Dear Crypto Nerd - I Am a Brain Washed Corporate Girl and I Want To Buy Steem.
I think there are many people here who do not understand how difficult it can be (especially for Americans) to buy bitcoin at a reasonable price.
I made my first purchase at https://paxful.com, I made a post about the experience.
My next purchase was made via https://localbitcoins.com/
What sounded like a crazy idea, seemed to be considered normal. Load up some cash and meet a stranger to purchase bitcoins. I was able to gain 3 bitcoins, there just wasn't much in the local area. I paid 20% above the current price in order to gain these bitcoins. I was actually questioned by a SteemIt user when I told this story on SteemSpeak in discord. He seemed to think it was ridiculous to purchase bitcoin in this manner.
So, this week, I broke down and signed up for coinbase.com. I attached my bank account which was a multi-step process.
- Sign up, add debitcard information, personal information
- Verify account - They make small withdrawals from your account and you then go back to the site and enter the amounts in order to verify you have access to the account.
- At this point I had $200.00 purchasing ability per week.
- Verify my identity - take a picture of myself, and my drivers licence and upload the data to the site.
- This increased my purchase power, and I guess after I made some more purchases it will continue to go up.
I did notice I can also buy Ethereum directly on coinbase I found myself wishing I could buy Steem directly too.
We have a business plan that includes attracting Mainstream people into crypto, but I don't think it is widely recognized by you Crypto geeks that it isn't that easy to invest. (said in fun, not with meanness) Many of you already have bitcoin and are just moving it around. For the bitcoin virgins this is a larger challenge.
The issues are as follows:
- bitcoin has a limited supply, many are not selling.
- Signing up to purchase coins is time consuming, invasive and feels really strange
- It is difficult or impossible to remain anonymous
- It is difficult to know who you can trust and which sites are safe to use.
This problem isn't anyone's fault and nobody has done anything wrong, but I do think there is a lack of insight into this issue for those of you who have been happily living in Bitcoin land for a while.
Someone could make a fortune selling steem directly to end-users or making a creditcard processing ability for steem. Yes, I understand there are legal hoops to jump through.
I would love it if others shared their experience of trying to get into Bitcoin.
Edit: The whole process is awkward, and makes me feel a little bit "criminal". :) I realize it isn't a problem directly caused in any way by Steem, I think we have so many innovative and intelligent minds around here, it sure would be great to see some brainstorming and discussion on reducing the "barriers of entry". Especially for those who want to invest.
This is one of the problems with cryptocurrencies - and I suppose it's mostly unavoidable at the moment, particularly in the United States, where we have to deal with money/income/tax Nazis at every turn.
But this is what really hurts the wider adoption of cryptos in general, and likely STEEM/Steemit. It's hard enough to move people from their favorite social media sites. Yes, there is the "get paid to blog" element, but how you get paid is important. If that process is difficult to understand - and even more difficult to actually execute - it doesn't matter how much "money" you can make because adoption will feel like a hassle. And the process you just described about Coinbase is exactly why I haven't even attempted to sign up with them.
So, the question is - if we have to jump through hoops and even give up our anonymity in order to deal with cryptocurrencies, what's the point of the cryptos? I thought the intent was to make things easier (and at least somewhat anonymous).
The one thing that makes all of this a real problem, not just a theoretical one, is the fact that this digital "money" really can't be spent anywhere - and it's particularly true with STEEM and most of the "alt" coins. Even Bitcoin hasn't been that widely adopted yet (never mind that very few people actually spend their Bitcoin anyway). If you can't spend the money, then there's really not much use for the money. This is the problem that cryptos have to overcome.
At the very least, I would like to see a deal worked out where STEEM can be used to purchase a gift/debit card that can be recharged. Even if there was a 10% charge to use it, it would solve a lot of the adoption/spending problems that limit the growth of cryptos.
Gyft is a really convienient bridge between bitcoin and pretty much everything else, IMO.
As to buying anonymously, its pretty easy as long as youre nowhere terribly remote and willing to do f2f meetings. I was making around $50K/week in f2f purchases for all of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, and i don't think i ever gave my real name once.
I haven't tried it myself, but I heard you can use this:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@stan/remittio-offers-universal-off-ramps-for-bitshares-and-steemit
Thanks. That's good to know. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing you mention this before.
This was back in August. Is there still a ~20% haircut on transfers? That's brutal.
right now, there is no haircut, because SBD is trading close to $1
Also good to know. Thanks again!
Just wanted to say that I used @blocktrades services a couple of minutes ago and the current fee is approximately 4.5%. I can certainly live with that.
private jet level
The whole process is awkward, and makes me feel a little bit "criminal". :) I realize it isn't a problem directly caused in any way by Steem, I think we have so many innovative and intelligent minds around here, it sure would be great to see some brainstorming and discussion on reducing the "barriers of entry". Especially for those who want to invest.
