tg3

9 ms·

31.
by tg3 7y ago
ACH is a method for sending money between banks primarily in the US. Yes, unfortunately we're limited to 22 states in the US right now, but we're working to expand to more states and internationally in the coming months. We'r
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by tg3 7y ago
I think we're working together in our support channel, but the email you received was in error - we're working to resolve.
33.
by tg3 7y ago
Our partner has clarified that FDIC insurance is per user (per Tax ID) rather than for the whole platform
34.
by tg3 7y ago
The product is very similar to the Square Cash app. The main difference is that when you buy Bitcoin with Sparkswap, the Bitcoin goes instantly (and without paying on-chain fees) into a wallet for which you hold the private keys (rather tha
35.
by tg3 7y ago
Initial setup is definitely not as fast as we'd like it to be given that we have to do identity verification, both for fraud prevention and AML compliance. Once you've gone through that setup, the interaction is near-instant, and
36.
by tg3 7y ago
You're right that ACH reversals can come far after the payment appears to be settled. Based on the customer and transaction size, we treat the ACH as "completed" (i.e. available to buy Bitcoin with) at different points in it
37.
by tg3 7y ago
I definitely agree that fraud mitigation is the key factor in a business like this succeeding or failing. Instant access to coins is certainly something that can attract the wrong type. There are certainly pros and cons to self-custody - it
38.
by tg3 7y ago
It's true that this isn't ready for the average computer user. But there are projects that I do think make it safer, for example dedicated hardware devices like the Casa node. I think that as this technology (Bitcoin and Lightning
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by tg3 7y ago
Sparkswap opens the channel to the user, so Sparkswap will incur the channel opening and closing fee.
40.
by tg3 7y ago
We have an AML program in place and do identity verification on users that want to buy Bitcoin. We are restricted to 22 states in the US right now (which excludes NY state) but we're expanding that number rapidly, and hoping to expand
41.
by tg3 7y ago
We have guards in place to protect against fraud by verifying your identity in a few different ways, but this is something we'll monitor and make improvements to over time. It's critical to the survival of the business that we hav
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by tg3 7y ago
If you close a Lightning channel (or use a service provider to translate a Lightning payment to an on-chain payment, a common way to "withdraw" from Lightning channels), you will incur a blockchain transaction fee, similar to usin
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by tg3 7y ago
Yes, that's definitely a goal of ours over time. We're starting with the existing Lightning community, but we plan to continue to reduce the technical requirements so that users don't need to know anything about Lightning to
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by tg3 7y ago
AnchorUSD is our payment partner who operates the API we interact with (it's a custom API that they built for us). The escrow account is held with a trust company in AnchorUSD's name, but is designed so that only the users they on
45.
by tg3 7y ago
Yes absolutely! Enabling selling Bitcoin is near the top of our list of priorities.
46.
by tg3 7y ago
When we add Bitcoin sales, it will look more like what you're describing. We've experimented with an open orderbook model in the past, and we're not opposed to it, but we've found that the UX of a listed price is better
47.
by tg3 7y ago
Good question - we make money by selling Bitcoin for slightly higher than we buy it from a few sources. We aim to have very competitive prices (lower than many places you can buy Bitcoin today), but we don't have a set fee rate that we
48.
Launch HN: Sparkswap (YC S18) – Buy Bitcoin Instantly over the Lightning Network
130 points by tg3 7y ago|81 comments
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by tg3 7y ago
Sparkswap (YC S18) | San Francisco, CA | Onsite | https://sparkswap.com Sparkswap is the first cryptocurrency exchange built on Lightning Network atomic swaps. For the first time, it’s possible to make instant trades between blo
50.
Hack on Bitcoin in SF at Sparkswap (YC S18)(keyvalues.com)
1 points by tg3 7y ago
51.
by tg3 7y ago
Sparkswap (YC S18) | San Francisco, CA | Onsite | https://sparkswap.com Sparkswap is the first cryptocurrency exchange built on Lightning Network atomic swaps. For the first time, it’s possible to make instant trades between blo
52.
Hack on the Lightning Network at Sparkswap (YC S18, SF)(keyvalues.com)
1 points by tg3 7y ago
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Hack on Bitcoin in SF at Sparkswap (YC S18)(keyvalues.com)
1 points by tg3 7y ago
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by tg3 8y ago
Sparkswap (YC S18) | San Francisco, CA | ONSITE | https://sparkswap.com Sparkswap is the first cryptocurrency exchange built on Lightning Network atomic swaps. For the first time, it’s possible to make instant trades between blo
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by tg3 8y ago
Hmm, I'm not sure I agree with the specific example given here. How can you say that a cabbage harvester produces $70k in value per year when they are paid much less than that, and every part of the supply chain for cabbage almost cert
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Sparkswap (YC S18) Is Hiring – Build a new way to trade cryptocurrency (SF)(keyvalues.com)
1 points by tg3 8y ago
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by tg3 11y ago
Conde Nast doesn't own Reddit anymore: http://www.redditblog.com/2013/08/reddit-myth-busters_6.html...
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by tg3 11y ago
What is the burden of short-term visitors? I've heard that said before, but I've never heard any actual examples of problems that occur from short-term visitors that aren't present with long-term residents.
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by tg3 11y ago
npm is now its own company, so I think there is hope that serious work is being done to fix those issues.
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by tg3 11y ago
Another great example of this is a sports franchise. The St Louis Rams have different ownership, players, coaches, and city from the LA Rams. Are they the same team? In sports, every year something small enough changes to make people accept

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