RE: Hiring 1 Developer to Build a P2P Steem/USD Gateway!

You are viewing a single comment's thread from:

Hiring 1 Developer to Build a P2P Steem/USD Gateway!

in budget •  7 years ago  (edited)

So, I think it's important to make people aware of potential issues they will be faced with as users of the system you're proposing. Essentially I think you're proposing a system very similar to localbitcoins, but for altcoins and maybe with better reputation management (full disclosure, I've never used localbitcoins).

The big danger is that individual users, by repeatedly offering to sell or by crypto for money from the US or to US residents, will be considered to be money transmitters under fincen regulations. Probably the highest risk will be to US residents, since they are the most likely subject to an attempted prosecution.

There's already cases of this type, here's some related links I found on a quick search of the topic:

https://www.coindesk.com/localbitcoins-trader-pleads-guilty-money-transmitter-charge/
https://localbitcoins.com/forums/#!/general-discussion#money-transmitter-licenses

Please understand, I'm not a fan of any of the above, and I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but I think it's important that people understand the risks for a legal entanglement.

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Legal issues aside there is already an open source tool that leverages the escrow functionality of the Steem blockchain that would work for P2P transactions (I pointed this out in the comments below but I am replying here for visibility):

https://steemit.com/escrow/@xtar/open-source-standalone-gui-for-steem-escrow-transactions

Nah, people aren’t considered “money transmitters”, at least not yet :) Follow the cases that you read up on coindesk (a laughable “news” outlet, unfortunately!) and you’ll find that the case will get thrown out like every other case preceding it.

Given they pled guilty according to the article, this seems unlikely. But if you find out otherwise, I would be very interested to know about it, so let me know.

Other people pleaded guilty, too. (Remember those 2 Florida men?) And the case was thrown out. Follow these things closer and stop spreading FUD :)

The situation is very concerning for sure and it seems like everyone of these cases I see they always pled guilty. It never goes to trial with a jury. I have a feeling the people suddenly are facing 30 years or something insane and decide to plead guilty in hopes of ONLY 3 or 4 YEARS in Club FED for selling a digital coin.

I said 4 years ago that in Arizona it would be legal to buy guns from a random person in a Walgreens parking lot but it wouldn't be legal to sell a digital coin. Sure enough I was right....... they nailed a couple guys up in the Phoenix area for selling on LocalBitcoins. I'm too scared to even look up what happened to those guys. And yet no punishment for anyone involved in the 2008 financial crisis.

It even scares me to see the thumbnail for this video because it gives me the chills that they are sending this guy to Club FED for basically NOTHING. That being said I wish anyone luck who is trying to navigate the confusing laws.

And yet no punishment for anyone involved in the 2008 financial crisis.

There is a very popular phrase among political philosophers which says:

Might makes right

I'll just leave it at that.

Anyways, some laws are created just for the lols.

Coindesk is the new crypto equivalent of Dailymail. If the government interferes with the way people send and receive money peer to peer--then why not abolish fiat altogether?

At times of great socio-financial revolution such as this, the irrationality of the few powerful becomes apparent for all to see.

@blocktrades thank you for again making a reply to this post because your guidance was valuable last time to the evolution of this and is again. Our primary purpose with this exchange is to empower users in places where no reliable option exists or where using Bitcoin first with often very high fees is the only option. Currently this description fits most countries in the world while not including the USA.

Given that there are several reliable exchanges available in the USA to change into fiat, the majority of the problems seem to be with laws in the USA, and my main vision for this is global, we may opt to exclude users from the USA and/or place additional limits on using this in the USA.

With doing this to benefit users, we obviously have the highest interest in protecting users from potential problems especially from money laundering and prison time.

We're doing almost exactly this with Bitcash (www.bitcash.org)
We'll have a reputation system. It will be peer-to-peer.
Proof of concept/MVP is at: trade.bitcash.org and our wallet is in maintenance mode.
The concern @blocktrades has is understandable, but I think for smaller volumes peer-to-peer exchanges will be fine.
My main focus right now is on this project. We use the Bitshares platform because it's easier to swap 1:1 between dollars for bitUSD and then go back and forth from Steem. I think you can do one just for Steem, but you'll be dealing with order books since Steem dollars don't hold a peg. Best.

yp great!

this will be huuuuge!

