Your First BURST: Harvey and BNB
Burstcoin (BURST), soon to be rebranded as Signum (ticker TBD) after its most recent hard fork, is a fun and persistent little altcoin. It features a power collection of open-source tools, has endured nearly a decade of trials and improvements, and yet still fosters an active community and continuous development through the engagement of its dedicated and enthusiastic followers. However, one thing Burst has not yet shed in its metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly is its reliance on a seemingly cyclical conundrum:
To get started with Burst, you first need to have some Burst.
A major draw for altcoin explorers is Burst’s very own distributed exchange, btdex, which allows users to exchange listed currencies for Burst and back, with more currency support added frequently on a rolling basis. Because the exchange is decentralized, no trust is required- all the coins remain in the user’s wallet, and are never held by the exchange. As a peer-to-peer exchange, transactions are transparent and easily verified, leaving the door open for automated transaction resolution in the future. However, to prevent network attacks, btdex requires a security deposit to make and take orders, and the deposit is in Burst itself. So, how are newcomers to get started?
For a long time, the answer was, “compromise.” Those willing to use a Know-Your-Customer centralized exchange like Bittrex or Stex could simply buy Burst there, then transfer it to their own wallet, just like any other coin. This was a passable, if undesirable, solution for most.
But for those with limited or no exchange access, prohibitive local requirements, or fundamental privacy concerns, the CEX/KYC route was either unacceptable or inaccessible.
Enter Harvey
Harvey is Burst’s very own Discord bot, and it can do swaps from BNB to Burst using its own liquidity pools. Harvey is closed-source and centralized to prevent scams and copycats, but can be verified using its unique Discord ID:
harvey#4919
It might be easier to trust Harvey than a random person, since Harvey is automated and its function can be verified by the community, as well as be independently verified; community members can even send small amounts of currency using Harvey as a test. Harvey issues its own disclaimer on the subject of fraud (the result of the !terms command):
How to use Harvey
Getting started with Harvey is simple! First, enter a bot channel on the Burst or TRT Discord and type !help. Harvey will send a direct message with instructions as below:
To begin, deposit the BNB to exchange into Harvey using the !deposit command. Remember, only deposit BNB to Harvey that you intend to convert. Harvey is not designed for the long-term holding of funds, so while you technically can keep coins in Harvey, there is no reason to take on the additional risk.
Once you have completed the deposit, you can use !swap bnb to have Harvey trade your BNB for BURST:
Harvey also has a fee (visible using !fees) on withdrawal.
However, since new users will likely only need to rely on Harvey for their first transaction, this fee is a small price to pay to ensure the continuation of the service used to help introduce other new users, who will also use the Burst in Harvey’s liquidity pool.
To make the withdrawal itself, use !withdraw, remembering to include your BURST address and the amount in BURST (or “all”):
The best recommendation would be to likewise withdraw all the BURST at once- small amounts of BURST can be trapped in Harvey due to the minimum transaction fee to withdraw, so it’s best to withdraw the entire amount at once unless you plan on using Harvey’s other functions, which are beyond the scope of this guide.
After you complete your withdrawal, congratulations! You’re all ready to begin participating in the BURST ecosystem!
