Hey All!
I'm Charlie Shrem, Bitcoin Pioneer and founder of one of the earliest and largest Bitcoin companies BitInstant. I also founded the Bitcoin Foundation and served as its first Vice Chairman before stepping down the day after my arrest. Since then I've consulted for dozens of crypto companies, public and private, and since my release from prison, working on my own stealth project.
Been hearing a lot of great things about Steemit, and checking it out :)
Feel free to post some questions, I will try to answer. In the near future I will likely do an AMA here!
Verification:
— Checking out Steemit! Verification - Charlie Shrem (@CharlieShrem) August 16, 2016 https://t.co/ZmVtaf09QL
Here is an except from my recent blog post!
A few weeks ago I was released from Lewisburg FPC. I want to thank the hundreds of people who wrote, sent books, money, magazines, and their support. There are no words to describe my appreciation and affection to all of you. Thank you so much.Currently I’m home in southern Pennsylvania where Courtney and I have relocated temporarily. We will spend the summer months enjoying the outdoors, good food, family, friends and the small things that I missed while I was away, and at the same time transition back into normal life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be back home.I’m excited to move forward onto new projects and looking forward to seeing what everyone has been working on! http://charlieshrem.com/onward/
Charlie
Edit: You can follow me on twitter here: https://twitter.com/CharlieShrem
Follow my blog here: https://charlieshrem.com
Welcome to steemit charlie. Glad to see you here.
Thanks Charles! Thanks for the advice on my first post :)
you will do unbelievably well here! In no time you will be a whale! which is a honor i believe! :D
DO NOT CLICK ME YOU BAD PEOPLE!
"Ah, a post that doesn't promote Steemit or add much value beyond a hello? Negative PR from a known and convicted criminal? Better upvote it to $7000,-"
I wonder..
Your excessive use of caps and bold italics to dominate the discussion with your viewpoint is worthy of a downvote. Applied.
(Now that you've muted me: Your use of the tools was inappropriate in this case. Your viewpoint had nothing to do with the downvote. A comment isn't based on who can use font styling the best. If your comment in text isn't enough to get appreciation, it isn't who screams the loudest visually, that's not how this platform works).
Yes he IS a convicted criminal, and no we DON'T care. I hope the next thing you ask yourself is 'why' doesn't anyone care? Perhaps we're all morally bankrupt? Or perhaps we don't judge people by their interactions with the U.S governments? Or perhaps instead of slinging mud and character attacks, we took the time to read and find out why this man had his liberty taken away, some would say STOLEN. Personally I'm proud Charlie got through his problems and proud that Steemit can count him amongst its ever growing family.
nelson mandela was a convicted criminal? morality and law are completely separate.
Also the way you wrote the comment makes you an absolute knob. I consume marijuana because of a form of autism. I am a criminal also. I am a good human being though! would never hurt an innocent party. BIG difference between what is moral and what is legal. A good example would be the fact if you gave a black person your bus seat in america in the 20's you would be a criminal. Sit down and shut the fuck up. I never talk to people like this on here but some levels of dumb fuckery need to be treated mutually. Also you can write as if you posses some higher level of knowledge but in reality all you are is a word smith. Nothing more. Intelligence is not defined by how well you write. In fact intelligence is based on understanding and rational thinking. Both of which, clearly you lack. What you said is personally insulting to me because i have a choice. Marijuana or ritalin. I'd rather take the plant i grow rather than the chemical poison they hand out to every energetic 9 year old.
In the U.K if you catch someone sexually abusing your child and you take their life you go to prison for manslaughter. What is moral is not legal and what is legal is not moral. Don't be so insulting to those persecuted .
Alright @spookypooky and please correct me if I'm wrong but money laundering is the act of transferring the proceeds of a criminal activity through legal entities in order to make it appear to be legally obtained yeah? The moral reasoning behind it is that one should not benefit from the proceeds of crime and legally there is the issue of taxation. So let's say I go to a chocolate factory and purchase 1000 bars of chocolate and then go and swap those chocolate bars for drugs and let's also assume that the dealer sells the chocolate bars to a shop in order to recoup their cash. At this point their are four parties involved only two have knowingly committed a crime but it looks like you would hold all four responsible I mean all parties except the user have made a profit from crime. If you are with what I've said then perhaps you should concede some of that moral high ground because I guarantee you have at some point in your life been involved in that chain, it you fix a criminals car that is later used in a robbery are you complicit in the crime?
And secondly as you put Charlie on blast according to Reuters "Shrem, the former vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, will plead guilty next Thursday in New York federal court to unlicensed money transmission." something both the factory owner and shop keeper would be guilty of no? Do you want Bitcoin and other crypto currencies regulated because without regulation there is no "unlicensed money transmission"?