@steemrollin thank you for letting us know you are working on this project! I hope it goes well and think we benefit from getting as many projects like yours functional as possible! I got an error on the sign up page.

Thanks @jerrybanfield! Yes our wallet is in maintenance mode right now since it still is in MVP mode and didn't want too many people signing up (we get a lot of traffic from people thinking our website is related to Bitcoin cash).. but we'll get back up soon .. thx!

Our primary purpose with this exchange is to empower users in places where no reliable option exists or where using Bitcoin first with often very high fees is the only option.

Amen to that @jerrybanfield! I've been ripped off several times already during the process of cashing-in and cashing-out of my small Steem/SBD earnings--not to mention the government is always wanting to scan my face every time I register for a local exchange services.

This initiative is very timely not only for the Steemit community but for the whole cryptocurrency community in general.

With all due respect to Bitcoin--I think it's about time for people to have a viable option to buy and sell cryptocurrency efficiently with zero transaction fee.

For us in the developing countries like the Philippines--who needs bank accounts and all those bullshit AML/KYC verification when you can have MTO services in every corner with near-instant payment processing. Although a bank account can be optional at times for those looking to trade peer-to-peer locally for maximum fee-less payment method similar to LocalBitcoins which offers a variety of Banks, MTO/Remittance and PayPal as a mode of payment.

@introvertspeaks exactly thank you for giving a clear example of what we are looking to create and what it is needed because you sharing about the challenges cashing out in the Philippines along with AML/KYC being unnecessary where you are transacting with anyone outside the USA shows us clearly that when we think global, we see a huge need for a Steem/fiat exchange that is user to user!

YW! This is very important to me because my application for KYC approval at Coins.ph has been the worst experience I've ever had.

They kept rejecting my legal document again and again solely based on their incompetence to determine what is genuine identification material and what is not--despite the fact that I wholeheartedly sent them the original photograph.

Out of desperation, I diligently made a Google search to which I found out I can cash out anytime using the LocalBitcoins escrow service without having to submit anything and with higher buying rates than them (Coins.ph)--since I can choose which buyer offers the best price.

It is important to note though that an independent reputation score system will be in place outside of Steemit to properly tag those scammers who are just looking to make free money with their deceptive activity.

thanks for all the help

Living comments for the upvotes.

hey @jerrybanfield,I have no words to say about you, bcoz you are to much intelligent and talented. I have learn many things from you like programming . I am very thankful to u , i really enjoy your concepts, you are my teacher. Thank you much for every thing <3
keep sharing sir <3
@sibtainali

Most Western European countries don't look kindly on unauthorized money transmitters either. Financial regulations is by far the most troublesome part of the deal. This is why becoming a notary requires years of study, and they are compensated very well for it. Users should exerce caution.

Jerry, this is a magnificent plan of action but once again, how can we avoid the Exchanges. The trouble in the U.S is just the start... It will spread worldwide extremely fast, like a virus. The moment you give your ID to the exchanges and link your bank account, your known - this is just not viable. How can we can we get around this please?

Do not use your bank account as a payment method. Instead, you use MTO and remittance services like Western Union, Moneygram, Xoom or Payoneer in order to receive and send crypto payments peer to peer.

Second is to avoid those retarded exchanges like Poloniex and Bittrex which are both government puppets.

Binance has been the exchange of choice for those small to medium volume traders with 2 BTC maximum withdrawal per day--without the need for KYC verification.

And since Steem/SBD are not listed on Binance for whatever reasons, you may want to register at Openledger or Hitbtc to exchange your Steem/SBD asset with other cryptos--no need for KYC shit.

Thank you for the helpful reply @introvertspeaks - I'm familiar with Western Union & Moneygram but once you go over a certain limit, were back to ID. Payoneer might work better for the U.S only. In the U.K they forced me to provide bank details and Gov I.D even before I made the 1st transaction and then refused to delete my account when I asked and to add insult to injury, they were nice enough to block my account so I couldn't leave, so sadly, after all of this, I had to tell them where to go... So pretty much a dictatorship just like the rest if your'e based here.

