Bitcoin

What Are Bitcoins: The How, Why and Why Not

"There is a large and growing list of internet based companies that do business in bitcoins. Earlier this year, bitcoin payment processor BitPay partnered with gift card company Gyft, which now accepts bitcoins for its mobile gift card products. So now, buy using these gift cards, you can use your bitcoins at large number of big companies that include names like Burger King and Nike. Interestingly, areas in Germany have many merchants that do business in bitcoins. Germany has now declared this virtual money as official 'unit of account.' Adding a bit more credibility to this virtual currency, the Winklevoss twins, of Facebook fame, are working on launching an ETF that will track the value of bitcoins." Continue reading →

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Sure, You Can Steal Bitcoins. But Good Luck Laundering Them

"Bitcoin is a bit of a paradox. It can be used nearly anonymously: any two people can easily set up brand new Bitcoin wallets, meet in a park, and exchange cash for Bitcoin. But at the same time, Bitcoin trades are public: all transactions are shared in a publicly available file called the Blockchain that’s posted to the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network. That public ledger makes it pretty tough for big-time criminals to launder money through the network. At least that’s what researchers at the University of California and George Mason University found when they studied the Bitcoin network by developing sophisticated tools to track how money was moving around it." Continue reading →

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Regulator on Bitcoin: Same Rules Apply

"The top U.S. anti-money-laundering regulator on Monday told a Bitcoin trade group that exchanges for the virtual currency must follow the same rules as established financial institutions, highlighting the government's efforts to keep tabs on a small but growing segment of the financial world. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or Fincen,hosted the Bitcoin Foundation and other regulators and law-enforcement officials as the sides grapple with the rise of virtual currencies. Such digital money isn't backed by a central government and often, as with Bitcoin, isn't controlled by any central entity." Continue reading →

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Bitmine.ch – How’s a bitcoin miner made – Episode #1

"Bitmine presents its first video about how our Bitcoin mining devices are made. In this episode you'll have a sneak preview of our electronic circuits assembly facility and you'll see how the strict quality controls of Bitmine are accomplished in bringing you the best quality miners." Continue reading →

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Coinbase: First $1,000,000 USD in merchant processing is now free!

"We’ve long believed that merchant adoption is key to bitcoin going mainstream, and the next large phase of bitcoin usage will be as customers spend their bitcoin with more merchants. With that in mind, we wanted to lower all barriers for new merchants to get started, and help highlight some of the economic benefits of accepting bitcoin. Today we’ve decided to announce free processing on your first $1,000,000.00 USD in orders for all merchants. This waives our previous fee of 1%. For your first one million USD (equivalent at the time of purchase) in bitcoin merchant orders our fee will be 0%." Continue reading →

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Inside the Bitcoin advocates’ closed-door meeting with federal regulators

"The U.S. government took the latest step toward regulating virtual currencies on Monday as representatives from the Bitcoin Foundation met behind closed doors with federal officials in Washington. Attendees say the meeting was cordial, with regulators listening carefully as Bitcoin advocates warned that excessive regulation could drive innovation in virtual currencies overseas. Nearly a dozen high-level agencies were in attendance, including the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, the Secret Service and the Financial Crimes and Enforcement Division (FinCEN) of Treasury, which convened the discussion." Continue reading →

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Can Bitcoin make a good first impression with top federal agencies?

"The discussions are to involve many of the country’s top law enforcement and financial agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service, the IRS, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Also attending will be officials from the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Credit Union Administration, Money Transmitter Regulators Association and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors would also be in attendance, a Treasury official confirmed. Congress has also asked the Obama administration for information on its plans for regulating digital currencies." Continue reading →

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How can you buy illegal drugs online?

"Imagine if there were an Amazon.com for drugs. That, roughly, is what the Silk Road, a mail-order drugs service hidden in the dark parts of the internet, tries to be. Many drug users cannot wait two or three days for delivery of their next hit. But it is all a lot easier than waiting for the man. The police may not agree. Still, there is probably less chance of a drug deal on the Silk Road turning into a murder scene, and customer reviews may be a better guide to quality—and so the risk of overdose and death—than a street-corner salesman’s patter. Buying a line online has never been easier." Continue reading →

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Thailand Bitcoin issues – Not exactly true

"There are reports that Thailand has advised against using Bitcoin. We read the article and in one instance, it stated that the Bank advised against using Bitcoin, then later stated it was banned. Some questions arose as to which is fact and which is made up as we could not figure out how a private company can create Thai law on something it has no clue about. We asked around and could not find any factual statement from a Government agency that what Bitcoin.co.th has said was true. Looking at the business model and the lack of useability of Bitcoin in Thailand, it soon appeared that some statements are not entirely true." Continue reading →

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