I'm Charlie Shrem, Bitcoin Pioneer currently in Federal Prison. AMA!

[CharlieShrem]

every second of every minute of every hour of every week of everyday checking Bitcoin wisdom


Life is all about evolution.
What looks like a mistake to others
has been a milestone in my life.
Even if people have betrayed me,
even if my heart was broken,
even if people misunderstood or judged me,
I have learn from these incidents.
We are human and we make mistakes,
but learning from them is what makes the
difference.

Let Me Know How I Can Help ???

Figure out a spot where Bitcoin is lacking and fill it!

[JetSetTech]

Teach everything there is to know about Bitcoin
Let me take over where you left off!!!

[tokeweed]

Dropped that bar of soap yet?

I'm kidding... I hope you get out of there as soon as possible. Good luck in there man. Stay strong!

Peace.

[JetSetTech]

waiting for your response
Thought Bitcoin would take over the world

[bitkilo]

Can I draw something for you, Charlie? Im drawing and I feel maybe one of my pics could add some colours to your prison life.

Could you also post your pic for Charlie here, I am interested in what you will draw for a man in prison, hope it's a little different than your profile pic

[aantonop]

Good to hear your 'voice' again Charlie!

Fungibility is not a luxury, it's a necessity. I've been following Monero for some time now and I like what I'm seeing. The Bitcoin protocol has more potential as programmable money if it co-exists with another public ledger that is private and opaque on the protocol level. The best version of digital cash I've seen to date is Monero. Bitcoin on its own will never be anonymous, so never fully fungible.

This is an impostor account, using my name (Andreas here) to pump Monero and diss bitcoin. I have reported and requested validation from the forum to confirm my identity.

See my tweet proving this is my real account: 655293052383133696

[rogerver]

See my tweet proving this is my real account: 655293052383133696

The impersonator's account will be deleted shortly.

https://twitter.com/aantonop/status/655293052383133696

[magma]

The fake account AndreasAntonopoulos has been deleted and banned.

[BCNext]

The fake account AndreasAntonopoulos has been deleted and banned.

wtf ... you banned a user because you didn't like his/her choice of username and avatar, or you didn't like their point about fungability?

Can you post the forum rule user 'AndreasAntonopoulos' broke to require a permanent ban and deleting of his/her posts? Is this forum instituting identity checks and KYC policies now, or was this user banned because you claim he/she was a malevolent imposter?

Please, what is your username and avatar policy on this forum? I saw what he/she wrote and recognized it as a parody spoof immediately, and the user was clearly not trying to defraud anyone, and admitted their intentions as soon as AA posted.

I thought this forum was started in response to censorship at bitcointalk.org.

It looks like you didn't like the user's message, and you saw a way to ban them to remove their opinion



I saw something completely different to the forum admins here, I wonder why?

SHAME ON YOU Roger Ver! Looked like a victimless crime = no crime situation to me. Hypocritical for a so called leader of libertarian beliefs to ban parody spoofs. Are you against humor now too, or just don't have a sense of one anymore? Maybe just getting tired and old and conservative. Open your mind a bit, don't take yourself too seriously here, please!!

[rogerver]

We don't support identity theft.
The user in question is welcome to post his same thoughts as his own, not those of someone else.

[BCNext]

We don't support identity theft.
The user in question is welcome to post his same thoughts as his own, not those of someone else.

What a cop out Roger. It obviously wasn't a case of identity theft, it was a parody spoof, and you know it.

Please answer my previous questions, what are the forum policies on verifying identities and KYC, and where can I see them?

You're opening a can of worms if you ban forum users for identity theft based on username and avatar selections. Did the banned patron claim to be AA, or was that an assumption in your mind? Identity theft IS a serious matter, but this was a victimless prank, and you' over reacted. I just don't see any intention from this person to deceive or cause harm.

Don't governments rationalize their bans on freedom using similar bogey men? Sounds like a good excuse for more surveillance; "we have to stop the evil doers from stealing our identities, lets ban parody spoofs & humor' - complete bollocks!

[Voluntary]

Shame on me for feeding this controversy in a tea cup but... Unlike government, you're free to leave if you don't like it. Also, if you want a slipshod-everything-is-free-because-freedom site, what's stopping you from making one?