Apart from this, I've also used Paxful.com with Amazon Gift vouchers which is connected with hefty fees but Anonymous none the less .

However, I know we now have Bitcoin Atm's available with similar painful fees but still effective if you're willing to pay the price. Binance I'm def on, seems fair, & I've traded & tried to transfer to my wallets but they also have a limit on the amount you need within your account before withdrawal is allowed. Any thoughts on the conception of Atomic Swaps - Seems quite exciting! I'll def check out your other 2 suggestions though.

There are plenty of ways to get around with this actually--only that as you've pointed out it costs more than the conventional route like cryptocurrency exchange.

You may also want to use an e-currency as a bridge, like Perfect Money and fund your account with fiat via wire transfer and exchange them with various crypto asset using a gateway that supports Perfect Money. You can use the Best Change monitor to get the best price automatically.

But if your government is really implementing a maximum bank transaction cap, then you can use your PayPal account to buy Perfect Voucher online and convert them into Perfect Money with zero conversion fee. Purchasing vouchers online I guess is beyond the scope of government regulation, IMO.

I live in the Philippines, and in time if there is a buyer who is willing to buy my crypto asset using Perfect Money--I'd be willing to accept the deal.

Atomic Swap will be one of the most innovative upgrades in blockchain technology in the years to come. It has the potential to make exchanges unnecessary. But the thing is, it is only feasible for crypto-to-crypto transactions. Anything that involves fiat is still problematic.

The keyword here is to bring crypto payments into mainstream adaption--that way we could have efficient and seamless way to pay our bills.

Your'e a genius. Followed. Thank you

Shelley we will be building trust here primarily through what we contribute on Steem and we may combine a third party identity verification service to help show that who we are on Steem is linked to a "real" person according to a government which then will help us transact without revealing personal information. The methods of payment which reveal the least personal information will probably be preferred and it will be up to users to decide what to use and who to trust based on our recommendations.

I personally think it unappealing to many users requiring them to submit personal identification document--even if a third party service will be the one validating it. It basically ruins the essence of cryptocurrency, IMO.

How about giving the option to encrypt our username so that it will appear differently on the Steem peer-to-peer market?

Hence, our payment details will not be associated with our Steem account username. Is that a likelihood technically?

thanks for all the help. I am still getting a grasp on things.. as a trader mostly a chartist. i wish someone had this on the Meta4 platform. if you know of any i would appreciate the direction. thanks for all the help already.

Thanks for keeping us informed :)

Thank you for the videos. I am trying to weed through all this and learn. The videos help.

please vote me and follow me

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but Blocktrades is more than correct. Jerry, you need a fat legal budget for this. If you need a top lawyer to CYA, message me and I'll forward you the contact. Get it wrong and you could land in a BOP facility faster than you can say 'grand jury.'

trying to get my head around it all now.

This is not great news I am in the USA and would love to buy others Steem and SBD legally for cash but the laws seem so sketchy and would not want to get in any trouble but I think it should be made for world wide use please find a way to make it legal for the USA

I believe there was a mistake made when I transfered SBD's for Steem Power about 10 Days ago... I'm not sure of any other way to reach you...

COIN MAN by @pocketechange

Send an email to [email protected] with details about the transaction and we'll take a look.

Also to add to this I think it’s better to find a few developers. It will cost a bit more BUT should one developer get a better offer, go rouge, get hit by a bus, retire, etc. you’ll still have a fall back dev. Don’t underestimate the time it takes to get familiar with a new codebase!

please vote me

We probably will be collaborating with an organization which runs a witness and has multiple developers available!

Dear will you please share video tutorial on leasing SP who can lease and who can lease to different boosters, which is the best way. Thanks

That is... good to know. That would certainly be an unpleasant surprise to the uninformed.

Isn't this exactly what you told him when he proposed this idea previously?

