 Today's episode of the Bitcoin Show is brought to you by usgoldcoins.com 1800 hot coin and Mezzy Grill me z e grill dot-com and trade hill dot-com and Mount cox comm MTG o x dot-com Hello everybody and welcome to the Bitcoin show today is Tuesday July 19th, and we're already up to episode 26 Can you believe it 26? I mean well when you do it every day? That's like not even a month or a little bit more than a month. I guess but anyway Every weekday. We're here 2 p.m. Eastern time every day Monday through Friday in English language And now of course we added Spanish language every Wednesday at 4 p.m. And now we're in the process of adding something like seven or maybe nine new languages for the Bitcoin show It's nuts. We've already we definitely have a launch date of Thursday the day after tomorrow 8 a.m. Eastern is the time slot for the French language Le bitcoin don't you love that? Our hosts for that will be in Paris live from Paris, and we're gonna have as our guests Mark Carpelle's and Adam from Mt. Gox. Mark is the owner of Mt. Gox, and of course he's French So his native language is French, so he'll be able to speak to you in French so exciting And we're adding lots of other languages Like I don't even know German Dutch Polish Chinese Japanese Portuguese it goes on and on and on it's crazy. What's happening over here at only one TV It's really exciting, and we're so glad that you join us every day or as much as you can I know you're you're I'm so busy I don't have time to watch these shows because sometimes you know I miss things and I want to see it again, and I don't even have time But I try to as often as I can and I hope you do too so Today we have with us A fantastic guest who has a fantastic service. His name is David Sterry From exchange bitcoins comm it's otherwise known as exchange be but we're gonna get into that. Hello David. Thanks for joining us Thanks for having me on okay, and tell me what were you saying about the wall the color behind you? Oh, yeah, well, of course, I had the wall painted so it would match the studio there You just want to make it seamless so people feel like I'm really there with you Yeah, exactly. This is just another chair, and this is his head And that's the wall room, but we have to complete the the illusion. Yes, exactly. It's just an artificial frame He's actually sitting right here talking to me as always If you were in New York next time you're in New York, you're gonna do that Oh, by the way, are you gonna come to New York August 18th to the 30th wait 18th to the 21st Sorry August 18 19 20 and 21 for the world's first Bitcoin conference is we calling it bitcon 2011 Some people protest that they don't like the name bitcon But anyway, whatever get over is short bitcon 2011 the bit the world's first Bitcoin conference and world expo NYC 2011 hosted right here in New York City by only one TVs. Are you gonna come for that? No plans at them at the moment, but it sounds like a great event You've got to come everybody's coming like all the key players I mean Gavin is gonna be here and all the all the guys from all the big sites are gonna be here and tons of New startups are gonna be here with table space. I mean we're gonna I think that we're probably We're right in the verge And I think we're gonna outgrow what we have here as far as space and we're gonna have to get a dedicated Convention Center for the least for Saturday if not Friday and Saturday's events Because there's so much going on and there's a lot of new startups who are gonna announce their products and services there And and actually Al Jazeera English has expressed interest and also CNN International has expressed interest in covering it and with you know live television, so it's gonna be a big deal So I hope you can come for that. Wow. Yeah, it sounds great. So tell us about exchange B. What's this story? Yeah, so exchange B the first US exchange and you know based in the US and form a corporation to to support it and You know we start the site with basically a idea for a simpler look easy to use site and Low rates or try to optimize the whole Bitcoin buying experience like a lot of folks Okay, now what's the story with the name because I know that we were talking about this and it's the logo and the ticker name is EXCHB which I was having trouble pronouncing but it's X to be and But that's just the logo and the ticker the actual domain name is exchange bit coins with an S exchange bit coins Com right right exchange bit coins.com is the the first domain that I purchased and I actually purchased exchange EXCHB Com also because I realized that the ticker symbol was something people saw a lot more I think then then a website name, you know every time a trade goes by people see that so So we have both the issue with exchange bit coins as a as a name in itself Is it's very hard to search for kind of generic we end up with a lot of different things popping up, okay? so exchange B is easier to search for and If people see the ticker symbol they can type in the dot-com and if they want to go to exchange bit coins dot-com You know, that's what I would actually mention for a for a URL, okay? So you said okay exchange bit coins with an S exchange bit coins com for sure works What was the other domain that you also have? Oh, this if you just take that and put a calm on it exchange B. Oh, just EXCHB you mean or exchange B. That's right. Okay, because that's why I was because EXCHB.com is what you're talking about Okay, because that's not the whole word because I'll type in exchange B.com. I'm that's probably gonna take me somewhere else Who knows what but all right? All right? That's a good point. Yes, okay? So EXCHB.com or exchange bit coins with an s.com either one will take me there That's okay. Good to know and you got that. Is that the new logo? That's the new logo That's the new logo. We just launched last night launched a new look for the site. It's a simplified easier to use and you know Definitely from the beginning. I always wanted to create as much a financial oriented site as possible And so I think we've achieved that look. I mean, it's almost cleaner than a lot of banks that you'll see maybe maybe to Well, we have a very clean look. No, there's no boxes drawn around anything It's just just the information you want and the interface to get the job done. Okay now in your US based, right? That's right. Yeah, so we're in California Mops is in Redwood City and So that's where people can send checks if they want to send a check or you know, of course the other payment methods are available Okay, so all right, so there we go. Wow. Yeah, you did change it today You can show my screen it if you want and bring that up I mean, yeah, make it a little bit bigger so they can see so that's that's it EXCHB we'll leave it up to you to pronounce but Exchange B is what we call it, but it's exchb.com or exchange bitcoins.com and That's the new cleaner look of the new logo. And so you're based in the US and you're based in California you said you just said that right and The how long has it