Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends(bitcoinswithfriends.com)
bitcoinswithfriends.com
Show HN: Spread bitcoins by lending to friends
http://bitcoinswithfriends.com/
19 comments
We started this project at the Bitcoin 2013 Conference Hackathon in May and have been working on it since. The idea is to get people started with Bitcoin easily through friends. I'm close to 100% repayment rate on the loans I've made, though not everyone pays back in cash!
OP here: we are also doing a launch special where every new sign ups will get 0.001 BTC on us.
If you don't own any bitcoins yet, you'll get your first one with BWF :)
If you don't own any bitcoins yet, you'll get your first one with BWF :)
If bitcoin succeeds, IMO one "satoshi" (0.000000001 btc) could be worth what one dollar is worth today. So you might just be giving everyone 1 million dollars ;).
I know you are just spit-balling, but that value for a satoshi would put the total value of all 21 million bitcoins at 2.1 quadrillion dollars, which appears to be about 200 times the value of all USD in existence.:)
I don't have a Facebook account, so I can't sign up. I think this is probably true of a lot of Bitcoin users--for a lot of Bitcoin users, Bitcoin is a way to stay off the grid, and being on Facebook would defeat the purpose.
My suggestion is to provide a way to sign up without Facebook.
My suggestion is to provide a way to sign up without Facebook.
Bitcoin... a monetary system that requires internet connectivity and CPU usage... in which every transaction is recorded forever and the database is replicated by all participants... is "off the grid"?
It's the closest you can get to off the grid.
Cash? Gold? Cocaine? The way the actual "off-the-grid" economy works?
Nope. Zerocoin is.
(Disclaimer : I'm a fervent Bitcoin supporter, I like its pseudonymous property and discard any anonymat claims. I've never used zerocoin because I don't have any use for it.)
(Disclaimer : I'm a fervent Bitcoin supporter, I like its pseudonymous property and discard any anonymat claims. I've never used zerocoin because I don't have any use for it.)
You've never used ZeroCoin because an implementation of it doesn't exist yet...
But libzerocoin is coming tomorrow: https://mobile.twitter.com/ZerocoinProject/status/3521365613...
But libzerocoin is coming tomorrow: https://mobile.twitter.com/ZerocoinProject/status/3521365613...
zerocoin is only a proposal at this time.
While its true for a lot of Bitcoin users, one of our goals was to make bitcoin more accessible to the public and the average person who is interested in bitcoin but doesn't quite know how to get started.
We are using Facebook as a trust network.
We are using Facebook as a trust network.
Agreed that being on Facebook takes away anonymity, which is one of Bitcoin's benefits. There are also many great non-anonymous uses for Bitcoin- "free PayPal", for example. That's the angle we're taking in this app.
Conversely, this could be a way to bring bitcoin to the attention of people who aren't already in on it.
I think they're using FB as a trust proxy..
Finally, a way to short BTC!
But how would you hedge your shorts?
by placing a corresponding bid on mtgox and paying back your friend in bitcoin. It's kind of a dick thing to do to your friend, though, I suppose.
Dick thing or no, it's just business.
Most ideas containing the word "friend" are not "just business".
Most things containing "money" are. Don't mix business & friendship or you'll lose both. That includes "lending" BTC.
>Most things containing "money" are.
So, donations to charity, "business" or no? For the donor. Obviously for the charity, it is.
>Don't mix business & friendship or you'll lose both
I started a 501(c)(3)-pending nonprofit. My board members are my friends, because I know that they are morally upright, mindful, and therefore will act as a reliable second pair of eyes to keep me from doing something illegal, immoral, or both. For now, it seems like having my friends help me out with this business has strengthened our friendships.
So, donations to charity, "business" or no? For the donor. Obviously for the charity, it is.
>Don't mix business & friendship or you'll lose both
I started a 501(c)(3)-pending nonprofit. My board members are my friends, because I know that they are morally upright, mindful, and therefore will act as a reliable second pair of eyes to keep me from doing something illegal, immoral, or both. For now, it seems like having my friends help me out with this business has strengthened our friendships.
This is a fantastic way to spread BTC over a social layer! Great idea
The 1000 friends minimum thing is hilariously high.
Ah! It's a joke (albeit a bad one, by me). The minimum friends limit to join is actually 50.
Big ups to you guys for launching!!
Two of the guys who built this are my pals. Very dedicated makers - they'll look after you.
Two of the guys who built this are my pals. Very dedicated makers - they'll look after you.
Thanks Paul!!
I've always wondered, is interest possible on BTC loans? Technically, it should not be, since there's a limited amount of coins.