[rogerver]

We don't support identity theft.
The user in question is welcome to post his same thoughts as his own, not those of someone else.

What a cop out Roger. It obviously wasn't a case of identity theft, it was a parody spoof, and you know it.

Actually the profile and post were so convincing that I took time out of my day to contact Andreas privately asking if it was him.
Andreas then had to take time out of his day to publicly inform people that it was not him.

[tokeweed]

We don't support identity theft.
The user in question is welcome to post his same thoughts as his own, not those of someone else.

What a cop out Roger. It obviously wasn't a case of identity theft, it was a parody spoof, and you know it.

Please answer my previous questions, what are the forum policies on verifying identities and KYC, and where can I see them?

You're opening a can of worms if you ban forum users for identity theft based on username and avatar selections. Did the banned patron claim to be AA, or was that an assumption in your mind? Identity theft IS a serious matter, but this was a victimless prank, and you' over reacted. I just don't see any intention from this person to deceive or cause harm.

Don't governments rationalize their bans on freedom using similar bogey men? Sounds like a good excuse for more surveillance; "we have to stop the evil doers from stealing our identities, lets ban parody spoofs & humor' - complete bollocks!

It's not even about that. This is Bitcoin. Lots of people are getting scammed left and right. So it's better to be safe.

[Cameron X]

Hello Charlie

I'm a Huge fan! ))

What's it like being in prison? What's the best recipe for prison hooch? How's your mackarelchain working out?

Ty + much love

xoxo,
Cam

[MikeSEE]

What's Prison Food taste like?

[americanpegasus]

Hey Charlie, it's AmericanPegasus.

You might not have heard about me yet, but I've been steadily learning and growing in the cryptocurrency community over the last year. I recently read about your situation, and I can identify that it must be torture knowing about the rapid pace of bitcoin development out here without full internet access. I'd like to do a little charity work and e-mail/mail you some stuff about what's going on on a regular basis.

I'm sure you have friends that are already e-mailing you major articles about bitcoin, but what about some of the more interesting threads over on Bitcointalk? Speculation? Technical discussion (there's a few right now that are pretty ace)? What about some of the more promising white papers and altcoin developments? Can you confirm you have unrestricted (though delayed) email access, right, with no limits to computer time? I found the instructions to set up an e-mail link on your home page; I'll set it up. Also please let me know if computer time is limited/at a premium and I'll just send paper.

Also, I happen to help moderate a couple of Cryptonote communities including Monero and Aeon on Reddit; I have no idea who was impersonating AA earlier, so apologies to bitcoin.com regarding those shenanigans. From what I can tell Mr. Antonopolus hasn't seen the light regarding Cryptonote but I hope he will in time (he's a spectacular orator and his talents would be appreciated). I am however sure that impersonating his account is not an effective way to earn his attention or good will.

Thanks for all the work you did with early Bitcoin; I would have never learned about cryptocurrency in 2013 if not for pioneers like you. We'll all work hard to keep you included, and when you get out of prison there will assuredly be opportunity waiting for you.

[Frankenmint]

Hey Charlie, it's AmericanPegasus.

You might not have heard about me yet, but I've been steadily learning and growing in the cryptocurrency community over the last year. I recently read about your situation, and I can identify that it must be torture knowing about the rapid pace of bitcoin development out here without full internet access. I'd like to do a little charity work and e-mail/mail you some stuff about what's going on on a regular basis.

I'm sure you have friends that are already e-mailing you major articles about bitcoin, but what about some of the more interesting threads over on Bitcointalk? Speculation? Technical discussion (there's a few right now that are pretty ace)? What about some of the more promising white papers and altcoin developments? Can you confirm you have unrestricted (though delayed) email access, right, with no limits to computer time? I found the instructions to set up an e-mail link on your home page; I'll set it up. Also please let me know if computer time is limited/at a premium and I'll just send paper.

Also, I happen to help moderate a couple of Cryptonote communities including Monero and Aeon on Reddit; I have no idea who was impersonating AA earlier, so apologies to bitcoin.com regarding those shenanigans. From what I can tell Mr. Antonopolus hasn't seen the light regarding Cryptonote but I hope he will in time (he's a spectacular orator and his talents would be appreciated). I am however sure that impersonating his account is not an effective way to earn his attention or good will.