have you been up? Well, it sounds like I was you know, listen to your same. We're so 26 and you've been around for about a month We started about the same time Wow about June 14th. I think was the first day we opened for trading Mm-hmm, and of course over time We've got more users and more deposits and more volume and it seems to be growing, you know It's a volatile thing volume from day to day But we're growing overall and we just we're very happy to have just reached on Bitcoin charts top 10 and Definitely think you know moving up a few more spots is on the radar and we're gonna take it take it, you know As far as we can top 10 that's amazing because this is global I was reading somebody told me that the number three. Do you know what the number? Well, you probably know because you've been looking at it, but who's the number three exchange site? We'll ask the chat room see if you guys know the number three exchange site in the world Everybody knows number one and number two, but who's number three? Do you know? You know David who the number three it's I'm gonna bring it up Cheating Google cheat. Yeah. Is what is it? That's right. It's the Polish site exactly we want to get them on the show if you're watching call me Save me the trouble, but yeah, we want to get the Polish site on here because yeah That's fascinating isn't it a site in Poland that only does the Polish currency is the number three in volume Which is really interesting so that says a lot Obviously, we're gonna have to do the show in Polish too So but you're US based which is very comforting for some people who in the US who who really You know care about that because we can hunt you down if you take and so All right, so tell us about the the unique factors with exchange be The what are the distinguishing features obviously you said you're in the same time zone Well as the Pacific anyway, at least you're close enough so we can get we can reach you Right, right. We've got and we have a phone number also Which is kind of unique amongst any kind of web website and with the exchanges. So right now the list of voicemail, but I have you know, call people back as I get messages and it's actually been kind of neat talking with my customers In clients and and you know just talking about Bitcoin sometimes. I mean what a fascinating Technology and and industry to work in that You're so right I mean that is a feature and you know I love that you put that first because that is that is a feature that businesses really don't value enough and that is Not only a phone number but a phone number that reaches a human being and only a human being but somebody who actually knows what's going on like The founder so you know the fact that your number is can I say it out loud? Oh, yeah, 855 number sure eight five five EXCHBTC so it spells spelled out its area code eight five five EXCHBTC so They call that number. They're gonna either get you or your voicemail and you're gonna call them back, right? You got it Yeah, yeah, if they have any questions about the site or deposits or I Guess if they just want to chat about Bitcoin sometimes sure yeah, that's a you know, that's so yeah I know and then that's what happens. They'll call you and then you chitchat about Bitcoin all day I know and you don't get anything done. I do the same thing. That's why I decided to make a talk show exactly Because I was doing taking phone calls and talking about Bitcoin all day anyway, but yeah, so that's really really important I mean like I said, that's a an undervalued benefit because you know I in forums and things like that and my forum signatures I put my actual phone number and that's why I have to put my phone in airplane mode because people will call me during The show but literally if you call my number, you're gonna get me you're gonna get me not somebody else And so I think it's really important to be you know transparent if you possibly can I mean nothing against anonymity or privacy and all That's all good, too but if you Don't have a need to be private or secret or whatever you're doing and you want to have a face out there In a business and especially in a business like yours in an exchange site or any kind of a web based You know cloud-based money system. You're basically acting almost like a Well, I won't say a bank, but you're definitely a dealer of virtual goods and you're dealing with money And so it's it's really good that you know people the community has to trust you If they know they can call a phone number and you answer the phone and you appear on camera that just says so much You know whether it means anything in reality or not maybe is debatable But the fact is that people trust people that they can see and hear and speak to and they can pick up the phone and call Them a lot more I think that the risk of putting your phone number out there is like overstated. Oh, totally Thank you. I mean because you can actually put you go ahead and put your phone number on a billboard Yeah, you know, you're not gonna get a hundred calls No, and I mean I do actually I put my phone number everywhere I put my phone number like I said, you know, I put my phone number on Twitter and forums and people are like Oh my gosh, you shouldn't do that like it's the password to my banking or something You know my phone number. I mean remember when the your phone was listed in the phone book I mean first of all I have Google voice So if you spam me I'm gonna report you and you're gonna be banned from all Google voice numbers So it's gonna hurt you more than me and also I can I can report you a spam And I can also block your number so it never rings my phone again So, you know, you're only gonna be able to do that once and so it's really not a problem I mean, it's actually I get less spam voice mails You might call it or hoax phone calls then I do spam on email Yeah, and I published both more protective of email now. Yeah, and their phone number I know it's so weird like I'll send a Little reply all list, you know to several friends about Bitcoin and somebody will just go off and just be Living that I put I exposed it in the to list and I'm like well It's only a group of people interested in Bitcoin. Oh no, no, no, no, no my like they think their email address is more secure than their social Security number. It's like, okay. Okay. I guess you don't know about filtering email But anyway, so we digress so but the phone number is really important that we can reach you We know how to to track you down when we have a question. Okay, what are the rates? Tell us about the rates Yes, so the rates I mean, you know if you go off of like say Mount Gox their standard rate is the point six five percent and Trade Hill is now what point six percent? Standard rate and then if you get a referral code, you'll be down to point five four percent So actually we just we just start right there point point five four make it easy for people. You don't need to have a referral code But then we are starting something about that and Actually, yeah, we have a referral code just just for your