And finally yes it looks like Charlie only posted to say hello like the tag says I don't think we all need to use Steem to talk about Steem unlike the multitude of Steem quick money marketing gurus I assume you think you are one of having looked at your posts
I wouldn't hold a chocolate factory owner or store owner to the same standards as an exchange operator due to their inherently different natures and business niches. If a chocolate factory owner was lax on safety regulations, I would indeed hold that against them.
If you operate an exchange that clears out millions, there's no excuses for 'not knowing or noticing' . That's negligence. This doesn't change anything about the person or their character, they might be great guys for all I know, they might be more charitable and amicable than many a 'law abiding citizen', me included. But that doesn't change the facts and the results of aforementioned practices.
Money laundering and bitcoin related 'crimes' of similar nature may be victimless, but they're not free of impact. Money laundering enables criminals to grab their proceeds, to have their cake and eat it too, which does have the potential for tremendously negative chain reactions and domino effects. That's why it's such a highly contested topic (and it's definitely not much better in many fiat institutions that get implicated in cases of this nature, that doesn't make it right, it just makes both alternatives wrong).
I merely use the tools at my disposal to get a point out. You're free to find a single sentence in bold to be excessive, but I question that motivation. I don't see any caps that you speak of.
Is it wrong to present people the reality of the situation?
I'm pretty sure the Steemit blockchain is free.
@intelliguy
I've never muted you, in fact, I upvoted you. I may disagree with you, but our discussion is still one worth having. It's a shame the reply system is not sufficient in this case. I still don't feel that it's inappropriate - if it wasn't an intended function of the platform it would not be explicitly coded in. I respect you wanting to disagree, though. If you and many others feel that it should be removed, open a topic about it on the Steemit github.
@egjoshslim
I'm sorry you have to deal with autism, I'm sure that's not easy. I do feel that you're taking this very personal and taking it out on me, though. I'm pretty sure one of the Steemit selling points are it's decentralisation on the blockchain, so I find it amusing that you would explicitly downvote me when part of my discussion disagrees with your views and feelings. Seems similar to those 'laws' you harp against - in reverse :)
@cryptosi
You're free to take a stance on this however you wish, but making assumptions about to extent or lack of my knowledge doesn't seem appropriate. If my sarcastic jab at the monetary reward and loaded PR implications came off as character attacks and mud then I apologize. As mentioned above, I am amused that you'd use the censorship function in a case like this though, related to somebody going to jail over a supposed 'victimless crime'.
Hey charlie. when are you coming back to discuss blockchain & bitcoin stuff? :)
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
@Charlieshrem your story is one that all bitcoiners should know and remember as we move forward into this brave new world. There is a great deal of responsibility in the hands of all cryptonerds who care about Freedom. As with all technology, it is neither inherently evil, nor good. Instead it is a reflection of our collective efforts and philosophies. If a "Utopia" is even possible, it is likely based in complete individual freedom, nonviolence and an end to artificial scarcity. Blockchain tech will not bring Utopia...Only we can.
When it is tough please remember your story is written in the history book that whispers to all veteran cryptonerds consciences as they walk the a long road to a different paradigm.
/clap
Hi Charlie, great you're back again! Hope to see you soon in Buenos Aires! Here's a suggestion how to use your new Steem Power: we want to fund an episode of Captain Drakins' Bitcoin Show on Steemit through Steem - can you be so kind to upvote this post to make it happen? https://steemit.com/steemit/@aaronkoenig/captain-drakins-on-steem-make-it-happen
Thanks a lot and enjoy freedom!
Way happier to have Charlie Shrem than Charlie Sheen!
Looking forward to the AMA session, as I believe it will offer a lot of value answering the questions of both veterans and newbies to cryptocurrency and bitcoin. Hope you feel welcome!
u are welcome, nice u here @charlieshrem
Welcome out in the free @charlieshrem - I remember you talked about making a tunafish market in prison, how did that work out? Any inside stories you wanna share with us?
It was very interesting actually. There are several markets and economies in prison and I am publishing a series of posts about it here on Steemit.
@charlieshrem awesome - looking forward to be reading your posts one by one. Followed :)
Don't trust anybody that doesn't have a record. Johnny Depp
That makes me feel a lot better about the place.
Nice to have you here! Welcome back to the world.
I bought my first Bitcoin's from Charlie and BitInstant!
Cool! I have some BitInstant stickers and shirts if you want one !
Me too - then he let it go down the tubes... When did he get out of jail?
So thankful to see you here. Following for sure. I'm sure we all have a lot to learn from your experiences.