Thanks for all the work you did with early Bitcoin; I would have never learned about cryptocurrency in 2013 if not for pioneers like you. We'll all work hard to keep you included, and when you get out of prison there will assuredly be opportunity waiting for you.

the guy is in jail and you use this AMA as an opportunity to promote your Altcoins of choice, that's really classy /s


To Charlie:

How's it hanging buddy! I'm sorry you're locked up, but at this rate, you're maybe halfway through it! Do you receive good ol' plain mail from the community?!? Its good to read that you've got a plan ahead of you to move forward after this is all done! If you do plan to create an expat paradise w/ roger that competes or complements liberaland and you've got a spare spot for ol honeybadgerofmoney here, please don't hesitate to drop a line. I read you're missing bips, Have those been sent off to you yet? I'm pretty sure you've heard of the State that Ross is in, but if not, well, his mom recently had a heart attack, but she's in the Hospital recovering, he's also doing something similar in terms of helping individuals reassess and rebuild their lives through learning/education, and had read that he keeps a pet mouse as well. You make prison seem like summer camp! Do you guys get to watch tv or the news? I would imagine that bitcoin comes up in TV or the media sometimes. What was the 'WOW!?!' unexpected moment you've had in prison to date? Are there things like java or php books there to read? Could someone come in literate, and leave a halfway decent CS student?

Your Friend,

Frankenmint

[americanpegasus]

the guy is in jail and you use this AMA as an opportunity to promote your Altcoins of choice, that's really classy /s

Don't be a goober. Imagine a financial entrepreneur had gone to jail in 2009 and was set to be released in 2011. You, being on the forefront of money, hear about this cool new thing called 'bitcoin' and offer to keep him informed not only about the stock market, but also about any developments with this new 'bitcoin'.

Your comment is the equivalent of "Wow, he's in jail and you want to tell him about your crazy computer money? Really classy."

Financial privacy won't just be an issue in 2 years when Mr. Shrem is released - it already is. With companies like SABR popping up and the first disgusting tendrils of bitcoin "black lists" and "white lists" creeping into the public consciousness we are already facing a situation where we need to consider all available alternatives.

Satoshi didn't wait until total fiat collapse to start introducing the idea of bitcoin. He (whether through coincidence or design) planted the seed and gave it time to grow, so that by the time it would be necessary - it would already be robust enough to prevent civilization from turning on each other.

Cryptonote based coins are a lot like that. To claim that "we have bitcoin, and no matter what happens we will never need any other form of money!" is to fall into the same toxic arrogance that was once displayed by the bankers who scoffed at the idea of "computer nerd money". Bitcoin is an invaluable public ledger for the entire world, and will likely see use for a long time to come.

But it is not private.

And finance, like all large 'games' needs public moves as well as private ones. Imagine playing a game of poker where no one was allowed to have any "private" cards. Imagine trying to maintain a relationship where you told each other how you *really* feel 100% of the time. Imagine a large corporation disclosing all of their R&D and projected acquisitions to the public on a daily basis.

Some point to tools like CoinJoin, but the fact that merely using Tor to anonymize our internet browsing arouses suspicion shows us that add-on privacy is not enough - it must be a fundamental part of a protocol.

Finally consider this: If bitcoin had launched in 2009 with a system that automatically mixed all transactions together such that no two parties could track or trace each other, and all balances were kept hidden from everyone but the address holder, would anyone seriously consider entertaining the idea that this system of financial privacy should instead move to one where all transactions are conducted on a transparent ledger viewable by all?

So it's not my intent to send Mr. Shrem spam about how he needs to get interested in KittyCoin or CheeseburgerCoin. There has been a disgusting glut of shallow alts since the rise of the original Bitcoin, I agree. Thankfully, Cryptonote is not a bitcoin 'alt' or 'clone'. It is an independent code base, built from scratch. And it certainly wasn't my intention to only provide information about solely Cryptonote projects - you mispaint my intentions. But to truly keep up with possible innovations in this space, you can't shut your eyes to any possibilities without fair consideration.

