Forum rules
The more people that are involved, the more interesting this AMA series will be for everyone.
Please help spread the word of this amazing AMA series on your own social media. (YES, EVEN YOURS!)
Short URL: AMA.Bitcoin.com
Hashtag: #BTCAMA
When the AMAs are finished, all the answers will be compiled into a free E-book!
nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:00 am

Hello everyone!

My name is Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp.

I got got introduced to bitcoin by my colleague and now co-founder of Bitstamp, Damijan Merlak. We both soon started mining bitcoins. Later we figured there is a need for EU domiciled exchange. So we build it. Bitstamp was launched in August 2011.

Bitcoin industry was much different. Not many people have heard about it and banks & policy makers didn't care about it - it was simply too small.
Whenever it was mentioned in the news, it always had somewhat negative connotation. I'm very glad that I was around when bitcoin made it's first steps. As many of you probably also know. It's a great story!

I am excited to be participating in Bitcoin.com's mother of all AMA and will be answering all day today. Please give me some time to respond.

Best regards

User avatar
Windowly
Junior Mod
Junior Mod
Posts: 414
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 7:46 am

Donate BTC of your choice to qrd9y7aas8ce7hla5mlcrcjjmhld3v84zghvylyq

Contact: Twitter

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:19 am

Wow so cool to have you on here Nejc! Thank you for coming and taking the time to answer our questions.

What do you see happening with bitcoin in the next few months? What about the next year? And the next three years?

What part of bitcoin initially attracted you?

What are your thoughts on the whole bitcoin scaling debate?

Will bitstamp follow most of the rest of the industry and switch to BIP 101 this December?

What are your plans for Bitstamp in the near future?

Do you trade bitcoin on other exchanges besides your own?

I noticed recently you made it easy for Canadian customers to deposit dollars. Do you have any plans for supporting American ACH for deposits and withdrawals in the future?
Signing Address: qrd9y7aas8ce7hla5mlcrcjjmhld3v84zghvylyqm4

User avatar
rogerver
Founder
Founder
Posts: 1868
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:55 am

Donate BTC of your choice to 1PpmSbUghyhgbzsDevqv1cxxx8cB2kZCdP

Contact: Website Twitter

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:21 am

Hi Nejc, Thanks for participating in the mother of all AMAs!

1. As someone who has been along for the ride with you, I would like to know what you think and feel looking back on bitcoin 4.5 years ago, and comparing it with the ecosystem today?
2. Did you imagine that there would be this much adoption this quickly?
3. Compared to when you first got involved, are you more, or less optimistic on the future of Bitcoin today?
4. What part of your job do you like the most?
5. What part of your job do you hate the most?

Thank so much for creating one of the most important bitcoin exchanges in the world!
Help spread Bitcoin by linking to everything mentioned here:
topic7039.html

User avatar
IamAlso_u_grahvity
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:11 am
Contact: Twitter

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:22 am

Hi, Nejc!

Thanks for doing this AMA!

1. Was a proof of reserves required for the Bitlicense process? If so, how was it done?
If not, why has it not been done anyway?

2. Please comment on the recent news. What are your thoughts on the comments from this thread. http://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments ... mation_to/


Respectfully,

grahvity

Cryptology
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 5:19 am

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:38 am

Hi. Nejc. Only one question for you. Why can't I trade BTCEUR at Bitstamp?
The game taught me the game. And it didn’t spare the rod while teaching. Jesse Livermore.

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:44 am

Wow so cool to have you on here Nejc! Thank you for coming and taking the time to answer our questions.

What do you see happening with bitcoin in the next few months? What about the next year? And the next three years?

What part of bitcoin initially attracted you?

What are your thoughts on the whole bitcoin scaling debate?

Will bitstamp follow most of the rest of the industry and switch to BIP 101 this December?

What are your plans for Bitstamp in the near future?

Do you trade bitcoin on other exchanges besides your own?

I noticed recently you made it easy for Canadian customers to deposit dollars. Do you have any plans for supporting American ACH for deposits and withdrawals in the future?
Hey there Windowly,

What do you see happening with bitcoin in the next few months? What about the next year? And the next three years?
I do not speculate on the price so I can only share my view on the industry. Industry will consolidate. I think there has been a lot of hype around bitcoin & blockchain for the past year or two so a lot of companies got VC funding which enabled them to grow. Many of them do not have good monetizing strategy. As costs of running the business increase and as companies are reaching the end of their runway I think we will see lots of mergers and acquisitions. Some will also be forced to shut down, unfortunately.

In short: Mergers and acquisitions.

What part of bitcoin initially attracted you?
It was complicated enough to attract me and simple enough for me to understand.

What are your thoughts on the whole bitcoin scaling debate?
We support BIP 101.

