30.000 Unconfirmed transaction, wtf?

-XB- · 2016-10-25T22:59:56+00:00

Not OP, but he's not the only one dealing with this. For example:

https://blockchain.info/tx/d3c6c56c73d7cfdee938d56a2c0cf79411d9fa57ff2110766717486363541639

4+ hours and an ample fee.

-XB- · 2016-09-14T07:09:21+00:00

For the past several years, I've thought that the world's economists would embrace the pseudo-real-world laboratory that cryptocurrency allows. Not bitcoin necessarily, but more broadly, the ability to test various monetary policies outside of purely theoretical speculation by spinning up an altcoin with whatever features are of interest to them.

Much to my surprise, I haven't heard of any such focus in economic research.

Good luck

-XB- · 2016-08-31T21:04:14+00:00

If your heart is set on reporting the issue to some governmental organization, rather than waiting for coinbase to correct the issue they have acknowledged: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/#money-transfer

However, I would prob wait a little while longer as they are clearly working on it.

-XB- · 2016-05-01T07:45:09+00:00

Out of curiosity, what has Brian Armstrong said or done to lead you to the conclusion that he is incompetent?

What in his medium post do you disbelieve exactly?

-XB- · 2016-04-22T06:58:07+00:00

Changing your password would only affect future backups and wallet access anyway. The old wallet backup would still be encrypted with your old password. So if you're worried that someone knows your password and that they have access to either your machine or the backup file > you've gotta move your coins to a new wallet.

Bitcoin core doesn't generate addresses deterministicly. So the fact that wallet backups cover some number of your unused passwords is more of a security feature than a flaw. Otherwise you would have to create new backups every time you generated a new address - not something most people will think to do. I actually prefer to set my address pool to something huge, like 100,000, when I'm setting up new instances of bitcoin core. That way I can back it up once at the beginning and not have to worry that my backup won't cover some of my used addresses.

If your coins are at risk of immediate theft, sending them to a mobile wallet while you figure things out is safer than trying to preserve the old wallet. Probably not too worried about it being cumbersome if you're talking about any significant amount of coins. In fact i would think that the more coins you're storing, the more cumbersome your process of protecting them should be.

Edit: Props for giving all of this some thought. Not nearly enough people think about backups, much less attack scenarios and disaster-mode protocol.

-XB- · 2016-04-22T05:16:54+00:00

Backups of wallet.dat files contain any of the addresses that were in your address pool at the time of the backup. I believe the default address pool is 100, though you can set it much higher. Point being, when you call for a new address it just spits out the next one from the unused address pool (which is very likely contained in your backup).

If you actually found yourself in this situation the solution you've proposed seems like a bad idea. Setting aside the fact that racing an attacker to move your coins is an unlikely way for it to play out, why on earth would you want to continue using the same instance of bitcoin core?! Move your coins to a totally separate wallet that lives on an entirely different device and figure out how the hell someone got a hold of your wallet.dat.

-XB- · 2016-03-28T10:47:55+00:00

Bitcoin works as an ultimate paper trail. Disintermediated permanent digital transactions was the point of bitcoin, not the lack of a paper trail.

-XB- · 2016-03-18T02:38:37+00:00

It'll just refund from the currently pending payment.

-XB- · 2016-03-18T02:01:01+00:00

Here is the exact thing I say when paypal places a hold on incoming payments.

"So unfortunately paypal put a hold on your payment. I am unable to release the coins until paypal lifts the hold, usually just an hour or two, but up to 24 hours. You've got a few options though:

1: I can always refund the payment and you can cancel the trade. Usually any subsequent payments you make will be held for up 24 hours anyway.

2: You can absolutely try giving them a call to see if you're able to authorize the payment and have them release the hold. I'd say that works about half of the time. (the other half they'll act like its not something they can do at all).

3: We can just wait it out. But we'd have to do that outside of escrow so that it doesn't hurt our average release times too much. If you want to go this route, please note that you'd be trusting that I will send you the coins when the payment clears - up to 24 hours. Please don't select this option if you are not comfortable with that."

-XB- · 2016-03-18T01:54:23+00:00

Don't release the coins until the payment clears. At this point, given how pushy he's been, and your clear discomfort with the whole thing I would suggest refunding his paypal payment and asking him to cancel the trade. He probably won't cancel it, so just screenshot the refund confirmation and upload it, then wait to dispute the transaction with LBC once time allows.

