Checksum0 Speaks - Rare interview with a Bitcoin mining legend (PODCAST)
It took me months to convince him to speak but my persistence finally paid off. Ian, better known as Checksum0, has been mining since 2010. In fact, he has mined over 5,000 blocks.
Well known by the industry OGs, he flies under the radar in the mainstream cryptoworld.
Ian works incredibly hard. Combined with his creativity/ingenuity, he has been quite successful in the very difficult mining industry.
How he got started with Bitcoin 10 years ago
Gavin Andressen and his current interest in crypto
The recent halvings and drop in hash rate. How will it affect the mining industry?
The rainy season in China and why it matters for bitcoin
The rise of BCH Node
Keys to success in a mining operation
Decred and POS governance
How do miners see Bitcoin Cash in China?
0-conf and Avalanche
SLP
General Protocols / AnyHedge https://generalprotocols.com/
The ideal road map and milestones for Bitcoin Cash
Why he owns gold mines
A new project Ian is launching very soon that allows for derivatives on hash rate
LISTEN HERE -
https://play.acast.com/s/bitcoin-for-business/5ecc26914b408c1d03ec8a15
Follow Ian on Twitter https://twitter.com/notChecksum0
Follow Matt on Twitter https://twitter.com/mattaaron
Jason Smith on Entrepreneurs who Use Bitcoin (PODCAST)
When I podcasted at bitcoin.com I could never lock him down. But Jason Smith finally agreed to an interview. So I dusted off the mic and recorded a one-off episode. https://twitter.com/iwearahoodie
Jason gained notoriety when he tried to pay his employees using the lightning network and his objective critique was met with contempt from Adam Back, Elizabeth Stark and even Nick Szabo, who he genuinely believed to be Satoshi at the time.
Jason shares his views about why is there such little industry attention for general entrepreneurs that try to use these technologies as a payment solution.
By general, I refer to industries that are unrelated to bitcoin looking for better payment methods.
Jason has paid employees with BCH and has had some success, but how does it compare to Western Union and PayPal?
We also discuss his concerns with BCH going forward and the characteristics he looks for in a cryptocurrency.
Listen here:
https://play.acast.com/s/bitcoin-for-business/5e74a0b45f7edb757e1d98e6
Direct download link: https://open.acast.com/public/streams/5e749b0660423a460a365837/episodes/5e74a0b45f7edb757e1d98e6.mp3
There will be an embedded version shortly just waiting on read.cash to help make it embedly compatible.
Thanks and I hope you enjoy the conversation.
How to start a Bitcoin Cash house with zero funds
After seeing BCH House launch successfully in Barquisimeto, Venezuela and Wa, Ghana, I wrote a quick overview of the launch process in case you are curious about launching one yourself.
The plan below is designed to fund an initial proof of concept test of 3-6 months and during which you can develop it into a profitable enterprise.
The steps are as follows:
Find a commercial location that is willing to give 3-6 months rent, ideally between $50-$150 price point.
Calculate additional costs - furniture, sign. Is internet included in the rent price?
Understand the regulatory and legal landscape of your region to help determine the what and how of your service offerings.
After steps 1 and 2, you'll have an idea of the money needed. Hopefully it's in the $800 USD / 3BCH range.
Crowdfund the donations
Connect with the BCH community in Telegram via BCH Gang and CoinSpice chats
Contact the BCH Meetups community. Chris and Akane of Bitcoin.com are a great resource. They may even send you some swag ;)
Connect with the fellow Bitcoin Cash House founders/operators for support and cross promotion
Create a serious, detailed post on Read.Cash explaining:
Who you are and how you got involved with BCH
The specific goals taliored to your (X location) Bitcoin Cash House. Anything from meetups, educational classes, remittances, training and onboarding devs to the BCH ecosystem. The possibilities are endless.
A breakdown of the funds required.
A donation address.