show, which is half off One word lower case so if you type type it in or uppercase whatever you want It's not case-sensitive But you go to the site and type in half off for the referral code on sign up You'll get 50% off for 30 days on the trade fees. Yeah So that's our that's kind of a rate structure and then you know volume discounts available. Obviously some people trade a lot want to provide liquidity and and So we we kind of deal with the individual individual basis there. Okay, so now what to be to be fair, you know Mt. Gox has a temporary Lowering of their feet to zero point three percent until August ninth And that's kind of I guess it's to make amends for the inconvenience that people have had with the hack and so on But they will revert back They said this morning to the zero point six five percent and then trade hill with with a referral fee is zero point five four Is that what you said? Yeah, well, if you take ten percent off Point six You'll get point five four, I believe so you're basically starting there You're giving them the same the same rate as if you had a referral fee on trade hill Okay, yeah, just say the people time and just look at the same discount same discount. Okay, cool So all right, so rates are one thing and then what about the volume? How how is well you said you're number ten? Are you are in the top ten? I'm number ten the volume is going. I mean we're probably averaging between Like two and four hundred Bitcoins a day and last last few days, but it just seems to be increasing and you know as more people get hear about the site And really hear about Bitcoin. Mm-hmm. We expect that volume to increase. Okay now with the You know I mentioned here an affiliate program now I don't understand because if you're already giving them the the rate the same rate as like You know the others with a referral discount What's the affiliate program gonna be about well the affiliate program is I mean obviously Having people try the site is It's probably one of the trickiest things and of course like trade hill did a great thing with getting all these Codes and the codes out there. I mean it really kind of got their name out in in Interesting way so for us. This is a way to maybe Do that in a little more measured way, you know where we'll have affiliates On a case-by-case basis, you know Somebody has a website or if they if they kind of really like the site and they want to promote it then We'll work with them to make an affiliate code that they can get out Okay, so they'll have a so if somebody has a popular website or whatever they want to have an affiliate program Then they can get some sort of reward back back towards them And then does the end user get a discount if they use that affiliate link or not? Yeah, right? Yeah, so I mean it's negotiable, but you know a standard deal would be half off 30 days and And then a percentage back to the affiliate Yeah, anyone wants to contact me about that fine. Okay, sounds great. All right now I have to admit I haven't I haven't used exchange be yet, but I'm looking at the page now you can show on the screen if you want so it says here fund your account with Bitcoin US dollars Bitcoin and US dollars and or Duala pop money ING direct person-to-person mail as a check or buy wire transfer So is that pretty much the five ways to do it? Those are those the ways to do it Yeah, I mean there was a thing yesterday. It was about well But you know Bitcoin exchanges are popping up like daisies and they they noticed that us that we offered by check You know and some people have sent in checks I'm actually if you're starting fresh, you know, you've never bought any Bitcoin You don't have a Duala account sending a check might be the fastest way to To be able to buy Bitcoin or you know pop money to if people realize they have a pop money in their in their bank But a check is kind of like easy for people to to understand So so we're happy to be able to offer that I said this a while back and it's it's really Refreshing to hear you say that because you know We talked about the Bitcoin me site and what advice to give people how to you know, how do you buy Bitcoin has always been the question and I said check because you know like I always say Fred and Marge and Toledo, Ohio. They're Familiar, you know the non-technical people. They're familiar with a check and one of the I mean it's it's you know Old-tech low-tech, but the thing is one of the things that we Again, it's undervalued underrated about checks is that at least an old-fashioned regular paper check once it clears it clears It's not reversible after it cleared normally So under normal circumstances and that is exactly what's needed when you're buying something like cash Yeah, certainly It's a good it's a good way to do it and you know some of my first coins. I bought were Amount gox by sending a check to the check to my rocks, okay Yeah, and so and you know that took a little while, but it was but it was it was it was efficient. It worked right while the wall It was getting Getting hooked up for me that that also was going at the same time. So I felt like At least I had an opportunity to to get in before you know just watching everything go by right And that's one of the most important things about an exchange site besides the the volume and the fees and all that and Trust is the number one thing but aside from that is how to get your money in and out conveniently so check is Obviously a great idea that you can just mail a check and you feel comfortable knowing that you know That's that's an old-fashioned way to do it wire transfer even I think wire transfers can even be reversed under certain circumstances One of the things about checks though I mean once it clears normally it if it's an old-fashioned paper check it clears However, if you use an e-check they they call them e-checks or a ch and things like that There actually is a charge back situation. So merchant accepting an a ch From what I've read can have up to a 60-day charge back Liability so that's a big problem when people think of a check as a check But an so-called e-check an a ch can can actually reverse and up to 60 days Just like a PayPal or Mastercard visa. So there's a lot of risk with taking that unless you know the you know You again, you know and trust the person and all that ING direct person-to-person is An IG ING Bank feature if you have an IG in I mean an ING online bank account, right? Right, right. Absolutely All these banks have their own systems like Chase has one, but I guess that one's really not compatible with Bitcoin So so yeah, it's just it's kind of interesting How many payment systems have to like kind of come together and the ones that will work with Bitcoin are the irreversible ones, right? When you say Chase is not compatible You mean chase doesn't approve of Bitcoin or it's reversible or the way I understand it was reversible Oh, that's a big problem. Or you know that it was Disputable. Yeah, something about that well, and then I mean a CH, you know I guess to walla would have the same issue because