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Topic: Introducing BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins. (Read 14382 times)

sr. member
Activity: 1360
Merit: 257
This is Google's cache of https://bitsimple.com/. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 26 Feb 2015 04:48:14 GMT
Quote
BitSimple Users,

Effective 01/31/2014 BitSimple is ceasing operations. The inability to secure accounts with the transaction capabilities necessary to support our business model has made this unfortunate decision a necessity. While management is saddened by the need to terminate operations, during our time in operation we have never had our wallets infiltrated by hackers and no customers lost funds using BitSimple. Very few Bitcoin related companies can make similar claims.

A few customers have unclaimed balances and they will be contacted by email with instructions to arrange final payment. Tangible Cryptography (the parent company of BitSimple) has no outside creditors and the unclaimed balances owed customers represents less than 2% of assets on hand so I want to reassure those customers with balances that they will not be financially impacted by the decision to close.

The shareholders will meet in the near future to determine the final outcome of BitSimple and its parent company Tangible Cryptography but effective 01/31/2014 I am no longer the CEO. I want to thank the customers and investors which made this business venture possible.

Gerald Davis
CEO Tangible Cryptography Inc
The date is mistyped twice 2014 instead of 2015.
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Yep still waiting, don't need paypal yet but I would like to have that possibility in the future.
sr. member
Activity: 547
Merit: 250
Any updates on when this service is going to be back up and running?
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Had to resort to using localbitcoins paypal for now. Bad price, and bad fee.
hero member
Activity: 784
Merit: 1005
Looks like bitsimple is moving countries. Any ETA on when this is done? I need to exchange some more BTC

+1

I have to sell some BTC and get cash in Paypal, so if it's going to be days I can wait, otherwise I would search for an alternative at least for this time. Thanks.
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Looks like bitsimple is moving countries. Any ETA on when this is done? I need to exchange some more BTC
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Its been a week! Wheres the announcement! Also just saying I just traded 50$ and it went through in 5 minutes, and the money was in my paypal in about 20 after the confirms.
legendary
Activity: 3472
Merit: 4801
There will be a major announcement regarding expanded services by the end of the week.

End of which week?
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Definitely no, its not dead. I am using it daily with paypal. Best paypal option by far.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
So, is BitSimple dead, effectively?

The short answer is no.  There will be a major announcement regarding expanded services by the end of the week.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
I am Citizenfive.
So, is BitSimple dead, effectively? The ACH issue has existed for months now, and I have never seen the Buy option lit up. I've checked many times, but it always says that today's funds are exceeded. Are there ever any funds? If so, why has BitSimple chosen to go with the socialist model for economic pricing, rather than modifying the pricing to make buy/sell demand equal?
member
Activity: 71
Merit: 10
Access for international residents will be added in the next few days.

Would you mind expanding on that a little? Are you going to take EU (SEPA) customers?

Also, I don't see an option for two factor authentication... I would have imagined an end-to-end security policy would have included that -- or am I just not seeing the option?

Might as well use localbitcoin is this .one is available in the US only
sr. member
Activity: 344
Merit: 250
Any word yet on when you'll begin allowing non U.S. residents to use BitSimple?  I'm not living in the U.S. but my bank account is there, if that matters.  Thanks.

Support for international users will be added by the end of this week.  It expect it will be added and announced sooner, but I was told to use end of the week as the timeframe.

Has the support for international users been added now?  Thanks.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
I am Citizenfive.
Im going to try this. Seems like the best btc->paypal and paypal->btc option today. I will see how it goes.

I've done it before, for a weekend emergency when ACH would have been too slow. Not a fan of 2.2% but that's Paypal. There's not much reason not to, if Paypal's your thing.
2.2% is nothing, compared to not having paypal at all. I think I would prefer quickbt.com for purchasing bitcoin (I live in canada, and its pretty much instant with my bank card), but selling bitcoin, I will use this. 2% would decrease the price by 13$, so for every bitcoin sold to paypal, you would lose 13$. For 0.1, that is 1$, which is virtually nothing.

…yeah

That's Paypal. That's their fee. It sounds like you're trying to sell me on Paypal, haha. Use it if it's useful to you, good sir, idc either way. Your cost/benefit analyses are your own.
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Im going to try this. Seems like the best btc->paypal and paypal->btc option today. I will see how it goes.

I've done it before, for a weekend emergency when ACH would have been too slow. Not a fan of 2.2% but that's Paypal. There's not much reason not to, if Paypal's your thing.
2.2% is nothing, compared to not having paypal at all. I think I would prefer quickbt.com for purchasing bitcoin (I live in canada, and its pretty much instant with my bank card), but selling bitcoin, I will use this. 2% would decrease the price by 13$, so for every bitcoin sold to paypal, you would lose 13$. For 0.1, that is 1$, which is virtually nothing.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
I am Citizenfive.
Im going to try this. Seems like the best btc->paypal and paypal->btc option today. I will see how it goes.

