BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,100 businesses on board

Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by TY on Monday January 07, 2013 @06:03PM (#5023828)

Nice idea. I've gone through their website and even watched the explanation video.

One thing they don't mention is how buyers come into possession of bitcoins. Buying bitcoins is currently a hassle for an average consumer and has transactional fees that are paid to bitcoin exchanges - enterprises of unknown origin and reputation that don't have household level brand name recognition (ask your aunt Sally or uncle Kamal about Mt. Gox).

I assume that chargebacks that are offloaded to bitcoin exchanges. These exchanges are the weakest point of the bitcoin ecosystem at the moment - this is where bitcoins touch the real world.

Contact with the real world makes them susceptible to the control of the authorities (regulators, law enforcement, criminals and etc), easy target for malicious parties meaning harm (yes, don't want to use the word hackers) as well as financial manipulators.

Success of BitPay and the like depends on the health and stability of the whole ecosystem, which is still quite immature, so if I were a merchant I'd approach this cautiously.

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Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by nym on Monday January 07, 2013 @06:37PM (#5023964)

Check out http://howdoyoubuybitcoins.com/

I recommend Coinbase personally, it's very easy! Come buy a cupcake at Cups and Cakes in SF too :)

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Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by redegg on Monday January 07, 2013 @09:58PM (#5024652)

+1 Coinbase, although I wished they offered next day ACH withdrawals to bank accounts for a small premium ($0.25 is is what Balanced Payments charges).

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Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by heliodor on Tuesday January 08, 2013 @07:23AM (#5025887)

While I'd love to recommend a YC startup, Coinbase charges much more in fees than MtGox or CampBX, for example. Yeah, they provide more features and a cleaner UI, but if you want to just buy some bitcoins, stick with lower fees from established players.

Whoever will be the first to create a shopping platform, as Coinbase plans to, will very likely get a nice boost and probably become the #1 player.

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Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by loceng on Tuesday January 08, 2013 @10:42AM (#5026688)

I've never understood the cost to buying bitcoins to begin with. You need to use a credit card I imagine, which will say have a 2.9%+ fee associated with it?

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Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by nym on Thursday January 10, 2013 @03:09PM (#5039424)

One word: Chargebacks.

If someone decides 60 days later that they want to contest the purchase, they can. Usually this screws over the seller, leaving them in the negative.

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Re:BitPay, PayPal for Bitcoin, raises $510K – already has 2,... by flyblackbox on Thursday January 10, 2013 @09:58PM (#5041104)

I am not sure I grasp your point entirely. Could you rephrase or reiterate this idea?

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