Bitcoin

Gliph Raises $200,000 To Expand Secure Messaging And Bitcoin Features

"Gliph began in early 2012 as an encrypted messaging app, focused on securing communications across iPhone, Android and web users, protecting all messages with SSL and/or AES-256 encryption. The service also offers the ability to reveal only as much personal information as desired with communication partners, using symbols – or ‘artifacts’, as the company calls them – as the primary personal identifiers. More recently, Gliph has added a number of bitcoin functions to seamlessly transact in the digital currency. Users can link existing wallets from a number of popular options including BIPS, Blockchain.info, or Coinbase." Continue reading →

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Pay heed to the internet’s Third Wave Cows of Disruption

"'We don't do PayPal, we don't do any of the credit cards. They charge too much, that eats into our profits, and we have to pass that on to the consumer. Direct payment and Bitcoin, they cost us nothing.' Yes, Bitcoin. Honest Beef started accepting the digital currency earlier this year. Is anyone using it? 'Plenty,' Moloney said. 'The last two animals we sent off, we had [those] two pay by Bitcoin, and we've got a third waiting. We're probably getting 10 to almost 20 percent of our customers paying by Bitcoin now.' Now, there's nothing particularly high-tech about Honest Beef. There's a website and Bitcoin, sure, but the rest is just telephones and trucks, emails and evisceration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPay heed to the internet’s Third Wave Cows of Disruption

Swiss Fund Centralway Invests $250k In Bitcoin Exchange Buttercoin

"Swiss company builder Centralway is opening a new seed and early stage investment arm that will invest $50 million per year into 20 to 30 startups — including both small seed-stage investment and larger Series A rounds. It said its 'preferred case' will be to do a smaller investment at the seed stage, followed by larger investment into the same company at a later round. Buttercoin‘s model is to open a local Bitcoin exchange in each country where it operates — starting with Europe (where it’s due to launch in around two months’ time) — and then partner with local money transfer businesses to gain legal compliance in the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss Fund Centralway Invests $250k In Bitcoin Exchange Buttercoin

Farmers Market: Bitcoin Haven or Bitcoin Bust?

"A couple of weeks ago, we visited the Salt Lake Farmers Market. We were amazed at the receptiveness of the vendors there to bitcoin. It was the smoothest experience we have had in the month and a half we have been living on bitcoin in persuading people to accept bitcoin. These were very open minded folks! Five different vendors accepted bitcoin from us for their products." Continue reading →

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What Do the Latest NSA Leaks Mean for Bitcoin?

"Could the intelligence community have a secret exploit for Bitcoin? It's rather obvious that Bitcoin presents a very strong financial incentive to break its cryptography, since such a vulnerability could allow an attacker to claim large amounts of virtual currency for themselves. But given the decentralized nature of the currency, it may also be a target for intelligence officials looking for ways to track its use. Clearly, Bitcoin is on the government's radar. Knowing how much effort the NSA, amongst others, has placed on cracking encryption, has it tackled Bitcoin too? First, we need to look at how Bitcoin works." Continue reading →

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Two Guys Just Started A Site That’s Like A Bitcoin-Only Amazon

"One of the most common complaints about Bitcoin, the encrypted, digital currency that isn't controlled by any bank or country, is that you can't use it to buy anything practical. Alpaca wool socks? Come on, now. Entrepreneurs Michal Handerhan and Tim Sidie have startedBitcoinShop.us in order to solve this problem. Their site is probably best described as 'Amazon, but with Bitcoin.' There's 55,000 items for sale across all categories – books, electronics, sporting goods, even toys. It's all available here for purchase, via Bitcoin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo Guys Just Started A Site That’s Like A Bitcoin-Only Amazon

Coming Soon to America: Bitcoin ATMs

"At least two firms have plans to ship out Bitcoin ATMs to American cities in the coming months. Robocoin, the Las Vegas-based firm rolling out the world’s first Bitcoin ATMs in Canada this fall, plans to ship 12 to 15 of the units by the end of the year. So what, you may wonder, is the point of an ATM for a digital currency? Think of it more like a vending machine or currency exchange counter: Rather than just offering withdrawals or deposits, the Bitcoin ATM allows a user to buy Bitcoins in exchange for cash. The machines also offer some real-world convenience—like traditional ATMs, you can take dollars from the ATM by trading in your Bitcoins." Continue reading →

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Michigan Small-Town Mayor Accepts Bitcoins For Re-Election Campaign

"We welcome Bitcoin donations. We support currency freedom! However, in order to promote the use of Bitcoins for these purposes, our campaign must comply with federal and state election/campaign finance laws. In the spirit of transparency and legality, we require the following information from all donors, whether BTC or USD. We really appreciate your support! For contributions of more than $100 USD (cumulatively) we also need your employer, city of employment, and job title. No one person can donate over $500 USD (cumulatively)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan Small-Town Mayor Accepts Bitcoins For Re-Election Campaign

Most Secure Bitcoin Wallet Armory Raises $600k Led by Trace Mayer

"Insecure Bitcoin wallets and unscrupulous providers have previously resulted in the losses of significant funds for Bitcoin users. In the two full years Armory has been in use, Armory has had no reports of any lost or stolen Bitcoins among users who have used Armory’s printed paper backup feature. New features will include support for hardware wallets and multi-signature transactions. This will open the door for enterprise level Bitcoin security by requiring that at least two or more people or devices (depending on corporate policies) approve every transaction. The next version will include functionality to create fragmented backups that can be stored in multiple locations for increased physical security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMost Secure Bitcoin Wallet Armory Raises $600k Led by Trace Mayer