I still have my Bitinstant shirt :)
I'll sign it if you want !
lol
Wow
Welcom Charlie!
How much STEEM you are planning to byy? In percentage of your BTC holding?
I'm always looking to spread my holdings around to the assets I see performing the best long term. I dont day trade or buy to sell within a few hours. As a long term asset, STEEM has the signs of potentially being great. Steemit is still in beta so Im looking forward to contributing and being involved.
Hi! I am a content-detection robot. This post is to help manual curators; I have NOT flagged you.
Here is similar content:
http://charlieshrem.com/onward/
Welcome to Steemit!
I used to buy at your platform bitinstant when I started out with btc, and now you're back stronger!
Did anyone else misread his name as Charlie Sheen at first?
Welcome to steemit Charlie! Thank you for your service to the Bitcoin community.
Welcome Charlie! Glad to see a familiar face.
Welcome. We look forward to watching how you contribute!
I have a series of posts I'm writing now about socioeconomic observations in prison. If the Steemit community likes it, Ill post it here exclusively.
I would love to see those posts. Those of us who are in this industry have constant threat of prison for victimless crimes. It would be good to know what we can expect.
victim less crimes? by definition they can't morally be a crime? Againts the law maybe but please remember that nelson mandela was legally a terrorist in south africa for 20+ years. I will probably go to prison for having a form of autism and using marijuana to balance me... Stupid world we live in run by even stupider people :(
WHEN A BUTTON SAYS DONT PUSH, YOU BETTER PUSH IT
Nelson Mandela WAS a terrorist!
For example, smoking pot is a victimless crime. To be a crime there is no moral requirement, it merely has to be against the law.
crime != evil
The world needs leaders, who sometimes fall, but we help pick them back up and they are remembered for their sacrifice for the greater good. :)
Uh, I think SteemIt might like that.
I find that highly intriguing as I've recently (past year or so) had highly unlawful experiences with the "justice" system (Officers lied about the situation and I had no way to combat it. <- Click if you'd like to read about it.) and as a result, have dealt with prison/jail and it tends to be a complete miscarriage of said "justice" harboring more disgust and a growing feeling of resentment for a system that claims to try to make things better, but only ever has unjust and immoral results to show for their efforts. Glad to have you here on steemit! The more political/social/economic powerhouses we have on the platform, the better the content will be and the better the direction in which the platform heads in as a whole. I would wish you success, but as I can tell, you've clearly been met with instant success! (Much deserved, I must say.) I will, in turn, wish you more success and hope that you contribute a decent amount of content. As an intellectual, I love to learn about as many different topics as I can and further my knowledge base on those that I already have a base knowledge of.
Best wishes @charlieshrem !
In all likelihood it'll be a smash. Welcome aboard.
Does focusing on the socioeconomic status of those in prison and put preventative measures in place for that particular group work better than focusing on racial differences - in my opinion propagate racism and a racial divide.
I work in prison, I would be interested to see your observations
Please do! That would be absolutely beneficial for all of us here.
Please do!
Up voted because YES, we want to read your observations while in prison @charlieshrem
Wow, of course wed love it! There's a niche or will be a niche for everyone! I'm still looking for a solid lgbt steem community. We should implement social groups at some point soon.
Yes please
I doubt you post it for the money involved? Aren't you already a rich man? :)
Looking forward to your observations & involvement @chalieshrem! At the Garden of Eden, we too live with constant threats for victimless crimes, but we're a community of well-educated individuals who know more about the law than most lawyers, and it gives us power in the system. We're seriously excited to be on this revolutionary new platform to exchange valuable ideas with sharp minds!
https://steemit.com/policestate/@gardenofeden/anonymous-video-call-to-action-to-support-sustainable-community-raided-by-black-ops-swat-team
As an econ major i would love to see what you have to share. I will be watching for those posts
Bring them On @charlieshrem . I would love hear some. Have some experience myself
@pierce-the-veil: I anticipate this would be a very interesting read.
Would love to communicate further if possible.
Regards,
Jordan
@-pierce-the-veil
This is fantastic! Welcome! Steemit is getting the attention of some key players in the Crypto world. This will be good for the platform.
@charlieshrem .... Welcome back to the otherside. Sorry you had to be the 'slaughtered lamb' for 'them' to flex on. You're not only back but you're back the arms of camaraderie. Thank you personally from the bottom of my heart for all that you have contributed to the crypto world which has a lead to such communities as of this here Steemit. I know it's a shit show in there but I'm sure being what you made of the shit show out here prior, I'm beyond excited to hear any and all thoughts you formulated during your sit. Crypto has literally changed my life & I look forward to any advice or direction you may provided. It's Your Day brotha... Enjoy the fresh air . Enjoy your family. Enjoy your new community here! It's Your Day!
