Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: SRdoob on February 12, 2013, 11:39 pm
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So, I'm pretty new to SR and the deep web and i've been checking out the forums/wikis learning how to stay anonymous and encrypt data.
I finally felt i learned enough to buy BTCs and hopefully not get scammed by some fucker on the SR :P
This is where i need help...
First of all i have no idea how to get a BTC address and it seems every wiki page that talks about it seems really vague. Also, when other noobs asked these questions they're often told to stfu or they're automatically 14yr olds trying to play with the big kids.
So i was wondering do u get the address from a website? Do u rely on a third party to distribute them? etc
Secondly, i spoke to a reputable BTC distributer and he gave me payment info that was incredibly vague and difficult to follow. Maybe he assumed i would already know how to wire the money to him but it seems transactions can't be done through credit/debit cards or paypal. I thought maybe just a straight up bank transfer but when i went on online banking there seemed to be no options that matched what he wanted :/
Am i missing something here folks? It seems needlessly complicated for something that's legal to do
Thirdly, (and this is just for my own curiosity) does anyone know why BTC value fluctuates so much? a month ago i saw offers for £8 per BTC and now its £15-18. I really like the idea of a decentralised currency and one that isn't controlled (and at the mercy of) the banks but will it always be like this?
I appreciate the air of secrecy and anonymity of trading BTC and using the SR but any help would be greatly appreciated :)
Thanks
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if you're in the uk and have a smartphone the easiest way of getting bitcoins is using an app called pingit which is run by barclays. if you have a barclays account already it's really simple to set up, if you don't you'll have to go into a branch with ID, proof of address etc and they will verify your account.
once you have that sorted you can do a bank transfer to your pingit wallet or you can go to a barclays ATM and load it there.
go to blockchain.info and create a new wallet. this is where you will get your BTCs sent initially. they have an option on there for pingit deposit where you can say how many BTC you want to buy and they will give you an automated quote and instructions. they give you a price, phone number and a reference number.
go back to the pingit app on your phone once you have the money on there and send payment to the number provided by blockchain and make sure you put the reference number in correctly or your money will vanish into a blackhole never to be seen again. you'll then get BTC appear in your blockchain wallet almost immediately.
then go to your account page on SR and you will see your BTC address for here. some people like to use a tumbler for increased anonymity but i don't bother as SR mixes the coins for you anyway. copy your SR BTC address, go back to blockchain and withdraw to that address. it will take around an hour and then you can get crackin with some drug purchases.
if all of that seems like far too much hassle i've used this service alright 64d7qoqgjcw47vvz.onion you just email BTCxUK@tormail.org say how many BTC you want, he'll tell you the price and give you bank account details so you can just go in and deposit cash, make sure to put a reference on it like your name (can be fake just don't be stupid) then give him your blockchain BTC address, confirm the reference you put and he'll send the BTC over. his rates are pretty much the same as the major exchanges. it's best to get a tormail email if you're going to do this which you can set up here jhiwjjlqpyawmpjx.onion
you won't find any legit safe vendors willing to accept paypal or credit cards though because of the possibility of chargebacks. i don't know about the price fluctuations, it's supply and demand.
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try any locallbitcoin exchange site
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I STRONGLY agree that I could not find a really detailed source. They make it sound like they are going to go step by step, but then they assume you know what the steps are, so even though they do state the steps, they dont EXPLAIN the steps, which is also the problem I am having with pgp, but thats a whole other beast for me.
What I realized is that a lot of it really is the same as any other online purchasing experience, just in new lingo. You will see tons of codes and numbers and strings and passwords. Anything you create needs to be different from your real world accounts, and diff from your sr account, and keep all the numbers.
I used blockchain,info for my wallet. There is a link called wallet on the front page of the site. Click that, and then create wallet on the next page. Then you will fill out an alias (screen name), a password, and a captcha. A password recovery mnemonic will come up. It is a string of words that can be used to recover lost account information. Like how you have to answer questions to get back into any account after you have locked it out. Only this is a bit more random, since you need to copy it and save it somewhere.
Then you will see a login page. It will list fields for identifier and password. The identifier probably will already have a string of numbers populated. Copy and save that string. You can use it to log in. You should go to account settings first and just look through each setting menu. Most of it is typical stuff. email, notifications, etc
Then, to actually get btc.... Go to Wallet Home. On the right of the page should be another string of numbers. There should be a qr code right above. This is the address of your wallet, or your account number. As you go on with transactions, you will want to change your addresses and stuff like that. In the settings you can retire the current address and request a new one. ALWAYS make sure you have this code written down somewhere. This is how you get money to the account.