I've done it before, for a weekend emergency when ACH would have been too slow. Not a fan of 2.2% but that's Paypal. There's not much reason not to, if Paypal's your thing.
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
Get ready for PrimeDice Sig Campaign!
Im going to try this. Seems like the best btc->paypal and paypal->btc option today. I will see how it goes.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
I am Citizenfive.
I've been searching around a bit and haven't found the following information yet, so I figured I'd ask here...

At what bank does BitSimple receive the wire transfers when a customer purchases bitcoins?

Bank of America.
sr. member
Activity: 266
Merit: 250
How do you manage paypal? They allow you to pay users in bitcoin for selling a digital currency? Sounds like your account would be limited soon...
newbie
Activity: 1
Merit: 0
(Message shown upon login today)

Important: Limited withdraw options available

At BitSimple we want to avoid unexpected surprises. At the current time we are unable to process ACH or Wire withdraws. Withdraws to your verified PayPal account are still available. BitSimple is working diligently with our ACH processor to restore other payment options. We do not have an ETA at this time but will provide an update once ACH and Wire withdraws have been restored.

Thank you for your understand,
BitSimple Staff
newbie
Activity: 8
Merit: 0
Bitsimple Support, Every bank is going to do this to you anytime there is any suspected fraud of  asizable amount unless you implement all the same KYC/AML that big banks and brokerages do. Without those kinds of changes, you should expect this kind of thing to happen again.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Price alert: BitSimple ($624) is currently offering a higher price (after exchange fees) than either BitStamp ($623) or Coinbase ($620) for your coins.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Any ETA on sales to new customers?

Not at this time.  There are some fraud related issues to resolve and we may need to implement enhanced identity verification.  As soon as we have an ETA will will provide an update.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
We are still working with our processor to restore ACH and Wire withdraws, and updated ETA is by the end of next week (07/25).  We apologize for the delay and have added an option to receive payment by company check in the interim.  Payments can either be requested by first class mail or overnight mail.
newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
Any ETA on sales to new customers?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
BitSimple has resumed the sale of bitcoins to existing users.  Sales to new customers (including users which have not previously completed a sale) are still on hold at this time.  

Thank You,

BitSimple Staff
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
There was a short outage in transaction reporting last night due to bitcoind crashing.  It has been restored and all transactions should be properly reporting now.  If you continue to experience a problem please contact the help desk: https://support.bitsimple.com.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Update:
On Friday morning (07/11) a dispute made by a customer acting fraudulent resulted in our bank placing a hold on our account.  This unexpected and excessive hold resulted in ACH failures by our processor.  The actions of our bank we used for processing were improper and turned a minor issue into one which affected our operation.  There is an ongoing investigation by both our staff and the bank into why this happened.  BitSimple would like to emphasize that as always (and unlike any traditional exchange) there was no risk of customers losing funds.  BitSimple is the counterparty in every transaction, and as such it is self funded.  It doesn't at any point in time hold an operationally significant amount of our customer's money.  A few users were affected by disrupted payments before we suspended additional sales.  We have contacted them individually to make arrangements to settle the amount owed by alternative payment methods while we resolve the issue.

As of today, the ability for users to sell Bitcoins has been restored in a limited capability.  At the current time the only available payment option is to a PayPal account.  We are working with our ACH processor to restore other payment options and this is estimated to be completed by 07/16/2014.  We will provide further updates as they become available.  Bitcoin purchases are still currently disabled.  They will be enabled for existing customers (those who have completed a prior purchase) within the next 48 hours.  Bitcoin purchases for new customers will be enabled at a later date.  The requirements for enabling purchases for new customers will depend on the outcome of the investigation and steps by the banking partner to prevent such disruptions in the future.

We appreciate the understanding shown by our users while we work to restore payment functionality.  We understand users may have questions however we can not provide further details until both our and the bank's investigation is complete.  

Thank You,

BitSimple Staff
newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
Any update on when buying and selling will be reactivated?

We are changing ACH providers and there was an issue with in implementation at the bank.  To avoid a situation where we would be unable to promptly payout funds owed we disabled bitcoin sales.  Sales will be restored on a limited basis (payment only available by PayPal) within 24 hours and it is expected we will have all withdraw methods restored no later than 07/16.

BitSimple Staff.

Quote
Also wondering why not post on the Tangible Cryptography bitcointalk account?
Tangible Cryptography, Inc is an owner but not operator of BitSimple® .   Exchange services are provided by BitSimple LLC, a South Carolina Limited Liability Company and registered MSB (FinCEN #31000039896739).




Thank you for the quick reply! I used to trade on fastcash4bitcoins (which was also ran by tangible) when it was active. Was very sad to see it go, but I look forward to trading on Bitsimple when everything is up and running!
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Any update on when buying and selling will be reactivated?

