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Free $5US in Bitcoins from Circle

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Circle for Bitcoin is an online Bitcoin wallet, and they were recently featured at Google's I/O. They are giving away $5 for all new users that download their app, which is available for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.circle.and…) and iOS devices.

To get $5, create an account and verify your account with text verification. Then, scan the QR code found here: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGIDpKWWEAAx-yi.jpg:large

Original tweet: https://twitter.com/circlebits/status/604049311844974594

Unfortunately you can only withdraw to US accounts for now.

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closed Comments

  • +9

    meh, too much effort

  • What I don't get is how you give someone an "$ amount of bitcoins". Do you say for example give someone 3.4534 bitcoins? Seems odd to own 133.4532 bitcoins etc

    • +1

      Not sure what you mean but:

      • Exchange rates
      • $133.4532 dollars makes sense why not buttcoins?
      • +13

        why not buttcoins?

        The currency we all wish we could pay with when we receive shitty service.

    • To pay someone $50AUD in bitcoins you'd send them 0.14717607 bitcoins.

    • You wish, other way around, 0.0042 Bitcoin. More like company holds hand full of bitcoin in trust and give you the 0.0042 ownership :)

  • +2

    Thanks for this. Bit painful to setup, but it's always handy to have bitcoin. Sent it straight over to my usual wallet.

    • The original post says you can only withdraw it in US$, so how does it work if you send it to another wallet? Can you now cash it in for AUD?

      • +4

        I think the poster means it can't be withdrawn to an Australian bank account. I just sent it over to my wallet with another service and it arrived as 0.0210 BTC or $6.49 AUD. If you have another wallet which allows you to withdraw BTC as cash then shouldn't be a problem.

        • what bitcoin wallet would you recommend? i mean one that allows us to withdraw BTC as cash

        • @discrete:

          There is a saying - if you don't own the private key's you don't own the bitcoins.

          but if you would like to withdraw to currency then your going to need a 3rd party service; you can do so with CoinJar to your back account - requires you verify your ID (KYC).

          They also have a really cool debit card which will allow you to spend your bitcoin via EFTPOS or withdrawn currency from any bank ATM and they where founded in Melbourne

  • I am getting Invalid Promotion Code

    • and yet I have the $5 in my account

      • 0.02097492 BTC

  • Bitcoin-newbie question: can this be transferred to other bitcoin wallet services?

  • hm

  • +2

    Also new to BitCoin, what is a good wallet service?

    • There is a saying - if you don't own the private key's you don't own the bitcoins.

      Therefore i suggest you go with a wallet instead of a wallet service.

      'mycelium' is a good wallet you can install on your Android phone.

      Otherwise Airbitz is a good wallet you can get for IOS or Android.

      you should get asked to write down 12 words - do so; this is your backup

      • Electrum works for me on PC. But I'm no expert.

    • Paper wallet for long term!

      They all have pro's and con's

    • Great, thanks for the suggestions everyone, will look into those

  • +3

    Boo. Created an account with them back when they were a cool stealth startup, and was promised US$5. Didn't get anything from the launch, and now I'm ineligible for this promotion.

    Oh well. Who needs some obscure cryptocurrency that's on its way down anyway :-)

    • New account?

      • +3

        Yeah, I could game the system by creating a new account, but that's just not how I roll :-)

  • +2

    value of my $5 went to $5.01 already!

    • +2

      Rolling in it :)

    • +1

      Arr - mine went down to $4.99 !!

    • gypped, so you got my .01 cent… Mine has decreased in value geez…..

    • +2

      This represents a fantastic 500 year buy and hold strategy!

  • +1

    nice, thanks op

  • +4

    Cheers. Only took about 3 minutes and immediately transferred the $5 out to my main bitcoin account.

    • Can you provide a link to where to setup another main account?

      • +1

        There's a tonne of different online wallet options out there, personally I've only ever used BlockChain Wallet (https://blockchain.info/wallet) but for my main one I use a local wallet stored on my pc

  • +2

    Simplest $5 I've made via OzBargain. Cheers OP!

