Bitcoin

Earlier This Week, UK Government Agents Held a Conference on Bitcoins

"About 50 civil servants from HM Revenue & Customs, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Home Office and GCHQ – the intelligence listening service – held a one-day conference which examined how Bitcoin works and how criminals might seek to exploit the electronic cash system, which is currently unregulated by any financial authority. The Future of Money conference, which included presentations on how the cryptocurrency works, was organised by the government’s Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre, an arm of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which develops 'innovative, long-term policy.'" Continue reading →

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Mt. Gox Funds at Wells Fargo Have Been Seized

"Not only have Mt Gox funds been seized from the Dwolla account, but according to the warrant issued for that seizure, a separate seizure warrant was issued to allow Homeland Security to seize the funds in the Mt Gox account held in the name Mutum Sigillum at Wells Fargo. It appears that Mt Gox has been shutdown for all practical purposes in the United States." Continue reading →

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Feds reveal the search warrant used to seize Mt. Gox account

"In the warrant, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), states that there's probable cause to believe Mt. Gox is engaging in 'money transmitting' without a license, a crime punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison. The warrant goes on to demand that Dwolla hand over the keys to account number 812-649-1010, which is owned by Mt. Gox subsidiary Mutum Sigillum LLC, and held in the custody of Veridian Credit Union. The funds in that account 'are those of Mt. Gox customers that withdraw said funds from Mt. Gox and direct their transfer to Dwolla.'" Continue reading →

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Granite State ‘Bitcom’ trio counting on virtual currency Bitcoin

"Their invention, the Bitcoin Machine, is gaining widespread attraction within the community of Bitcoin users after its debut at the third international Bitcoin conference, 'The Future of Payments,' in San Jose, Calif., May 17-19. The machine allows users to insert currency into a bill validator, a common component of any vending machine. The machine calculates the value of the currency and displays a QB code (those fancy bar codes that mobile devices can read). Customers 'read' the QB code with their mobile device, and Bitcoins are deposited into their virtual 'wallet' based on the value of Bitcoin per dollar at that moment." Continue reading →

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Homeland Security Seizes Funds Associated with Dwolla Account of Bitcoin Dealer Mt. Gox

"The Department of Homeland Security has served a court order to the money exchange service Dwolla, in regard to its dealings with Mt. Gox. Earlier today, I reported on news that the Department of Homeland Security ordered the money transfer firm from transacting with the Bitcoin dealer Mt. Gox. More details are now emerging. A representative for Dwolla told Betabeat that, 'The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a ‘Seizure Warrant’ for the funds associated with Mutum Sigillium’s Dwolla account (a.k.a. Mt. Gox).'" Continue reading →

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Making Sense of Bitcoin

"Despite the various opinions on Bitcoin, there is no question as to its ultimate value: the ability to bypass government restrictions, including economic embargoes and capital controls, to transmit money quasi-anonymously to anyone anywhere virtually instantaneously irrespective of geopolitical restrictions. While virtually all digital currencies can more or less do the same, no other currency offers an equal combination of peer-to-peer transactions, strong encryption, anonymity, and liquidity that Bitcoin has possessed up to this point." Continue reading →

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CFTC’s Chilton Talks Bitcoin Regulation

"Bart Chilton, Commodities Futures Trading Commission commissioner, tells CNBC, 'I’m not 100% saying we should regulate it, but if anyone is going to, it seems like it’s something we should consider.' The volatility in prices, he noted, 'is amazing.' The CNBC anchors grilled him pretty aggressively but I don't think he was showing all his cards during the interview. It looks to me like the CFTC is looking at bitcoins very closely. It was instructive that Chilton was able to provide the penname of the founder of bitcoins, Satoshi Nakamoto, off the top of his head." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin: The Tyranny Test

"Bitcoin is a test for 'the powers that be.' The way they deal with this new method of exchange will reveal their true nature. If they ignore Bitcoin, they refute the charges of tyranny. If they attack it, they verify those charges. After all, what honest reason could there be to attack an inherently peaceful tool for transferring value? Reasons to attack Bitcoin have recently appeared in the 'public square.' Here are the three most popular ones, each followed with some analysis." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox hit by $75 million lawsuit

"A lawsuit against Bitcoin’s main trading exchange Mt. Gox was filed this week regarding rights to the North American market. And no, the plaintiff is not seeking damages in Bitcoins. CoinLab, backed by venture capitalist Peter Vessenes, said it entered into an agreement with Mt. Gox in November that gave CoinLab access to Mt. Gox’s technology – its computer servers and the 'exclusive right to certain intellectual property' – so that CoinLab could provide exchange services to North American customers as Mt. Gox’s exclusive partner in the region. Mt. Gox is based in Japan. The suit alleges that Mt. Gox beached its contract with CoinLab." Continue reading →

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A Push for a Bitcoin Buttonwood

"Amid the incense, cheap art and herbal remedies for sale in Union Square in Manhattan on Monday, a very different kind of product was changing hands: bitcoins. Just feet from the park’s statue of George Washington, a crowd of young men gathered on Monday afternoon to buy and sell the digital, crypto-currency. The men – and there were only men – were brought together by an online posting from Josh Rossi, 31, a bitcoin aficionado who works in technology at the World Trade Financial Group. He had proposed what he called Project Buttonwood, a reference to the where the New York Stock Exchange had its beginning in 1792." Continue reading →

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