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  #1  
09-01-2021, 04:09 PM
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2023 update:

This thread is from 2021.
In 2022, we decided to NOT accept bitcoin/crypto donations, not worth the hassle.
We still accept Paypal, links here: https://www.digitalFAQ.com/donate.htm
And then contact me for Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, check, and some other lesser used methods.

And, as always, thanks for your support of this site. We do our best to provide content that will help you with your digital projects. Your funds help to pay for the site hosting, hardware R&D, and future upgrades to make this a better place for all of us.

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original first post:

I know some of you here are into crypto. We need help with this.

I want the site to be able to accept Bitcoin and Etheruem (at least), but don't know where to begin. Right now, the site accepts Paypal donations, but Paypal sucks (and everybody knows it, many refuse to use it).

For years, I've seen sites with long addresses like QWERTYUIOP1234567890. Assuming those are the wallets. But where to get one? Is Gemini the safest wallet, best support if needed? (Coinbase is crap, zero support.)

Is it as simple as getting a wallet, and then posting the address (ID? public hash?) somewhere?

There's not a crypto primer anywhere that I've seen. I'm tired of searching Google, because most results are just self-whoring "guides" from places like Coinbase, or forum/social responses from scammers ("send me DM"), and not actually helpful. I need some handholding here. Crypto reminds me of certain tech back in the 80s and 90s. You really need to have somebody help you, as no amount of reading or watching (Youtube) is going to help you get started.

To date, I've mostly avoided crypto, due to the hacking and volatility, going back years. I was aware of Bitcoin back in 2010, but didn't see the point in running up my electricity bill. By the time BTC had any worthwhile value, it'd have required me to buy a bunch of graphics cards AND new computers that accepted those cards. At the time, I didn't have the funds for that. And while you could say "in 2010, you could have mined, and now it'd be worth blah-blah-blah", realistically, I'd have sold it long ago. Looking toward the future here, not the past.

Who here has crypto, and would donate some to the site, if it was accepted?

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  #2  
09-29-2021, 01:22 PM
mbassiouny mbassiouny is offline
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I do use crypto, though I should warn if you want to consider this idea, are you ready to provide your ID?

Most reputable crypto wallets and payments gateways have a mandatory KYC, at least if you want to withdraw to fiat (USD/EUR etc). If you plan to keep the money stored in crypto forever and never cash it out, then you may be able to get around providing an ID.

Let me know what you're looking for exactly and I will try to help.
  #3  
10-10-2022, 03:15 PM
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sephi sephi is offline
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I am knowledgable about crypto from a user standpoint and it is something I follow. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know about setting up side-based transactions, but for donations it's as simple as sharing you wallet address and allowing people to send. That's what it was designed for: anything really to eliminate the middle man.

As of right now, the safest method for consumers are hardware wallets. There are two serious competitors, Ledger and Trezor. Both are good. Hardware wallets are done in such a way that your private keys are separated from the network and can be considered "cold storage" and to date there has been no compromise of any of these devices. And even if you lose your hardware wallet (which looks like a flash drive), you can still recover it because as part of the set up process you write down a 24 word "seed phrase." This is something you have to store. Even software wallets will make you store one of these as they work similarly. If anyone ever gets your 24 word seed phrase though, they have access to your wallet. So never ever buy a hardware wallet from a random place besides the manufactuer or third party. These are the basic tips.

You don't/wouldn't want to use an exchange as your address as you want to be the one in custody of your crypto, not the exchange. Only exchanges have KYC. Regular personal wallets do not. Something to note is that coins like Bitcoin are not private. It was designed to be transparent, and anyone can scan or look at transactions and follow transaction from address to address; it is not a "privacy" coin. There are some paid organizations that do this for a living and they often work with governments. Monero is an example of a privacy coin and LiteCoin now has privacy functionality that you can opt into.
  #4  
10-11-2022, 06:46 PM
nicholasserra nicholasserra is offline
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If you transfer the funds out of a hosted exchange wallet whenever you get a donation, there's no worry about just using an exchange. Can just sign up for Kraken and post the address. Any time someone donates, cash it out.
  #5  
10-13-2022, 01:13 AM
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sephi sephi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholasserra View Post
If you transfer the funds out of a hosted exchange wallet whenever you get a donation, there's no worry about just using an exchange. Can just sign up for Kraken and post the address. Any time someone donates, cash it out.
I don't recommend using an exchange address with the old addage of "not your keys, not your crypto." Doing this, Krakken holds the private keys and they can do anything they want. It's much safer and preferable to self custody your crypto, which is what it was designed for (taking out the middle man)
  #6  
10-13-2022, 10:21 AM
nicholasserra nicholasserra is offline
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Agreed if you're storing funds in the wallet. But if it all gets immediately transferred out, doesn't really matter. He's gonna have to connect to an exchange anyway to convert to USD.
  #7  
10-14-2022, 02:16 PM
MilesGT MilesGT is offline
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Edit: I just realized this was bumped from a year ago

I have a lot of knowledge on Crypto and blockchain in general (been involved since 2017, and have worked directly with the technology in my projects), but I'm fighting to find time as well. If you have questions, you have my email and I can do my best to answer them. There seem to be some pretty good answers above.