  • Hmm I used my privacy blocker to prevent it access to facebook and it wouldn't let me register.

  • +2

    Also, read the review comments (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.circle.and…) before you decide to use this app..

    • You mean this?

      "Terrbile Company decides to withdraw $2500 from my bank account then stop my services for "suspicious activity" and wont tell me what was so suspicious. Do not use this company for buying Bitcoins."

      • +1

        this is another reason bitcoin is good, when you pay someone in bitcoin its like handing them the exact amount of cash. a 'push' of value which cannot be reused or replayed and discloses no secret information that could be used to generate another transaction.

        as apposed to credit cards or paypal

        Credit card: submit via phone or online the credit card number, expiry and cvn which could be used by a malicious employee or company or be hacked from a database and used in the future to withdraw money from your account.

        Paypal: has authority to pull money from your bank or creditcard etc…

        • But that review was for the bitcoin circle app…

          How can they withdraw $2500?

        • +1

          @tyler.durden:

          I guess for that to be possible you would need to give them authority over your bank account similar to how when you pay with PayPal they 'pull' money from your bank or cc.

          Circle is not bitcoin the same as PayPal is not fiat currency they are centralised 3rd parties who provide extra functionality.

          It would be good if circle could provide some clarity to this review but I suspect that it is false (I still would not give auth over my bank though)

        • @nugga1984:

          Maybe they gave authority like paypal method you said..

  • Thanks! I already had an account with Circle, but I created a new account with another email address, got the $5, and transferred everything out to another wallet. I tried to do the same for my husband, but it didn't work! Got up to scanning the QR code, but it just said "Whoops! Something went wrong!" and I didn't get the $5. :(

  • Where can I buy something for $5? Send to paypal?

    • +1

      overstock or newegg might get you something for $5.

      Otherwise put it toward a purchase from Dell, M$, Expedia …

      or check coinmap.org and you might find a brick and mortar business near you

      you could also invest it into Bitshares or a Gold/Silver Derivative - https://metaexchange.info/

      So many options and not many bitcoins

  • Was trying to withdraw to my bank account but it says "need additional time to review your account".
    Perhaps I am completely new to circle, anybody has similar issue?

  • +1

    You can withdraw to a service like CoinJar to withdraw to AUD. But you have to ID yourself on the site.

    • Transferred it to Vircurex

    • +1

      that's crap!

      I thought the whole purpose is to be anonymous

      • its not actually anonymous it is 'pseudo-anonymous'

        you can hold a single Bitcoin address or many addresses without revealing anything about your identity but any transactions that go to and from them is recorded on the bitcoin blockchain - 'a public ledger'.
        check out http://blockchain.info to see all the transaction taking place right before your eye.

        Problem is if your address is matched with your identity then the history of that address is written in the blockchain for all to see; although given addresses are not linked with identity unless the receiving party was also identified then it just BTC doing what it does best - moving from address to address.

        there are advanced methods of sending transactions which would obscure the recipient via sending to stealth addresses although this is more of an advance technique.
        there are also other digital currencies solely focused on delivering user privacy.

        your best bet for selling your BTC for fiat currency 'anonymously' is face to face, just say your name is tyler

        • You mean arrange a face to face selling with some stranger that could rob me
          -physically

          -and rob my bitcoin then run off?
          e.g they ask for my bitcoin address, they then just leave without paying the real cash.

        • @tyler.durden:
          That is a definite possibility and has even happened in the US. To get your bitcoins they would need to get your private key (spending authority to the public key); in the circle wallet case they are holding your private key on there servers and you don't have access to it… Because your trust them lime a bank…
          The attacker could get your circle password and phone to pass the 2fa and send the bitcoins to himself. Or as you say he could make you send them to his public address and then not pay you.
          Similar to other face to face transfers of value

        • @nugga1984:

          No, I don't mean them stealing my circle password etc..

