I'm not trolling at all.
I'm completely new to bitcoins, not adverse to a small gamble and also generally interested in the privacy aspect (and the fact that this it's not controlled by lizards) Also not keen on throwing money away however!
Before coming here I'd presumed that bitcoin exchanges were pretty secure legit companies able to operate on an open/honest basis.
I look into buying some coin though and find the company I am about to deposit money through (Intersango) have an intermediary company set up at a residential address that they want me to send funds to, and their bank has frozen their accounts. In fact they seem to need to change their banking arrangements every couple of months.
Then I read about another large exchange where people are unable to withdraw money from recently (TradeHill).
With a healthy degree of paranoia, I think then that it's maybe not a good idea to make a payment direct from my bank account, so I am not put on to some sort of watch list circulated at the next Bilderburg meet, so I look at alternatives, and see Paxum as a method. I create an account with them but their system seems a bit strange. Researching the company on google is not reassuring.
It all adds up to create a feeling that bitcoins are somehow not legit. Quite possibly not "bitcoins' fault", perhaps the bitcoin system is victim here.
What is the issue between banks and exchanges though? From a n00b perspective, this is something that seems to need resolving as a priority. OK I can understan why banks don't want BTC to take off but if it's a legit then how can they get away with messing around? The exchanges need to find a way to work with banks because if people cannot get money into and out of BTC from currently conventional forms then what's the future?
One company around here (I forgot which one, because I've never used the process, only heard about it) allows you to deposit cash at a Chase bank, and they will immediately update your account balance with USD to spend. That might be a good option to look in to since you're running into roadblocks elsewhere.
Maybe someone else can chime in with the name of that company/exchange/service.
Also, if you're suspicious or paranoid, that's fine. Just start with something small, like $10-$20, and run it through the whole process so you can see how it works, and then go from there.
