[chuckup]

> Which makes it rather difficult to obtain bitcoin in the first place.

True, but now with Bitcoin a teen can do work for pay over the internet (I assume minors cannot easily get a paypal account). I've seen teens draw incredible art, make avatars, do minecraft related tasks, light programming, etc. So while it's not easy, there is a way for them to obtain it.

I remember scheming for ways to make money online when I was a teen, but my only options were to get someone to send me cash in the mail, or have my parents cash a check (after asking me a bunch of questions as to why someone was sending their 14yr old a $100 check).

Hop over to btc-e and watch thousands of teens daytrade altcoins while chatting, it's eye opening.

[jliptzin]

I had a paypal account when I was 14. I used to build websites and sell them on ebay, it was pretty good money for a high school kid. But for some reason ebay/paypal thought I was running some kind of a scam and permanently banned me. I'm 28 and still banned and they refuse to even take a look at my account or listen to any kind of appeal.

[timboslice]

Something similar happened to me too as a kid, but I was able to create a second account (first account was using my Dad's information, with permission).

They are notoriously difficult to work with as a vendor. I had someone pay for the last milestone of a project, then after the goods were delivered, filed a chargeback with their credit card company. The CC company ruled in his favor, and Paypal offered no way to dispute. I was left with the -$1,500 balance

[iancarroll]

> (I assume minors cannot easily get a paypal account)

They can, very easily. I've had one of my accounts banned after applying for their debit card, but I was able to open another one with the same SSN and still haven't been caught.

[_yrst]

When I was 15/16 I was doing programming with the Bitcoin API for sites in exchange for Bitcoin. While it wasn't difficult for me to setup a Paypal, there was always a risk of it being shut down or Paypal asking me for verification (which actually didn't happen until about a month before I turned 18.) I had heard of it happening to many of my friends in the same age group.