r/btc
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u/BitcoinIsTehFuture
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Nov 11 '20
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions and Information Thread
This FAQ and information thread serves to inform both new and existing users about common Bitcoin topics that readers coming to this Bitcoin subreddit may have. This is a living and breathing document, which will change over time. If you have suggestions on how to change it, please comment below or message the mods.
What is /r/btc?
The /r/btc reddit community was originally created as a community to discuss bitcoin. It quickly gained momentum in August 2015 when the bitcoin block size debate heightened. On the legacy /r/bitcoin subreddit it was discovered that moderators were heavily censoring discussions that were not inline with their own opinions.
Once realized, the subreddit subscribers began to openly question the censorship which led to thousands of redditors being banned from the /r/bitcoin subreddit. A large number of redditors switched to other subreddits such as /r/bitcoin_uncensored and /r/btc. For a run-down on the history of censorship, please read A (brief and incomplete) history of censorship in /r/bitcoin by John Blocke and /r/Bitcoin Censorship, Revisted by John Blocke. As yet another example, /r/bitcoin censored 5,683 posts and comments just in the month of September 2017 alone. This shows the sheer magnitude of censorship that is happening, which continues to this day. Read a synopsis of /r/bitcoin to get the full story and a complete understanding of why people are so upset with /r/bitcoin's censorship. Further reading can be found here and here with a giant collection of information regarding these topics.
Why is censorship bad for Bitcoin?
As demonstrated above, censorship has become prevalent in almost all of the major Bitcoin communication channels. The impacts of censorship in Bitcoin are very real. "Censorship can really hinder a society if it is bad enough. Because media is such a large part of people’s lives today and it is the source of basically all information, if the information is not being given in full or truthfully then the society is left uneducated [...] Censorship is probably the number one way to lower people’s right to freedom of speech." By censoring certain topics and specific words, people in these Bitcoin communication channels are literally being brain washed into thinking a certain way, molding the reader in a way that they desire; this has a lasting impact especially on users who are new to Bitcoin. Censoring in Bitcoin is the direct opposite of what the spirit of Bitcoin is, and should be condemned anytime it occurs. Also, it's important to think critically and independently, and have an open mind.
Why do some groups attempt to discredit /r/btc?
This subreddit has become a place to discuss everything Bitcoin-related and even other cryptocurrencies at times when the topics are relevant to the overall ecosystem. Since this subreddit is one of the few places on Reddit where users will not be censored for their opinions and people are allowed to speak freely, truth is often said here without the fear of reprisal from moderators in the form of bans and censorship. Because of this freedom, people and groups who don't want you to hear the truth with do almost anything they can to try to stop you from speaking the truth and try to manipulate readers here. You can see many cited examples of cases where special interest groups have gone out of their way to attack this subreddit and attempt to disrupt and discredit it. See the examples here.
What is the goal of /r/btc?
This subreddit is a diverse community dedicated to the success of bitcoin. /r/btc honors the spirit and nature of Bitcoin being a place for open and free discussion about Bitcoin without the interference of moderators. Subscribers at anytime can look at and review the public moderator logs. This subreddit does have rules as mandated by reddit that we must follow plus a couple of rules of our own. Make sure to read the /r/btc wiki for more information and resources about this subreddit which includes information such as the benefits of Bitcoin, how to get started with Bitcoin, and more.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a digital currency, also called a virtual currency, which can be transacted for a low-cost nearly instantly from anywhere in the world. Bitcoin also powers the blockchain, which is a public immutable and decentralized global ledger. Unlike traditional currencies such as dollars, bitcoins are issued and managed without the need for any central authority whatsoever. There is no government, company, or bank in charge of Bitcoin. As such, it is more resistant to wild inflation and corrupt banks. With Bitcoin, you can be your own bank. Read the Bitcoin whitepaper to further understand the schematics of how Bitcoin works.