they have to but but maybe it's about that relationship you have with your bank and that you're I Mean that seems to be a big deal with with the whole Bitcoin world right now is you know how to cooperate with banks Yeah, exactly and Duala now Yes, I don't I've wondered that too because I know Duala uses an ACH kind of us arrangement with your bank and to attach it but I don't know it's some kind of a like like PayPal they identify you as the owner and and Somehow they attach themselves into your bank account to make withdrawals and deposits But I don't know if that's like the same as a traditional ACH because if it is it seems like Duala would have a chargeback liability But I don't know how they get around that that would be I would love to have the people from Duala on Sometime but so far. No luck One thing I did read on the Duala blog is I don't know if you saw this But actually they called me when I first signed up for Duala They actually called me the next day to welcome me which was like whoa speaking of telephone call You know being accessible that was like really cool PayPal never called me to thank me for joining PayPal They actually ended up closing my account seizing all of my money With no explanation twice thousands of dollars just stolen from me by PayPal twice Yeah, cuz like several years later I tried it again and I opened another account and and I was using it again And they somehow figured out it was the same person and they closed my account took all the money. No, I have no real reason Why I have no idea why but they just took all my money But then if you Google PayPal, you'll see that nine out of ten websites are you know Having the same types of stories and experiences with PayPal So obviously we the only thing we recommend doing with PayPal is closing your account as soon as possible And close your bank account if it's attached to it and just run you know with your money Duala now interestingly though when they called Me the next day. They actually had Told they told me about this thing called Fi sink and what is that Fi is apparently for financial institutions But this new technology called Fi sink. They said trust me when you when when this comes out It's going to be so slick and I was reading the blog. It's out There's one financial institution in the world that hasn't implemented already and I think it's in Des Moines, Iowa I think pretty sure it's a credit union in Des Moines and I called the credit union that you have to be a Resident of that county in Des Moines to open an account there unfortunately, but it's a it is you know Prediction of things to come so if you have an account at this particular financial institution in Des Moines They have Fi sink with Duala and what that means for you is that Duala works exactly the same way it does now Except you don't have to wait up to a calendar week for the transaction to happen They call it two to three business days, which is really like six calendar days in my experience. It's instantaneous It's faster than a bank wire transfer and it's 25 cents now That's brilliant if that Fi sink expands and it goes out to the all the big banks if they sign up for this Thing or even if they don't if they sign up with enough banks, you know, I'll switch banks to the one that has Fi sink I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I would because for 25 cents I'm basically able to send a wire transfer Instantly faster than a wire transfer with no hassle just by going to do all of that come now That's brilliant if if Duala can pull that off and they get enough banks to sign up That's going to be a real game changer for everything really really slick The thing about Duala unfortunately is it's just in the US. So that's what I keep hearing from people Yeah, you know Duala is great if you're in the US, but if you're not in the US, you know We need other ways so like Liberty Reserve or Or doing separate transfers Something on the radar. Yes. We are we try not to be so US centric to forget the rest of the planet We're just one little village and you're right. I have to remember that Okay, now what's pop money? I've never even heard of pop money. What's that? So pot money works pretty simply if you have a bank account that If your bank is a member of the pot money system, then you basically are sending the money to a to an email address and So once the somebody gets this message in their email They go to pot money and they sign in with their email address they confirm that they own the email address and then they point them to a bank a routing number and an account number and Then the money will be transferred basically through a CH that way and it takes, you know, two to three days for it to get through But if you do have to wait the two to three days also on that and your bank has to be a member of the pot money system So in my experience, maybe One out of three banks We're a member of it, but that's a that's a growing system. I think it's you know There's just so much stuff going on in payment processing. Okay. Yeah, so it's So so let me like recap then it sounds very much like Dwella, but the difference is that Your bank has to be a member of it and then is it instantaneous? It is. Yeah, the messages come through just like email. I thought it was within five or ten minutes and the But yeah, it is limited to what? What banks can send pot money so you can go to potmoney.com and check it out And we have a link on our front page to go to potmoney and to go to each of the payment You know also ink, but yeah potmoney is it's time to look at maybe it's another option That's more comfortable for some people. Very cool. Very cool. Yeah and interesting. Yeah, I hadn't heard of it But that's that's a really cool option and again, that's us only right it sounds like Yeah, so for if you're outside of the US then we're how about ing direct is that us only or is that globally? That one it's harder to say I'd have to I'd have to get back to you on that I believe it's I would start with us only But it's another system like potmoney. So you where you can send send transfers for free There's no not even like a 25 cent charge and I believe it's just the ACH system rebranded. Mm-hmm. Okay Okay, oh, it's just like the ACH system rebranded interesting. Okay, cool So for people outside of the US the best bet is still it sounds like wiring either I guess mailing a check which will take forever in Europe International wire can be done or we're sending a check. I mean, I don't know how long a check takes to cross Pacific or the Atlantic but it could be it could be within a reasonable amount of time. Mm-hmm. Okay I've got a few more questions for you, and then I want to talk about also some recent major media coverage and just Talk about that briefly too, but first I think this is a good time to take a quick break and again Thank our sponsors who bring us to you Again, if it weren't for these guys, we wouldn't be here And we wouldn't be able to to bring you all the great interviews and the great information that we do so please contact