Entrepreneurship

Y Combinator-backed Coinbase now selling over $1M Bitcoin per month

"Coinbase launched last year and aims to be 'the PayPal of Internet-only currency.' It helps merchants and consumers by providing a Bitcoin wallet and platform to make transactions easier, but the vast majority of its revenue comes from letting users buy and sell Bitcoins directly from Coinbase. It charges a one percent fee on top of each transaction. The company claims that it has seen huge growth in the past three months, after it started letting users buy and sell Bitcoin by connecting any U.S. bank account. The decentralized currency is currently trading at $22.66 per Bitcoin on Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange." Continue reading →

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How California’s Online Education Pilot Will End College As We Know It

"Today, the largest university system in the world, the California State University system, announced a pilot for $150 lower-division online courses at one of its campuses — a move that spells the end of higher education as we know it. Lower-division courses are the financial backbone of many part-time faculty and departments (especially the humanities). As someone who has taught large courses at a University of California, I can assure readers that my job could have easily been automated. Most of college–the expansive campuses and large lecture halls–will crumble into ghost towns as budget-strapped schools herd students online." Continue reading →

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Excessive Criminal Laws Trap Honest American Businessman

"Florida seafood importer Abner 'Abbie' Schoenwetter spent years in a U.S. federal prison for supposedly violating the laws of Honduras... even though the Honduran government proved he was innocent. In an appalling miscarriage of justice, Schoenwetter lost his thriving business and years with his family. This shocking true story warns of the U.S. government creating new criminal laws that affect every American -- a problem known as overcriminalization." Continue reading →

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How to Order a Pizza With Bitcoins

"The aptly, albeit somewhat unimaginatively, named Pizzaforcoins.com makes it possible for anyone to place a pizza order and pay for it using Bitcoins. To place an order, enter your name and address. The site then redirects you to an online order menu that has various options and their respective prices (in BTC). Once a selection is made, Pizzaforcoins verifies that the payment has been made and an order is placed within 10 minutes. Orders can currently only be placed with Domino's Pizza, but the site's fine print indicates that they'll soon be adding Pizza Hut and Papa John's into the mix." Continue reading →

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Silent Circle’s latest app democratizes encryption. Governments won’t be happy.

"Back in October, the startup tech firm Silent Circle ruffled governments’ feathers with a 'surveillance-proof' smartphone app to allow people to make secure phone calls and send texts easily. Now, the company is pushing things even further—with a groundbreaking encrypted data transfer app that will enable people to send files securely from a smartphone or tablet at the touch of a button. (For now, it’s just being released for iPhones and iPads, though Android versions should come soon.) That means photographs, videos, spreadsheets, you name it—sent scrambled from one person to another in a matter of seconds." Continue reading →

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It’s Pretty Stunning How Many Billion-Dollar Startups There Are Now

"Venture capitalists and investors are continuing to pour money into startups. In fact, there is a vast number of startups that are worth billions, The New York Times' Quentin Hardy reports. 'An unprecedented number of high technology start-ups, easily 25 and possibly exceeding 40, are valued at $1 billion or more,' Hardy writes. 'Many employees are quietly getting rich, or at least building a big cushion against a crash, as they sell shares to outside investors.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s Pretty Stunning How Many Billion-Dollar Startups There Are Now

Bitcoin’s Gains May Fuel Central Bank Concerns

"An increase in the value of bitcoin, the world’s largest online currency, may fuel concerns that virtual money could undermine the role of central banks. Bitcoin has more than doubled in the past 12 months, strengthening to $16.37 from $5.88, according to data from Mt. Gox, the world’s largest bitcoin exchange. Greater demand for virtual currencies could have a negative impact on the reputation of central banks, according to a report published by the European Central Bank in October last year. Since the report was released, bitcoin has risen more than 55 percent against the dollar and use of the currency has surged." Continue reading →

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Obama’s Drug War: After Medical Marijuana Mess, Feds Face Big Decision On Pot

"The Department of Justice has cracked down hard on medical marijuana, raiding hundreds of dispensaries, while the IRS and other federal law enforcement officials have gone after banks and landlords who do business with them. Fours years after promising not to make medical marijuana a priority, the government continues to target it aggressively. U.S. attorneys in the states helped beat back local efforts to regulate the medical marijuana industry, going so far as to threaten elected officials with jail. The willingness of top prosecutors to use their power in brazenly political ways is, in many ways, the untold story of Obama's first-term approach to drug policy." Continue reading →

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