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash (ticker symbol: BCH) is an updated version of Bitcoin which solves the scaling problems that have been plaguing Bitcoin Core (ticker symbol: BTC) for years. Bitcoin (BCH) is just a continuation of the Bitcoin project that allows for bigger blocks which will give way to more growth and adoption. You can read more about Bitcoin on BitcoinCash.org or read What is Bitcoin Cash for additional details.
How do I buy Bitcoin?
You can buy Bitcoin on an exchange or with a brokerage. If you're looking to buy, you can buy Bitcoin with your credit card to get started quickly and safely. There are several others places to buy Bitcoin too; please check the sidebar under brokers, exchanges, and trading for other go-to service providers to begin buying and trading Bitcoin. Make sure to do your homework first before choosing an exchange to ensure you are choosing the right one for you.
How do I store my Bitcoin securely?
After the initial step of buying your first Bitcoin, you will need a Bitcoin wallet to secure your Bitcoin. Knowing which Bitcoin wallet to choose is the second most important step in becoming a Bitcoin user. Since you are investing funds into Bitcoin, choosing the right Bitcoin wallet for you is a critical step that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Use this guide to help you choose the right wallet for you. Check the sidebar under Bitcoin wallets to get started and find a wallet that you can store your Bitcoin in.
Why is my transaction taking so long to process?
Bitcoin transactions typically confirm in ~10 minutes. A confirmation means that the Bitcoin transaction has been verified by the network through the process known as mining. Once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be reversed or double spent. Transactions are included in blocks.
If you have sent out a Bitcoin transaction and it’s delayed, chances are the transaction fee you used wasn’t enough to out-compete others causing it to be backlogged. The transaction won’t confirm until it clears the backlog. This typically occurs when using the Bitcoin Core (BTC) blockchain due to poor central planning.
If you are using Bitcoin (BCH), you shouldn't encounter these problems as the block limits have been raised to accommodate a massive amount of volume freeing up space and lowering transaction costs.
Why does my transaction cost so much, I thought Bitcoin was supposed to be cheap?
As described above, transaction fees have spiked on the Bitcoin Core (BTC) blockchain mainly due to a limit on transaction space. This has created what is called a fee market, which has primarily been a premature artificially induced price increase on transaction fees due to the limited amount of block space available (supply vs. demand). The original plan was for fees to help secure the network when the block reward decreased and eventually stopped, but the plan was not to reach that point until some time in the future, around the year 2140. This original plan was restored with Bitcoin (BCH) where fees are typically less than a single penny per transaction.
What is the block size limit?
The original Bitcoin client didn’t have a block size cap, however was limited to 32MB due to the Bitcoin protocol message size constraint. However, in July 2010 Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto introduced a temporary 1MB limit as an anti-DDoS measure. The temporary measure from Satoshi Nakamoto was made clear three months later when Satoshi said the block size limit can be increased again by phasing it in when it’s needed (when the demand arises). When introducing Bitcoin on the cryptography mailing list in 2008, Satoshi said that scaling to Visa levels “would probably not seem like a big deal.”
What is the block size debate all about anyways?
The block size debate boils down to different sets of users who are trying to come to consensus on the best way to scale Bitcoin for growth and success. Scaling Bitcoin has actually been a topic of discussion since Bitcoin was first released in 2008; for example you can read how Satoshi Nakamoto was asked about scaling here and how he thought at the time it would be addressed. Fortunately Bitcoin has seen tremendous growth and by the year 2013, scaling Bitcoin had became a hot topic. For a run down on the history of scaling and how we got to where we are today, see the Block size limit debate history lesson post.
What is a hard fork?
A hard fork is when a block is broadcast under a new and different set of protocol rules which is accepted by nodes that have upgraded to support the new protocol. In this case, Bitcoin diverges from a single blockchain to two separate blockchains (a majority chain and a minority chain).
What is a soft fork?