them call them up email them and Thank them for sponsoring only one TV all of our programs and especially the Bitcoin show, of course, so First it's us gold coins us gold coins calm if you're in the u.s The easiest way to reach them is 1-800 hot coin. That's Andy Gauss as I've mentioned before he's Our money guru of all types of money Money world banking. He's a monetary historian economist He's an expert in all of those fields and his business is actually selling rare us gold and silver coins as an investment They're rare is they refer to it as numismatic gold and silver coins They hold their value two ways one because of the value of the gold and silver But also because of the fact that the that the that the coins themselves are rare and Collectible so he'll help you make the right investment and diversify your investment So you don't hold everything in In Bitcoin and definitely not in the US dollar or the euro or anything like that But anyway, he's speaking of phone numbers and being totally accessible You can call him up and ask him any question you want, you know some ladies are actually a friend of mine as who it was Said that you know, he was facing foreclosure and he wanted to know what to do And I had heard Andy talking about something on one of his shows and I asked Andy and he said yeah Just time to call me up. You know, he's absolutely like that Just call me up and ask me any question you want totally accessible just like like you and I are David But call it 1-800 hot coin in the US and just ask for Andy He's brilliant and he's a sponsor and he's bringing his show He has a very very popular national radio show called the real world of money with Andy Gauss and Patrick Tamponi And they're bringing it here to only one TV to our network every Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern So that's we're really excited about that but phenomenal guy and I Absolutely endorse him a thousand percent totally trustworthy as well But that's Andy Gauss US gold coins calm 1 800 hot coin when you speak to him Be sure and thank him for bringing you the Bitcoin show and of course messy grill Everybody knows messy grill our favorite food around here, you know, we everybody's like I know Why don't we have messy grill cater this and that they love the food? It's our favorite place They have you know organic as possible locally grown, you know, really really fresh and healthy food It's Mediterranean food and awesome flavor the reason we discovered them is because it's one of our favorite restaurants that it and I go to all The time and that's of course they hang out we met the owner and hanging out with me You're going to learn about Bitcoin. So Needless to say they're the world's first restaurant to accept Bitcoin and they they're really happy about that So ask for Marwan there when you go into messy grill if you're ever in New York or even passing through It's only like two or three blocks south of Columbus Circle, but it's M E Z Grill.com you can check out their menu and you'll see what I mean Delicious delicious food. So we thank them and trade hill calm Of course trade hill is the exchange site for buying a Bitcoin online one of several the more the merrier We all agree. I think and the in the Bitcoin community trade hill calm Are the new guys and they're They have lots of ways to get your money in and out and of course you'll get 10% off your trade fees for life Have you used the Bitcoin referral code? th-r141 we thank trade hill for sticking in there and supporting the Bitcoin show bringing us to you be sure and contact them and thank them and Mount Gox everybody knows the the largest exchange site on the internet again to buy and sell bitcoins online From the comfort of your own home your own internet MT gox.com. Everybody knows Mount Gox. They've been around forever. They've got the vast majority of the market share They have been hacked recently, but they're back. They're resilient with with new resolve for increased security and We just did a show this morning about that. So make sure you check that episode out about their increased What do you call it two-factor two-factor authentication and so on so mount gox.com be sure and thank them You know just send them a quick email and say thank you for support all of these guys Send them a quick email and say thank you for sponsoring the Bitcoin show and bringing it to us Because really we wouldn't be here We wouldn't be here without their support and I think that all the everybody agrees that The more the merrier when it comes to exchange sites that the more exchange sites the better For the community for the Bitcoin community because nobody wants a single point of failure Nobody wants the whole entire burden on one. So I think we're really happy Everybody in the Bitcoin world is happy that To see more and more exchange sites springing up. Would you agree with that David? Absolutely. Yeah, I mean when I was first starting I remember reading posts that we're saying oh You know mount gox was having a D dots attack at them at that time they're going well How can we be so reliant on one since then? I mean things have changed so much So it's it's a very good thing. I think it helps us just build that foundation for Bitcoin To jump off from right exactly. They're just it's it's it's amazing what's happened since then They're springing up like weeds everywhere all kinds of different exchange sites but it's really really good because obviously, you know healthy competition is healthy in general and You know, everybody learns from each other's experiences good and bad and so forth and Competing on features and all that stuff. It's just very very good thing for the for the community It's kind of like open source software competing with each other It's a healthy vibrant positive good feeling kind of competition that yes We're competing but we're really all in it for one thing and that is Bitcoin We really want Bitcoin and everybody wants that to thrive because I mean, let's face it if Bitcoin Does well we all do well everybody and you know every exchange site every merchant every everybody who has You know the smallest fraction of a Bitcoin is gonna be very happy if Bitcoin succeeds That's why we're involved in Bitcoin. So that's the number one goal altogether. So, you know, healthy competition is just good fun Yeah, it's so great to see like also the messy girl story is so great because it shows people that yes You can you can use Bitcoin your daily life and like right now They just really lack the experience of using Bitcoin just like they've been used they used cash a thousand times That's what really why they're comfortable with it, right? And so when when Bitcoin reaches that same point when people start using those QR codes and Start paying for stuff that way and it'll it'll be like what's this cash thing? Why would we use that? Exactly, exactly and on this morning show Mark and Adam from Algonquin were demonstrating this This QR code payment voucher system and this new point of sale system they're developing But lots and lots