We are changing ACH providers and there was an issue with in implementation at the bank.  To avoid a situation where we would be unable to promptly payout funds owed we disabled bitcoin sales.  Sales will be restored on a limited basis (payment only available by PayPal) within 24 hours and it is expected we will have all withdraw methods restored no later than 07/16.

BitSimple Staff.

Quote
Also wondering why not post on the Tangible Cryptography bitcointalk account?
Tangible Cryptography, Inc is an owner but not operator of BitSimple® .   Exchange services are provided by BitSimple LLC, a South Carolina Limited Liability Company and registered with FinCEN (#31000039896739).


newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
Any update on when buying and selling will be reactivated? Also wondering why not post on the Tangible Cryptography bitcointalk account?
legendary
Activity: 3472
Merit: 4801
I've been searching around a bit and haven't found the following information yet, so I figured I'd ask here...

At what bank does BitSimple receive the wire transfers when a customer purchases bitcoins?
newbie
Activity: 2
Merit: 0
Oh I know about the ACH times, I commented on waiting on paypal to get the funds to my bank only as a comparison to how fast you got my funds to my paypal. Funny thing about ACH... they can pull the money instantly from your bank, but it takes half a week (and with fireworks day and the weekend coming, it will be a full week!) for them to put it back in.

But no, the reason I did not initially set up for ACH through Bitsimple, and I mean no offense by this, but I wasnt about to put my bank account into a site that seemed too good to be true. After seeing the quick performance, I am now reconsidering that position.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Thank you for the feedback.  I have made a note to have the withdraw page clearly indicate the fee (if any) will be deducted from the amount withdrawn.  I don't see why it can't also who the "net amount".  You asked how long it will take to get funds from PayPal to your bank.  PayPal uses ACH so it isn't going to be any faster or slower than any other ACH.  Depending on the timing it is usually three to four business days (excluding weekends and bank holidays like the 4th of July). 

Making an ACH withdraw directly from BitSimple is cheaper (normal ACH has no withdraw fee) and if you need funds faster our bank processor offers overnight ACH for a nominal fee.
newbie
Activity: 2
Merit: 0
I wanted a way to exchange BTC for USD that didnt involve sending my ID and Soc# off (no one gets that number, period). Bitsimple sounded too good to be true, but the replies I've seen by their support staff in this thread made me think they were worth a chance, so I gave them one.

I signed up, verified paypal (wasnt giving them my bank info) and moved a tiny amount of coin through them. 2 hours later it was in my paypal. So then I moved a whole bitcoin through them, which is also now sitting in paypal. All within a few hours. Now I need to wait a week to get it from PP to my bank! I wanted to ask how long it normally takes, as someone had an unanswered open question on their support page for over a month. I tried the live chat and went 40 minutes waiting for someone to "be with me soon..." that I gave up when I saw the payment go through.

My one caution is about the withdrawal fee. Theres no warning of how it actually works, but it is subtracted from the amount you withdraw, not added to it. My initial deposit converted to $15 and change, and when Iw ent to withdraw it there was a 30 cent fee. I had over $15.30 so went ahead. What actually happened was it sent $14.70 to my paypal. A minor annoyance to be sure but if anyone from Bitsimple reads this, you might want to put a "total to be sent" field on that page so people can take the fee into account when choosing how much to pull out. Knowing this when I went to withdraw the whole coin worth, I just withdrew all available.

So a fairly big (for me anyway) transaction went off without a hitch. I wont say you can trust these guys blindly and their support section needs some work and attention, but the service itself seems fairly solid and worth a chance. You certainly have less to lose than one of the sites that demand your soc#. I've not tried to verify my bank info but I'll be doing that soon to skip PP in the future.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Anyone able to help on online chat.  I have been waiting for close to 10 minutes.  Thanks. 

Chat is online and there is at least one rep standing by.  I am not sure why you had an issue connecting.  If the problem continues please send me a PM or an email to [email protected].
sr. member
Activity: 342
Merit: 250
Anyone able to help on online chat.  I have been waiting for close to 10 minutes.  Thanks. 
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
BitSimple ( https://bitsimple.com ) now supports US residents in the state of CA and NY.  What better timing if you are looking to sell some Bitcoins.  Our rate is dynamic based on available supply and demand and subject to change at anytime.  At the time of the post we are offering $581 per BTC, better than Coinbase ($580.72 after trading fees) and comparable to BitStamp ($585 or $570 after withdraw fee).  Remember the price quoted is the price paid; BitSimple never charges an exchange or trading fee. 
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Need your funds quicker?

BitSimple now offers next day ACH as a withdraw option.  There is a fee of $12.99 per withdraw but funds will post to your bank the following business day if the request is made by 7PM Eastern.  Requests made after 7PM, on a banking holiday, or on a weekend will be processed the next business day and will post one business day later.