          I meant he request for my bitcoin address to get the money first, then we pay me real cash later..
          then after he got the money in his account, he says see ya later without giving up the real cash

          like a coke deal gone bad..
          e.g scarface movie coke deal/ chainsaw scene etc..

          ===
          At least with banks if there is a theft, then you can report it to the banks
          which might reinburse you,

          with bitcoin who do you report to..
          -police?
          -government?
          They will all laugh at you

          Also with banks I can trade my digit amount to real cash at atm etc..
          With bitcoin we need to do things like what you suggested and then they take the money without paying the real cash or transfer the real money for bitcoin

          As you can see, there is alot of trust issue with bitcoins..
          Not to mention alot of other digital currencies trying to get in on the action of bitcoins etc..

          ======
          Since it is not regulated
          what is going to stop a bitcoin holder like circle just running off with my bitcoins?

  • -1

    Meh, Stellars gave out $29 of Bitcoin to new users a few months ago and didn't take this much effort.

  • Thanks!

  • You can sell your bitcoin for cash at localbitcoins.com. You should get around $6.50 at the moment

    • I got my $5, now how do I sell it?

      • go to localbitcoins.com and click on the "sign up free" in the top left.
        Make sure you remember/write down your username and password.
        After signing up, you will need to verify your account by email.
        Next you will see a deposit address which you will see when you click on your account (top right, then click wallet)
        Send your bitcoins to the wallet address from circle.
        Click on the localbitcoins.com in the top right, then click in the orange box, "I want to sell bitcoins"
        enter $6.50 in the amount
        select "all online offers"
        click find offers.
        For me I see a user AusBitcoins with more than 3000 positive feedback and that they are presently online, and paying $277 per bitcoin.
        Click sell, and the transaction will be arranged by message between you and AusBitcoins. (normally by private message between you and them)
        They usually deposit after they have seen the transfer from your wallet into their address.

        • +1

          Where do they deposit to? my bank account/paypal?

          and if they don't deposit?
          what happens?

        • +1

          Well, the risk is always there I guess. However it looks like many others have exchanged without issue, but you never know.

          alternatively you can use shapeshift to trade between many different digital currencies and trade like a boss. You just need to have a wallet in another currency to convert your bitcoins. Transferring 0.021 BTC, you could be the owner of 25000 dogecoin!

  • +3

    If people have no idea what to do with their $5 may I suggest:

    https://supporters.eff.org/donate

  • any online stores I can buy stuff worth $5 or a bit more?

    Any suggestions welcomed……

    • Here are some places that take bitcoin
      If you are in Melbourne, you could grab a coffee at The Little Mule Cafe

    • Some that come to mind that may have cheap products:

      newegg, overstock, hackaday… but given you will most likely need to pay shipping on what you are buying $5 might not get you very far.

      online
      humblebundle, wordpress, watchmybit, streamium, PIA and other VPN providers..

      • humble bundle seems like the only viable option..

        can we combine BTC with paypal?

        since some might cost more than $5.

        • +1

          Depends on the webstores ability to do 'part payments' I would guess most likely no

    1. Signed up
    2. confirm again via email
    3. sign in, says we have sent confirmation email
    4. repeat 2-4

    any ideas ?

    • You need to login (I know, silly) after clicking the link.

  • Is it possible to transfer amount to PayPal and if so how could I do this

    Thanks

    • i think at the moment paypal only allows merchants to accept bitcoin; i did look around in my paypal and did not find any options relating to deposit of bitcoins.

      looking at your post it seems like your in melbourne and maybe near chaddy, i could buy them off you next week if you want, i'll give you 5.50AUD fiat currency

      P.S - if you are near chaddy could could pickup something to eat of a nice cup of coffee from Mr Pilgrim Cafe (near the myer entrance)

  • If one website charges me $10 but I only got $5 so how do I pay for it? Can I combine bitcoins with other payment methods? Thanks

    • +1

      it would depend on the site. it would be technically possible but i would guess not at most places

