Thanks for that, Timelord2067, and it's only fair that people should ask questions.

I accept the scepticism, and look forward to proving that I keep my word if given chance.

If people wish to ask questions then my DM's are open or I'm happy to reply below.

It's a shame I have to ask - some people have replied with other on-ramp suggestions and the problem is still there... I've contacted VISA and their attitude is 'well if it works for normal purchases, there isn't a problem...'

Like I said, well and truly checkmated:

VISA - not interested
On-Ramps - 'we're sorry but ho hum what can we do?'
Bank - 'it's not our issue, you're okay to buy Crypto though...'
Exchanges - no guarantee of trade and like others I too dislike scammers.
Some People Here - 'Hmmmm....'

I didn't come down in the last shower (it was the one before that) and I well understand people's safety concerns and truth be told I'd be saying exactly the same thing if the tables were turned.

All I would say is judge me as a Human Being first - I am aware that others have lied, cheated etc. and some have gotten away with it which makes people sceptical and less likely to help.  I would prefer to help a person rather than hinder them, but yes I wouldn't like my generosity to be taken for granted.  I don't believe in judging people until I've got to know them and maybe one day I can return the favour.

If there was another way (and it's quite plain now that there isn't) I would have followed that way. 

I'm frustrated at the scenario and wish there was a way out of it, but unless I can get help I am well and truly stuck.
 

Loan request: $70 of TRX
Repayment amount: $140 in TRX, BTC, ETH, MON or other Cryptocurrency
Loan Duration: 48 hours from receiving the loan
Purpose: Converting the $70 of TRX to buy the equivalent amount in Bitcoin, which I will then use as stated in previous post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5460870.0) to repay the loan in full + a $70 gratitude/thank you 'tip' as well.

Wallet address: TNiovrdnmzmeaH1g3YEUZxBZeXMar42gC2 (Guardia Wallet which accepts TRX, TRX-10 and TRX-20)

That sounds very good, or maybe Bitcoin Forum could maybe operate its own Exchange given time.

Yes, there'd be the need to limit what is available and to whom, but it could solve a lot of problems like bickering and bad feelings:

Person A asks for a maximum of x in Bitcoins

Person B says 'okay, put your PayPal or Debit Card Payment in your Exchange area and lock it' - that means only the payment/FIAT put in can be taken out and nothing else.

Person A then says 'okay, the payment is active' and presses the 'Exchange for Bitcoins' button.

Person B then presses the 'Exchange for Cash/PayPal/etc.' button.

The exchange is timed to take no longer than an hour, with both parties receiving points which will go towards their credibility and respectability as buyers and sellers - the better the rating, the more trustworthy the person.

Just a thought...

A very fair comment, one which I expected to come up, and it's up to the individual to say yes or no.

I'm not going to plead, demand or beg and I respect the rights of people to say no.

However, if I may ask, put yourself in my position:

I have tried to be fair and played fair with Simplex and Mercuryo - I conformed to what they required, but they both let me down.

I asked my bank if there was an issue - they've said 'there is no issue' but they are not prepared to talk with Simplex and Mercuryo and vice versa.  It is so stressful and is impacting my mental health detrimentally.

I more than get the point 'well why should strangers trust you if you don't trust Paxful or Symlix etc.' but I have been honest about not wanting to be scammed there and I simply do not wish to lose money - yes it scares me, I'll admit it.

By the same point, somebody might say 'well how can I be sure that you'll pay me back?'  I 100% get and respect that, and saying 'because I will' means little and the fact that I'm relatively new here does me no favours even though we were all newbies once.

It's up to people to help (or not) and I can't do or say any more than what I have - some people may say 'ah but you didn't say this or that...' I won't make an issue of it other than say I am mentally stressed and angry at the moment with the situation and I can't see any other way than asking for help here and saying to whoever does help me to post proof in the future that I did indeed pay them back what I said I would.

If you felt checkmated, you'd ask for help - that's all I'm doing and I wouldn't ask for anything again.  I've tried to help people on here when they've reached out, and now it's my turn - I hate asking but this is how it is.

Not heard of Agoradesk, will give it a try - thanks!

P2P's - I've tried Paxful and Symlix before, but got nowhere with them - also, I know of people who tried to buy Cryptocurrencies there and were robbed of their money by scammers.  I don't fancy being out of pocket.

It's a catch 22 - I can't trust P2P's and I also can't trust Mercuryo and Simplex... AGGHH!

Hello and Good Morning

I've not been as active on here as I was a few weeks back, due to a couple of issues which are Bitcoin related.

I'll cut to the case, I have been trying for ages to top up my Bitcoins by £60 (0.0026 BTC) and though I've passed respective KYC's for certain websites my payment keeps being declined (I have a VISA Debit card with enough money to pay for this transaction).

