Bitcoin

The 1 Up Fever

"In the Berlin city everyone is going crazy for a viral new app. Anyone with a smartphone can play a sort of Super Mario Bros arcade game in Augmented Reality. In the game a coin corresponds to 0.01 Bitcoins. Citizens' habits are tainted by the game. Coins are hidden all over the city, you can spot them just scanning around with your device, not always they are easy to grab. People started to leave their jobs in order to collect Coins in the streets. All over the city people are jumping and running around with their smartphones, trying to grab as many virtual coins as they can..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe 1 Up Fever

Private Investor and Trader Joe Lewis Not Backing Bitcoin Ventures, Contra WSJ

"Noted private investor and trader Joe Lewis is not backing any Bitcoin ventures, as previously reported today. 'I have no investments whatsoever in any Bitcoin ventures,' said Lewis. A story widely reported in several publications inaccurately stated that Lewis is supporting the virtual currency through Phoenix Fund, a fund with no affiliation to Lewis or Tavistock Group. 'Unfortunately, many immature investments and investors would like the association of private investors like Joe Lewis. They bring instant credibility,' said Douglas McMahon, senior managing director of Tavistock Group, a private investment organization founded by Lewis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate Investor and Trader Joe Lewis Not Backing Bitcoin Ventures, Contra WSJ

Why bitcoins are 60% more expensive in Argentina than the US

"The country’s citizens, faced with an annual inflation rate of around 25%, are turning their backs on their national currency. Official figures put the annual rate of inflation at around 10%, but private economists estimate it to be more than double this. In February 2011, the government started issuing fines of up to 500,000 pesos ($123,442) to economists and consulting firms that refuted the official figures. To access dollars legally in Argentina, buyers have to make a request through the central bank and AFIP (the tax revenue office), which check how much the buyer is requesting and what it is for." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy bitcoins are 60% more expensive in Argentina than the US

Bitcoin: newest frontier in e-money management

"Over the last year, many wealthy Russians lost billions of euros in the Cyprus economic crisis. The Russian government announced plans to intentionally weaken the ruble - plans that were never realized, but which caused quite a scare. President Vladimir Putin banned government officials from holding bank accounts and securities abroad. Historically, the Russian ruble has been a tumultuous currency, suffering major fluctuations throughout the 20th century. For those distrustful of Russia's financial institutions, then, Bitcoin's decentralized basis in math and code may provide an increasingly viable alternative." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin: newest frontier in e-money management

Famed Trader Joe Lewis Backs Bitcoin With Swiss Fund

"Joe Lewis, a billionaire foreign-exchange trader who teamed up with hedge-fund manager George Soros in 1992 to bet against the Bank of England, is the latest high-profile financier to throw his weight behind the virtual currency called bitcoin. Mr. Lewis leads the Phoenix Fund, a Zurich-based private-equity fund that on Tuesday plans to invest $200 million in Avalon, a company that makes computer servers aimed at creating bitcoins, according to people familiar with the situation. The Phoenix Fund's investment in Avalon reflects the growing popularity of virtual currencies, which are also coming under scrutiny from regulators." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFamed Trader Joe Lewis Backs Bitcoin With Swiss Fund

Casascius Physical Bitcoins Cracked at Defcon

"The methodology consisted of using a hypodermic needle to carefully inject tiny quantities of what the researchers will only refer to as a 'non-polar solvent' between the holographic security sticker and the brass coin itself. After the solvent weakened or entirely dissolved the adhesive they were able to peel back the holographic foil and access the private key beneath. The sticker was then trivially replaced, though Stits felt that using a secondary adhesive might be necessary since little of the original adhesive was left. The re-assembled coin bore only a tiny mark at the edge of the foil where the needle was first inserted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCasascius Physical Bitcoins Cracked at Defcon

Satoshi Nakamoto: Natural Elite to the Rescue

"As the financial world melted down in 2008, a person or group of people developed the cyber-currency Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. This innovation epitomizes the natural elite in action. This brilliant work, done anonymously, is, after only four years, providing a sound alternative to debauched government currencies. No political grandstanding. No interviews from Capitol Hill. No ghost-written rants in the Wall Street Journal. No horse trading or sausage making. This is the simple creation of a product to satisfy human desires. A product people trade with voluntarily, not through the force of legal tender laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSatoshi Nakamoto: Natural Elite to the Rescue

Farm Fresh Food with Bitcoin – La Nay Ferme help Beccy & Austin eat!

"Austin & Beccy Craig relish the chance to purchase fresh produce and eat real food with bitcoin. They buy a share in a local CSA, La Nay Ferme in Provo, Utah (CSA=Community Supported Agriculture). The farm's owner Clint shares his philosophy about food, about community, about money, and about bitcoin. Life On Bitcoin is a documentary film project about intrepid newlyweds Austin & Beccy Craig who are living the first 90 days of their married lives only on bitcoin. They are asking businesses all around where they live to accept bitcoin. They will also be traveling using bitcoin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFarm Fresh Food with Bitcoin – La Nay Ferme help Beccy & Austin eat!

The Bitcoin Gambling Diaspora

"Bitcoin gambling is growing to be much more than just SatoshiDice. Of couse, many old-time gambling sites like BitZino and Seals with Clubs have been providing alternatives to SatoshiDice all along, but in the opening months of 2013 the massive success of Erik Voorhees’ juggernaut has prompted dozens of people to come up with alternatives. We now have the roulette-style wheel games SatoshiCircle and most recently BitcoinSpin, the minefield Satoshi Karoshi, the SatoshiDice clone SuzukiDice offering half the fees of the original, and the lottery BitMillions, and new sites are opening practically every week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Bitcoin Gambling Diaspora