A soft fork is when a block is broadcast under a new and different set of protocol rules, but the difference is that nodes don’t realize the rules have changed, and continue to accept blocks created by the newer nodes. Some argue that soft forks are bad because they trick old-unupdated nodes into believing transactions are valid, when they may not actually be valid. This can also be defined as coercion, as explained by Vitalik Buterin.
Doesn't it hurt decentralization if we increase the block size?
Some argue that by lifting the limit on transaction space, that the cost of validating transactions on individual nodes will increase to the point where people will not be able to run nodes individually, giving way to centralization. This is a false dilemma because at this time there is no proven metric to quantify decentralization; although it has been shown that the current level of decentralization will remain with or without a block size increase. It's a logical fallacy to believe that decentralization only exists when you have people all over the world running full nodes. The reality is that only people with the income to sustain running a full node (even at 1MB) will be doing it. So whether it's 1MB, 2MB, or 32MB, the costs of doing business is negligible for the people who can already do it. If the block size limit is removed, this will also allow for more users worldwide to use and transact introducing the likelihood of having more individual node operators. Decentralization is not a metric, it's a tool or direction. This is a good video describing the direction of how decentralization should look.
Additionally, the effects of increasing the block capacity beyond 1MB has been studied with results showing that up to 4MB is safe and will not hurt decentralization (Cornell paper, PDF). Other papers also show that no block size limit is safe (Peter Rizun, PDF). Lastly, through an informal survey among all top Bitcoin miners, many agreed that a block size increase between 2-4MB is acceptable.
What now?
Bitcoin is a fluid ever changing system. If you want to keep up with Bitcoin, we suggest that you subscribe to /r/btc and stay in the loop here, as well as other places to get a healthy dose of perspective from different sources. Also, check the sidebar for additional resources. Have more questions? Submit a post and ask your peers for help!
Note: This FAQ was originally posted here but was removed when one of our moderators was falsely suspended by those wishing to do this sub-reddit harm.
r/btc • u/ShadowOfHarbringer • 1d ago
❓ Question Roger Ver: Would be possible to open source the code running Local.Bitcoin.com so community can create alternatives to this service? We can pay/crowdfund for it.
A question for Roger Ver and/or other people who may be in possession of said source code.
We sorely need something like Local.Bitcoin.com to be available and running so we can make true P2P economy thrive.
Would it be possible for you to sell us the source code?
I am not particularly rich right now, but I can sacrifice and start the crowdfunding with 100 BCH. I will create a Flipstarter for it if needed.
It's Fusion Friday! (Now available on Android mobile devices!!)
CashFusion is a tool that helps keep your Bitcoin Cash transactions private. Your finances are your business, and no one else's!
New to CashFusion? No problem, getting set up is pretty easy.
CashFusion is available in the desktop (Windows/OSX/Linux) and Android mobile versions of Electron Cash. Whichever one you decide to use, the first step is download the wallet software, set up a wallet, and send it some Bitcoin cash.
In the desktop version, you can then activate CashFusion by clicking the icon in the lower right:
https://i.imgur.com/Wz6qrmM.jpg
On mobile, you will also need to have a separate app installed that makes TOR available on your device, like Tor browser or Orbot:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.torproject.torbrowser&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.torproject.android&hl=en&gl=US
Once connected to the Tor network, close and reopen Electron Cash, and then tap the button near the bottom of the screen made of hexagons (next to the Receive button), and then hit the triangle "play" button in the lower right. Enter your password, and you should start to see that page become populated with some information about upcoming fusions.
Once CashFusion activated, your wallet will start "fusing" the Bitcoin Cash it contains. That is, it will start mixing your coins with other CashFusion users.
"Fusions" happen over time as their own transactions. Each fusion transaction will include some of your Bitcoin Cash, so it will often take multiple fusion transactions before all the coins in your wallet are fused.