It does look very similar which is surprising given I devoted a significant part of this post to addressing exactly what @blocktrades said last time including education for users regarding applicable laws for the transactions based on location. I am also willing to exclude US users completely if the developer wants to do this and our legal advisers suggest this approach for simplicity and safety of global users.

Yes, but he seems to have misinterpreted what I said and assumed it only applied to the business doing the matching and not to the participants, and that my objection was therefore overcome by the fact that the matching system doesn't handle the money.

I suppose he thought I hadn't bothered to read his post fully and understand it. I can see why he might have thought that; this last post was pretty long and I confess I didn't read all of it. Anyways, I hope my concerns are clarified now.

he seems to have misinterpreted what I said and assumed it only applied to the business doing the matching and not to the participants,

Did you see where I devoted an entire section to talking about this in the post because of what you wrote in the first post? Here is the most relevant section based entirely on what you said:

... because users individually will be responsible for understanding the requirements to make fiat/cryptocurrency transactions based on country and state. If we do not trust users to do this or we say it is wrong to pass these requirements on or we demand that some centralized authority be a part of these transactions, why are we bothering with building any of this blockchain technology to begin with and not just sticking with using our existing banking system? Users are fully capable of handling the responsibility and will do it more effectively in some cases and less in others than existing exchanges.

Fortunately for users, financial regulations vary by country. If someone is doing business in one country and in another country, it doesn't matter what the US regulations are for transacting money, if neither of those users is in the US. Unfortunately with our current system today, we have very limited options for exchanges in most countries because of the need for centralized exchanges to comply with financial regulations from so many different countries.

The app in later stages will help facilitate education with country specific training for any regulations users need to know. For example, when a user signs up in the state of New York, users will be required to read and review both USA laws and NY state laws regarding cryptocurrency transactions. An optional test based on location could even be offered to improve the trust score for new users and to verify the rules are understood.

Hold on, this seems to imply that the solution offsets the responsibility for fiscal due diligence onto the individuals undertaking the transaction.

Isn’t that hat hugely risky for everybody individuals using the service? I mean finance can be pretty impenetrable at the best of times. All you need is a few bad news stories and then you’ve a massive negative spotlight hanging over the thing. You really should be looking to protect users of your system, not tell them they’re on their own.

I know we all want more mainstream access, but shortcutting it isn’t the answer.

@fourfourfun the regulations are most applicable to people running entire businesses to transact money which is not obvious in the reply. An individual cashing out a little bit in earnings is unlikely to have any issues while someone buying and selling millions of dollars of Steem without compliance with the law is likely to run into the same problems as localbitcoins.

We respect users most by starting with a foundation of trust and assisting with education. Our current exchanges are based on the assumption users cannot be trusted which is why escrows and heavy restrictions are in place. People that are trusted are free to do what they please because there is no fear of what will be done. Our exchange will educate people on best practices and laws. When users abuse this trust, legal repercussions may occur.

  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment

No thanks.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

@blocktrades I agree with you, we have to pay attention with the regulations.... And in my country there aren't yet!!!

@yanosh01 exactly which is why we need an exchange for Italy that is easy to use! I think global first in what I do which helps me see outside of the rules where I live now!

@jerrybanfield the idea is very interesting. I'll wait some news

  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment
  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment

It is just another publication nothing more, false promises do not waste time.

You are obviously an expert on bullshit post.

This is a very sensitive issue that requires better acesorameinto in the legal part! It is important to know the regulations inherent to the topic or those that are being proposed. In my country Venezuela there are no regulations but we are interested in reliable sources of exchange and in a fair manner. And that approach that you are giving is very successful!

Somebody should please help me out. I am clueless about this. Tell me how to get paid or just give me a vote or reply me. Anything please !!!

Congratulations my friend for this post! it´s very important for us who participate often in the Steem community to know the real value of this social network based on knowledge, the blockchain is the new way to make people financial independent. Do you agree with me? Best Regards.

