News

Australian Bank Publishes Report ‘Bitcoin to replace AUD?’

"The National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banking groups, published a three-page research paper on 19th December titled 'Bitcoin to replace AUD?' (Australian dollars). Despite the provocative title, the paper does not suggest replacing the national currency with bitcoin, nor say it could happen in the near future. Rather, it is an explanation of bitcoin and a comparison of the nature of digital currencies with existing sovereign currencies, and how they fit into the current international financial system. Bitcoin could well become a widely accepted medium of exchange, the paper said, but it would take many more years to achieve mainstream acceptance." Continue reading →

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Singapore government decides not to interfere with Bitcoin

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has decided not to intervene on whether businesses can accept Bitcoin as a means of transacting goods and services. 'Whether or not businesses accept Bitcoins in exchange for their goods and services is a commercial decision in which MAS does not intervene,' it told Singapore-based Bitcoin trading platform Coin Republic in an email. Singapore is one of the world’s top finanacial hubs that is increasingly seen as a challenger to Switzerland’s private baking dominance. The last time MAS issued a statement on Bitcoin was in September, when it warned speculators about the risks of trading the cryptocurrency." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin trading illegal in Iceland according to Icelandic Central bank

"It is prohibited to engage in foreign exchange trading with the electronic currency Bitcoin, according to the Icelandic Foreign Exchange Act. A written response from the Central Bank of Iceland to Morgunblaðið states that the Foreign Exchange Act specifies general restrictions on foreign exchange trading and capital movements between countries. 'It does not appear that the provisions of the Act that exempt goods and services from the aforementioned restrictions can be applied to trading in Bitcoin or that other exemptions from restrictions of the Act apply to such transactions,' the Central Banks's response states." Continue reading →

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Sweden moves closer to a cashless society with new business registry

"The troublesome legislation does not end with a government registry and yet another extraction of resources from the citizens. Businesses must now in many cases also violate the privacy of its customers. According to the law, businesses or their employees must obtain detailed knowledge about its customers and also ask for their identification. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the financial police. Funnily enough businesses does not have to obtain knowledge about their customers if they are dealing with Swedish authorities or with banks and insurance companies. Article 2 section 5 of the law states that these are exempt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSweden moves closer to a cashless society with new business registry

Amateur fetish porn is jumping into the Bitcoin game

"It’s a bit like Facebook for fetishes. Through March 1, Master Fet and Gimp Man are allowing performers to collect on 100 percent of the site’s revenue. 'We believe bitcoins, and digital currency in general, holds great promise to innovate not only the adult industry, but perhaps the way the world understands and uses currency as a whole,' he said, adding that certain niches like erotic hypnosis and sleeping fetish are currently outlawed by Visa and Mastercard." Continue reading →

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Overstock CEO: money ’too important to leave to government officials’

"Overstock.com Inc., an online discount retailer, is preparing to accept the virtual currency bitcoin as payment in the second half of 2014, according to Chief Executive and Chairman Patrick Byrne. The news was first reported by the website newsBTC, and confirmed in a Thursday morning phone interview with Byrne. The project is in an early stage, with no decision yet on whether Overstock.com would work with bitcoin companies to allow bitcoin payments or create its own system. A team of six to 12 people is expected to work on bitcoin payments at the company, said Byrne." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOverstock CEO: money ’too important to leave to government officials’

Fed’s ‘Elixir’ Is Surely a Temporary One

"The idea once was that powerful central bankers would work behind the scenes to make sure that various markets were stable and fair. Nowadays, central bankers work to ensure that markets – especially stock markets – are propped up so that the appearance of an improving economy can be maintained. And far from working in secret, this generation of bankers is desperate to reassure investors that optimal conditions for continued equity gains will be continued. This is, in fact, what the Bloomberg article is telling us. The Fed's magic elixir is simply the ability to assure top investors that they can continue to shovel money into the stock market without undue risk of reversals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed’s ‘Elixir’ Is Surely a Temporary One

Punk Economics: The Kidnapper wears Prada

"The Kidnapper wears Prada: Why the rich are getting much, much richer, why the Fed is in a corner and what it means for you! As the Federal Reserve gets a new chair and decides what to do next, whether to print $85 billion a month more or not, we examine the heist, who gets all the loot, why today's kidnappers wear Prada. Wake up. See what happens when financial kidnappers dress up as loyal patriots and extort money in the name of the common good." Continue reading →

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Fed to America: ‘QE Scam Will Continue’

"Yesterday, the Fed announced that the scam would continue. In a typical sleight of hand, it took its monthly asset buying down from $85 billion to $75 billion… but also told us that zero-bound interest would keep flowing for even longer than expected. As a card-carrying, asset-owning and secret-handshake-giving member of the 1%, we’re delighted to know that the filthy lucre will continue coming our way. But as a financial philosopher we find the whole show rather shabby and tawdry. Not only does the program shift income from the public to the insiders, it also masks the real problems in the economy and stifles real corrections." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed to America: ‘QE Scam Will Continue’

When We Will Celebrate the End of QE, and Why

"Central bank money is disseminated through the banking system. And the banking system over years funnels it into investable facilities like the stock market. It is a criminal system, predicated on rigorous control of money stock. If bankers really wanted to benefit the middle class, they'd pump it directly into bank accounts. But they won't, for that would reveal the essential phoniness of the system and it would also generate vast price inflation. But price inflation they will have nonetheless. By the time bubbles are visible, as they are, it is way too late for the economy to contain the damage. And thus they pretend to cut. Or trim the advance. But markets, especially stock markets, will continue to rise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen We Will Celebrate the End of QE, and Why