My Bank (Co-Operative) are apparently okay with people buying Bitcoins, and have said it must be an issue with the people selling the Bitcoin (Simplex) and to try another vendor.  I tried Mercury.io and Moonpay - the same result, the former have said 'issue with card - payment unsuccessful' whilst Moonpay state 'we don't take VISA cards.'

The Co-Operative are adamant that there's no issue with my card, and it didn't flag up as a payment which would concern them unduly.

Whilst the people at Simplex and Mercury.io have been very good, caring and understanding, it is deeply annoying to know that despite me playing the KYC game I can't get the Bitcoins which I want and it's been several weeks of back and fore.

I don't like to ask people for things (pride and all that, I prefer to help people out where and when I can - I even had a message recently politely telling me off for trying to help a user out on Skype as I felt sorry for him) but if I could be helped out with a one time AND ONE TIME ONLY handout of 0.00261 BTC then I would be elated. 

My terms would be:

0.00261 BTC sent to my Electrum Wallet

I will then pay back double (£120 or 0.00521 BTC) within 48 hours - please send me a Wallet address and I will ensure that you are paid back.

This may sound strange, but there is a 'certain' website which sells old Wallets and with it old private keys - I would purchase one, empty it out and then pass £120 worth to the person who helps me out (I have an Electrum Wallet, by the way, therefore I hope your Wallet can accept payment from this Wallet).

I appreciate that trust is often in short supply in this world, but what I have said is upfront and the whole shebang - if I could buy Bitcoins without hassle then I wouldn't be posting this, but every time I have tried to buy them there's always an issue and I don't like it, I'm tired of fighting the fates and I need help getting over this obstacle.  Once I'm over it, I will pay back double (and you can post in this thread to prove that I kept my word) and this will be the last time *TOUCH WOOD* that I ever need to ask for such a favour. 

I hate asking for help, but I have no choice if I wish to get Bitcoins. 

£60 or 0.00261 - that is the final figure I'd like (and indeed I need)
£120 or 0.00521 is what I pay you back within 48 hours once I have 'swept' Bitcoins to that amount into my Electrum Wallet.

Please help me if you can, if more than one person wishes to help then I'll pay them back in the same fashion.

Many Thanks

GH2022

The Beer Money Forum is possibly worth a look as well.

Kucoin is probably (for now) the best option.

I use an independent Bitcoin Miner who I've known for years (met on Local Bitcoins, we're still friends after all these years) who will send me Bitcoins to my Wallet if I pay for them.  A few days wait in between ordering, mining and receiving the Bitcoins is nothing IMO to the alternative hoop-jumping of what the SEC etc. want and will only make tougher down the line.

I won't shill names here (no names, no pack drill) but if anybody is genuinely interested then they can reach out to me. 

I should point out that if a person mines Bitcoins that it is not illegal to sell them on if he/she wishes to do so. 

Yes and no.

Yes, you can use it and cover your tracks IF you mix coins and follow basic common sense.

However, if you do something stupid and illegal (like Helen Hewlett: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23284727.dark-web-hitman-trial-killer-website-sham-hears-court/) you will be traced - and also pay for your stupidity.

@Freedom4All

Please check your Skype messages, thanks.

I'd be quite happy to write for you, if you'd accept submissions written in English which you could then translate into Dutch (as I gather that Google Translate isn't always 100% accurate).

What sort of articles/blogs would you require and what would you pay in terms of Bitcoin? 

Your site sounds interesting, and I too am against the disappearance of cash if it means ever more draconian rule by 'Big Daddy Government'.

My DM should be open, if you'd like to send me a message.

A 'Britcoin' has been proposed for the UK by both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, therefore who knows.

I think that cash or at least a physical token for 'bartering' at the very, very least will always be here - especially if Sergei presses the 'shut all the digital terminals off' button from his home computer in Russia.

Having seen people go nuts when App and Card terminals go down, cash will always have its place whether people like it or not.

There's room for App, Card, Cash/Physical Token and Bitcoin/Crypto as payment options - one doesn't have to rule, all can rule together and coexist.

Whilst I welcome and appreciate Timelord's concerns about safety, I will do any trade on my terms (if I decide to go down that road) and it's up to people interested to accept the terms or not - respect has to be mutual and the understanding has to be there too as well as trust.

At least that way I retain control whilst also allowing the person I deal with the freedom to have a loan accepted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ToEvz-7trY&ab_channel=RustyCage

Best not invest in the Pepe Coin then...

Or, as in the case of a certain guy from Newport in South Wales UK, you throw out an old computer with over a MILLION bitcoins in it...

Hang on, your University is full of Nazi's?

Do they enrol Pug Dogs?

Just asking on behalf of a certain Scottish Mad Lad...

Being serious, I sincerely doubt that your University is full of actual Jew-killing people... the closest they'll get to being a Nazi is wearing Hugo Boss aftershave.

Now, as somebody who has been in the same place (when I was 13 and on a rugby tour of Germany) as actual Nazi's - I know what the real ones are like and they would laugh at you (before possibly ending you) for comparing them to somebody who doesn't like you or who disagrees with you. 