of people are creating all kinds of new point of sale solutions It's really exciting and you know, I mean, you know, they may be battling it out to see which one You know really takes hold but it doesn't matter But by the way, that's why the Bitcoin conference and expo is gonna be so cool because all these guys There are people flying in from China and Central South America and Australia from all over the world And they're gonna have all their products and services here. Hopefully all functioning and on display All sorts of things like that so they'll be able to demonstrate, you know So hopefully apps and software and cash registers and all sorts of things that are designed to Accept Bitcoin. It's gonna be so much fun. You got to make sure you register. We're it's Bitcoin conference calm By the way, so make sure you check that out Bitcoin conference calm All the details will be up actually like within the next 24 hours We're we're firming up the entire calendar schedule speakers hotels and all that stuff And you'll actually be able to register online for the conference and for a vendor table if you want to buy a vendor table And of course only with Bitcoin if you don't have Bitcoin then, you know, call me up I know a guy that sells Bitcoin out in California, but no, we know a couple people who sell Bitcoin So if you don't have any bitcoins call me up But we only accept bitcoins for the conference and was like, you know, we can use this thing and accepts PayPal I'm like no absolutely not we are not accepting PayPal for the Bitcoin conference. That would be like sacrilegious So anyway, I wanted to take a few minutes while we hit where we have a little bit of time and look at some of the the mass media coverage of Bitcoin that's just happened recently and And it actually is kind of like along the lines of what you were talking about about using Bitcoin in your daily life And over any personal information even without having to adhere to the rules of a bank or how about this even a government? Well, there is a way you can do just that it's called Bitcoin and online currency that's taking the world by storm Let's see if we can explain this here before we see a full report. This is looking at the rapid growth of the company It's got more than 100 million dollars Within its coffers Bitcoin is the only just coming to the attention of the wider public But it's had massive growth since it was launched. Look at that reserves of since 2009 estimates put that value Already as I know that 100 million dollars There are no central banks and no governments involved here anyone who wants to trade in bitcoins Has to mine them using highly complicated computer software that carries out Intense calculations, but the currency is very vulnerable as you can see here Two hacking attacks in june alone. This is the vulnerability and it's not regulated by a central bank So it's raising a lot of questions But despite all that and the problems bitcoin seems to be taking off But can this virtual currency really become real world tender? Felicia Taylor has that story Okay, that's the introduction the video you just saw there That's the introduction from cnn from cnn here in the united states So you get a really good idea of the kind of reporting and coverage that we Americans are exposed to so you'll have a good idea of the you know, how we get our information At least on the mainstream media. So what that was by and by the way, sorry for the quality of the video was actually I think it was marwan's iphone video recording his tv But anyway, he grabbed this and this is cnn america I'm pretty sure that's the regular cnn and then But this is kind of like the prequel to the actual cnn international piece that happened after that But as you can see, I just I just had to show that it's only like a minute long But um, if you if you listen carefully, he starts out. I think it's just hysterical He starts out and he says, okay, let's see if this is quotes What he's saying in that video, right? He says, let's see if we can explain this to you before we do a full report Okay, these are little outtakes. He goes, um, just look at the rapid growth of the company He's talking about the bitcoin company, you know, it's got more than a hundred million dollars in its coffers reserves of Since 2009 estimates put that value already as I noted at 100 million dollars And he goes later. He goes, uh, anyone who wants to trade in bitcoin has to mine them Using highly complicated computer software that carries out intense calculations So anyone did you know that anyone who wants to trade in bitcoins has to mine them? I don't know what I've been doing, right? I know like I have never mined one. All right So then he goes well in the early days, I did but anyway, um, then the next quote He says on the on the final screen. He goes, but the currency is very Vulnerable as you can see here and he points to this big graph that says vulnerable and he says Two hacking attacks in june alone. This is the vulnerability He says and it's not regulated by a central bank. So it's raising a lot of questions But despite all that blah blah blah, he goes into the next story So show that show that sequence again and listen listen really carefully to the information we have had listen to this Welcome back imagine being able to pay for something without having to use cash or cards without having to Hand over any personal information even without having to adhere to the rules of a bank or how about this even a government? Well, there is a way you can do just that it's called bitcoin and online currency that's taking the world by storm Let's see if we can explain this here before we see a full report. This is looking at the rapid growth of the company It's got more than 100 million dollars Within its coffers bitcoin is the only just coming to the attention of the wider public But it's had massive growth since it was launched. Look at that reserves of since 2009 estimates put that value Already as I know that 100 million dollars There are no central banks and no governments involved here anyone who wants to trade in bitcoins Has to mine them using highly complicated computer software that carries out Intense calculations, but the currency is very vulnerable as you can see here Two hacking attacks In june alone. This is the vulnerability and it's not regulated by a central bank So it's raising a lot of questions, but despite all that and the problems bitcoin seems to be taking off But can this virtual currency really become real world tender? Oh my god, we had to play that video over and over again and we were laughing so hard I just couldn't believe it. Look at the rapid growth of this bitcoin company We got to buy some stock in this bitcoin company Look at it's got 100 million dollars in its coffers and the only way to use them is to mine them with But it's very vulnerable. He says there's two hacking attacks alone in june. Anyway, it's just crazy. It's crazy So, uh, you know as uh, as I say lazy journalism, but on the other hand that was cnn us I'm pretty sure