Now that Bitcoin has become the darling of entry-level investors and cryptocurrency enthusiasts worldwide, there are a lot of services popping up that process transactions in Bitcoin for their customers, usually in exchange for a small fee. These services are extremely varied in purpose and also extremely varied in how unscrupulous their business practices may or may not be. With the massive potential profit margins on seemingly minor transactions should the price of the coin increase rapidly in a short period of time, there’s a lot of incentive for people to defraud others of coins in the hopes that the victim will move on without much of a fight.
To help you be on your toes, here are some businesses that deal with Bitcoin, and that you should always do your homework on:
Bitcoin Gambling Sites
In most jurisdictions, gambling using Bitcoin is neither expressly prohibited nor expressly allowed, meaning many websites have sprung up to service gamblers worldwide. There are a few things to be cautious of when signing up for one of these services. Firstly, Google the name of the online casino and see if there are any outstanding complaints against them from other users. A sufficient amount of complaints related to similar issues is a cause for concern. Next, be sure to carefully read the stated odds, payout conditions, as well as minimum currency requirements to make a withdrawal. Some casinos put their withdrawal limit in BTC, while others tie it to the USD value of BTC at the time of withdrawal. Needing $100 worth of BTC or more to make a withdrawal is much different from needing X amount of BTC itself.
Bitcoin Exchange Sites
Most exchanges by this point have a proven track record of reliability and trustworthiness, but that isn’t to say that new exchanges aren’t popping up all the time. For exchanges like the Bitcoin Revolution, a simple search of the Bitcoin Revolution Review Site is sufficient to find suitable reviews. Shady exchanges are known for doing things like shutting down their exchanges during times of peak trading (either people mass offloading or mass purchasing Bitcoin) to limit their losses, to even fraudulently crediting people with BTC that neither the exchange nor the user is in possession of. Sticking to exchanges with known track records is the best way to keep your BTC investments safe in the long term. Those who are still paranoid about their exchange might want to seek out a personal wallet that isn’t under the whims of any particular exchange.
Bitcoin-Related Marketplaces
Any website that allows you to buy and trade real-life items like Amazon or eBay, but accepts Bitcoin payments as well, can be a very convenient way to purchase goods with your stored BTC without losing money to exchange rates. Problems arise, however, with the confidential and anonymous nature of Bitcoin. Should a marketplace not make use of escrow services or other secure methods of payment that don’t release funds until the goods have been received, a seller could ship fraudulent goods or no goods at all and run off with the BTC never to be found again.
Conclusion
Without doing your homework, there’s always the chance you’ll be taken in by a fly-by-night operation meant to take in the coins of those who aren’t operating at the level of security they should be. Any and all Bitcoin transactions should be with a trustworthy party who has their reputation on the line with each and every transaction they help to facilitate. Luckily, there are enough people seriously interested in advancing BTC as a currency that there’s no need to fall prey to any dubious agreements.