Will bitstamp follow most of the rest of the industry and switch to BIP 101 this December?
Yes.

What are your plans for Bitstamp in the near future?
That is very broad question. We will soon release something that none of our competitors currently offer. Can't say much more :)

Do you trade bitcoin on other exchanges besides your own?
I avoid trading. I do not need to trade. I am long on coins for years now.

I noticed recently you made it easy for Canadian customers to deposit dollars. Do you have any plans for supporting American ACH for deposits and withdrawals in the future?
Yes. Coming soon.
Last edited by nejc on Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:19 am

Hi Nejc, Thanks for participating in the mother of all AMAs!

1. As someone who has been along for the ride with you, I would like to know what you think and feel looking back on bitcoin 4.5 years ago, and comparing it with the ecosystem today?
2. Did you imagine that there would be this much adoption this quickly?
3. Compared to when you first got involved, are you more, or less optimistic on the future of Bitcoin today?
4. What part of your job do you like the most?
5. What part of your job do you hate the most?

Thank so much for creating one of the most important bitcoin exchanges in the world!
Hi Roger,

As someone who has been along for the ride with you, I would like to know what you think and feel looking back on bitcoin 4.5 years ago, and comparing it with the ecosystem today?
There has been a giant leap forward. Starting a bitcoin business back then was easy. Now standards are set much higher which makes industry more stable.

Did you imagine that there would be this much adoption this quickly?
Initially no, but as soon as sentiment in the media changed it was getting more obvious where we are going.

Compared to when you first got involved, are you more, or less optimistic on the future of Bitcoin today?
I always was and continue to be optimistic about bitcoin. Although, I think it is becoming used more as store of value than anything else. I think it will take at least two more halvings to develop as a competing currency. Current inflation rate is still too high for it to be a solid currency.

What part of your job do you like the most?
That I am able to contribute to one of the most disruptive technologies of my generation and better lives of many.

What part of your job do you hate the most?
Just like in any job, you have good days and bad days. I like my job, I enjoy doing it, therefore I have more good days.

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:49 am

Hi, Nejc!

Thanks for doing this AMA!

1. Was a proof of reserves required for the Bitlicense process? If so, how was it done?
If not, why has it not been done anyway?

2. Please comment on the recent news. What are your thoughts on the comments from this thread. http://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments ... mation_to/


Respectfully,

grahvity
Hello there IamAlso_u_grahvity,

Was a proof of reserves required for the Bitlicense process? If so, how was it done?
We had special audit done by Ernest and Young in Luxembourg. Xapo assisted EY on the bitcoin side. We will have another year-end audit which will be public.

Please comment on the recent news. What are your thoughts on the comments from this thread. http://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments ... mation_to/
I think none of the financial companies in the world are really excited additional reporting. Bitstamp is proactive and had, along with many other financial companies complied with FATCA.

Deloren
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:43 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:53 am

Hi Nejc,

Thanks for doing the AMA. Here are my questions:

- What is your biggest challenge currently and how are you planning to solve it?

- How is the Bitstamp debit card doing? Any insights to share?

- How big is your developer community, any insights to share? Did you encounter interesting/unusual solutions?

- What are your expectations regarding Liquid? Is it live? (http://www.coindesk.com/blockstream-com ... exchanges/)

- What would a "Bitstamp Sidechain" mean for you?

- What is your view on private/permissioned Blockchains

- Do you think your bank partners are now comfortable with Bitstamp? What did Bitstamp do reach this level?

- If you would have an appointment with a top-notch EU policymaker, what would you suggest/ask him/her to support the bitcoin community

- Bitcoin is primarily used for payments. What future use cases do you/Bitstamp foresee?
Last edited by Deloren on Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:56 am

Hi. Nejc. Only one question for you. Why can't I trade BTCEUR at Bitstamp?
Hey Cryptology,

We are working on supporting multiple currencies. Cannot exactly tell you the release date. It is quite a bit change.

Best regards

User avatar
Skin_in_the_game
Nickel Bitcoiner
Nickel Bitcoiner
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2015 6:51 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:14 am

Hello Nejc

I was re-reading Antifragile by iconoclast thinker Nassim Taleb recently. He writes
"Never ask anyone for their opinion [...] Just ask them what they have -or don't have- in their portfolio"
I have come to think it's a very relevant question and you can better weight people's opinions having an idea of how many Bitcoins they hold (or do not hold.) So Instead of asking their opinion on bitcoin, I'm now asking every participants the same question:

- Do you mind to tell us which percentage of your personal net worth and/or liquid assets you hold in Bitcoins ?

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:27 pm

- What is your biggest challenge currently and how are you planning to solve it?
I would say that there is not a single biggest problem but what is always ongoing is finding the right balance between frictionless innovation and conservative regulation.