When you receive new coins, or you receive change from spending a fused coin, your wallet will automatically add it/them to the queue of coins to be fused. Remember, this happens over time, so there will be a delay between when you receive new coins and when they are fused and ready to spend privately!
Check "spend only fused coins" on the send tab (desktop) or in the gear button menu from the Fusion screen (mobile) if you want Electron Cash to prevent you from sending funds that haven't been made private yet.
Here's the CashFusion Telegram group where you are welcome to ask questions. Remember to be courteous! (link hidden to allow post through filter)
t dot me slashslash cashfusion h t t p s : / / t . m e / c a s h f u s i o n
Happy Fusing <3
r/btc • u/GeneralProtocols • 12h ago
AnyHedge now has over $1,200,000 TVL (source: DefiLlama)
r/btc • u/JocelynBeckett • 13h ago
📰 News Binance.US Halts Services Amid Global Banking Chaos
r/btc
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u/MoneroFox
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18h ago
⚠️ Alert ⚠️ BCH withdrawals are suspended for maintenance
Our $BCHSV and $BCH wallets have been disabled for maintenance.
Network temporarily suspended for maintenance (BCH)
Do you know about some other exchange that is having problems?
Keep in mind BCH interest rates (rounded): * Kucoin Lending 11% * Binance Earn 7% * CoinLoan 6%
Keep in mind BCH withdrawal fee on Binance: 0.038 BCH (126x more than Kraken 0.0003 BCH)
r/btc • u/tigers1230 • 2h ago
Australian Bank Stops Distributing Ca$h -- CBDC is NEXT -- #Bitcoin Life-raft
r/btc • u/allinape2022 • 1d ago
💵 Adoption New Adoption Coffee shop and restaurant in Kaohsiung City (K-Town)Taiwan
r/btc • u/TheAfricanKey • 53m ago
$1 Won’t kill you 😇
Good day everyone, We are presently developing Greenpay, a cryptocurrency payment platform, and we need the crypto community's help to make it a reality.
What exactly is Greenpay?
Green Pay will be a payment platform that enables the use of cryptocurrency in Africa, beginning in Nigeria and spreading to other African nations.
Users will be able to receive, transfer, store, and swap cryptocurrencies using Green Pay. Greenpay users will also be able to pay bills and make online payments.
Greenpay will have a web app, iOS app, Android app, and desktop app.
Cryptocurrencies that will be supported by Greenpay :
- Greencoin
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Ethereum
- Monero
What is Greencoin: Greencoin is a stable coin being developed by us to make sure that African finance for everyday transactions isn’t volatile.
Features of Green Pay:
- Receive crypto
- Send crypto
- Store crypto
- Swap crypto
- Pay bills with crypto
- Trade NFT
Make online payments with our green pay virtual and Physical card.
Green Card: Is going to be a physical and digital card that you can use to make payments. It’s going use a barcode technology to make payments and purchases in physical and digital stores.
What makes GreenPay unique is that users will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies not only with fiat, but also with products and services. A farmer, for example, will be able to submit, say, tomatoes in exchange for cryptocurrency.
How it will work: If a farmer has tomatoes, he only needs to find our closest agent. We will inspect and price the tomatoes based on a universal standard pricing, and then the equivalent of the tomatoes he desires to trade will be transferred in cryptocurrency. And vise verser People who have crypto will be able to buy vegetables from us using crypto.
Greenpay web app is already in development which you can view here: https://greenlifetv.africa/greenpay
We are looking to raise $60k in the first round of fundraising. I’ve been brainstorming for a while now on how to raise the $60k needed, I was talking to my dad some days ago about it and he suggested since there’s a huge cryptocurrency community why not solicit for 60,000 people to contribute $1 each. So that’s what I’m doing right now (I really hope this works).
Donating $1 won’t hurt your finance, also I’m pretty at one time every crypto users has lost more than $1. (No one has ever become poor from giving).