  • +10

    I don't know why everyone is so keen to sell their bitcoins, there are heaps and heaps of $5 notes in the world… there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins! or which ~14.5 million are already available and now you own some…

    remember the older people saying "back in my day _______ used to cost _________" (lollies 3 for 1 cent, houses under 50k, cars, milk, petrol, electricity… everything heaps cheaper) stuff hasn't just got more expensive, the dollars you want so bad have lost their value due to inflation.. and increased supply.

    maybe one day you could be saying back in my day bitcoins cost $300AUD and we used to pay for them with note and coin ;) can you believe it young jimmy we used to actually carry note and coins around and give them to people to pay for stuff.

    bitcoins are like gold for the internet; yes it is very volatile but its currently in its distribution phase it started off in 2009 by awarding 50 bitcoins per 'block' to the miner who was lucky enough to find a hash below the network target (lets call it a maths problem) it is currently awarding 25 bitcoins per block, and next year the reward goes to 12.5 bitcoins per block (every ~4 years the block reward halves) meaning there are heaps of bitcoins going cheap right now…; before you think you will mine your own bitcoins, the bitcoin network measured in mFlops is 77000 x faster then the worlds fastest super computer.

    Some Key Features:
    -they are fungible.
    -they are divisible down to 8 decimal places.
    -the can be sent globally and received in seconds,
    -able to be re-spent in 10 minutes,
    -cost per transfer is .0001 (3 cent's) no matter if you are send 10cent or millions of dollars in value.
    -they have a predictable rate of inflation
    -ownership cannot be manipulated, falsified or counterfeited.
    -no bank, or paypal or any entity can freeze or cease your account.
    -its global!.

    there is so much to say about bitcoin and the other digital currencies, but this post is big enough, reply with questions if you have any and i will do my best to answer them.

    • I think some reason why people want to sell are

      -want some real cash they can spend now (tangible)
      -it's only a small amount of bitcoin worth very little real world cash, so they don't care to keep it
      -don't know what use is there to keep it or where to spend it (only a few stores accept it)
      -don't understand bitcoin enough
      -don't trust it will remain around for a long time
      -associates it with drug selling websites etc., so no other use other than for buying illegal products

      ===
      just curious but how much real value dollar in bitcoins do u have?

      can you turn on Private messaging? I like to ask you some more questions…

      • Real world currency is fine I understand that majority of stores do not accept bitcoin directly at the moment, you can use 3rd parties (coinjar provides an eftpos card for pos and arm transactions)

        Once exchanged it is only a small amount of currency also, so I see it as a good opportunity for people to explorer the benefits of digital currencies for free - send it around see how fast it is. Also history tells us your $5 will go down in value, bitcoin only has 6years of history which has been very volatile in comparison but who knows where this is going.

        There are 100k+ merchants accepting it and you are not restricted to AU maybe check out coinmap.org as a starting place but that only has a small portion of places.

        Bitcoin can seem full on when you first looking into I but it is definitely very exciting tech. Its opens up a world of possibilities.

        As long as there are bitcoin users and the internet it will remain, there is not single person to lockup, sue or shutdown it is a network of users communicating via the internet, also transactions don't have to be relayed directly to the network the can be sent via sms,tweet,written on paper and sent in the mail, sd card on carrier pigeon - this beast I see as unstoppable.

        It got alot of flack from silk road and online drug markets but that is definitely not all it is used for especially these days. i do think the dark markets was a good show of force given that a similar operation would have been very difficult if not impossible to carry out with currency or paypal.

        Not as much as I would like

        I will turn it on now

  • Expired promo code

  • Expired :(

  • It says expired code when scanned. And now they have my details.

  • Yup, "Expired Promotion Code"

  • +1

    Cheers OP got it last night.

    Easy mBTC to add to the stash.

    Im holding on to them for years. Don't care about the value, believe in the tech.

    • That's exactly what I planned to do now
      No point withdrawing $5 to bank while this BTC has a chance to boom again in the future

  • Thanks OP

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