- How is the Bitstamp debit card doing? Any insights to share?
Converting bitcoin to fiat before the point of sell or at the point of sale does not help adoption. I always have and will promote payment in bitcoin end-to-end. No conversion. All the deviations make bitcoin easier to use but not solve the fundamental problem. I agree with transacting bitcoin over legacy rails (credit/debit cards) if it helps with the adoption but not adapting bitcoin to fit legacy rails through conversion.

- How big is your developer community, any insights to share? Did you encounter interesting/unusual solutions?
Small compared to what big FinTech giants have. We are expanding and always on a lookout for a talent.

- What are your expectations regarding Liquid? Is it live? (http://www.coindesk.com/blockstream-com ... exchanges/)
It is intriguing. Faster settlement between financial institutions and increased velocity of funds makes markets more efficient. Anything that helps make market more efficient we support.

- What would a "Bitstamp Sidechain" mean for you?
Not sure what you meant by that. Are you asking how would sidechain look like if Bitstamp would have a sidechain?

- What is your view on private/permissioned Blockchains?
I understand why banks and other financial institution like blockchain and want to one for themselves. It is mainly a privacy concern. Among other benefits like optimizing the cost and tamper proof, the one that stands out to me out is the ability of an instant audit. I was recently at an event where director of EU branch of big auditing firm said they are heavily investing their time to understand power of blockchain. They well understand that auditing firms might be facing disruption as well and might soon no longer be people going through tons of paper but eventually only be algorithms on the private blockchain which will enable real time auditing.

- Do you think your bank partners are now comfortable with Bitstamp? What did Bitstamp do reach this level?
Banking partners were never the problem. Bitstamp has strong compliance programs in place and we developed good risk assessment models. It is the intermediary banks who put pressure on our banking partners and sometimes even refuse to process payments. This causes chain of events that can damage the banking relationship.

- If you would have an appointment with a top-notch EU policymaker, what would you suggest/ask him/her to support the bitcoin community.
Policy making needs to be interest neutral and is never up to a single decision maker so I would recommend a wider discussion. It is also a slow and comprehensive process so I do not imagine that a single meeting can spark a revolution, but it is a start. Department of Justice hosted something similar couple weeks ago. It started a dialog, that is important.

- Bitcoin is primarily used for payments. What future use cases do you/Bitstamp foresee?
Bitstamp works with some of the most innovative companies in the space. We remain focused exchange but help others pioneering other use cases.

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:49 pm

Hello Nejc

I was re-reading Antifragile by iconoclast thinker Nassim Taleb recently. He writes
"Never ask anyone for their opinion [...] Just ask them what they have -or don't have- in their portfolio"
I have come to think it's a very relevant question and you can better weight people's opinions having an idea of how many Bitcoins they hold (or do not hold.) So Instead of asking their opinion on bitcoin, I'm now asking every participants the same question:

- Do you mind to tell us which percentage of your personal net worth and/or liquid assets you hold in Bitcoins ?
Hey there Skin_in_the_game,

Well I can say I do have "skin in the game". ;) Joke aside. I do hold some bitcoins and intend to sell when that represents certain % of my portfolio.
So either price rises or other investments don't do so well. I prefer the first option.

Best regards

nyeko_12
Nickel Bitcoiner
Nickel Bitcoiner
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 4:15 pm

Donate BTC of your choice to 1DBAq46iSNLTsq33dySBpYpaFqH3pTi9sk

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:00 pm

hi!

What do you think about bitcoins future?
Do you think they will resolve the block-size issue among other things during december?
Have you improved the security issues that you had during 2014(you guys got hacked)?
Do you think Bitcoin Core follow most of the rest of the industry and switch to BIP 101 this December?
Last edited by nyeko_12 on Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Branimir
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:06 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:09 pm

Pozdrav Nejc!

Is trading on margin in plans?

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:50 pm

Hey Nyeko,

What do you think about bitcoins future?
Trend is obvious. Bitcoin has a bright future.

Do you think they will resolve the block-size issue among other things during december?
Yes. Majority of industry leaders already supported proposal for block size increase.

Have you improved the security issues that you had during 2014(you guys got hacked)?
Many security features have been implemented since then. Most notably multi-sig hot wallet.

Best regards

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:54 pm

Pozdrav Nejc!

Is trading on margin in plans?
Pozdrav Branimir!

Yes. There are bureaucratic reasons why it is not available yet.

Best regards

minerb50
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:24 pm

Donate BTC of your choice to 33tDo4RwmurT5fKn31YkjP751xRUKqahKh

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:27 pm

Hi Nejc!
What is your vision for BitStamp's growth and expansion?
Do you plat for any mergers or take-overs?