but um felicia taylor of cnn international did a great job And I really think they did a fantastic job and it's not just because I'm in the thing But um, she really did she did a really good objective You know overview of bitcoin and where it's coming from which is kind of rare I mean you see so many of these that they're obviously biased. They seem like they're they're told You know do a story about bitcoin and make bitcoin look bad, you know, and then they're like, okay What's a bitcoin and then they start there? They even use they even use that video and uh, kind of You know mimic some of the stuff that was said on the video. So that video is so great. Yeah Yeah whole segment. I thought was nice and it's nice not to have to To like diffuse some misinformation. Exactly. So let's let's roll that one This is cnn international what the rest of the world gets to see that we don't always get to see in the u.s So let's roll that one It's the middle of the lunch rush at mezza grill in midtown, Manhattan Cold hard cash is being exchanged But so is a virtual kind of currency called bitcoin The payment takes place entirely over the internet via anonymous encrypted code This one being made with a mobile device There are more than six and a half million bitcoins in circulation right now Users can purchase everything from clothing to professional services to tech gadgets Mezza grill is one of the few brick-and-mortar businesses accepting bitcoins Owner marwan salem says he began taking them in april and gets a handful of customers paying with them each day We've had a lot of customers who have come through Just for that reason because they've said, you know, they've heard through the grapevine or through the internet that we take bitcoins Salem started accepting bitcoins after learning about them from customer bruce wagner an it expert I use it as much as I can a lot of people are just getting into it to invest But I use it obviously have lunch with it here We try and support all the merchants who accept bitcoin Bitcoin is peer to peer money passes directly from user to user without any bank or government involvement Wired magazines jason tan says that absence of regulation is one of the reasons why bitcoin is so attractive to some Some of the the libertarian arguments that are coming out these days are about, you know Worried about the fact that the fed has so much control over monetary policy And at any moment the fed can decide to print a ton of money and all of a sudden then you've got inflation other people just it's It's less of an economic argument. It's more of an ideological argument that you know The federal government should not have that kind of control over my assets and for others It's an investment opportunity or simply something cool. They want to try out Here's how it works Users download bitcoin software which acts as a wallet They then fill the virtual wallet with virtual bitcoins Acquiring them through a process called mining a series of complex mathematical calculations Or they get them from a bitcoin currency exchange, which is the more popular method The way bitcoins get their value is similar to the way stocks get their value Bitcoin buyers drive the value up sellers drive it down recent history is rife with examples of people who have tried to Build alternative currencies. Frankly, they never end well Bitcoin is different in that it really is a separate parallel currency that was created out of nothing I mean, you know, it it arose to something like 180 million dollars worth of value that they created out of out of thin air Critics have said because transactions are for the most part anonymous Bitcoin makes it easy to sell illegal drugs or launder money over the internet And some people say it amounts to a Ponzi scheme But others say bitcoin is legit It could pave the way for future digital currencies One click at a time Felicia Taylor cnn new york Wow, so yeah, Felicia Taylor did a great job. I think at cnn there and um, you know One of the things I wish they didn't uh, they kind of downplayed a little bit is the mining. I mean staphon Um, did a fantastic job with the we use coins video. I mean, you know, he did a great job Um, I think it's a little bit unfortunate that it it emphasizes mining so much I mean, it's a it's a fascinating little twist on the bitcoin story But mining for the most part is not really relevant to the average user anymore But um, and it confuses people a bit, but aside from that, I think, you know Um, you know, the video is fantastic and Felicia Taylor cnn international did a really good job Did you notice by the way, um wired magazine every one of these Seems like every one of these major ones they they always get somebody from wired magazine And um, I've been trying to get uh, this one guy to come on the show But on cnn international, which is the one we just saw Jason tan from wired magazine gets it right I mean, I think he he does a very good job of explaining What it is and why it is and why people are behind it and all that However, uh, if you saw that Al Jazeera english one There's a guy named john abel from wired.com I don't know if that's wired magazine or just the blogger or whatever But um, there's a guy named john abel from wired.com and he totally gets it wrong Did you hear that one David No, I didn't hear that. I mean, I've definitely seen a varying amount of coverage for bitcoin. Yeah If you go to youtube and just do Al Jazeera english bitcoin, I think you'll find it, but uh, john abel said Pardon me. This is a quote from him. Okay, this is all he said. This is the his entire little interview They've got john abel wired wired.com. He says I can't think of a really good legitimate reason that anybody would be using bitcoins to buy milk and eggs and things like that It's a crazy wacky currency That's it. That's all he said. That's why I'm like dying to get him on as a guest so far The answer is no but anyway to answer john abel's concerns about buying milk and eggs with bitcoin I wanted to bring up, um, you know a couple points. There's bit munchies.com Check it out. You got that on the other bit munchies.com. Have you seen that david? Um, yeah, yeah, that was that's pretty. Yeah, I mean you can buy all kinds of groceries and snacky poos Everything a geek would want, you know, you can just do the the twinkies and coke diet Absolutely anything you could possibly want to munch on. I wish they delivered in 10 minutes if they were in Manhattan They would but anyway bit munchies.com you can buy all sorts of groceries not just munchies. I mean, they've got everything Um, all right bit munchies.com and then of course, um, we had recently as a guest bitcoin world market.com Which is a recent new launch new startup, but bitcoin world market.com sells absolutely everything all sorts of you know Remote controlled helicopters and you name it from a to z but one of the things they sell is groceries They've got tons and tons of you know of a prepackaged groceries and foods So another place another a bitcoin grocery store and then of course