Standard ACH (3-4 business days) will continue to be available at no cost.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Update:

We have null routed non-essential sites (including tangiblecryptography.com ) as we investigate the attack.  Users may notice a delay of up to 5 seconds when first accessing BitSimple created by the DDOS mitigation put in place.  As part of the DDOS measures some IP addresses have been blacklisted.  If your IP address is blacklisted and you believe it is in error please contact support. Users should access the site directly from the url https://bitsimple.com.  If you notice any errors please log out of your BitSimple account and then login again.  If you continue to experience problems please contact support at https://support.bitsimple.com or by email at [email protected]


Thank You,
BitSimple Staff

member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
BitSimple was subject to a denial of service attack and extortion attempt this morning from roughly 7:30 AM Eastern to 10:30 AM Eastern.  Connectivity has been temporarily been restored although load on the server is still high.  There was no risk of lost or stolen coins as we  maintain a 100% cold wallet at all times.  Our watching wallet operates from a different server and was unaffected, it properly recorded timestamps and exchange rates of exchanges despite the website being unavailable.

We are continuing to monitor the condition and will take additional steps as necessary.

BitSimple Staff
hero member
Activity: 714
Merit: 500
When will BitSimple be open to the public?

BitSimple is currently open to US residents (excluding residents in CA, NY, and VA).  Access for international residents will be added in the next few days.

Open for people outside US now?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
With a rush of large buyers depleting our Bitcoin reserves, we want your coins and have improved the price offered for your coins.  Remember our exchange rate is what you receive.  We never charge a deposit or trading fee.  Make your withdraw request by Bank Wire (4PM EST cutoff) or PayPal (8PM EST cutoff), and receive them the same day.
sr. member
Activity: 337
Merit: 250
Does the Sell Address change every time to a new address after you send funds to it?  Or does it always stay the same?


Update June 10th:
Well, apparently the answer is no.  

Second update, June 10th:
I guess they are going to try and implement unique sell addresses.  :-)
newbie
Activity: 40
Merit: 0
Hey, whoever fixed that -- thank you!  ;-)
newbie
Activity: 40
Merit: 0
Not sure if this thread is monitored by support, but if so - could someone look into a "stuck" transaction for me?

I sold some BTC for USD on 5/28/2014 (TID# 10066079) in the amount of $32.85.  It's been in USD pending ever since.  I don't understand why the exchange would ever reach this state.  Shouldn't it immediately go into USD available?  I cannot find any indication on your site on how long it will stay there.  Perhaps it's a mistake?  Or perhaps there are not enough USD in the bank to cover the transaction?  :-)

Thanks!
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
I am Citizenfive.
It is after 8PM Eastern so there is no active support at the current time, we don't have or promise 24/7 support.  I will however have someone contact you by email to make arrangements.  There was a delay which prevented the wire from going out the same day.  To give us a larger window to avoid this in the future I have changed the cutoff time from 5PM Eastern to 4PM Eastern.  If possible the wire will be cancelled and you can make an alternate withdraw request by PayPal.

Not a massive deal, you guys have always been great, and infinitely better than Coinbase. The panicky situation of not knowing and having struggles with support (again, just not *knowing* -- aka, what are the hours, that kind of thing) is my only beef here.

Changing it to say 4 PM EST is a perfect solution. (No one will ever complain if it magically goes through a little after the cutoff!) Thanks for the quick reply. How long will it take to roll back my account so that I can request the after-hours PayPal transaction?
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
It is after 8PM Eastern so there is no active support at the current time, we don't have or promise 24/7 support.  I will however have someone contact you by email to make arrangements.  There was a delay which prevented the wire from going out the same day.  To give us a larger window to avoid this in the future I have changed the cutoff time from 5PM Eastern to 4PM Eastern.  If possible the wire will be cancelled and you can make an alternate withdraw request by PayPal.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
I am Citizenfive.
It pains me to say this, as I've been an outspoken supporter — in the past, BitSimple would have accurately been described as a site which just works.

Here is my current experience:

An unexpected emergency has occurred and I needed USD. I transferred and sold Ƀ at BitSimple today, as I've done many times, and elected to wire out to my bank, which I've also done many times here. This usually takes around an hour or so; I never paid much attention because it was always quick. The transfer completed according to the UI and the timestamp is before the cutoff by about 15 minutes. I've also gotten this close to the cutoff before, which contributed to my confidence in BitSimple.

It's been several hours, however, and I haven't seen anything in my bank account.

Ok. So I email support, but that promises to take a day or so.

So I try live chat, and watch my as the Desk help window timer ticks up to 18 minutes waiting for a reply. (It says "we will be with you shortly" the whole time.)

So I call the phone number for support, which says something about being redirected and a grasshopper—idk, automated service I guess—and then immediately get a voicemail saying they're closed, but nothing about what hours they're *open*.

It's the weekend now. There will be no bank movement if it hasn't happened already. This is extremely bad for personal reasons, as I live very much on 99.9% Ƀ, and those are secured via a multisig arrangement that I cannot access for reasons related to the emergency. Thus, this amount WAS my emergency fund.