So, there is your wallet. There are TONS of options from here, but they are mostly all going to involve a bank transfer, sending a money order, or other wise going to a location and paying in cash to someone you have to SEND a payment to. It can feel scary. There ARE people out there selling btc with paypal or card swipes, but in this situation, counter intuitive as it may feel, those options are NOT safer for your transaction. They are far more dangerous.
I used bitinstant.com next. But I think they only service a few countries outside of the US, so.. (maybe someone will get use from this post?)
There is a form there... Pay from, is how you want to pay for the coinss. There are several options there, but really, just choose local deposit location. They use MoneyGram, and you can go to their website to see which locations accept bill payment through moneygram. Next is Pay To. There are several options there. The first one I did, I just sent straight to my wallet address. Now, I am sending them through a couple different other wallets before landing on my blockchain.info wallet, and then to sr. I usually only send what I need at a time to sr, and keep several btcs in my wallet
The form will ask for your name and dob. Since I do it as a moneygram, they can ask to see my idea, so I use correct information here, which is why I run the money through several different wallets before landing on the one I want. The form also asks for your wallet address, amount you want to add. Bit instant will charge a 4% fee for the amount I want to add. complete a captcha click ok.
The next page is a quote, a sort of pre receipt, you should confirm everything. Then click the big go button. The next page is the information for the money gram. You will need to enter your email and phone number. It asks you to choose a payment location, but the transaction is NOT tied to the location you choose right now, and there are several in my area that are appropriate for this, that are not listed. After you have done all that, Scroll to the bottom, click create payment slip, print, and one step closer.
Next you have to go to a money gram center that offers bill payments. Not all of them do. Take your payment slip, money in cash, and id, to your location. If you are savvy to know how to use moneygram, go use money gram. If not, ask the person at the counter. Make SURE they KNOW it is for a BILL PAYMENT, not to wire money to someone. I had money tied up for a bit my first time because the cashier did not understand there was a difference, and processed like a regular cash transfer. I was lucky to get that fixed easily.
My experience with bit instant is that it is fairly instant. They advertise their total processing time as under an hour. The only time I had to wait longer than 20 mins to see my stuff show up was the very first time, when they payment had not gone through correctly.
So, you have your btc, and your wallet. Create a backup of your wallet. It will save in the .json extension. I back up to email, and dropbox, as I use dropbox for other stuff anyways. But you can also download the file.
Now you can send money to where ever you want. Of course, you need your sr address, located in your account. From the wallet home page on blockchain, you can click Send Money to move it on through... to another wallet, to sr, etc. For money going to sr, I am now using the anonymous transaction type, on the left side panel of this page. There IS a fee, and will ask you to tack on an extra .0005btc for a miner's fee. But, its worth it. And if you have already sent the money through a couple wallets using the anon setting, chances are higher than you cant be traced back to the original transaction. Many people recommend changing your wallet addresses after each use on sr, and periodically otherwise.
I know this is NOT comprehensive. But it explains some of the things it took me a minute to get. There are TONS and TONS of different ways to get btc, some are complex confusing and dont make sense, others are far smoother. The problem I had was finding sites that worked with the group of sites I was working with to exchange the money around. It can get confusing for me to choose sites because my head was just spinning with information... i like this site.. but i cant find a site that will let me transfer from a to b. Ahh, this is another cool thing to do with my wallet and btc. But Im gonna have to create 4 other accounts to snake my bit coin through to get it over there to do that.
I hope I have helped someone... :( I wonder what a truly comprehensive guide to buying btc would look like? It would HUGE!!
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you can also use http://instawallet.com to create a wallet. a cleaner interface than blockchain but provides less detailed information on transactions
also when using bitinstant, money from a moneygram location requires you to say your name and address
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Why not simply use an exchange like mtgox and then transfer anonymously, perhaps through bitcoinfog or a few shared wallets ?
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using an app on phone or andriod is quite simple. app store then bitcoin wallet. of course do a little research before throwing money online ones but apps seem secure from my experience
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Check the links in my sig.
Detailed guides for sourcing and spending bitcoins in the UK.
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There's also a vendor on SR who will sell you bitcoins for cash. I've used his service and can confirm that he's legit.
silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/user/f76d1ab300
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Yes, blockchain does have a wallet, and when you send out your money order from wherever bitinstant sends you from trustcash, itll stick those coins in the wallet almost instantly, yes they take a % as well, the trustcash will take a %, blockchain will take a %.
So why not just use bitinstant and use your direct SR address? This will cut down on as many people taking percentages of your money. And what if your bitwallet is down???