Are you qualified/classified/stamped/branded/innoculated/whatever to comply with US regulation bullshit?
What's your business model here? Keep a % of the loan?
Are you qualified/classified/stamped/branded/innoculated/whatever to comply with US regulation bullshit?
What's your business model here? Keep a % of the loan?
There's nothing stopping you from loaning, say, 1.0 BTC and asking for 1.1 BTC to be paid back later, but Bitcoin does not have any mechanism to help enforce such loans. There's a forum dedicated to it: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=65.0 Many people are skeptical of Bitcoin loans since the expected rate of return of holding BTC exceeds the rate of return of almost all legitimate businesses.
Many people are skeptical of Bitcoin loans since the expected rate of return of holding BTC exceeds the rate of return of almost all legitimate businesses.
To steal a tptacek line, "I hope to make the starburst of points which follow by implication rather than by explicit statement."
To steal a tptacek line, "I hope to make the starburst of points which follow by implication rather than by explicit statement."
Interest is not only to protect the bank (or lender) against inflation. It's also (one of ) the way that the bank gets paid.
For a moment suppose that there is no inflation, no fraud, no bankrupts and no administrative commissions: If the bank gives you $100 and you pay in total $110 then the profit of the bank is $10.
For a moment suppose that there is no inflation, no fraud, no bankrupts and no administrative commissions: If the bank gives you $100 and you pay in total $110 then the profit of the bank is $10.
Interest is just a function of a loan agreement - it is an entirely separate issue from the available supply of the currency in question.
Even if you borrow monopoly money from a specific monopoly set, there can still be interest required on the loan. It may be impossible for you to fulfil your loan obligations if your supply of whatever currencies the lender will accept (which does not necessarily only have to be the original loan currency) is limited, but that's a separate issue.
Even if you borrow monopoly money from a specific monopoly set, there can still be interest required on the loan. It may be impossible for you to fulfil your loan obligations if your supply of whatever currencies the lender will accept (which does not necessarily only have to be the original loan currency) is limited, but that's a separate issue.
Think of the "Bitcoin economy" as a border-less sovereign country with a floating, fixed-supply currency. This country would still have interest rates, and those rates would still be a function of everyone else's interest rates in a way fundamentally related to the FX rate (complicated, but not insurmountably, by the lack of a low-risk Bitcoin counterparty, thereby holding back the development of Bitcoin collateral and lending markets).
Awesome idea! If you just gotten your first bitcoin, you can immediately put it into good use by purchasing the Humble Bundle now (they accept bitcoins): https://www.humblebundle.com/
This is an awesome idea. I just with that they allow account creation outside of facebook.
Right now, Facebook is the only good way to know that "Bob Jones" is really my friend named "Bob Jones".
This idea depends on that level social trust. I wouldn't loan out bitcoins to strangers. Just friends who want to learn about bitcoin, as they won't screw me over. Even if they don't return the loan in btc, they might buy me a drink.
This idea depends on that level social trust. I wouldn't loan out bitcoins to strangers. Just friends who want to learn about bitcoin, as they won't screw me over. Even if they don't return the loan in btc, they might buy me a drink.
+1
When I shared my link on Facebook, it wouldn't show a thumbnail with the HTTPS URL but I changed it to an HTTP URL and it appeared. The thumbnail/preview is very attractive and I think it'll help get people to click. :)
Thanks for the feedback Dave. We're looking into the thumbnail issue, is anyone else not seeing the thumbnail?
Very nice. Definitely one of the better looking Bitcoin services out there.
Thanks! Interestingly, one piece of feedback we got was that the site made bitcoins seem like play money. They definitely have real-world value though. I just used it to pay a friend back for an Amazon order.
Cool beginnings of a micro-credit economy for bitcoin.
This is a great idea! This is one simple way to get started with Bitcoin and make Bitcoin more mainstream for the average person.
Think this is cool, please consider a Twitter sign up at the least, (not sure about others) I prefer not to reactivate my FB.
You should check out http://ripple.com
People should avoid Ripple. Building an economy under a system that is in hands of one company isn't a very good idea.
Isn't Ripple a decentralized system, and weren't there plans to open source it?
That's their stated intention, but so far it's completely centralized and (mostly) closed source.
The biggest problem most Bitcoiners have with Ripple is the creators control the allocation of the currency used within the system (XRP).
The biggest problem most Bitcoiners have with Ripple is the creators control the allocation of the currency used within the system (XRP).
I really really like the design, good job
you might get a cease and desist from zynga but don't give in!
Great idea! Now Im going to Spread Bitcoins by lending to friends