread, it becomes difficult to avoid it because the chances are that the other party is centralised, even if you're not.

Why is that a problem? Just because someone has a debit card, doesn't mean the bank can suddenly trace how physical cash trades hands.

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#43

Post by joering2 »

kami8845 wrote: post #31
malandrew wrote: post #24

They should change the name to Bitstant. It's two syllables and rolls off the tongue more smoothly.

The sound of BitStant reminds me of "stunt" like a trick, or stunted like stunted growth. Either way not words i'd like associated with my brand were I a credit card company.

How does "chase" sound to you?

In my country we have a bank that is called "roberry". Very popular. Look it up its called "skok" bank szewczyka.

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#44

Post by otto »

maayank wrote: post #35
paulsutter wrote: post #18

I hope it's for real. I was just looking for a backup debit card for international travel. This would give me a low-risk but high-utility reason to finally try bitcoin. And avoid opening another damn bank account

An honest question: assuming you have more than 1 credit card, aren't all/most of them international? Are local-only credit cards the norm in the U.S.? And do you really need a bank account per credit/debit card? I'd assume you have "external" credit/debit cards, where the only connection to the account is that it is charged monthly.

Many cards in America have foreign transaction fees. There may be other fees associated as well.

That said I have looked into cards with no foreign transaction fees for future international travel. They do exist, but one more issue is making sure they support "chip and pin" for European countries.

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#45

Post by shell0x »

sgornick wrote: post #41
shell0x wrote: post #21

Anyone of you got more bitcoins then me?(0) ;) I tried to get a single bitcoin for multiple times, but it never worked out ;) I guess my hardware is too bad.

Consumer-grade mining is a temporary phenomena. In a few months, the block reward will be dropping in half, and most people with GPUs will no longer be able to operate them profitably for mining. This is because FPGA mining hardware has been shipping in volume. In addition, if ASIC hardware starts shipping, GPU is completely out of the game and FPGAs will be hard pressed to stay powered on. GPU mining had a good run…

So, the only way to get some bitcoins for a single person would be hacking sites like bitcoinica or users? Also, is there a live statistic, which shows how much bitcoins exists right now?

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#47

Post by jmgao »

jerguismi wrote: post #26
taligent wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really you think THAT is the biggest problem with Bitcoin. Not the fact that its value fluctuates so wildly ?

> Not the fact that its value fluctuates so wildly ? This does not worry me at all, since the value has been mostly fluctuating upwards. The positive risk outweights the negative. With this card, people can invest in to bitcoin small amount each month, and they still can use their bitcoin reserves when they need.

BUY BUY BUY [1]

SELL SELL SELL [2]

BUY BUY BUY [3]

[1] http://i.imgur.com/ICznv.jpg

[2] http://i.imgur.com/YeS9o.jpg

[3] http://i.imgur.com/IXsjv.png

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#48

Post by davidw »

otto wrote: post #44
maayank wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An honest question: assuming you have more than 1 credit card, aren't all/most of them international? Are local-only credit cards the norm in the U.S.? And do you really need a bank account per credit/debit card? I'd assume you have "external" credit/debit cards, where the only connection to the account is that it is charged monthly.

Many cards in America have foreign transaction fees. There may be other fees associated as well. That said I have looked into cards with no foreign transaction fees for future international travel. They do exist, but one more issue is making sure they support "chip and pin" for European countries.

The Chase card I have for use here in Italy works fine with no chip. There's an annual fee though, so I'm not sure whether I'll keep it beyond the first year; I'll have to look and see how much it's saved me.

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#49

Post by RoyceFullerton »

paulsutter wrote: post #18

I hope it's for real. I was just looking for a backup debit card for international travel. This would give me a low-risk but high-utility reason to finally try bitcoin. And avoid opening another damn bank account

I have lived outside of the US for 6 years and can hands down recommend Charles Schwab Bank. All ATM fees in the US and abroad are reimbursed and there are no foreign transaction fees. That shady private ATM in the bar charges $5 per transaction? You are totally insensitive to it.

When was the last time you walked into a bank with a checking account question? You are here on HN so I assume it is rarely or never

But...it's a debit account, so if you need a credit card this may not fit your use case.

Re: 6-8 Weeks Until Bitcoin Debit/Credit Card, says BitInstant

#50

Post by atmz »

RoyceFullerton wrote: post #49
paulsutter wrote: post #18

I hope it's for real. I was just looking for a backup debit card for international travel. This would give me a low-risk but high-utility reason to finally try bitcoin. And avoid opening another damn bank account

I have lived outside of the US for 6 years and can hands down recommend Charles Schwab Bank. All ATM fees in the US and abroad are reimbursed and there are no foreign transaction fees. That shady private ATM in the bar charges $5 per transaction? You are totally insensitive to it. When was the last time you walked into a bank with a checking account question? You are here on HN so I assume it is rarely or never But..…

Seconded; not sure how easy it is to get one if you don't already have a brokerage account, but no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and no ATM fees is great. It's a debit card, but that's better for international travel, as you'll need to take out cash, and I don't think you can get credit cards that won't charge a fee for a cash advance.

(As an aside - never never change cash for travelling abroad, the commissions/spreads are ridiculous)

As for bitcoin, I feel that the volatility with respect to regular currency make a debit card not that useful unless you're an ideologue or want to speculate/easily get cash out

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