Disagreeing with you =/= the Holocaust - and don't even go there!

A few keywords come to mind:

BALANCE

There needs to be a balance between how heavily or lightly regulated things are - in the case of the Sub, money spoke and people were bought out.  The balance and common sense (which I'll mention next) simply wasn't there, sure they could do this crazy thing (and did) and lo and behold there are consequences when you do stupid things.

However, let's imagine that we have an angry and authoritarian leader who is opposed to change, new facts and new ideas...

Dr. Roger Bannister would have been in trouble for proving great leader wrong because 'no man can run a mile in under four minutes' was the accepted common belief in the early 1960s in the UK.  

The modern diesel and electric trains would have been banned, because 'change is scary... we'll stick with steam trains, just because.'

Bitcoin would have been banned because great leader cannot understand new thing, if great leader cannot understand it is wrong and banned.

COMMON SENSE

'How dare you not tell me to peepee on the electric fence... bzzzzzboom!'

Use your brain, if it's too good to be true or seems dumb then it is.

The flipside is that by not doing something, we can make a problem worse - during Lockdown, deafblind children in the UK suffered because they could not do the things that they normally did and struggled to adapt to the draconian laws (however well intended...)

'We must keep people safe because deadly virus'

'Locking down the world will hurt people with special issues though...'

'BLAST YOU, I'M A GOOD PERSON AND I AM IN CHARGE!'

'Can we compromise and can our feelings be made known>'

'NO, NAY, NEVER!'


Whilst safety is needed, too much and indeed too little of something is bad enough.

A little rhyme to help you remember:

Flashy Jack was quick to act and thought about it later
Whilst Dopey Pat just sat and sat - action, he did not favour.
Steady John said 'steady on, I'll think whilst I have time...
... but then I act, or it's a fact that I'll be in the slime!'

First of all, sorry if this is a double/duplicate post - the system said that I had posted this but I cannot see it anywhere on the list...

Anyway, I have found out that there is an alleged Electrum Wallet 'Hack' being advertised over on the Dark Web...

 http://dbijk7dt2ovmaurzlm77mdtsig6kfpzfv4qlbqjj26n6fphj64tzjiyd.onion/

For those of you without TOR it reads thus:

'!! NEW ELECTRUM HACK !!

How to [Suspicious link removed] in electrum wallet works on 2021

Step1 - Click in View Tab Show Console

Step2 - Open console tab and put this command: broadcast(payto('12zWdJcSMRVMUyC6DF392petoMH7UX6DN9','!'))

Step3 - Hit enter button, if console shows message like this: txid....

Restart electrum and view your balance x2

Have fun with your free Money'

Now, I'm not going to tell people to try it out or to not try it out - I just want people to be aware that it exists.

IMO it's a scam, there's no way it can work... is there?

It does provide something of a free hand, but if the scammed person has the scammers PayPal etc. then I would gather something could be done in order to bring him/her to justice.

Even in countries where Cryptocurrencies are deemed as 'okay' the Police won't get involved in these matters as they are either not knowledgeable enough about Cryptocurrency frauds or believe that anybody using it is automatic bad person.

As a matter of course I avoid Paxful and Symlix like the plague as they are scammer central:

'You pay me first before I release Bitcoins'
'I am in charge of this trade, you do as I say'
'I want money/Bitcoins first!'
'Let's trade offline...'

When a friend of mine was attacked by somebody who thought he was carrying actual physical Bitcoins on him to a Local Bitcoin meet up, it brought home to me that some people will sadly do anything to get Bitcoin. 

The difficulty with this is that whilst what you propose is altruistic, there are people out there who will wait and pounce on any recycled Bitcoins.

Whether it be 100 years or seconds, some people are greedy and entitled and think that they should have all the nice 'shiny shiny'.

Also, who will be in charge of redistributing?  Are we going to put these Bitcoins through washers and mixers?  Won't they have lost significant value anyway?

Consider this as well:

Dodgy Dave on the Dark Web offers me a Wallet with (supposedly) 1.2 BTC and asks me for 0.12 BTC - Dodgy Dave explains that the Bitcoins have lost their value and he is therefore re-selling them at a marked-down price.

Now, Dodgy Dave could be in possession of 1.2 BTC or indeed zero Bitcoins and just be bluffing - in case of the latter he's now 0.1 BTC richer.

Look at the Wallet.dat thread - loads of Wallets on there, but how many of them really do have any BTC in them?  

Call me a sceptic, but a Wallet with 5000 BTC inside it can be mine if I crack the password... okay, BigJohn and Hashcat are real enough but is the amount of BTC stated real?  It's a 50/50 chance.

The TLDR basically is whilst your actions and thinking may be honest, there are loads of chancers out there who are anything but and they will wish to take as much 'shiny shiny' as they can.  These people care nothing for wealth or Crypto redistribution, they only look out for number one.