And having been in similar situations to his in my life - where you are cut off from the torrent of information that the internet has accustomed you to... it's a very cruel fate. It feels as if suddenly you have lost an entire sense. It would be a shame to lose a mind as bright as his to such an information 'coma' for 24 months, so we'll do our best to keep him on the forefront of all cryptocurrency technologies; not just the original bitcoin.

[fluffypony]

Hi all - I'm one of the Monero core team members.

We have no idea who created that fake account, but we absolutely do not condone their actions. It could be reverse trolling, or it could be an overzealous community member. Nonetheless, please accept our apologies for the incident, it is regrettable that someone would do something so obviously stupid.

[bwaz]

Charlie, miss you buddy! Hope you are well.


Have someone email me your address and FBOP # as I'd like to send some love.



Bradley W

[amarcord]

Hey Charlie, it's AmericanPegasus.

You might not have heard about me yet, but I've been steadily learning and growing in the cryptocurrency community over the last year.

Wow, the modesty is strong with this one.

[rogerver]

Today I received the following email regarding Charlie:

Inmate 92164054 - SHREM, CHARLIE no longer has access to the Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System; therefore, he/she may not send or receive messages.

I don't know exactly what that means, but I suspect it means he has been moved from his camp.
Hopefully it just means he was moved to a half way house for the remaining six months of his sentence.
If that's the case, we will likely be hearing form him soon.
The other possibility is that he has gotten into trouble for something and was moved to a higher security facility. I think that is unlikely.

Hopefully we will hear directly from him soon!

[bitkilo]

Today I received the following email regarding Charlie:

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 6.51.49 AM.png

Inmate 92164054 - SHREM, CHARLIE no longer has access to the Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System; therefore, he/she may not send or receive messages.

I don't know exactly what that means, but I suspect it means he has been moved from his camp.
Hopefully it just means he was moved to a half way house for the remaining six months of his sentence.
If that's the case, we will likely be hearing form him soon.
The other possibility is that he has gotten into trouble for something and was moved to a higher security facility. I think that is unlikely.

Hopefully we will hear directly from him soon!

I'm sure his staying out of trouble and this is good news, we must get him back for another AMA when he is released.

[bitcoinstarter]

Today I received the following email regarding Charlie:
Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 6.51.49 AM.png

Inmate 92164054 - SHREM, CHARLIE no longer has access to the Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System; therefore, he/she may not send or receive messages.

I don't know exactly what that means, but I suspect it means he has been moved from his camp.
Hopefully it just means he was moved to a half way house for the remaining six months of his sentence.
If that's the case, we will likely be hearing form him soon.
The other possibility is that he has gotten into trouble for something and was moved to a higher security facility. I think that is unlikely.

Hopefully we will hear directly from him soon!

I'm sure his staying out of trouble and this is good news, we must get him back for another AMA when he is released.

Be nice to have Charlie back!

[rogerver]

Be nice to have Charlie back!

Agreed!

I'll be sure to pass along his forum login details as well.

[bitcoinstarter]

Be nice to have Charlie back!

Agreed!

I'll be sure to pass along his forum login details as well.

Great idea Roger! I miss everyone that made Bitcoin so great in the day. On a side note I remember your huge BTC pledge to a early bitcoin project listed on the site when I started BitcoinStarter.com thank you for it ! We are re-launching it very soon. More to come.

[rogerver]

Great idea Roger! I miss everyone that made Bitcoin so great in the day. On a side note I remember your huge BTC pledge to a early bitcoin project listed on the site when I started BitcoinStarter.com thank you for it ! We are re-launching it very soon. More to come.

Great! I look forward to seeing it! I'm sure everyone else does too.
It's always amazing when I stop and look back at how far bitcoin has come in the last 6.5 years of my involvement.
I remember when there wasn't a single mobile wallet. There were NO easy ways to buy Bitcoins. There were basically NO websites to spend Bitcoin on.
There wasn't much of anything but an idea. Now Bitcoin is regularly on the front page of every major news service in the world!
What an exciting thing to have witnessed!

[redsn0w]

News : http://charlieshrem.com/onward/

[BitcoinXio]

News : http://charlieshrem.com/onward/

Maybe he should do another proper AMA now that he is out. Although I'm not sure how much is is allowed to discuss as part of his release.