We still need to find a way to move away from centralised exchanges. This sort of thing will continue to happen and will only worsen in time. If the value of a bitcoin soars upwards, the incentive for people to break into exchanges will only be more tempting. Exchanges weren't part of the design for all this. We're doing it wrong. And the resulting negative headlines will only hamper adoption.
Centralised exchanges are simultaneously one of the biggest weaknesses in our new digital economy and yet somehow also the biggest accelerators. The flame to which all the moths are drawn. It's almost paradoxical. We need to do better.
Centralised exchanges are simultaneously one of the biggest weaknesses in our new digital economy and yet somehow also the biggest accelerators. The flame to which all the moths are drawn. It's almost paradoxical. We need to do better.
A few friends and I are tackling this in a c-rudimentary way. There is so much cynicism revolving around exchanges and services that store bitcoin and handle fiat. We can do better. We are going to roll out something we think will work that will allow people to exchange anything for bitcoin.
The real barrier for people is converting fiat to BTC and visa versa. There are only two irreversible ways that I know to send fiat: Cash/Money Order in the mail (Campbx uses money order for fiat withdrawal and deposit), and Western Union / MoneyGram type services.
WU and MG defeat the purpose of having BTC due to the expense and trouble involved performing the transaction. Most entry level adopters do not want to hold several thousand dollars in BTC. As a newb, I'd be hesitant to send cash to an unknown person without escrow. A quick glance at reddit and this forum shows most newbs want to buy $25 - $200 worth of BTC with something they are familiar (moneypak, WU, etc). Most experienced users will only accept cash in the mail or WU/MG for the irreversible BTC.
What features does a decentralized exchange have in your dreams? Peer to peer functionality is a no-brainer for those of us fed up with the current model.
