BitPay Unveils Bitcore, its New Open-Source Project for App Developers

Atlanta, Georgia-based bitcoin processor BitPay has announced the beta launch of Bitcore, a new open-source project that it says will allow app developers to more easily build projects on the bitcoin network.Bitcore represents a break from BitPay’s processor plugins, as the JavaScript library is designed not for merchants, but to encourage “more developers to build software that interfaces directly with the real bitcoin network”.BitPay broke the...

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Digital Currencies Gaining Popularity in India’s Major Cities

Last weekend in Mumbai, digital currency enthusiast Vishal Gupta gave out free dogecoin to the 45 participants that showed up to his monthly meet-up.At least half of the attendees at this event were fresh faces, just getting introduced to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.“The point of giving out free dogecoin is to get people comfortable with the idea of using digital currency,” said Gupta.Continue reading at CoinDesk February 15, 2014 at 01:1...

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Mt. Gox Announces Downtime for Bitcoin Deposits

Mt. Gox has stopped bitcoin deposits and all internal bitcoin transfers for a short site maintenance update, roughly from 6pm to 12am Japan time on 15th February.According to a notice posted on Gox’s News page, the downtime is part of its implementation of a solution to the ‘transaction malleability‘ issue that has seen the exchange halt all external bitcoin withdrawals and face criticism from some sectors of the bitcoin economy.The downtime probably...

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Roger Ver on Blockchain’s Past, Present and Future

Last week, I sat down with Roger Ver for an exclusive, hour-long interview where we discussed his company Blockchain, his team, and his vision for the bitcoin industry.We first connected after Ver came across a blog post of mine in which I dismissed Blockchain as “too understaffed and undercapitalized” to compete with the likes of Coinbase and Circle, long-term.The man, who many have started to refer to as “Bitcoin Jesus”, emailed me with some objections...

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Equities Research Firm Wedbush Sells Reports for Bitcoins

J.P. Morgan may be highly skeptical about the prospects for bitcoin, but at least one financial research firm is behind the virtual currency. Institutional brokerage Wedbush Securities has become the first to accept bitcoin payments in the US.Los Angeles-based Wedbush has thus far published two reports on bitcoin through its Wedbush Equity Research operation. At the start of December, it released “Bitcoin: Intrinsic Value As Conduit For Disruptive...

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Bitcoin Processors Reconsider Marijuana Stance After New FinCEN Ruling

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released new guidance on 14th February for financial institutions seeking to provide services to marijuana-related businesses, ending a long silence that has caused confusion among those in both industries.FinCEN indicated that financial services companies can now work with marijuana-related businesses in states where the drug has been legalized for medical or recreational purposes. This is provided...

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Florida’s Bitcoin Sting Should Cast Doubt on Law Enforcement’s Priorities and Money Laundering Laws

Authorities in Miami recently arrested two men in what may be the first instance of citizens being charged under state law for engaging in “too-large” bitcoin transactions. The two were contacted by undercover officers who were looking to exchange $30,000 dollars each for bitcoin, an amount which violates the state’s money laundering laws. According to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, undercover police officers conducted the...

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MtGox

Today MtGox – one of the biggest exchanges – published a press release stating that they’re temporarily pausing Bitcoin withdrawals.For more news you’ll probably have to wait until Monday, February 10, 2014:Our team will resolve this problem as soon as possible and will provide an update on Monday, February 10, 2014 (JST). I didn’t endorse MtGox in public, but that’s mainly because they’ve been in control of the vast majority of the Bitcoin market...

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New Jersey Case Could Set Restrictive Precedent for Bitcoin Businesses

Though we have only hints at what regulation could result from last month’s NYDFS hearing in New York, members of both sides largely agree the dialogue did much to improve relations between New York regulators and the bitcoin community.Despite the steps forward, however, recent actions taken by the state’s southern neighbor New Jersey suggest that US law enforcement is going the extra mile to try and prevent any potential bitcoin threats, no matter...

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MIT Report Finds Bitcoin More Likely to be Spent than Hoarded

Newly released research from the MIT Technology Review, a faculty-run university magazine, suggests that bitcoins are increasingly being spent, not hoarded, by users after purchase.The data illustrates that the number of unspent bitcoins has declined drastically from 2009, when nearly half of all bitcoins were held for the entire first year of ownership. Today, the vast majority of bitcoins purchased are spent within 24 hours, the findings suggest.The...

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Live your investment

Several years ago some banks in my country suggested to take out a loan denominated in Swiss francs or Japanese Yen instead of our own currency – however at some point the exchange rate of those currencies didn’t perform as expected and many people were supposed to repay a real lot of money.Just like people borrowed a foreign currency in those years – while they’re actually using a different type of currency – some people bought a lot of Bitcoins expecting to make a lot of money without contributing in terms of products or services.Some technical...