If from your heart you want to support this project you can donate your $1 via u/Chaintip
P.S everyone who donates will get a free Greenpay NFT from our GreenPay Genesis NFT collection. (After donating please comment to claim your free NFT, and we will be in touch with you within the next few hours). Thanks so much in advance for your support. Timeline for Development: The first six weeks will be spent developing our proof of concept for our web app, mobile app, and desktop app.
Users will be able to see our development process on a public website 14 days after we reach $10,000. Furthermore, you will be able to view full documentation of the Green Pay Payment Platform.
Updates on the GreenPay Africa Payment platform will be posted on our official subreddit, here: r/greenpayafrica.
GreenPay team is also actively lobbying Nigerian lawmakers to see how we can make cryptocurrency a legal tender in Nigeria.
As most of us are aware, Nigerians are presently among the most active cryptocurrency users globally. If we can persuade lawmakers to make cryptocurrencies legal tender, it will be a huge victory for the worldwide crypto community.
Thanks so much for your time and support. Your opinions and comments will be greatly appreciated.
r/btc • u/DerSchorsch • 23h ago
❓ Question BCH address format for Binance
Trying to send BCH from Binance to Kraken. Latter gives Cashaddr deposit address. Using converter, but neither Cashaddr, nor legacy address seems to be recognised by Binance:https://cashaddr.bitcoincash.org/
r/btc • u/CryptoStrategies • 1d ago
⚠️ Alert ⚠️ The End of the U.S. Dollar and the War on Crypto
r/btc
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u/Mr-Zwets
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1d ago
🛠️ Services "full-featured CashToken explorer" flipstarter fully funded!
r/btc • u/XolosRamirez • 1d ago
BitcoinCash $BCH blocksize increase discussion Special Guests: @calinculianu @EmergentReasons @_minisatoshi Link to Fridays xolosArmy Radio Twitter Space:
r/btc • u/TimePackage • 17h ago
📈 Speculation Accurate...
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r/btc • u/NordicTraderV • 1d ago
💵 Adoption (OC) Bitcoin Legal Status 2008-2023
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r/btc • u/sandakersmann • 1d ago
💬 Quote "Few policies are more calculated to destroy the existing basis of a free society than the debauching of its currency. And few tasks, if any, are more important to the champion of freedom than creation of a sound monetary system." - Hans F. Sennholz
r/btc • u/Alex-Crypto • 2d ago
📚 History Just a nice to have, simple explanation of BTC/BCH fork
r/btc • u/BCHPleaseOrg • 2d ago
❗WOW Today "officially" marks the day that CoinFLEX "rugged" the entire SmartBCH community 😣
r/btc • u/FearlessEggplant3036 • 2d ago
⌨ Discussion Coinflex has completed their theft of 1% of BCH in active circulation (100k BCH). They crashed the BCH price by 12% by likely dumping their stolen hoard. Over 100 days of current mining rewards dumped in less than 1 week.
r/btc • u/jessquit • 2d ago
Global self-custody requires each person to be able to make an onchain transaction. Financial freedom requires Blockchain freedom!
r/btc • u/NeonDaThal • 2d ago
We need to build more real-world solutions that normies will use, otherwise we’ll be here in 10 years time having the same conversations
Id say building and discussion across the whole Bitcoin Cash eco-system is split as follows:
- 70% tech
- 5% real world solutions
- 5% marketing
- 10% philosophy and politics
- 10% memes
(Real world being solutions that someone walking down the street would understand or be familiar with)
If we truly believe in making Bitcoin Cash the freedom money for the world, the P2P electronic cash that anyone can use regardless of location, and trust that this will create a boom in mass adoption, this ratio needs to change.
Alongside the incredible tech development from incredible developers in our space, we also need entrepreneurs building real world solutions that the grass roots free market will choose to adopt. If we don’t have this, we will be here, or in the Telegram group in 10 years time having these same conversations and wondering why Bitcoin Cash isn’t gathering momentum or market share. It would also be a travesty if all of the incredible tech being developed simply struggled because there aren’t enough users to truly appreciate it or test it’s full capability.