last but not least you've got bitcoin The number two cc.com bitcoin to cc.com which a lot of people really love Because you can actually just take your bitcoins and buy a virtual visa or mastercard and then shop anywhere Anywhere that visa or mastercard is accepted So you can probably use your your ppod or basically any restaurant or any store that sells food or groceries You can use a visa that accepts visa or mastercard. You can use your your bitcoin indirectly that way and you know Now what are we going to say go ahead? Oh, just messy messy grill uses some system to do there How do they how do they do their? You know, I set them up because you know, I'm all about making it quick and dirty and easy and So literally what we did is I said go to my bitcoin.com and click sign up So they have a my bitcoin.com address and that's what he's using for the moment But um, you know, I'm they're going to migrate to something, you know a little bit more robust and You know more more under his own control as opposed to A web-based, you know an entirely web-based service, but right now it's simply my bitcoin.com You got an address you make a qr code and you're done. I mean, it's just like unbelievably simple Now they're now speaking of messy grill. There are three restaurants now in New York City that I know of there May be more by the time this goes out, but um who accept bitcoin messy grill messy grill.com our sponsor, of course is the first one now the second one in New York City Which is also the first one in brooklyn is o crepes.com the letter o dash crepes.com They're not a sponsor yet, but they will be and they have it looks like fantastic crepes They were on a previous episode as well and now I just uh yesterday or was it of yesterday yesterday I convinced one of our favorite restaurants In town that's like right in our little neighborhood called a hudson eatery a lot of celebrities actually eat there Like us we eat there. So anyway, but it's called a hudson eatery h-u-d-s-o-n E a t e r y I think if you have to do the w-w-w dot hudson eatery dot com to check it out But it's right here in hell's kitchen as well and they've said I mean they've known about bitcoin You know like all the restaurants that we go to all the time You know we become friends with the owners and they've known about bitcoin for quite a while But only thought of it as an investment, but i'm like no no you should accept it in the restaurant They're like okay, and so I set them up and now they accept bitcoin So now you know the bitcoin conference Of course, we're going to have to have our lunches at messy grill and our dinners and cocktails at hudson eatery And then you know our breakfast crepes that oh crepes and all that everybody's going to want to visit all the All the bitcoin you know merchants, of course, where else would we eat like a bitcoin bus or something like that? Absolutely, yeah the bitcoin bus. That's what we should do. We have to do that get a great big bus and paint a big bitcoin on it The bitcoin show I need to get some businesses hooked up in the in the bay area here So we can do our own bitcoin bus over here too We totally have to do that and you know it's so easy You know people think that it's like how did you get them to agree? And it's like uh, I told them, you know, it's like when you tell somebody look, okay um messy grill uh bought an ad on our show And you know I embarrassed to say how little they paid and meanwhile they've got uh, Reuters and NPR you got business week, you know fortune forbs cnn Al Jazeera English, I mean all these people shooting I mean they've got more publicity than they could have ever dreamed of And okay on top of that. This is what I told the guys at Hudson eatery, you know this story and I said and uh, what's bitcoin and well It's just like cash Gotta love that. There's the transaction fees are zero There's no such thing as a charge back and it's instantaneous and uh, oh, yeah, what's the downside? Can't really think of one, you know, they're like, okay Let's do it show me how and then you literally show them how I mean if you want to make it super easy just my bitcoin.com or You know, if you if you want to get a little bit more sophisticated You can you know, show them some more sophisticated app or tool that they can use on their android phone or or even their I don't know We're hoping that someday steve jobs will allow an iphone app that does this but android for sure will But uh, yeah, it's it's not so hard Just ask any restaurant anybody you do business with if it's a grocery store a gift shop or whatever it is You'll be surprised that merchants will be going. Yeah, sure and you'll get new business You'll get people coming here specifically because you take bitcoin and that's exactly what's happening Yeah, that's the new technology. They can jump on and get some business out of it I mean, that's really the the threshold that bitcoin has to cross to yeah one one more question. I've got for exchange b uh for you david is um Are you gonna do or do you already have anything for merchants for like merchant services? Are you are you wanting to get into that? Well, yeah, we see that that you know people might think this is going to be something over the next two years that's going to Take hold, but I think with some of our future products. We have an opportunity to To uh roll something out. Mm-hmm much sooner than that. So We're looking forward to uh Yeah to taking it to the merchant side. Okay, cool Um, but right now it's do you have any facility for any for like if I have an account on exchange b Can I send dollars or bitcoins to another account holder on exchange b or no, it's just for buying and selling bitcoin Not yet so far. Yeah, just just buying and selling bitcoins But uh, definitely a feature that we know is important So well, there's nothing wrong with having a focus and knowing the one thing you do you do best Like google search, you know, it's just they do one thing and they do it the best, you know Yeah, whatever it may be definitely set the foundation here. Yeah, okay That's fantastic. So any parting words you want to leave the uh the public with about exchange b No, I just uh or bitcoin general I want to thank everybody for watching and thank you bruce for having me on and uh And uh, if anybody has any questions or anything you feel free to Check out the site and uh, give me a call or All good Awesome. Thank you. David starey from bitcoin. I'm sorry. David starey from exchange bitcoins.com Which is exchange b for short, but it's exchange bitcoins with an s.com to find it and uh his phone number I'm going to say it again eight five five e x c h b t c give him a call and uh and bug him He'll he'll we'll talk with bitcoin with you all day just like me. We'll make a conference call Well, thank you david for joining us. It was really fun As I already all right. Take care and thanks you guys. We'll see you tomorrow 2 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss it and thursday morning 8 a.m in french if you speak french Take care. See you then