From 2014-2017 I ran a bitcoin exchange. AMA
Hello,
With bitcoin in the news I thought I'd make a thread about my experience in the space. I bought my first 10 bitcoin in 2011 and my first coinbase purchase was 2013, buying 20 for $99 each.
I ran a small side business in several underground forums. It sounds trivial and it was trivial until I got up to about 100 regular customers. I ran the business like a gold and silver exchange, PayPal or any electronic transfer for immediate exchange into bitcoin. My cut was a 8-12% spread which is consistent with the gold and silver trade.
I got up to about $20k in volume per month and maintained that for 6 months. Then I got a call from PayPal and google pay asking questions about the business and requesting certification and documentation. They seized both accounts with a good amount of money in them.
I was only about 24 at the time. I paid all relevant taxes. To maintain what I was doing I would have needed to register myself like an ATM or money exchange and would be liable for all proper contact vetting.
Anyways, I've been obsessed with bitcoin and just about everything crypto and if anyone wants to ask something to somewhat of a subject matter expert on the bitcoin protocol, applications of blockchain, and the crypto markets... Fire at will.
#tech #bitcoin #crypto #blockchain
comments
What if somebody creates a new crypto that's better than BTC in every way and people start moving to it? Wouldn't BTC lose all its value?
As for the Gold analogy, I respect that, but also wouldn't it be possible for other metals to gain value? Granted the biblical references and history of gold give it prominence as well, that's not to say another metal couldn't be coveted one day. I realize this is a stretch, but it's another "what if?"
I donโt think so, but Iโm still hopeful ๐ค๐ผ
The long and short of it is that consider the amount of bitcoin your keypair controls to be like a suitcase of cash. Trusting someone to carry it, that better be a high degree of trust. Carrying it yourself, you better know where you're going and what to do when you get there.