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Introducing the UltraCoin Cryptocurrency Composite Index

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Bitstamp to Resume Bitcoin Withdrawals Today, BTC-e Still Working on a Solution

Bitstamp has revealed it plans to start processing its customers’ bitcoin withdrawals again later today, but BTC-e revealed it is not yet ready to do so.The exchanges halted bitcoin withdrawals earlier this week after it was discovered a bot had launched a massive DDoS attack on a number of bitcoin exchanges.A tweet from the BitStamp this morning read:Continue reading at CoinDesk February 14, 2014 at 10:5...

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Watch This Man Confront CEO of Mt. Gox Over Missing Bitcoins

Something about bitcoin inspires people to jump on airplanes and fly to the other side of the world to protect their wealth. Maybe that’s part of bitcoin’s ‘inherent value’.Kolin Burges was a software developer in London until the end of last year, when his vast Litecoin holdings suddenly went lunar. Concerned at the prospect of a Chinese New Year crash he moved much of his wealth back to Japan and Mt. Gox, only to find it locked in there around...

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Acquiring Bitcoins

1.CoinbaseCoinbase is not just a place to buy and sell Bitcoins, but you can also use them as an online wallet - or, if you own a company you can use their tools to accept Bitcoin payments.+ Android app available+ All-in-one solution for acquiring, using and accepting Bitcoin- U.S. bank accounts only- Credit card (Visa) required if you want to buy or sell more than $3,000 per day2.CampBXCampBX is a Bitcoin trading platform without merchant tools, but advanced trading options (Margin trading, Stop-Loss orders, etc.).+ Advanced trading options- Only...

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Title: Satoshi NakamotoArtist: Michał Cander (Poland)Size:...

Title: Satoshi NakamotoArtist: Michał Cander (Poland)Size: 65x80cm (25.6x31.5in)Type: Oil on canvasSource: michalcander.pl February 02, 2014 at 12:1...

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Coinbase and Mint Announce First Bitcoin Personal Finance Integration

Coinbase and Mint Announce First Bitcoin Personal Finance Integration:coinbase:Today we’re excited to announce a new partnership with Mint , the leading personal finance app from Intuit Inc. Now Mint users will be able to view their digital bitcoin transactions processed by Coinbase alongside their traditional financial accounts. As you may know, Mint… February 01, 2014 at 07:5...

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I just made a donation

Head over to http://t.co/C28LU4ISYx and check out their BTC micropayment experiment via @BitWall @Suntimes! #bitcoin http://ift.tt/1fKDMsd — Blockchain.info (@blockchain) February 1, 2014 February 01, 2014 at 07:4...

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FreeSpeechMe: The new Anti-Censorship and Secure Domain Resolving Namecoin-Based Plug-in

Namecoin is a Bitcoin derivative that allows you to register names and data into a public blockchain. It bypasses going through central agencies that can take down your websites by removing the DNS entry.Namecoin isn’t one of these dozens of “me too!” cryptocurrencies popping up each day. In fact, Namecoin is barely even used as a currency, althought have very high value for a non-bitcoin cryptocurrency. That’s not its reason for existence. It exists...

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Silk Road 2 Loses Over 4,500 Bitcoins in Alleged Hack

Dark market web site Silk Road 2 has told customers that all of their bitcoins are gone after a massive hack, in which at least 4476 bitcoins are believed stolen. Organizers at the site are blaming the compromise on the transaction malleability attack in the news this week.“Our initial investigations indicate that a vendor exploited a recently discovered vulnerability in the Bitcoin protocol known as “transaction malleability” to repeatedly withdraw...

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Bitcoin’s Impact On So-Called Social Issues

This morning, I awoke to an individual on Twitter letting me know, in no uncertain terms, that bitcoin and social issues were unrelated. Since literally everything is related to everything else in some way, I’ll assume what he meant is that bitcoin and social issues are particularly far apart in terms of overlap. This is of course absurd. While “social issues” is a term which needs to be defined prior to further discussion, the “social issues” that...

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You Can Now Pay Cash For Bitcoin at 28,000 UK Stores

Bitcoiners can now pay cash for bitcoins at 28,000 shops across the UK, thanks to a new service set up by ZipZap.Full article February 06, 2014 at 05:4...

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Bullion Bitcoin to Launch Gold-Bitcoin Exchange

A new exchange for trading gold bullion and bitcoin is set to open on 21st February.The Bullion Bitcoin exchange, based in London, will allow sophisticated investors, as defined by the UK financial regulator, to trade gold bullion and bitcoin. The exchange will not be open to retail investors.Adam Cleary, Bullion Bitcoin’s owner said:Continue reading at CoinDesk February 13, 2014 at 01:4...