*Note: I can't personally vouch for it, but in the future, FlipStarter.cash may be an option as well.*
Share on R/BTC
Use the funds to pay the rent, furniture, internet, and misc costs.
Launch your Bitcoin Cash House with a kick off event.
Continue to share progress, media (photos, videos) iterate, build your business and support BCH at the same time!!
**Notes:**
A. The pricing in this post applies to developing countries but can be adjusted for the higher-cost countries in the world.
B. Some would argue to wait until the May 15th hardfork. You certainly can, but remember there are always risks facing BCH or any cryptocurrency.
C. Be careful with security. You don't want to become a bank and hold other's funds.
D. Watch out for the inevitable crypto scam artists that will try to use your hub for their own benefit at the detriment of others.
BCH Business Idea - Sportsbook
Hey BCH fam, an idea is only 1%, the rest is in building.
Thought I'd share a rough idea I played around with hoping someone may be interested in building this. Feel free to critique, add, ridicule, but hopefully it stimulates some ideas.
No Account Online Sportsbook
**Thesis:** No Account Online Sportsbook offers a superior gambling experience to the competition.
The principle unique value proposition (UVP) is, scripting with Bitcoin Cash, the need to have an account; to deposit, to login, to withdraw, to wait etc .. **all of those friction-inducing steps are ELIMINATED**.
All bets are on-chain transactions settled by a centralized oracle upon completion of the bet. This makes for a faster, easier, more pleasant gaming experience.
The convenience of making a bet directly from your own bitcoin cash wallet cannot be understated.
Not having to log in after the game to make a “withdrawal request”.
Additional UVP's:
There is less dependency on the sportsbook to send you your money. It's less risky to use a ShapeShift or SideShift type service than a fully centralized exchange. No need to store money in a sportsbook.
The cost of BCH transactions (right now around .002) allows for LOWER minimum bets compared to other competing sportsbooks. You could bet as low as potentially 2USD.
By eliminating accounts, deposits/withdrawals, customer service / operational costs will be lowered, possibly allowing the ability to offer better odds
Industry brief
“The sports betting market occupies the largest market share in the overall gambling market accounting for around 40% of the gambling revenue generation across the globe. Some of the most popular games that involve high betting are horse racing, football, cricket, grey hounding, basketball, baseball, and golf. The primary reason for the growth of the sports betting market is the ease of government regulations on gambling.
The world has opened the opportunities for gamblers to participate in sports betting in any part of the world through an online platform, except in those countries where sports betting is banned.”
Note: Industry Research Companies Statista and Technavio have paid reports, but at this point, we know that
A) Sportsbetting is growing year over year
B) Online is growing much faster than offline.
Having established that online sports gambling is a large, growing industry, why would we enter? Because of a **superior, easier gaming experience**. Bitcoin Cash is in the background.
Non-crypto gamblers will be willing to acquire/use BCH in order to play. This is important.
Assumptions
For this business to be a success, EVERY item below must be true/yes
1. The 2-3 UVPs are compelling enough to bring in new gamblers and sway gamblers from existing sportsbooks.
2. The BCH blind escrow system works. a. Bets can be accurately recorded b. Payouts via centralized oracle (API?) are accurately awarded
3. Onboarding - enough users are willing to acquire BCH in order to gamble.
4. Financial risk management
a. Managing the risk of a sportsbook
b. Managing the risk of Bitcoin Cash volatility
c. Storing BCH in a hot wallet, it can be hacked.
5. Marketing: in an industry that is banned from many types of advertising, the sportsbook must be viral enough to grow via affiliate, word of mouth, and advertising.
6. Accurate target markets. The western world, and Asia, where do we enter and what languages will the service be offered in?
7. Regulation - Maybe this should be #1 - a. Can we get a gaming license? b. Do we have the expertise to understand which markets, countries we can safely operate in?
**Conclusion:** If the above 7 assumptions are fulfilled, there is a chance to build a lean, profitable sportsbook powered by bitcoin cash.
@mattaaron