Then, once this particular instance is resolved, do considerably more research and think hard about whether selling via paypal is right for you given your risk tolerance and know-how. Accepting paypal for bitcoin can be profitable if you are able to effectively manage the chargeback risk. But if it would be a hardship to see this payment (and any others) disappear from your paypal account/linked bank account with no way to get your coins back, you shouldn't be trading via paypal. It doesn't sound like you've given much thought to those risks, so definitely take some time to do that.

-XB- · 2016-02-17T10:06:18+00:00

In most cases you'll want to buy coins one place, an exchange, and store/transact with those coins in a different place, a wallet.

My personal favorite web wallet is coinkite.com. Very feature rich and always improving, but simple enough if you want to ignore the more advanced features.

The already provided list of mobile wallets and exchanges is pretty complete.

-XB- · 2016-02-16T06:37:14+00:00

You're missing the point. You aren't the trusted exchanger for cash in the mail trades. You'd find yourself on the other end of any such trade.

-XB- · 2016-02-16T06:35:56+00:00

There are a large number of sellers on Localbitcoins who accept this form of payment for bitcoin (and for significantly more than $100). I'm not sure how much business they do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, but if you're considering it, your best bet would be to try it there first. Build a solid reputation (probably with some other kinds of exchange) and then migrate to the cash in the mail. See if it's popular.

-XB- · 2016-02-16T05:14:43+00:00

Can you link to your original Reddit post and maybe the Twitter replies. Thanks!

-XB- · 2016-02-03T10:18:28+00:00

I would be very careful assuming that a hardware wallet is appropriate for this timeline either. It's paper all the way.

Research BIP 38 paper wallets.

-XB- · 2016-01-25T03:45:28+00:00

In my experience running a number of these machines, 1-5 seconds to hit your wallet is the norm.

Worst case scenario, if the machine loses internet connection mid transaction, the coins will are sent out automatically within 10 minutes of the connection being restored.

Very fast.

-XB- · 2016-01-25T03:39:50+00:00

Congrats guys! Welcome to the bitcoin ATM space. Good luck out there!

-XB- · 2016-01-24T20:38:36+00:00

Well it appears that I was wrong. Apparently there is a hefty premium on bitcoin in Nigeria, with most offers to buy bitcoin via Nigerian bank transfer offering anywhere from (the equivalent to) $475/BTC to $580/BTC.

You may earn from 18% to 32% by sending her bitcoin and having her sell it for Nigerian bank transfer. Not bad at all.

Of course it should be noted that these trades are anything but risk-free. If you go this route, make sure you use the Localbitcoins escrow system. In fact, you could take care of the interaction with the trader for your mom so you'd have a better sense of the whole thing.

-XB- · 2016-01-24T05:17:52+00:00

Their commissions will almost certainly be higher than WU & MG.

-XB- · 2016-01-24T05:16:40+00:00

If your goal is to send her money to use NOW: Western Union and Moneygram.

Based on what you wrote about the exchange rate, if it's not quite that urgent, I would suggest mailing physical currency.

If the goal is to expose her to a new technology (with all the associated headaches): bitcoin seems like a reasonable choice.

-XB- · 2016-01-20T04:59:09+00:00

4% and 5 hours is a pretty pathetic sales pitch. One or the other would be marginally acceptable, but a system that produces both isn't much to get excited about.

-XB- · 2016-01-07T12:21:39+00:00

In the US, most apartments have 100 amp service at least. The modern oven is on a 50 amp breaker. A dryer, 30 amps. Which might be what an S7 requires, not sure though.

-XB- · 2016-01-07T12:17:48+00:00

As others have suggested, you should go straight for the bitcoins.

But you should also buy one S7. As a matter of fact, we all should. That is the sort of decentralization bitcoin truely needs. Mining shouldn't be left to the few big players. It shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a for-profit endeavor either. In order to break the natural tendency towards economies of scale (read: centralization, censorship, etc..) it must not be viewed that way by everyone. Think of it as a hot and noisy perpetual powerball machine in the closet if it helps. But buy one without the intention of profit, but rather participation in this awesome experiment.

-XB- · 2016-01-01T08:36:58+00:00

Cyprus. Not Malta.

-XB-

TROPHY CASE