money

Khan Academy now accepts bitcoin donations

"Khan Academy is a non-profit aimed at providing a free, world-class education for people everywhere. They offer free online educational materials (e.g., instructional videos, practice exercises, dashboard analytics, teacher tools) that support personalized education for users of all ages. They have lessons on topics including math, science, finance, history, and even bitcoin. When you donate, you’ll even earn a special badge on your Khan Academy profile." Continue reading →

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The True Value of Bitcoin

"As a digital asset, the first widely adopted use of bitcoin was as a safe and secure store and transfer mechanism for fiat currency value. This is how most people think of and use Bitcoin today, as a substitute for money, but it is an inadequate classification. Bitcoin replaces the traditional chain of title in property law. The bitcoin protocol secures a party’s interest in an asset in an identifiable and secure manner, and provides a transparent set of rules and enforcement mechanisms so that all parties are held equally accountable. It does all this without any reliance on financial, regulatory, or judicial authorities. Truly, bitcoin is code as law." Continue reading →

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How Bitcoin Works Under the Hood

"The goal of this video is to explain how Bitcoin works under the hood, to give a clearer idea of what it really means to own, send or 'mine' Bitcoins. First, a brief high-level overview of what Bitcoin is. At its core, Bitcoin is just a digital file that lists accounts and money like a ledger. A copy of this file is maintained on every computer in the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin system is amazingly designed so that no trust is needed--special mathematical functions protect every aspect of the system. The rest of this entry will explain in detail how Bitcoin allows such a group of strangers to manage each other’s financial transactions." Continue reading →

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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

How Venezuelan Used ‘Scrape’ to Make Six Times Her Salary

"Venezuela’s currency controls are turning trips abroad into profitable junkets. A 27-year-old trade analyst from Caracas said she earned six times her monthly salary by traveling in April to Lima, where a business swiped her credit card and gave her $1,600 cash, charged at the official exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar. When the analyst, who requested anonymity because what she did is illegal, returned to Venezuela, she sold the dollars at the street rate of 29-to-1, enough to pocket 25,000 bolivars after paying off her credit card and travel expenses. The scheme, known as 'raspao' or 'big scrape,' is booming in Venezuela." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Venezuelan Used ‘Scrape’ to Make Six Times Her Salary

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 →

Continue ReadingVirtual Currency Gains Ground in Actual World

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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Bill Bonner: Why do we have this credit-based money?

"Because governments are essentially a way for the insiders (who control the police power of the state) to take power and money from the outsiders. Cicero once described the two groups as the 'Optimates' on one side and the 'Populares' on the other. You might also think of them as the elite and the hoi polloi...or the privileged classes and the riff-raff. The critical difference between the two is that the elites...the optimates...the insiders...have the government in their pocket. The others do not. Bullion-based money is a natural limitation on the ability of the elite to rob the rest of the population." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Why do we have this credit-based money?