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I wanted to get some bitcoin to buy some things off a website where bitcoin was the only thing accepted. I was immediately turned off when a different, exchang

I wanted to get some bitcoin to buy some things off a website where bitcoin was the only thing accepted. I was immediately turned off when a different, exchange website asked me to upload a photo of myself holding my driver's license in one hand and a paper with the name of the website and date in the other. Just my experience. To me, it seemed like a joke.

cenal 8y ago
KYC is an awful thing for user experience. Expect it moving forward.
- skybrian 8y ago
  For this sort of thing, a notary could do the job, and if you search on "notary near me" there are plenty of businesses doing it. It seems like there's an opportunity here to make this easier?
- mancerayder 8y ago
  Banks do it pretty well already. Coinbase and the like failed to do it initially, and had to play catch-up during the peak of the activity towards the end of last year / early this year. I guess it was a sort of tech debt with regards to their customer support and experience dealing with KYC problems?
- waynecochran 8y ago
  FMI, KYC is a TLA for "Know Your Customer" based authentication.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - yellowapple 8y ago
    FYI, TLA is a TLA for "Three Letter Acronym"
    - Daviey 8y ago
      FYI is i.e "For Your Information".
    - nsgoetz 8y ago
      FYI, FYI is a TLA for “For Your Information”
      - waynecochran 8y ago
        FMI is a TLA for "for my information"
EliRivers 8y ago
I wanted to get some bitcoin to buy some things off a website where bitcoin was the only thing accepted. I recall being asked by a keen young thing if his (completely legal) online business should take bitcoin only. I suggested that since he wanted people to give him their money, he needed to make it easier for people to give him their money; not harder. The website of which you speak, I can only imagine, didn't really want your business.
- Scoundreller 8y ago
  As an infrequent seller of things over the Internet, there are a lot of countries I would only ship to if I received an irreversible payment. At least on EBay, the seller has some protections. On a random website you won’t. Some countries have reliable postal systems that take forever and others have a high rate of fraudsters or thieving postal workers. Sometimes some regions of the country are fine and others aren’t, but how can I know that?
  - EliRivers 8y ago
    I think if you've got a genuine concern that the people you're dealing with are going to defraud you, you shouldn't get involved or your should accept the extra hassles and costs of an irreversible payment; be it cash, money transfer, or some other such. The world had irreversible payment for fear of fraud before bitcoin, and it will have it after. If you're buying a comic book from a store the next city over and they only take bitcoin, they don't want your custom and accepting the extra cost and hassle of indulging their political leanings isn't worth it.
    - Scoundreller 8y ago
      Generally, I don’t get involved. But if you’re in a developing country, even if your postal system is reliable, it’s hard to get sellers over any perception that you live in a mud hut and must be defrauding them. Bank wires can be recalled, and take a while. My bank even charges $25 or so to receive one. Maybe Western Union would be an option. Bank drafts and cash can be counterfeit, let alone hard to get in my local currency (Canadian dollars). As a seller, I would directly accept a handful of country’s payments directly, and leave the rest in crypto-only via a payment processor that pays me in $. That maximizes my revenue and minimizes my hassle.
dawhizkid 8y ago
you're assuming that is the only way to buy bitcoin...when you use a site like coinbase you trade convenience for privacy. there are plenty of ways to receive and send bitcoin that don't require you to use or register an exchange wallet.
faissaloo 8y ago
I just use the Bitcoin ATMs.

cenal 8y ago

KYC is an awful thing for user experience. Expect it moving forward.

skybrian 8y ago
For this sort of thing, a notary could do the job, and if you search on "notary near me" there are plenty of businesses doing it. It seems like there's an opportunity here to make this easier?
mancerayder 8y ago
Banks do it pretty well already. Coinbase and the like failed to do it initially, and had to play catch-up during the peak of the activity towards the end of last year / early this year. I guess it was a sort of tech debt with regards to their customer support and experience dealing with KYC problems?
waynecochran 8y ago
FMI, KYC is a TLA for "Know Your Customer" based authentication.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- yellowapple 8y ago
  FYI, TLA is a TLA for "Three Letter Acronym"
  - Daviey 8y ago
    FYI is i.e "For Your Information".
  - nsgoetz 8y ago
    FYI, FYI is a TLA for “For Your Information”
    - waynecochran 8y ago
      FMI is a TLA for "for my information"

EliRivers 8y ago

I wanted to get some bitcoin to buy some things off a website where bitcoin was the only thing accepted. I recall being asked by a keen young thing if his (completely legal) online business should take bitcoin only. I suggested that since he wanted people to give him their money, he needed to make it easier for people to give him their money; not harder. The website of which you speak, I can only imagine, didn't really want your business.

Scoundreller 8y ago
As an infrequent seller of things over the Internet, there are a lot of countries I would only ship to if I received an irreversible payment. At least on EBay, the seller has some protections. On a random website you won’t. Some countries have reliable postal systems that take forever and others have a high rate of fraudsters or thieving postal workers. Sometimes some regions of the country are fine and others aren’t, but how can I know that?
- EliRivers 8y ago
  I think if you've got a genuine concern that the people you're dealing with are going to defraud you, you shouldn't get involved or your should accept the extra hassles and costs of an irreversible payment; be it cash, money transfer, or some other such. The world had irreversible payment for fear of fraud before bitcoin, and it will have it after. If you're buying a comic book from a store the next city over and they only take bitcoin, they don't want your custom and accepting the extra cost and hassle of indulging their political leanings isn't worth it.
  - Scoundreller 8y ago
    Generally, I don’t get involved. But if you’re in a developing country, even if your postal system is reliable, it’s hard to get sellers over any perception that you live in a mud hut and must be defrauding them. Bank wires can be recalled, and take a while. My bank even charges $25 or so to receive one. Maybe Western Union would be an option. Bank drafts and cash can be counterfeit, let alone hard to get in my local currency (Canadian dollars). As a seller, I would directly accept a handful of country’s payments directly, and leave the rest in crypto-only via a payment processor that pays me in $. That maximizes my revenue and minimizes my hassle.

dawhizkid 8y ago

you're assuming that is the only way to buy bitcoin...when you use a site like coinbase you trade convenience for privacy. there are plenty of ways to receive and send bitcoin that don't require you to use or register an exchange wallet.

faissaloo 8y ago

I just use the Bitcoin ATMs.