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I don't see why they're doing this now, what caused this? Also, I hope this doesn't put downward pressure on BTC. There is already mounting pressure as the wor

by lowpro 10y ago

I don't see why they're doing this now, what caused this? Also, I hope this doesn't put downward pressure on BTC. There is already mounting pressure as the world invests in dollars considering widespread conservative political movement across the globe, and no one quite knows what's going to happen. As the dollar goes up, I'd think that would have another negative effect on BTC. I see BTC crashing very soon, but in the meantime, I'm waiting cautiously.

x3sphere 10y ago
Circle isn't a major player in the cryptocurrency space, so I doubt this will impact the price much, if at all. Maybe the feature wasn't getting enough use? Also over the past year or so it has primarily been China pushing the price of Bitcoin higher. So that also minimizes any effect this could have in my opinion.
bdcravens 10y ago
Circle has been putting distance between themselves and Bitcoin for a while now, branding their service as a type of social money, even while still using Bitcoin behind the scenes.
- wyager 10y ago
  > putting distance between themselves and Bitcoin for a while now, branding their service as a type of social money Anyone remember dwolla? Probably not. They tried to do the same thing, but it turned out the only reason anyone cared about them was bitcoin-friendliness. I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to compete in the "social money" market right now given that it's saturated with low- or zero-margin projects, often sponsored by large companies. Square cash, venmo, Facebook cash, snapcash. The only one of the bunch I use is square cash because it's the least "social".
  - aianus 10y ago
    > Square cash, venmo, Facebook cash, snapcash. We don't have anything like any of those in Canada, if someone wants to try :)
    - querulous 10y ago
      we have interac e-transfer which is offered by virtually every bank and credit union in canada and requires only an email address or phone number to use
      - aianus 10y ago
        Nobody uses it though. It costs $1.50 per transaction so it's not practical for paying your friend $5 to split a burrito etc.
        querulous 10y ago
        your bank sets the rate. mine charges nothing for transfers under $100 and $1 for anything over that
  - homero 10y ago
    Dwolla is also semi closing this month. I used them a lot because it was the only service with recurring transfers. Not sure what to do now
  - ilamont 10y ago
    Dwolla has other problems. In May The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claimed that Dwolla lied about security (1): From December 2010 until 2014, Dwolla claimed to protect consumer data from unauthorized access with “safe” and “secure” transactions. On its website and in communications with consumers, Dwolla claimed its data security practices exceeded industry standards and were Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliant. They claimed also that they encrypted all sensitive personal information and that its mobile applications were safe and secure. But rather than setting “a new precedent for the payments industry” as asserted, Dwolla’s data security practices in fact fell far short of its claims. Such deception about security and security practices is illegal. Specifically, the CFPB found, among other issues, that Dwolla misrepresented its data-security practices by: Falsely claiming its data security practices “exceed” or “surpass” industry security standards: Contrary to its claims, Dwolla failed to employ reasonable and appropriate measures to protect data obtained from consumers from unauthorized access. Falsely claiming its “information is securely encrypted and stored”: Dwolla did not encrypt some sensitive consumer personal information, and released applications to the public before testing whether they were secure. As for the change in business model, they announced (2) on a Friday afternoon after the U.S. election, with less than one month before the switchover. Some people were left in the lurch. (3) 1. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-dwolla-for-misrepresenting-data-security-practices/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-... 2. https://www.dwolla.com/updates/focus/ https://www.dwolla.com/updates/focus/ 3. https://discuss.dwolla.com/t/the-changes-this-dec-7th/3209/7 https://discuss.dwolla.com/t/the-changes-this-dec-7th/3209/7
- davidgerard 10y ago
  > even while still using Bitcoin behind the scenes. Are we sure they were even doing this?
pjc50 10y ago
BTC price seems to be determined primarily not by the dollar but by the RMB, and especially demand for its use in evading currency controls. Bitcoin trade in the West is a tiny influence on the price. (If anyone has stats on the spread between Chinese prices and Western exchange prices, that would be good to see.)

by lowpro 10y ago

x3sphere 10y ago

Circle isn't a major player in the cryptocurrency space, so I doubt this will impact the price much, if at all. Maybe the feature wasn't getting enough use? Also over the past year or so it has primarily been China pushing the price of Bitcoin higher. So that also minimizes any effect this could have in my opinion.

bdcravens 10y ago

Circle has been putting distance between themselves and Bitcoin for a while now, branding their service as a type of social money, even while still using Bitcoin behind the scenes.

wyager 10y ago
> putting distance between themselves and Bitcoin for a while now, branding their service as a type of social money Anyone remember dwolla? Probably not. They tried to do the same thing, but it turned out the only reason anyone cared about them was bitcoin-friendliness. I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to compete in the "social money" market right now given that it's saturated with low- or zero-margin projects, often sponsored by large companies. Square cash, venmo, Facebook cash, snapcash. The only one of the bunch I use is square cash because it's the least "social".
- aianus 10y ago
  > Square cash, venmo, Facebook cash, snapcash. We don't have anything like any of those in Canada, if someone wants to try :)
  - querulous 10y ago
    we have interac e-transfer which is offered by virtually every bank and credit union in canada and requires only an email address or phone number to use
    - aianus 10y ago
      Nobody uses it though. It costs $1.50 per transaction so it's not practical for paying your friend $5 to split a burrito etc.
      - querulous 10y ago
        your bank sets the rate. mine charges nothing for transfers under $100 and $1 for anything over that
- homero 10y ago
  Dwolla is also semi closing this month. I used them a lot because it was the only service with recurring transfers. Not sure what to do now
- ilamont 10y ago
  Dwolla has other problems. In May The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claimed that Dwolla lied about security (1): From December 2010 until 2014, Dwolla claimed to protect consumer data from unauthorized access with “safe” and “secure” transactions. On its website and in communications with consumers, Dwolla claimed its data security practices exceeded industry standards and were Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliant. They claimed also that they encrypted all sensitive personal information and that its mobile applications were safe and secure. But rather than setting “a new precedent for the payments industry” as asserted, Dwolla’s data security practices in fact fell far short of its claims. Such deception about security and security practices is illegal. Specifically, the CFPB found, among other issues, that Dwolla misrepresented its data-security practices by: Falsely claiming its data security practices “exceed” or “surpass” industry security standards: Contrary to its claims, Dwolla failed to employ reasonable and appropriate measures to protect data obtained from consumers from unauthorized access. Falsely claiming its “information is securely encrypted and stored”: Dwolla did not encrypt some sensitive consumer personal information, and released applications to the public before testing whether they were secure. As for the change in business model, they announced (2) on a Friday afternoon after the U.S. election, with less than one month before the switchover. Some people were left in the lurch. (3) 1. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-dwolla-for-misrepresenting-data-security-practices/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-... 2. https://www.dwolla.com/updates/focus/ https://www.dwolla.com/updates/focus/ 3. https://discuss.dwolla.com/t/the-changes-this-dec-7th/3209/7 https://discuss.dwolla.com/t/the-changes-this-dec-7th/3209/7
davidgerard 10y ago
> even while still using Bitcoin behind the scenes. Are we sure they were even doing this?

pjc50 10y ago

BTC price seems to be determined primarily not by the dollar but by the RMB, and especially demand for its use in evading currency controls. Bitcoin trade in the West is a tiny influence on the price. (If anyone has stats on the spread between Chinese prices and Western exchange prices, that would be good to see.)