Author

Topic: Idea ("Silk Road" except for gold/silver instead of drugs) (Read 2110 times)

full member
Activity: 237
Merit: 100
I don't think I could trust this with anything other than junk silver.  However, I'd like to trade metals for BTC with btcnearme.com or equivalent sites.
legendary
Activity: 980
Merit: 1004
Firstbits: Compromised. Thanks, Android!
already working on it....

Well, this is definitely something to keep an eye on....
jr. member
Activity: 42
Merit: 1
Quote
Think about this: If the site ONLY sells gold and silver, then it becomes much more difficult to demonize those people. Any effort to do so would be interpreted as an attack on justice.

Actually, the fractional reserve trolls do try to demonize supporters of the gold standard as some looney conspiracists. It would not come as any surprise if they attempted to do this against a gold and silver exchange based on bitcoins. But still it is much better than being, however erronously, associated with drug sales. Guilt by association is a stupid term, although it has been used for ages and does enjoy some support.

Sadly, I don't think such an exchange would work in practice due to human greed. Gold price is so high that the financial incentive to fraud would be very high. Someone could even trade for weeks or months and build up a good reputation and then commit a fraud amounting to many thousand dollars in a weeks time. And due to the anonymised nature of Tor it would be impossible to remedy. Even if a few traders did not rip off their customers, I envisage a monopolistic situation were almost all buyers purchase from a very select number of sellers, although I doubt trade would continue after hundreds of people being defrauded.
member
Activity: 84
Merit: 10
I think it's a good idea, since the US government is planning to outlaw "over the counter" gold trading.
No shit? Really? I've never been in USA, but from what I read, it seems to me that it's more totalitarian than China.

Funny you say that. China is  turning more capitalist while USA is turning socialist. Ridiculous. Its no surprise that the usa is in the condition it is in. Massive debt, huge trade deficits. USA is on its death bead, an economy in decline.
full member
Activity: 156
Merit: 100
I think it's a good idea, since the US government is planning to outlaw "over the counter" gold trading.
No shit? Really? I've never been in USA, but from what I read, it seems to me that it's more totalitarian than China.
WNS
newbie
Activity: 39
Merit: 0
Think about this: If the site ONLY sells gold and silver, then it becomes much more difficult to demonize those people. Any effort to do so would be interpreted as an attack on justice.
If you do this you dispense with the benefits of having a diversified market and all the network effects that carries.

If I said I wanted a tor trading site that only dealt in 18th century french coins, if another site existed that already allowed me to do that, would you think I was being silly?

My main objection is that your stated concern is impossible to rectify, if you run from all possible guilt by association you will never stop running.
sr. member
Activity: 440
Merit: 251
I'm actually sad that the Silk Road guys did drugs first, since all it did was bring a bunch of heat down.

The problem is that that excuse can be used for anything. The obvious solution is to just use silkroad.

Even if that is the case, there should still be a separate "gold road" on Tor, based on the same code.  

Otherwise it's just too easy for the-powers-that-be to propagandize the link between the two. "Gold" becomes comparable to "drugs" and "guns".

There is already enough of a push in the mainstream media to label gold as "contraband", we should not give those people ammunition.

Think about this: If the site ONLY sells gold and silver, then it becomes much more difficult to demonize those people. Any effort to do so would be interpreted as an attack on justice.



 
WNS
newbie
Activity: 39
Merit: 0
I'm actually sad that the Silk Road guys did drugs first, since all it did was bring a bunch of heat down.

The problem is that that excuse can be used for anything. The obvious solution is to just use silkroad.

Using a marketplace, even if other people do illegal things there, does not make you a criminal. I buy things downtown all the time, some people buy drugs there, if proximity to crime was a crime, you are already guilty, get over it.

For the hyper paranoid: If buying/selling gold becomes criminal, then at least you are doing business somewhere that takes security seriously.
sr. member
Activity: 440
Merit: 251
It should do reputation as well, like eBay or Amazon.
full member
Activity: 126
Merit: 100
hero member
Activity: 836
Merit: 1007
"How do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time..."
PM me. I'll sell you as much as you want. Plenty of references and willing to use ClearCoin escrow.

TraderSteve

I mean a place that lists buyers and sellers, and has escrow, and has prices posted, and allows people to convert both directions.


I see, yes, that would be good.  Smiley
sr. member
Activity: 440
Merit: 251
PM me. I'll sell you as much as you want. Plenty of references and willing to use ClearCoin escrow.

TraderSteve

I mean a place that lists buyers and sellers, and has escrow, and has prices posted, and allows people to convert both directions.
hero member
Activity: 836
Merit: 1007
"How do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time..."
PM me. I'll sell you as much as you want. Plenty of references and willing to use ClearCoin escrow.

TraderSteve
newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
already working on it....
hero member
Activity: 675
Merit: 502
I love this idea.
legendary
Activity: 1806
Merit: 1003
I think it's a good idea, since the US government is planning to outlaw "over the counter" gold trading.
sr. member
Activity: 440
Merit: 251
Someone should put up a version of Silk Road that does NOT deal in drugs, guns, etc.

Basically it would be identical to the existing Silk Road, except people would deal only in gold and silver coins (for Bitcoin.)

I'm actually sad that the Silk Road guys did drugs first, since all it did was bring a bunch of heat down.

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