I imagine the amount wasn't initiated on time on BitSimple's end. We can discuss that issue later, but right now I need someone from BitSimple to push me the funds ASAP. PayPal is pretty much our only option right now. It's not a good one but that's life. Push me the funds via PayPal and cancel the Wire, which I assume is now scheduled for Monday.
full member
Activity: 224
Merit: 100
Thanks for the updates!

Have you guys opened accounts for International Bitcoiners yet?

From UK and have been acquiring BTC from a traditional exchange based in Europe for over a year. It currently takes 4-5 days for me to complete a transaction. This period largely due to my bank sending IMT from UK to Slovenia.

Once verified on Bitsimple, if I lock-in a deal with you guys, then send/IMT GBP over to you, once you process/clear my funds - How long do you estimate this will take?

Can you guys tell me who is your USA banking partner and a note on exchange rates (retail or corporate)?

Best regards,

RH
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Our pricing model continually adjusts to reflect supply, demand, and volatility.  Currently our ask is only $430.98 making BitSimple the best deal for buying Bitcoins.  That is more than 2,300 bits to the dollar.   Remember there are no additional trading fees above our quotes rates.  Payment is by bank wire and you can receive your coins, in your wallet the same day usually in about an hour.

donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
I have the same problem lysdexic had.  I started bank verification a couple of weeks ago and never got the trial deposits.  Tried online chat and gave up, no response after four minutes.  Phone call diverted to voice mail after a while.
Can't see any way to restart the bank verification process.
DeathAndTaxes:  I sent you a PM with my bitsimple username.

Issues with support chat should be resolved.   I forwarded the PM to support.  In the future I would recommend using the BitSimple_Support account here on Bitcointalk as it is monitored by multiple people and my personal account is not.

Gerald
hero member
Activity: 870
Merit: 585
I have the same problem lysdexic had.  I started bank verification a couple of weeks ago and never got the trial deposits.  Tried online chat and gave up, no response after four minutes.  Phone call diverted to voice mail after a while.
Can't see any way to restart the bank verification process.
DeathAndTaxes:  I sent you a PM with my bitsimple username.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
As always, BitSimple takes security seriously so even our temporary server is 100% dedicated (no VPS or backdoor super admin accounts) and I personally installed the OS and configured the BIOS remotely over IPMI.

I read this paper once

http://fish2.com/ipmi/bp.pdf

not sure I would entirely trust IPMI to be left switched on if I was running a server.


IPMI access is on a private VLAN behind a dedicated hardware firewall.  You are right IPMI should never be on a public untrusted connection.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
what is the difference between mintpal.com?

This is not an exchange?
newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
what is the difference between mintpal.com?
full member
Activity: 154
Merit: 100
I read this paper once

http://fish2.com/ipmi/bp.pdf

not sure I would entirely trust IPMI to be left switched on if I was running a server.


Many of them can never be effectively disabled regardless of what settings you choose.

Still okay as long as you keep them on a separate, internal network with no attackers on it though. You're already screwed if attackers have physical access.
legendary
Activity: 1652
Merit: 1016
As always, BitSimple takes security seriously so even our temporary server is 100% dedicated (no VPS or backdoor super admin accounts) and I personally installed the OS and configured the BIOS remotely over IPMI.

I read this paper once

http://fish2.com/ipmi/bp.pdf

not sure I would entirely trust IPMI to be left switched on if I was running a server.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
bitsimple.com and tangible cryptography websites have both been down for 2 days.
??  gone?  or what's the deal?

works for me lol

Our colocation provider had complete loss of connectivity for almost 17 hours from roughly 3AM to 8PM EST on the 17th.  Even after 8PM connectivity was seriously degraded until around midnight.  Utterly unacceptable but beyond our control.  A network provider as large as Sago should never have a situation where they have almost a day of downtime for an entire datacenter.  It was the last straw in increasingly bad service and I pulled an all nighter, working with our new provider to move BitSimple to it's new home.   A big thumbs up to Hivelocity!  A big thumbs down to Sago Networks (which I wouldn't use to host a website for someone's dog).  Sadly I didn't even choose Sago, they chose us.  We were previously with Razor networks and they were rock solid ... until Sago bought them and proceeded to destroy everything which made Razor good.

I am mildly delirious at this point from a lack of sleep (body reminding me I am not a twenty year old anymore) but the server has been migrated.  There may be a few post migration glitches but let support know if you see them, we will get them ironed out over the next couple days.  As always, BitSimple takes security seriously so even our temporary server is 100% dedicated (no VPS or backdoor super admin accounts) and I personally installed the OS and configured the BIOS remotely over IPMI.

Gerald
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
bitsimple.com and tangible cryptography websites have both been down for 2 days.
??  gone?  or what's the deal?

works for me lol
member
Activity: 74
Merit: 10
bitsimple.com and tangible cryptography websites have both been down for 2 days.
??  gone?  or what's the deal?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Any word yet on when you'll begin allowing non U.S. residents to use BitSimple?  I'm not living in the U.S. but my bank account is there, if that matters.  Thanks.

