Bitcoin

Sweet success for Bees Brothers, world’s youngest bitcoin entrepreneurs

"Most teenage boys are far too busy at school and interested in playing sports and computer games to set up a business on the side. But nestled between two mountain ranges in northern Utah, USA, there are three brothers who are possibly the youngest bitcoin entrepreneurs out there. At 14, 13 and 10-years old, Nate, Sam and Ben Huntzinger have their own successful honey business at home in the Cache Valley. It all began when they caught a swarm of bees as a bit of a fun experiment. Little did they know it would lead to a small business and an obsession with bitcoin." Continue reading →

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Shakil Khan: Bitcoin can be “money over IP”, but services must get more intuitive

"'Why is it in 2013 I can send you an email, a voicemail, or text message, but if someone says ‘you owe me $10 for my pizza last week’ and I try to send it, the bank wants to charge me $27?' he asked. 'You might get it next week but it isn’t guaranteed. We have a banking system that’s slower than it’s ever been.' Bitcoin has the potential to be 'an IP address for money,' he said, but bitcoin services must become more intuitive if mainstream adoption is to occur. 'Try to buy $10 in bitcoins. It’s easier to get on a plane and fly to Mt. Gox,' he joked." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShakil Khan: Bitcoin can be “money over IP”, but services must get more intuitive

Bitcoin is NOT illegal in Thailand?

"'I can confirm that Bitcoin is not illegal [in Thailand],' says BTCXpert and former Bank of Thailand employee Frankie Bishop. An official announcement on Bitcoin has yet to be made by the Bank of Thailand, and none of the Thai media channels report any such announcement. The Bank of Thailand does not decide the legality of Bitcoin. Any regulations on crypto-currencies in Thailand will need to go through its formal process like Bitcoin does in other countries. None of the 'Roles and Responsbilities' listed by the Bank of Thailand give it authority to determine the legal status of any currency." Continue reading →

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BTCTurk becomes the first Turkish lira-to-bitcoin exchange

"We’ve recently reported the rise of bitcoin in Iran, Afghanistan and Israel, but now another country has jumped on the digital currency bandwagon – Turkey. BTCTurk launched earlier this month, becoming the first company to enable the exchange of Turkish lira for bitcoin and vice versa. Emre Kenci, CTO of BTCTurk, said he and his colleagues started to develop the company in January 2013 having watched interest in bitcoin increase across the globe. Kenci said there are currently no laws in Turkey that specifically regulate bitcoin, but BTCTurk operates to the same know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering policies that are compulsory for banks in the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBTCTurk becomes the first Turkish lira-to-bitcoin exchange

Virtual Currency Gains Ground in Actual World

"Depending on whom you ask, bitcoins are a goofy geek invention with as much long-term value as Monopoly money — or a technology development that could transform currency the way e-mail and texting have transformed correspondence. A type of digital cash, bitcoins were invented in 2009 and can be sent directly to anyone, anywhere in the world. You don’t have to go through a financial institution, which means no fees and no one tracking your spending habits. With a current market capitalization of $1 billion, bitcoins are beginning to be more widely accepted. You can use them to pay for a pizza or [finance] your child’s college education." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin and the Rise of a Digital Counterculture

"Several hundred entrepreneurs, dreamers, technophiles, and the simply curious gathered Tuesday in midtown Manhattan for 'Inside Bitcoins,' a one-day conference promoting and exploring the mushrooming world of digital currencies. There was a lot of talk about regulatory hurdles, and freedom of speech, replacing an archaic financial system, and of course fiat currencies, which are almost treated like a dirty word among the faithful. What emerged from the conference, to our eyes at least, is something more singular: The rise of a digital counterculture that in its anti-authoritarian, Utopian idealism resembles the counterculture of the 1960s." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Is Not Quantum-Safe, And How We Can Fix It When Needed

"Given what is currently public knowledge, quantum computers are still far away; the most powerful quantum computer to date managed to use Shor’s algorithm to factor the number 21. However, we always need to have a plan of what we can do if Edward Snowden decides to leak out that the NSA has fully functional quantum computers hiding in a secret data center. We probably cannot handle such a sudden event, but we certainly can handle cases where we get even a month of advance warning. From there, we lick our wounds, pick up our losses and move on to enjoy some of the more wonderful things that quantum computing has to offer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Is Not Quantum-Safe, And How We Can Fix It When Needed

Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Still Grappling With Slowdown

"Mt. Gox has seen U.S.-dollar denominated trading volume fall, and has struggled to keep up with customer requests for their money. In June, it temporarily halted U.S. dollar-denominated withdrawals. In July, it announced that it had resumed withdrawals, but acknowledged it hasn’t been able to process them as fast as it would like. Several customers have contacted MoneyBeat describing the trouble they’ve experienced since in getting funds out of Mt. Gox. The company essentially said the problem lies not with itself, but with the financial system outside of virtual currencies. All of this has resulted in a less liquid market for bitcoin trading." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Still Grappling With Slowdown

Building Bitcoin into the Core Architecture of the Web

"At the Inside Bitcoins NYC conference, Manu Sporny shared his answer to accelerate growth and provided a vision of adding 2.4 billion people to the Bitcoin ecosystem within the next five years. Where might one find a market that large that can be on-boarded that quickly? To Sporny, the answer lies in the 2.4 billion people with access to the web and in the sheer global dominance of four popular web browsers: IE, Safari, Firefox and Chrome. The challenge that naturally follows is how to integrate Bitcoin into the browser. Sporny is tackling this challenge by pushing for new W3C standards for the browser that will allow for more simplified transactions over the web." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin industry leaders launch DATA, a self-regulatory body for digital currencies

"The Committee for the Establishment of the Digital Asset Transfer Authority will 'work proactively with regulators and policymakers to adapt their requirements to our technologies and business models,' said the new group, in an announcement earlier today. The list of backers is a Who’s Who of players in bitcoin. Tony Gallipi, CEO of payment processor BitPay, Chris Larsen, CEO of Ripple and founder of OpenCoin, and Patrick Murck, general counsel for the Bitcoin Foundation, are on board. TradeHill CEO Jered Kenna, who has been negotiating licenses with individual states for his high-net worth bitcoin exchange, is also a member." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin industry leaders launch DATA, a self-regulatory body for digital currencies