I want join with you mr. can you help me

Sabias palabras @blocktrades

localbitcoins is probably one of the better exchanges I have ever used, It utilized a form a escrow so that the person who selling you the coins actually has to place the coins in trust with localbitcoins, while buyer and seller confirm the transaction. Though they do charge a fee that is fairly high and as well demand that you initially receive the coins into one of their wallets that based on their site, instead of them being able to be sent directly to your wallet, this annoyance make up for the extra layers of security that a site like local bitcoins offers. Now if this new platform could work on the same peer to peer methodology, while at the same time enabling the end user to use their offline and hard wallets to deposit the said coins, this will be an excellent alternative to many of the exchanges that exist today. Just my two sense.

In as much as the idea is great ,it’s also important to let people know the implications of what they are getting into

I am agree with you

Does this affect only US residents or US Citizens who travel around the world? My girlfriend is American and we travel since over 2.5 years around the world and she still is doing her tax in May. I am German but because I am not working in the country and I am since over 10 years not in the country I am legally a "Steuerausländer" or tax foreigner that means I don't need to pay tax.

It's a good question. US laws generally apply to US citizens even when they are traveling, but maybe if you're in another country at the time and you're not trading with an American, it might not apply. It's not really a few small trades that would get you in trouble anyways, I think, it's more if it starts to look like a business. I think there's also risk if the trades are big, because I think the "real" motivation behind this is money laundering concerns by US regulators.

Thanks for this explanation @blocktrades , it really helped me to understand a few more things about transactions and regulations.

Regards, @gold84

Thank you @blocktrades for sharing the security risks for the USA residents. As it seems as though we are having a difficult time with several online activities legality issues. We are slowly being targeted for several activities that will help during an economic crisis. I feel that the big day is coming when we will be disallowed to have any dealings with the Cryptocurrency Markets. It is really not fair. All we ask and want to do is be included. What harm can USA do, that other nations can't. It is ridiculous. I agree with you about the localbitcoins comment. When I first started crypto activities, localbitcoins was my first choice by recommendation. I did not know anything about bitcoins, but knew on my first login that localbitcoins is not for me or anyone else. With intentions to capitalize on beginners.

So, I really like what @jerrybanfield post and project. But, I'm really still trying to understand how the system works and the daily changes confuses me. Please do not take my comment anyway wrong. It's just that I would like to be involved and post an opinion query. And I do not want to make more wrong moves and want to make the right move, before USA gets cutout.:)

Thank you for taking the time to view my reply.

Following, updated, commented and share by:
@share4angels

follow me and vote

Sure! Now it's your turn--follow me too.

This system is more efficient than the system of localbitcoin, because there is very vulnerable to fraud. although the reputation is qualified but not yet able to determine the trader honest 100%. maybe

Loading...

Saludos desde Venezuela Buen post. @adhelgeis21

folback

folback

  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment
  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment
  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment
  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment
  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment

Jeff thank you for replying here and reinforcing the emphasis we will place on having resources available to educate users to what laws apply. Excluding countries like the USA with the most restrictions is also an option if that is best for everyone involved.

How many Steem users are actually in the USA? I believe the percentage is less than 20% meaning the majority of users here have no need to comply with laws in the USA regarding financial transactions when not buying or selling with someone in the USA.

Localbitcoins has a huge number of users and our exchange will eventually have even more! I have never used localbitcoins either because the fees are way higher than the exchanges I can use because I live in the USA and have easy access to several exchanges. Most of the people on earth cannot say the same. Most do not have a way to easily cash out $10 or $100 or $1000 of Bitcoin into a bank account. Our exchange fills a gigantic need that might be hard to see when just considering the USA.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)Reveal Comment

Berniesanders is a tool!
Have some poo

Downvotes incoming in 3....2...1....

how about some free $ELF #aelf. You can register and start collecting free $ELF

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@crypto.guide.btc/easy-free-coins-with-aelf-usdelf-candy-program

please vote me

This is not good idea to put post like this. If you want to be voted be more creative?? I will give you one good example:
Do you know games like wow or lineage , maybe diablo. When you were playing online there was a lot noobs they were all the time writing "exp me plzz " or "give me some items plis". Everyone ignored them and just play to gain levels. And you know what was the problem? The problem was those noobs wasting time for chatting those annoying messages but they should just go and start exping becouse there always be someone who helping but without "help please" or other similar to spam sentence