In short:

Use an online wallet (ie one where you don't own the keys and your wallet is on their server, with your normal account login). Coinbase and Gemini are fine. You will need to submit your ID, bank info, etc. if you want to turn that crypto into USD (I assume you will). The plus here is every day, every week, etc., you can cash our whatever crypto has been sent to you into USD, and they'll deposit it into your bank account.

On the above, ignore people saying "if you don't own the keys, you don't own the crypto", etc. While they are correct, in my opinion, this only matters if you have a lot of crypto and you intend to keep it. And you must protect and not lose your key to the wallet if you do it "offline". If you lose your key to your own wallet, you lose everything. If you forget your Gemini password, you do a password reset or call them, and everything is fine. Stick to an online wallet, just cash out more often than not in case some catastrophe happens with the online wallet (or someone figures out your password, etc.)

If you do intend to mostly cash out to USD, accept as many cryptos as reasonable (and that whatever online wallet you chose supports).

I would do Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum at the minimum for now. If people request more and the wallet supports it, easy to generate an address and put on here.
  #8  
10-21-2022, 09:23 PM
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lordsmurf lordsmurf is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sephi View Post
the safest method for consumers are hardware wallets.
"cold storage"
To me, this is as ridiculous as burying your cash in a coffee can in the back yard. The lack of security is a primary reason I never bothered with holding crypto. I could do just as well by buying TQQQ or QLD on the stock market, as Bitcoin seems to track leveraged QQQ more than not for at least the past 5 years now, an unremarkable risk asset. And unlike crypto, my assets are insured by SPIC (FINRA), no transaction fees, instant buy/sell. But again, that's just why I've not bought or held to date.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sephi View Post
I don't recommend using an exchange address with the old addage of "not your keys, not your crypto." Doing this, Krakken holds the private keys and they can do anything they want. It's much safer and preferable to self custody your crypto, which is what it was designed for (taking out the middle man)
This is what I don't understand. How does the person pay? Where? How? It really is clear as mud. I understand exchanges give addresses, and exchanges get hacked (because "their keys, their crypto"). But all the off-exchange transactions are needlessly confusing, to the point where I don't much care to hassle with a $5 or even $50 donation using crypto coins.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholasserra View Post
Agreed if you're storing funds in the wallet. But if it all gets immediately transferred out, doesn't really matter. He's gonna have to connect to an exchange anyway to convert to USD.
After I made this thread, I learned that exchanges were fee'd like Paypal. So why bother?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MilesGT View Post
Edit: I just realized this was bumped from a year ago
Yep.

Quote:
If you have questions, you have my email and I can do my best to answer them.
Thanks, will do.

But at this time, between the "crypto winter" (that may or may not end), lack of security, wild price swings, it's just not worth the effort. Paypal, Venmo and others are probably enough for now, as it has been for the past 20 years. We may wake up one day, and BTC is worth zero, because the fat cats cashed out (and moved on to another newer crypto), or the network was hacked, leaving the small guys to hold pricey bags. Crypto fans say that could never happen, but I'd suggest you read up on how that precise thing has happened to assets in years, decades, and centuries past. It happens.

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  #9  
01-25-2023, 05:18 PM
Sergei316 Sergei316 is offline
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LS, I would stay away from ALL CENTRALIZED exchanges to store any crypto. Cold storage wallets (Ledger, Trezor, etc) are the best. Another decent one, tho not a cold storage is Exodus. It is a desktop wallet and fairly easy to use. Again, SAVE YOUR SEED PHRASE on PAPER on any wallet. NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR CRYPTO is SOOOO true, even if you sell off your crypto donations. Just look at the past 12 months. FTX, Celsius, 3AC, Voyager, Gensis, and even Gemini. To sell off donated crypto I would use Coinbase or Kraken. Fees pretty low on those sites.
  #10  
01-25-2023, 06:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergei316 View Post
LS, I would stay away from ALL CENTRALIZED exchanges to store any crypto.
Even better = not using crypto at all.

But then I've never seen the value in bitcoin, nor all the later wanna-be "crypto" crap. Perhaps because I'm not a teens/20s kiddie, nor some libertarian/anarchist, nor a fraudster/criminal? (aka, most holders, though certainly not all)

- If I want to make money, I'll make money (work, invest).
- If I want to gamble, I'll go to a casino, buy lottery tickets, or use a betting app.
- Or maybe skate that invest/gamble line, buy a leveraged asset (TQQQ, SQQQ, SPXL, SPXS).

The underlying blockchain tech is surely interesting, promising. But blockchain has zero to do with the funny/play money.

I fully agree with Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase CEO): "Bitcoin itself is a hyped up fraud. It's a pet rock."