Thank you for doing a great job!

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:47 pm

Hey minerb50!

What is your vision for BitStamp's growth and expansion?
Enabling more on/off ramps. It is important to explore and integrate new ways to buy/sell bitcoins. Reducing friction during this process in crucial.

Do you plat for any mergers or take-overs?
These are big strategic decisions and finding the right time and partner is crucial. We are taking our time to think about it.

Thank you for doing a great job!
Thank you for kind words.

Best regards

riple
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:35 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:46 pm

Hi Nejc,

What is your opinion on Interledger from Ripple Labs?

Does Bitstamp intend to continue working with Ripple in the future?

Which is your best / worst performing financial investment?

User avatar
TeslaGen3
Nickel Bitcoiner
Nickel Bitcoiner
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:15 pm
Location: Sterling VA
Contact: Website Twitter

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:01 pm

Nejc -

Thanks for doing this and I wished I could use your service but it's not available yet. I have a few questions for you:

Q1. What do you think of Raspberry Pi Computers?

Q2. There was a recent discussion about miners fee's going up - do you have an opinion on the halving and how it will impact fees?

Q3. Do you or would you own a Tesla? I am going to get a Model 3 when it's releases about 2018 - so excited...maybe I will buy with bitcoin? :)

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with all of us.

cypherdoc
Nickel Bitcoiner
Nickel Bitcoiner
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:02 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:16 pm


What are your thoughts on the whole bitcoin scaling debate?
We support BIP 101.

Will bitstamp follow most of the rest of the industry and switch to BIP 101 this December?
Yes.
this is the correct decision. congratulations.

you will be rewarded by the economic majority.

sadly
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:45 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:53 pm

Hi Nejc,

I have a question for you, I accidently transfered some bitcoins to my hacked bitstamp adress and I would like to ask you if there is any chance I will get them back some day. I read somewhere that you are close to finding the person responible for hacking your site, maybe that would bring them back?
thanks

jan.beeck
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:40 am

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 12:15 am

Hi there!

Is it possible to decentralize the banking system?
For example a seed's merchant could access to a bitcoin-based micro loan system and creates a micro loan to a loyal customer. Is that possible, is that a decentralization of the banking system?

Thanks
crowbe.com

golf
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:44 am

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:58 am

What are your views on wash trading and market manipulation? Do you take any steps to mitigate either of those? Do you report suspicious trading activity to any regulatory body?

kingscrown
Bronze Bitcoiner
Bronze Bitcoiner
Posts: 392
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:50 am

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:00 am

Do you plan adding LTC?
Financial Underground KIngdom - Best Cryptocurrency Blog with Private Mailing List

GIVE ME A BEER 1HC58noBPD7fmyNZKP7qf7thjb6ZSVN7fK

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:15 am

Hi riple,

What is your opinion on Interledger from Ripple Labs?
Bitstamp has been one of the early supporters of ripple technology. Although I hoped they would stay focused on end users, their pivot towards financial institutions worried me. I think they did great job with Interledger and I am following the progress.

Does Bitstamp intend to continue working with Ripple in the future?
As long as there is demand for it.

Which is your best / worst performing financial investment?
Best performing investment is of course bitcoin and worst performing is silver.

Best regards
Last edited by nejc on Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:27 am

Hey TeslaGen3.

What do you think of Raspberry Pi Computers?
Who doesn't like $25 computers? :) And now with Raspberry Pi Zero at $5, Internet-of-things is one step closer. I think we will see more and more smart devices being run on these computers and we will see more interoperability.

Do you or would you own a Tesla?
Yes, I have Tesla Model S P85+ (without autopilot capability unfortunately :( ) Are you already putting bitcoins aside for the purchase?

Best regards

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:39 am

Hi Nejc,

I have a question for you, I accidently transfered some bitcoins to my hacked bitstamp adress and I would like to ask you if there is any chance I will get them back some day. I read somewhere that you are close to finding the person responible for hacking your site, maybe that would bring them back?
thanks
Hi sadly,

I am very sorry to hear that. Did you report this to our support? I would recommend you report this to our support so we document this properly.

Best regards

nejc
AMA
AMA
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Re: I'm Nejc Kodrič, co-founder and CEO of Bitstamp. Ask me anything!

Tue Dec 01, 2015 1:14 pm

Hi there!

Is it possible to decentralize the banking system?
For example a seed's merchant could access to a bitcoin-based micro loan system and creates a micro loan to a loyal customer. Is that possible, is that a decentralization of the banking system?

Thanks
crowbe.com
Hi jan.beeck,

I am not sure I know exactly how it would work. Are there any white papers available?

Best regards

Return to “AMA - Ask Me Anything”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests