aka, buy bitcoin instantly once you've deposited your USD into some partner bank account which you don't have access to but Sparkswap absolutely does.
This isn't really new or interesting and has been shut down repeatedly before because most crypto companies can't handle the fraud mitgation, here's a clue, it's not cheap or easy and can't be automated at this small scale. Instant access to the coins has never really been a boon to anyone other than scammers. The loss of private keys is a huge setback to the consumer and to adoption, which is why Coinbase has been one of the most successful applications within the crypto space.
I don't mean to say that this isn't something idea and shouldn't be done, its just not really interesting or useful.
buuuuuuuuttttttt, then you had to go and say this:
> a real product that solves a real problem and enhances the biggest proven use case in the cryptocurrency industry: buying Bitcoin.
the biggest proven use case in cryptocurrency is... buying crypto...?
I've been in crypto full time for the last 6.5 years and that statement actually makes me want to quit.
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's not for everybody. Given the value proposition of Bitcoin and the huge amounts of cryptocurrency stolen from exchanges, it's important for many people to hold their own keys. We're like that ourselves: we didn't want to choose between holding our keys and still being able to trade, which is part of why we built Sparkswap.
> the huge amounts of cryptocurrency stolen from exchanges, it's important for many people to hold their own keys
Can you cite the data for your claim that there is less loss of Bitcoin from holding keys vs an exchange? I'd image the number of Bitcoins lost people people don't have their keys is large.
I want to say it means more like the on ramps to crypto are kind of fucked. Coinbase and other on ramp providers have terrible fees, its almost exclusively the primary reason I don't swap fiat into crypto currency.
Those fees exist to cover risk mitigation - i.e. a certain percentage of on-ramps are fraudulent and the fee disperses the loss spread to everyone who is on-ramping.
Unless this service has invented some new technology in fraud prevention, it's going to eat that risk at a loss to themselves.
Poloniex has zero fee wire transfers (other than the wire fee you pay) into USDC which you can then trade on Polo with (paying fees) or withdraw the USDC anywhere you like that has better fees.
> Do you really believe the "coins of today" are going to stand the test of time as hardware gets more powerful in the next decade?
Bitcoin sure, because it actively gets less efficient as computers get more efficient. The only thing that'll stop it getting less efficient is a grey-goo like scenario where it consumes all the world's power. Or, I guess, if we run out of leading zeroes.
I'm surprised to see this misunderstanding persist today, though it was one I frequently saw in 2010/2011.
Bitcoin's mining difficulty automatically adapts both up and down to keep blocks at roughly 10 minutes, whatever the offered resources are. It doesn't monotonically become more difficult.
Of course, I never meant that it couldn't get easier. It just won't for as long as there's demand for it. As long as there's money to be made in mining, resources will be thrown at it. As more resources are thrown at it, it gets less efficient. As resources improve, it becomes less efficient. The only thing that would allow it to get more efficient is if nobody cares anymore, as happened across the lions share of 2018.
Nothing about this graph suggests we should expect anything else [1]. The perceived misconception seems more like a technicality :)
This isn't really new or interesting and has been shut down repeatedly before because most crypto companies can't handle the fraud mitgation, here's a clue, it's not cheap or easy and can't be automated at this small scale. Instant access to the coins has never really been a boon to anyone other than scammers. The loss of private keys is a huge setback to the consumer and to adoption, which is why Coinbase has been one of the most successful applications within the crypto space.
I don't mean to say that this isn't something idea and shouldn't be done, its just not really interesting or useful.
buuuuuuuuttttttt, then you had to go and say this: > a real product that solves a real problem and enhances the biggest proven use case in the cryptocurrency industry: buying Bitcoin.
the biggest proven use case in cryptocurrency is... buying crypto...?
I've been in crypto full time for the last 6.5 years and that statement actually makes me want to quit.