Do people really think someone out there is waiting moneygrams and where the bitcoins are being sent even though you're using everything fake? No one can get your info and log in to your SR account and see wtf you're doing. There is nothing illegal about send coins to your SR address...right?
I really have no idea how many Sr customers there truly are, but I'm thinking in the tens of thousands...some weird branch of the government isnt following all this. And all they could do is possibly find out where the coins went...if thats even legal. And the TorBrowser makes it impossible for people to find out where you're ordering and encryption will never put your address online.
So all, in all, do you research, as for me I'm about to make my next $400+ deposit soon and i'm forgoing my bitwallet and send my moneygram right to my SR addy, anyone think this is a bad idea?
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HE'S TALKING IN POUNDS AND USING BRITISH SPELLING, STOP ADVISING HIM TO USE SERVICES THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE IN THE UK!!
fucking hell this guy will be more confused than ever.
OP feel free to pm me if you have any questions, need further explanations, a better step by step or have any problems along the way! you're just getting a ton of conflicting information here half of which is in no way relevant
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HE'S TALKING IN POUNDS AND USING BRITISH SPELLING, STOP ADVISING HIM TO USE SERVICES THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE IN THE UK!!
fucking hell this guy will be more confused than ever.
lol +1
I think you and I were the only ones who saw the '£' symbol.
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Just download a bitcoin wallet, it will take a few days to syncronize with the network, which is annoying as hell as you basically downlad the wallet, and leave it open and your laptop switched on for days. But it is far more secure than any other service. bitinstant is the best UK service for online bank transfer, localbitcoins are the best for cash in post.
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this link should help. its how i got started. happy shopping!
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2012/04/how-to-buy-bitcoins-anonymously-in-the-us-instantly/
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Woah!
I was about to post almost the same thread, but then I thought I'd lurk more, but since you're discussing it, I'll ask my questions here.
In a nutshell, I live in the Middle-East, and I can use CashU cards (sort of like gift cards) to buy bitcoins via. bitcounnordic.com.
I am still confused as to what the procedure is exactly.
1. I buy CashU card.
2. I use my CashU card on bitcoinnordic.com and acquire bitcoins.
3. I send those bitcoins to my blockchain.info wallet(????)
4. I then send my bitcoins from blockchain.info wallet to my SR account(?????)
I would highly appreciate it if somebody could help me out with this. Main question is:
Is step 3 useless? Since buying CashU cards does not require any form of ID, I can just show up, grab the card, pay for it and leave. If so, then should I just copy the bitcoin address from bitcoinnordic.com to my SR account? Or how is it exactly done?
Thanks,
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HE'S TALKING IN POUNDS AND USING BRITISH SPELLING, STOP ADVISING HIM TO USE SERVICES THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE IN THE UK!!
fucking hell this guy will be more confused than ever.
OP feel free to pm me if you have any questions, need further explanations, a better step by step or have any problems along the way! you're just getting a ton of conflicting information here half of which is in no way relevant
Yes, he is. I noted on there that I was in the US, so it may not help him, but I added it hoping it might help someone else. It was titled help fpr a noob, so I figured others might click it having the same problem I did. No, I could not completely answer the OP's question, but like I said, figured someone out there reading the post might find it helpful. I am assuming this is why someone gave me neg karma? Idk. But I just through it out there.
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i sure didn't neg you for that, i'm not that pathetic. it's probably just from somewhere when you spoke your mind, a few people don't seem to like it when you have conflicting opinions with theirs. fair play, it's good of you to try and help the newbies, it was just the amount of bitinstant suggestions bugging me.
and middle eastern fella i have no idea what a CashU card is so can't help you. good luck with it though...
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Yeah, I understand..
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+ for the puppy love :)
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If you're from the UK then you're pretty much fooked as the cost is getting beyond ridiculously high!!
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the prices on here are pegged to us$ so it doesn't really make much difference if you buy BTC to immediately spend
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So does anyone know if BC rates will drop in the UK? Or are they just going to raise to an even further rate of stupidity?
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How about in the U.S.? Is there a way to make deposits larger than $500? It appears that BitInstant only lets you deposit $500 at a time, and will flag you if you perform more than one transaction. Somebody mentioned elsewhere that Blockchain allows larger deposits at places like CVS and Walmart, and that you can use Tor to sign up. Is that true? I have cash in-hand and want to make a deposit as soon as SR is back up. Is anybody else familiar with Blockchain?
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So does anyone know if BC rates will drop in the UK? Or are they just going to raise to an even further rate of stupidity?
the prices fluctuate a lot, there have been huge crashes in the past like when mt gox got hacked but it bounces back and there's a general upward trend. there's not that many people round here that are experts you're better off looking here on clearweb https://bitcointalk.org/