Support for international users will be added by the end of this week.  It expect it will be added and announced sooner, but I was told to use end of the week as the timeframe.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
This service seems to be a black hole.

Tried to verify via credit card charges, none post to my account after waiting a week.  Try to verify by bank account, again, no transactions.  Then try to verify by Paypal, once again, no transactions.

Send a message to their support, no response.  Is this a company full of Miltons in the basement just collecting paychecks?

I am sorry you seem to be having problems getting verified with BitSimple.  Some credit card companies don't post pending charges to online account activity.  The process should be nearly instant so if no charges appear within minutes they aren't going to appear a week later.  The site recommends that if your online account activity shows no charges to contact the 1-800 number on the credit card.  We don't actually complete the charge to a credit card until verification is complete to ensure users aren't charged when they can't verify.   

At this time I don't show any unprocessed PayPal verification payments.  If you prefer you can send me a PM with your ticket number or username (email address) and I will take a look at your account.
newbie
Activity: 1
Merit: 0
This service seems to be a black hole.

Tried to verify via credit card charges, none post to my account after waiting a week.  Try to verify by bank account, again, no transactions.  Then try to verify by Paypal, once again, no transactions.

Send a message to their support, no response.  Is this a company full of Miltons in the basement just collecting paychecks?
sr. member
Activity: 344
Merit: 250
Any word yet on when you'll begin allowing non U.S. residents to use BitSimple?  I'm not living in the U.S. but my bank account is there, if that matters.  Thanks.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Can you explain a little of how the exchange works?  If I want to buy 1 BTC do I buy it from your coins or do you match me up with someone who simultaneously wants to sell 1 BTC?  Does the seller send directly from their wallet to my wallet, or does it go through your mixed coin wallet?

Are you guys trying to compete with anyone or going to expand ways to move/buy bitcoin? The only thing I have to compare you to is Coinbase which pulls funds from my bank account with an automated online process, using a credit card as a backup method. No going to the bank. Just walking into banks these days makes me cringe.

We are looking at adding additional funding options in the future.  Some banks allow sending a bank wire online so a trip to the bank isn't always required.

Quote
I do remember fastcash4bitcoins and assume you guys are the same people? Well derrr, you must be. It redirects.

Yes BitSimple is owned by Tangible Cryptography, the same people who offered FC4B.

Quote
When I selected "sell bitcoins" I received this error:
"Error: unable to obtain new address. Support has been notified"

There was an issue with bitcoind service, which has been resolved.  Please send an email to [email protected] if you continue to have issues.
legendary
Activity: 1274
Merit: 1000
Personal text my ass....
Can you explain a little of how the exchange works?  If I want to buy 1 BTC do I buy it from your coins or do you match me up with someone who simultaneously wants to sell 1 BTC?  Does the seller send directly from their wallet to my wallet, or does it go through your mixed coin wallet?

Are you guys trying to compete with anyone or going to expand ways to move/buy bitcoin? The only thing I have to compare you to is Coinbase which pulls funds from my bank account with an automated online process, using a credit card as a backup method. No going to the bank. Just walking into banks these days makes me cringe.

I do remember fastcash4bitcoins and assume you guys are the same people? Well derrr, you must be. It redirects.




When I selected "sell bitcoins" I received this error:
"Error: unable to obtain new address. Support has been notified"

legendary
Activity: 1027
Merit: 1005
Any plans to allow ACH for USD deposits? This was something I really liked about CampBX but that has recently been shutdown.

Due to the fact that ACH is reversible (and slow) it is not something we are considering for purchases at this time.  We are looking to provide alternative methods to fund Bitcoin purchases.

Ah, I did not know it was reversible.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Any plans to allow ACH for USD deposits? This was something I really liked about CampBX but that has recently been shutdown.

Due to the fact that ACH is reversible (and slow) it is not something we are considering for purchases at this time.  We are looking to provide alternative methods to fund Bitcoin purchases.
legendary
Activity: 1027
Merit: 1005
Any plans to allow ACH for USD deposits? This was something I really liked about CampBX but that has recently been shutdown.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Access for international residents will be added in the next few days.

Would you mind expanding on that a little? Are you going to take EU (SEPA) customers?

SEPA support will not be available initially (only PayPal and Bank Wire).  We will be adding SEPA support but that requires obtaining a SPEA area bank account (and flying to the EU) so it will come later.

Quote
Also, I don't see an option for two factor authentication... I would have imagined an end-to-end security policy would have included that -- or am I just not seeing the option?

