Posts for: #bitcoin (21 Posts)

Basically, in 2013, it is still exceptionally difficult to send money to a friend and this is leading to a customer revolution.

• Jaron Lukasiewicz, Coinsetter CEO at Inside Bitcoins NYC (via)

Everyone should walk around with 1-2 bitcoins that they can use for small transactions only. If enough people are doing that, then the volatility of currency goes down and the value of the currency increases.

• Vinny Lingham, CEO of gyft (via)

BitPay employees pay each other back when someone makes a food run, by pointing their phones at each other and scanning QR codes.

• Jeff Garzik, Bitcoin Core Developer (recently snatched by BitPay) (via)

One thing humans don't know how to do is shut down peer to peer networks. We don't have the technology.

• Peter Vessenes, founder and CEO of Bitcoin exchange CoinLab (via)

I was looking for a special little something to give Orly on our 1st anniversary, and a friend suggested I'd get someone on fiverr to sing her a song.

I really liked the idea, and it even took less than 24 hours. Thank you Mou Trego from Cook Islands for singing us a happy anniversary song with your ukulele at the beach!

The payment to fiverr is done via PayPal today. I think it's very important that they start supporting Bitcoin. It would lower commissions significantly, and allow people who don't have access to the banking system to participate as service providers as well.

Mt. Gox today announced that "a couple of months ago [they] took a big step and bought a full page ad for Bitcoin right in the middle of the G8 Research Group's official magazine". The ad shows a caricature of foreign diplomats, wearing their national currency symbol instead of a head, sitting at a table and discussing important issues. Abruptly, a new member, Bitcoin, opens the door and walks inside. A QR code (made of little coins, see below) leads to a special landing page explaining the benefits of Bitcoin (and Mt. Gox).

Six weeks ago Bitcoin was at $266. Then it wasn't. Then it was $60. Last Thursday it was $120. We keep enjoying the ride. Bitcoin 2013 had just wrapped in San Jose. The whole conference was called "The Future of Payments". Gliph launched there with Bitcoin built into their messaging app.

eToro hosted "Israel's first Bitcoin hackathon". 48 hours, 45 people, their offices at Ramat HaHayal in Tel Aviv. Bring an idea, pitch it in 3 minutes, form a team, build a prototype, present Saturday evening. Everyone votes.

eToro wasn't just providing a room. Yoni Assia had been writing publicly about Bitcoin and programmable money for years. This is a company that actually believes in this.

Thursday night, Moran Shaked pitched ₿uy The Way.

The idea: you're walking past a store, see a 2-for-1, message your friends with the details and a payment request. The ones who want in click the button, Bitcoin is sent, you buy two. No IOUs. The mechanic wasn't the payment - it was the ask. Initiating a request tied to a real-world opportunity. Movie tickets for the group. Splitting a meal. A flash sale your friend would have missed.

"Where friends & money are even for a change."

We teamed up. Spent the next 36 hours building a POC. We wanted the demo to show the flow end-to-end: spot an opportunity, create a request, share it, collect payment.

This was Moran's first hackathon. She'd been following Bitcoin since early 2012 but isn't a developer. She came with an idea and the ability to make a room understand why it mattered.

Programming money feels different from programming anything else - you write code, real-world assets move. No bank in the middle.

Saturday at 18:00, each team presented. The crowd voted on three criteria: contribution to Bitcoin promotion, creativity, how finished the product was.

₿uy The Way won.

2 BTC + $1,000 eToro balance each.

Social payments exist. What doesn't yet is the ask that starts with a buying opportunity - you see something, you pull friends in, payment clears before you buy. No more asking your friend for that money back.

Now wondering how long before WhatsApp just adds a "₿uy The Way" button.