money

Aussies start paying for beers in Bitcoin

"The Old Fitzroy will become the first pub in Australia that will allow customers to buy their beers in Bitcoin. The pub in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, will start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment on September 29, with Bitcoin Sydney on hand to help new-timers to the crypto-currency. The pub, which has been around since at least 1907, will use QR codes to handle transactions. With Bitcoin wallets able to be accessed via smartphones, customers simply scan the QR code and authorise the transaction in order to pay. Beers should cost customers around 0.05 Bitcoins, around the equivalent of AU$7 at the current value of the currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAussies start paying for beers in Bitcoin

Mining for digital gold in Thailand

"Bitcoin can be compared with voice-over-IP or internet telephone in the last decade. The technologies were first deemed illegal since there was no law supporting them. Surangkana Wayuparb, director of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) under the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, said the agency will study the business model of Bitcoin, as well as possible regulations and public awareness of this digital currency since the central bank said the issue was not within its authority. Don Sambandaraksa said the decision by the central bank to ban trading of Bitcoins in and out of the country while still allows Bitcoin mining doesn't make any sense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMining for digital gold in Thailand

Winklevoss twins say Bitcoin could become a country’s currency

"Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, currently making headlines with plans to launch a Bitcoin fund, said on Tuesday that they could see the digital currency becoming a country's official money. 'The next step for Bitcoin is potentially becoming the currency of a country,' Tyler Winklevoss said. The twin brothers, famous for their history with Facebook Inc, were speaking at the 9th annual Value Investing Congress in New York. Speaking after filing plans to launch the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, an exchange traded fund that would allow investors to trade the digital currency like stocks, the brothers laid out a primer on Bitcoin and spoke about what might be next for the currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWinklevoss twins say Bitcoin could become a country’s currency

Winklevoss twins: Bitcoins better than gold

"'It's gold 2.0,' he said in a presentation at the Value Investing Conference in New York Tuesday. Tyler and his brother Cameron, who shared the stage, outlined the bull case for bitcoins. They have been investors and are aspiring Bitcoin entrepreneurs. The twins recently filed paperwork with the SEC for a Bitcoin exchanged traded fund. Like gold, the virtual currency retains its value regardless of what central bankers do to the money supply. But unlike gold, bitcoins are easier and cheaper to store. Cameron Winklevoss said that another sovereign debt crisis could be a catalyst for a sharp move higher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWinklevoss twins: Bitcoins better than gold

Bitcoin gaining market-based legitimacy as XBT

"Punctual trams run quietly along the street out front. It looks like any other office building in Zürich. But inside the nondescript building of SIX Interbank Clearing, a small unit of professionals maintains the list of the world’s currency codes. Last week in that very same building, I had the honor of presenting the bitcoin cryptocurrency to a gathered audience of various bank officials at an e-commerce conference. And I mentioned that the individual, or committee, that endorses and finalizes XBT as the ISO currency code for bitcoin will earn their spot in history next to Satoshi Nakamoto." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin gaining market-based legitimacy as XBT

Bitcoin: Getting Down to Virtual Currency Basics

"At many credit unions, the apparent upshot of the regulatory signals is confusion. 'The guidance is not straightforward. It is incredibly confusing,' said one credit union CEO who asked for anonymity on the advice of legal counsel. He added that, according to his analysis, there also would be a substantial staff burden in complying with regulatory requirements imposed on a credit union classified as a money transmitter under FinCEN, and he is unsure the costs to process Bitcoin transactions are worth the benefits. 'You have to decide if it is worth it to adhere to the regulations and for us, right now, the answer is no,' he said. But he insisted that door could open if the Bitcoin demand surfaced." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin: Getting Down to Virtual Currency Basics

Americans in Canada may be unable to receive payments from Government

"Looks like the Government of Canada will require a bank account for all government cheques. Therefore. anybody who is: 1. Suspected of being a U.S. person; and 2. Who becomes 'FATCA Recalcitrant' and has his/her account closed, will be unable to receive payments from the Government of Canada. It’s important to note that at the present time, any person, on showing the appropriate ID can get a Government of Canada cheque cashed at any bank. The 'noose is tightening' around U.S. citizens abroad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans in Canada may be unable to receive payments from Government

Government consumer credit card data-mining program challenged

"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials are seeking to monitor four out of every five U.S. consumer credit card transactions this year — up to 42 billion transactions – through a controversial data-mining program, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner. In addition, CFPB officials hope to monitor up to 95 percent of all mortgage transactions, according to the planning document. CFPB Director Richard Cordray defended the data-mining practice and said his agency is monitoring credit card usage at 110 banks, including Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, Discover and American Express." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment consumer credit card data-mining program challenged

Why Do They Need FATCA When They Have SWIFT?

"Given the growing ease with which people conduct transactions that don’t involve physical cash, or even leaving your house, one should wonder just how much financial data Uncle Sam’s spy network has, and why it feels entitled to it. What does this all mean? Hard to say. These days the American government is fairly cagey about its reasons for anything, but on the surface it appears as though the United States government will happily steal whatever information on the finances of ordinary people and financial institutions of other countries that it can’t coerce out of them through extra territorial law making schemes like FATCA. Whatever is going on, it’s not about taxes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Do They Need FATCA When They Have SWIFT?

With “Follow The Money”, NSA Knows All About Your Spending Habits

"While collecting credit card data was to be expected, what is even worse is that the NSA has also secretly planted itself in the nexus of the entire global USD-intermediated financial transactions system courtesy of SWIFT. In other words, America's unsupervised uber spies, when not checking in on their former significant others, spend the bulk of their time tracking who is buying what, where, and with whose money. They also know how much anyone in the world has spent on credit card-based purchases, what the source of that money is, and what the purchase was. In other words: absolute monetary and financial surveillance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith “Follow The Money”, NSA Knows All About Your Spending Habits