2FA will be added soon.  I would point out that unlike an exchange, a compromised account is of less value to a hacker.  No financial information can be obtained from the account.  An attacker can not withdraw bitcoins because there are no bitcoins to withdraw.  An attacker can't even link a payment account to withdraw dollars unless the attacker happens to have the same name.   Using the principle of least privilege, the platform is designed to make an account of little value to an attacker.  That being said we will be added 2FA to further strengthen the privacy of users.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
Well I know from short viewing this who is running the forum account. Gerald Davis
sr. member
Activity: 338
Merit: 253
No names on the web site.

I don't buy coins from web sites. I buy them from people.

I need to know who gets whacked if something goes wrong.
member
Activity: 70
Merit: 10
Access for international residents will be added in the next few days.

Would you mind expanding on that a little? Are you going to take EU (SEPA) customers?

Also, I don't see an option for two factor authentication... I would have imagined an end-to-end security policy would have included that -- or am I just not seeing the option?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Can you explain a little of how the exchange works?  If I want to buy 1 BTC do I buy it from your coins or do you match me up with someone who simultaneously wants to sell 1 BTC?  Does the seller send directly from their wallet to my wallet, or does it go through your mixed coin wallet?

cp1,

Thank you for your interest in BitSimple.

It probably is easier to think of BitSimple as a bitcoin dealer (like a gold dealer) instead of a traditional exchange.  BitSimple, LLC is the counterparty in every trade.  If you are selling coins, we are the buyer.  If you buying coins, we are the seller.  To sell us coins you simply make a bitcoin transaction to the address we provide.  The instant it hits the network your account will be increased by the USD value of the coins you transferred to us, based on the current exchange rate.  If you are buying coins before wiring funds the site will ask for an address where we can transfer your purchase coins.  Once you notify us the funds have been wired we will lock in an exchange rate and the coins will be transferred to your address once the wire posts.

The key difference with exchanges is we never hold any user Bitcoins.  We don't offer eWallet services or require users deposit their coins before trading.  The only coins we hold are the ones owned by the company.  If we those bitcoins are lost or stolen it is our investors not our customers who lose.   Not surprisingly that has made us very motivated to prevent that from happening.

When selling bitcoins (your BTC for our USD) we offer the ability to withdraw the proceeds of your sale by ACH, Bank Wire, or PayPal.  When buying bitcoins your purchase needs to be funded by a bank wire.  We are looking into alternative funding options as we understand bank wires aren't the most convenient option for all users.  With BitSimple the price is always upfront and you can go from coins to cash or cash to coins the same day (in as little as an hour).  You keep your coins, in your wallet, and instant liquidity is still a transaction away.

Fees on buying bitcoins
Wire "Deposit" - no fee
Exchange fee - no fee
Bitcoin transfer - no fee (we cover miner fee of 0.1 mBTC for fast processing)

Fees on selling bitcoins
Bitcoin transfer - no fee (we recommend you include a miner fee of 0.1 mBTC for fast processing)
Exchange fee - no fee
Withdraw fee - varies (ACH = $0, Bank Wire = $25, PayPal = 1.9%)

BitSimple Support
cp1
hero member
Activity: 616
Merit: 500
Stop using branwallets
Can you explain a little of how the exchange works?  If I want to buy 1 BTC do I buy it from your coins or do you match me up with someone who simultaneously wants to sell 1 BTC?  Does the seller send directly from their wallet to my wallet, or does it go through your mixed coin wallet?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
I tried to sign up for an account here:
https://bitsimple.com/Account/Signup

Sorry about that.  That was an incorrect statement.  You should be able to create a new account now.
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
Bytecoin: 8VofSsbQvTd8YwAcxiCcxrqZ9MnGPjaAQm
When will BitSimple be open to the public?

BitSimple is currently open to US residents (excluding residents in CA, NY, and VA).  Access for international residents will be added in the next few days.

I tried to sign up for an account here:
https://bitsimple.com/Account/Signup

I got this message:
Wow you found us.
Sorry you are a little early.
BitSimple is not open to the public yet.

I am in the US.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
When will BitSimple be open to the public?

BitSimple is currently open to US residents (excluding residents in CA, NY, and VA).  Access for international residents will be added in the next few days.
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
Bytecoin: 8VofSsbQvTd8YwAcxiCcxrqZ9MnGPjaAQm
When will BitSimple be open to the public?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Bitsimple for Americans only. Make that clear on the site so everyone else doesn't waste time on it.

Very little info.

I will make sure that is made clear on the signup page.  We will be adding international support next week.
newbie
Activity: 8
Merit: 0
Bitsimple for Americans only. Make that clear on the site so everyone else doesn't waste time on it.

Very little info.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
BitSimple = BitSecurity.  

The TLS ("SSL") configuration on the application server has been tightened.  Support for SSL 3.0 has been dropped, along with support for RC4 cipher.  At this point RC4 should be considered cryptographically weak, and it possible that one or more nation has the capabilities to break communications protected by RC4.  

At the same time we have enabled support for HSTS.  Modern browsers can use HSTS headers to prevent the redirection of traffic to insecure domain if the DNS server is compromised by attackers.