Yeah - that's likely one of many reasons why we don't see more "investors." First, it's difficult to get into Bitcoin in order to get into STEEM. Then, you have to consider that the difficulty will be experienced by others, which could limit growth. And then, if you can make money buying STEEM or using the platform, you have to consider the expenses and difficulty of pulling that investment back out...and potentially getting screwed by existing tax laws and regulations.
So, yes - the process is not good. There ought to be a simpler way, but is it even possible with the governments regulating like they do? This is why I don't like to see these "coins" and exchanges/companies being created in or establishing themselves in the United States. Find a friendlier environment and find ways that don't involve transfers directly to individual bank accounts.
And you're right - they ought to use all of this brainpower they have to figure something out that's a little easier. They seem to be moving in the wrong direction. Complexity is not the answer. Simplicity is.
I agree 100%. Removing this huge barrier to entry would be a game changer for Steemit!
It would. I am hoping we can discuss the issue without being defensive. It is a real thing. We have so many people with various ideas and talent. It seems like if we really focused on this issue, it might make a difference. Thank you for your comment.
This is not the first time I hear /read the "feeling kinda criminal" opinion. It worries me that the banking system is so ingrained into society that people are feeling they are doing something wrong when they exclude it from their money business. Remember that they are the ones that would like to see you in debt.
Also this is also not the first time I hear / read that someone feels uncomfortable signing up for a exchange. (The next is a general statement and not pointed to anyone specifically) Yet some people share their lives online through social media including pictures and on top of that forget that their government (something like the NSA) is conducting mass surveillance which everyone is part of.
Ha ha, this struck me as funny, because at the bank or DMV, I am photographed, asked for ID and even thumb printed. And I found this process invasive? I got a good chuckle out of that.
Welcome to the first step outside of the nasty banking system. Also thumb printed what the fuck? I'd get the hell out of dodge.
What state do you live in. I totally agree it is very difficult. I am having a hard enough time trying to spend it which is far easier than trying to buy it but I don't use banks shift card won't deal with NY residents I want to try bitpay but I don't want to spend $10 to have the card shipped to me to find out later that I get shut down for living in NY.
I am in WA State, I figured being near Seattle (A large metro city) that there would be a good chance of having a large supply!
Thank you for sharing that it has been difficult for you as well. I think there is a huge lack of understanding this by the miner/techy group of people.
I actually mine xmr with my gaming pc I don't get an awful lot but my gpu does good at mining and buy steem with that after converting it to bitcoin. I started using steemit and mining in november. Untill then i was a virgin to all of this.
I am starting to think I should pay someone to teach me how to mine. ;)
i just downloaded the app from www.mingergate.com i have an Nvidia graphics card and it links right up if you don't have a graphics card you can still mine with cpu but its not as good. Uses a lot of your computers resources though and can hike of your electric bill if your computer likes to suck a lot of juice.
Wow, great information I also have a Nvidia Card and in fact it is one of the best available. Thank you for the information.
I thought Circle is from the US? I have no problem using it. It accepts USD, pounds and €. Am based in London.
I haven't tried circle yet. Maybe having two accounts would help me gather Bitcoin faster.
Blockchain is good too fot bitcoin..i just dont know where it is based.
Hi, @whatsup, You said:
I find this frustratingly sad but unfortunately "the norm." The entirety of society, influenced as we are by growing up under the mind-altering regime of human government, has turned morality on its head. It is the "powers that be" that are criminal, making their illegitimate immoral claim of ownership over our property, our time, our every transaction.
The sooner people start simply exchanging cryptocurrencies among ourselves as media for meeting our daily needs, the sooner the governments and their accomplice banks will shrivel up and fade away.
Following you now in the hope of one day hearing how you've left your misplaced criminal guilt behind you... 😄😇😄
It's surprising and disheartening to still be reading post like this near 2017. My neighbors, family and most friends still see Bitcoin/cryptocurrency as a joke that will crash at any time, too difficult to understand and, as you say, difficult, intimidating and/or burdensome to buy into.
I hope the job of educating the public and/or creating a simpler on-ramp will be completed in the near future.
That said, every 6-9 months I still do get a kick out of hearing my neighbor say ...
Neighbor : "You still got them Beetcorns?"
Me : "Yep."
Neighbor : "Awww you need to sell them before you lose everything. You know that's a scam, now come on."
Me : "Yep."
I've told him repeatedly that I bought in at $33, but one day soon, I'm still going to lose it all if I don't sell now. =)
lol - I love this story
Did you try to find bitcoin ATM ?
I haven't found one that is legal in the USA.
I didn't know that. We have them in big cities in Canada. Fee is kind of high, but it working well.
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Is it possible to use Bittrex or Poloniex for that purpose?
Those sites are both trading sites, I move my bitcoin and liquid steem there, so I can trade, but they don't convert from USD to bitcoin.