Even though there are glimmers of light with various personalities from other coins or projects posting favourably about BCH, It feels fairly clear to me as to why more people are not adopting; we are preaching to the choir. And it’s a very tribal choir at that.
I see posts on Twitter saying @BSVers or @BTCers …… why don’t you come on over to the superior Bitcoin etc. But even if you get the odd one or two out of these crowds who jumps ship, this isn’t going to move the needle by any considerable amount. And the energy wasted fighting with these other tribes to attempt to steal their women, just isn’t worth it.
So where does the mass adoption come from? We know we have the superior tech and imo, the superior community.
To me again, it feels fairly clear. In business, you keep your current customers happy and constantly seek out new markets.
There are flags waving before our eyes, screaming for real-world solutions….
I’m a true normie, but a normie that gets excited by identifying demand and figuring out how to provide the supply in the most efficient way. Most of my time lurking on the Bitcoin Cash Telegram group is reading conversations that may as well be in another language(a language that I’ve managed to understand key elements of). But similar to me, there will be others who are in search of things that they can do with their BCH in the real world, and not just under the hood.
There is a huge market out there for BCH to take over but currently, we’re just not doing it(at scale) It is the failure to solve real world needs and problems that is the reason we aren’t exploding. But it doesn’t need to be like that. It’s my belief that we have the talent and vision within our midst to completely change the whole game.
Our competition isn’t only BTC or Dash or whatever other iteration of P2P digital cash, it is the fiat cash system itself. A system that is collapsing before our very eyes. If we provide real world solutions for this market, this is where an explosion of new adoption will occur.
The evidence for the above is that there are whole teams of people all around the world working hard to on-board people. Something that had recently been framed as something of a fools pursuit due to those who adopt BCH, giving up after a period of time because…… “well, what can I do with my Bitcoin Cash once I have it?”
The fact that people are willing to adopt a new form of cash in the first place is testament to their being a demand for an alternative. In Argentina, Venezuela, Nigeria, Australia, there are loads of "normies" who excitedly and enthusiastically understand how easy Bitcoin Cash is to use and instantly understand its potential. But once the excitement has subsided, they’re left with a wallet of BCH and very little they can do with it in the real world. This is why we so urgently need real-world market solutions for the normies who are the majority. Solve these puzzles and the mass adoption will follow and be unstoppable.
This is the reason and inspiration for AgoraConnect - the online marketplace for Bitcoin Cash. Once people are onboarded, they now have somewhere to spend their BCH or if they want to make more, sell their goods and services. It’s a missing piece of the puzzle. There will be no need for people to post asking for donations of BCH. They will now be able to sell something or offer a service. There will be no need to cash out on exchanges; you buy and sell online.
The more real world solutions we have, the better!
Paytaca rolling out their vending machines is very exciting and I know there are others working on exciting real world applications that Jose or Josefina Normie on the street could use with very little education.
I would love to hear about other real world businesses that are providing solutions or ideas you have.
Please feel free to drop yours in the comments or let me know your thoughts on any of my opinions in this post.
r/btc • u/Alex-Crypto • 2d ago
📚 History TBT BitcoinCash devs finding an inflation bug implemented by BitcoinCore to BTC
Amazes me how many people forget this, or don’t know about it. Especially when this is largely the result of centralized development.
r/btc • u/jonald_fyookball • 2d ago
🛠️ Services Electron Cash Android 4.2.14-6 is available (supports Cash Fusion)
Download from Play Store or https://electroncash.org
Note: You must run TOR app first to use Fusion.
edit: and kudos to OPReturnCode for coding it!
r/btc • u/mindtrips • 2d ago
Chaintip tokens on cashtokens?
Does anyone know whether it will be possible to chaintip tokens once cashtokens is released? Thanks!