- It was first (and mostly, still) used for illicit purposes.
- The entire FTX/SBF mess is just further proof that it's just a vehicle for fraud and crime. All of the other exchanges have incestuous dealings with one another, it's an entire industry of fraud, like MLM/pyramid scams.
- This thread keeps getting dredged up due to spam, more scum in that ecosystem.

I have zero interest in any of this anymore. Bitcoin needs to implode, and just go away.

We had considered bitcoin as another method to accept site donations, during the bubble that was '20-'21. At that time, people were more generous with giving it away. Again, funny money, no real intrinsic value to most holders. But in '22 into '23, usage fell off a cliff. Nobody uses it, many outright lost it.

I just don't want to mess with this whatsoever anymore. Paypal donation links are on the site, and we'll gladly take many other forms if needed (PM me!).

Even cash mailed in an envelope is safer that this crypto nonsense.

Even "investing" in GME/memes is safer.

I hate to lock threads because worthless spammers won't go away. But I'm tired of cleaning up the mess, and this thread literally serves zero purpose now....

... so locked.

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  #11  
01-25-2023, 08:37 PM
Sergei316 Sergei316 is offline
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LS just locked the Bitcoin thread that he started back in 2021. I saw someone respond and thought I would add my thoughts on accepting BTC donations.

And then the LS responded with his all to common rant... I am speechless...

LS obviously doesn't understand or want to understand that BTC is NOT a CENTRALIZED asset. It was created in the aftermath of 2008 financial crisis. I am not even going to try to justify its use to him. No point.

So sad this is my last post on this site. I used to love it here but the ranting has become to much.

"You can only lose what you cling to." -Buddha
"Lack of understanding is always painful." - Byron Katie

Have fun!!
The following users thank Sergei316 for this useful post: Hushpower (01-25-2023)
  #12  
01-25-2023, 09:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergei316 View Post
LS just locked the Bitcoin thread that he started back in 2021.
Yep, too much spam, 3 times this week alone. But I've unlocked it for you, for the moment.

Quote:
I saw someone respond and thought I would add my thoughts on accepting BTC donations.
And I appreciate the response, but the time for it to be actionable has unfortunately passed.

Quote:
And then the LS responded with his all to common rant... I am speechless...
Common?

Quote:
LS obviously doesn't understand or want to understand that BTC is NOT a CENTRALIZED asset.
And yet, that's just really not the case. It is essentially centralized within hives controlled by fraudsters and the incompetent, assuming you want to convert it to USD/etc. The alternative is to bury it in a can in the back yard, the "cold wallets". Assets should hold value (art, wine, etc), or work for you (stocks, bonds, treasuries, via interest, buybacks, and dividends). Bitcoin/crypto does neither, wildly speculative.

Quote:
It was created in the aftermath of 2008 financial crisis.
I know. But to what end? The political Tea Party fizzled after a few years, as did most other things created in reaction to the 08-09 recession. It was reactionary, not merely created in that timeframe.

The irony here is that Bitcoin/crypto is the same sort of speculation that created the GFC. It wasn't better, it was just a digital version of the fraud and rampant financial abuse. Before the bad faith GFC instruments, it was cold calling pinks. Movies have been made about pinks (Wolf of Wall Street) and GFC (The Big Short), and crypto will have one someday too.

Just FYI, there is evidence that BTC predates GFC by some years, so it probably actually has nothing to do with GFC, aside from being adopted in that timeframe. And those adopters were mostly young, upset they and their parents lost their jobs/etc due to financial shenanigans at the big banks.

Quote:
I am not even going to try to justify its use to him. No point.
What use exists?

- not store of value
- not digital gold
- not inflation hedge
- not anonymous
- not truly decentralized
- not usable without conversion to real currency (USD, EUR, GBP, etc)

^ Those were the promises made in the 2010s, and none panned out.

I've been aware of bitcoin since 2010 (before the pizza sale), but didn't really care. Had I spent the time (and electricity) to mine it, I certainly would have sold it to some sucker (greater fool) when it was $100 per coin. I wouldn't have held onto it for a decade, expecting it to do anything. I certainly wasn't going to buy one with real money.

If anything, as you and I discussed about 5 years ago, I was more interested in the shovels, via ETFs that held Nvidia, fintechs, etc. Not the crypto itself. That's where the real money was made. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy those ETFs at the time, as brokers were locking them out. I should have at least grabbed some Nvidia stock at the time, oops.

I actually bought some BITO, then quickly sold it back off (with a slight loss) before everything collapsed.

The one aspect that truly sucks here is that we have a Gemini employee as a member of this site. I hope he gets through all this BS okay. Maybe take his IT skills to a better industry? (And not surprisingly, he just works there, he's not some big crypto proponent drinking their Koolaid. I can respect his POV, far more moderate than most would think. We had interesting emails a few years ago, when times were good.)

Quote:
So sad this is my last post on this site. I used to love it here but the ranting has become to much.
Aw, c'mon now.

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