People saying you are a criminal..... Really? we going to forget america and my country The united kingdom illegally invaded a country and have completely destroyed those nations? Charlie is the criminal? You do not belong on this side of the fence if that is your thinking. Don't worry @charlieshrem brother, I got your back ;D
Welcome to the new world Charlie! Let's make Steemit number one on the net..
Awesome! Welcome to steemit, thanks for all your hard work on creating Bitcoin! I would be honored if you would read and let me know what you think about my idea to use the Article 5 of the US Constitution to end the Federal Reserve and replace it with printable crypto-currencies (Japan's Bitcoin exchange is planning a printable version). Here is the link and welcome to steemit!
https://steemit.com/money/@titusfrost/how-to-end-the-federal-reserve-using-article-5-of-the-u-s-constitution-and-crypto-currencies
Nice shirt, that smile on top of your crypto accomplishments is so adorably cute. =D
Welcome to Steemit @charlieshrem! Very impressed with your accomplishments and you inspire other girls like me! Go girlpower! Will check out your blog!
Wellcome to steemit
Nice!! $10k to say "hey go look at my blog!" :D
Hi Charlie! I'm so glad that you have been finally released!! :)
Welcome to steemit!
Me too ! I didn't like prison
Well, I'm glad you're out!
Wow dude! Welcome aboard!!!
1st - The Steemit community is pretty friendly all in all! I think you'll enjoy your time here!!
2nd- The amount of information presented here is AMAZING. In just over a month, I've read things about Quantum Physics, cell dna, poetry, writing, humor, machine learning, amazing 'introduceyourself' posts, memes, food festivals, food reviews and of course, beauty tutorials. If you're interested in something, you'll find it here!!!
3rd - ROCK ON!!! and a YEAH BUDDAYY to you as well!! hahah!! I 'UFC'd this post - Upvoted, Followed and Commented!
-bigedude
Which one is Charlie? Or is it some sort of Siamese bisexual mutant?
Wow! Nearly miss out, lol................................ You 're highly welcome to steemit - Charlie Shrem.
Holy nostalgia!!!! I miss BitInstant. Things have come a long ways lately in the Bitcoin world, but the need for stealth and anonymity is always present. I posted some methods to obfuscate Bitcoins a few days ago, but improvements are always welcome. Looking forward to updates on your project @charlieshrem
Having a true pioneer here makes me happy!
Welcome Charlie. Hope you have a great time with us here
Yours,
Tim Said
Thanks !
Welcome to Steemit! What are your price predictions for Steem? What did you go to prison for?
That awkward moment when I thought this said "Charlie Sheen Is Now On Steemit."
Way to go. Hope Steem also will get popular like BTC.
Good to steemit charlie.
If steemit set mining, let everybody can wakuang,!The more good!
I am working on an article regarding the economical warfare and how bitcoin and alike disrupt the few chosen "elites" plans. Thank you for your work and sacrifice!
Bitcoin Charlie back at it. Great to see, and can't wait to see what you've come up with as your "stealth project". Any hints??
Cheers,
If you are interested in being involved, email me at [email protected] :)
[-]dennygalindo47 · 19 hours ago
Welcome.
This is all so childish...... Lets see.... I am connected. I post a "I am here"....poof, $6k........ Amazing....free masons abound..... {pukes into cheap plastic bag}...
C'mon don't be jelly. The dude has been to hell and back for doing things most of us wouldn't to further the cause of crypto. Let him enjoy some Steem!
That's a funny way of framing money laundering.
Do you know the full story? Out of 400 million in transactions, less than 0.025% was claimed to be used as a money laundering tool. He was made an example of.. All you hear is criminal, and your mind seems to go bonkers over it. Try to do some research:
Start watching at 04:30 on that youtube, and you might understand more about who you're trying to roast at the stake.
Oh Boi! Charlie Sherm found some Steem Power:) Feels like l know you since the day's I first started learning of Bitcoin. Crazy how time fly's by. I'm glad you are here making Steemit feel even more of a home feeling. Can't wait to hear more of your projects. Now I need to introduce myself as I am a bit late:)
I guess it was that 4th whiskey {embarrased shrug}......
Hey Charlie. Glad you decided to share your story with the Steemit audience :)
Thanks Will!
Good to have you aboard Charlie!
What do think of the direction of the Bitcoin community as a whole now?
Welcome to Steemit Charlie :)
Hi there Charlie !
I would be verry interested, in your thoughts about Gridcoin '
Check it out ==> http://www.gridcoin.us/
Cheers mate !