SSL Labs rates our HTTPS configuration A+ (less than 0.1% of tested domains score an A+)
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=bitsimple.com&s=64.16.206.3

The downside of these security enhancements is that users connecting with very old browsers may be unable to connect to the site as there is no common protocol and cipher supported by both the server and browser.  The only browsers affected are IE 6 or older (IE 8 or older on Windows XP), Firefox version 20 or older, or other browsers released around the same period of time (over a decade ago).

If you encounter connectivity issues with a newer browser please let us know at [email protected].  Include the OS, browser, and versions so we can look into it.

Improving TLS strength is just one part of our comprehensive end to end security policy at BitSimple.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
zneww,

Since the support account is tied up in noob timeout (360 second theymos really?) I will take a shot at it.   I think many of our users value their privacy and we have solid support on site including customer support chat from 8AM to 8PM EST.  That means most problems are resolved quickly on site and there is no need for someone to come to a third party forum looking for help.  That is the way I want to keep it but the downside of that is it is a little silent.  I am sure someone will post some feedback eventually.

BitSimple isn't going anywhere, it is well capitalized ( http://www.coindesk.com/tangible-cryptography-raises-600000-for-bitcoin-sales-portal/ ), and things are just getting interesting.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
seems like its quite similar to bittylicious? Except for the fact they accept Paypal also?

We do not accept PayPal as a funding method for purchasing bitcoins.  Were simple not foolish. Smiley  The only funding method for purchases is a bank wire.  We are looking to add other funding methods but easily reversible methods like PayPal or credit cards will not be among them.

I just find it odd that no one has any feedback.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
seems like its quite similar to bittylicious? Except for the fact they accept Paypal also?

We do not accept PayPal as a funding method for purchasing bitcoins.  We are simple not foolish. Smiley  The only funding method for purchases is a bank wire.  We are looking to add other funding methods but easily reversible methods like PayPal or credit cards will not be among them.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.
Has anyone used this?

I cant control if or when existing users will share their experiences but if you have any questions feel free to ask.  I am going to move this thread to service discussions.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
seems like its quite similar to bittylicious? Except for the fact they accept Paypal also?
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
Has anyone used this?
hero member
Activity: 533
Merit: 500
You selling Bitcoins? If yes, what paying methods you accepting
newbie
Activity: 84
Merit: 0
full member
Activity: 150
Merit: 100
 Will it operate the same as Fastcash4bitcoins did as that was my favorite site. They bought BTC at very close to MTGOX Price and straight to PayPal with no worries? Or will it be something totally different now?
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
BitSimple. A simpler way to buy and sell bitcoins.

BitSimple is a US based Bitcoin dealer, registered with FinCEN (#31000039896739), and available to US residents (excluding residents in VA).  Unlike a traditional exchange or peer to peer sales portal we are the counterparty in every trade so you can trade with confidence knowing your funds and confidential financial information is secure.  At BitSimple, we believe Bitcoin is strongest and safest when users maintain direct control over their own wallets.  You can now exchange bitcoins directly from your Bitcoin wallet.   Multibit, Electrum, bitcoin-core, Armory, blockchain.info, or StrongCoin, it doesn't matter; use the wallet you prefer and instant liquidity is still just a transaction away.  Long gone are the days of having to leave coins on vulnerable exchanges or wait agonizing minutes for deposit confirmations.  BitSimple will lock in a price instantly and settle once your transaction confirms so you can trade quickly even in fast moving markets.

Have an unexpected emergency and need cash in a hurry?  We offer disbursement options which will put spendable funds in your hand in hours not days like the other guys.  Looking to make a large acquisition of Bitcoins quickly?  We are the only service which can put purchased coins directly into your wallet (any wallet) in just hours.  Stop waiting days for funds to clear traditional exchanges, or risk having your purchases reversed due to vague claims of "high risk".  We make it simple and easy to purchase Bitcoins safely and quickly.

Buying Bitcoins (payment by Bank Wire only)
No fees.  No deposit fee, no exchange fee, and no withdraw fee.  We make it simple, we even cover any incoming wire fee.  The only fee you will pay is to your bank for sending a bank wire so check with your bank for details.  We know waiting for confirmations is never fun, so we cover a Bitcoin transaction fee of at least 100 bit per KB to ensure your purchased coins are confirmed promptly.

Selling Bitcoins (withdraw by Bank Wire, Standard or Overnight ACH, or PayPal)
Bitcoin transfer - no fee (although we recommend including a Bitcoin transaction fee of 100 bits per KB for fast processing)
Exchange fee - no fee
Withdraw fee - varies
    Standard ACH (Direct Deposit): no fee
   Overnight ACH (Direct Deposit): $12.99 flat fee per transaction
   Bank Wire: $25 flat fee per transaction
   PayPal: 1.9%

Isn't it about time someone made it simple to buy and sell bitcoins?


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