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Canada’s Finance Minister Prepares to Regulate Bitcoin

Signals are emerging that Canada is about to tighten its grip on bitcoin and other decentralized digital currencies. The country’s finance minister Jim Flaherty singled out bitcoin by name in his federal budget today, and announced forthcoming laws that would regulate it.“It is important to continually improve Canada’s regime to address emerging risks, including virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, that threaten Canada’s international leadership...

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MIT Club Hosts Largest-Ever Student Bitcoin Event

On 11th February, more than 200 students crammed into a 125-person lecture hall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to listen to entrepreneur Jeremy Allaire speak about bitcoin.It was standing room only as the Circle founder and CEO informed the crowd of his background, his company and his passion for the fledgling industry for nearly 90 minutes.Although the MIT Bitcoin Club was only officially recognized by the university on 1st January,...

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Overstock to Launch New Rewards Scheme for Bitcoin Buyers

Online outlet store Overstock.com is to launch a special rewards program that will give bitcoin buyers a 1% cashback in the form of Club O dollars, the company’s in-house rewards points.Speaking to CoinDesk, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said the scheme is expected to debut in approximately four weeks, although he did not commit to a definitive timeline.The program will not provide an instant discount on orders, but will instead give 1% of the total...

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Commentary on a Bitcoin Infographic

This commentary was analyzed and written with Luke Dashjr. Here is the infographic. Commentary #1 Bitcoins can be destroyed To my knowledge I didn’t think they could be destroyed. I thought they could be lost forever and effectively made inaccessible by forgetting a password to an encrypted private key or destroying a hard drive. In those instances, the blockchain will always have a record of a lost Bitcoin. They can be moved around, divided, escrowed,...

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India’s Government Claims the RBI is Examining Virtual Currencies

The Indian government has claimed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is examining the legal and security ramifications of virtual currencies.The Hindu reported that Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram made the following statement to the Rajya Sabha, India’s Upper House of Parliament:“The RBI is presently examining the issues associated with the usage, holding and trading of virtual currencies, including bitcoins, under the extant legal and regulatory...

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Of Mice and Shrem

Of Mice and ShremCharlie Shrem’s arrest could not have have come at a worse time. The BitInstant founder and Bitcoin Foundation Vice Chairman was charged last week with conspiracy to commit money laundering, failure to report suspicious financial activities to authorities and for operating BitInstant without a money transmitter license just days before the BitLicense hearings, EDC breakfast and Wells Fargo panel in New York City. While news of his arrest stole headlines across the major news media, a larger debate raged within the community regarding...

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My Recap of the BitLicense Hearings - Upon Further Reflection

Much has already been written about the BitLicense hearings in New York now that they are officially in the books. But I took some time to reflect on what impact, if any, the panelists who testified before the New York Department of Financial Services committee (NYDFS) had on their inquisitors last week. During five panels over two days, sixteen industry experts gave over eight hours of testimony on all things Bitcoin to a panel charged with learning whether and how to regulate the industry in the world’s financial mecca, New York. Several things...

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Major Multinational Bank Trials Integration with Bitcoin

A company called Switchless says it has developed a “fully operational and integrated bitcoin portal system for a large multinational bank”, currently being run as an internal pilot.The news leaked out after the system was showcased at Finovate Europe 2014, which was held from 11th – 12th February in London. The software is reportedly being trialled by South Africa’s Standard Bank, the largest in Africa.Announced at #finovate. Standard Bank running...

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You Can Now Buy Dell Products With Bitcoin via Gyft

Gyft is now offering shoppers the opportunity to buy Dell products for bitcoins.Neither Gyft nor Dell need much of an introduction: Michael Dell’s empire remains one of the biggest PC makers in the market, while Gyft allows users to buy mobile gift cards that can be redeemed in several major merchants in the US.Dell offers free five to seven day shipping and the usual Gyft discounts seem to apply. You can collect points by using Gyft cards and save...

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Pop-up Pub in London’s Tech City Accepts Bitcoin

Hidden from the prying eyes of the public, a new basement pub has set up shop in the heart of Tech City, East London. And as befits London’s hub for digital innovation, you can pay for your beer with bitcoin.Only the second pub in London to accept bitcoin – Hackney’s Pembury Tavern being the first – the Craft Beer Social Club is a roving pop-up pub stocked with British beer and hearty burgers.The pop-up is run by Justina Cruickshank, who began the...

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What the ‘Bitcoin Bug’ Means: A Guide to Transaction Malleability

This week, a term emerged that many bitcoiners won’t have heard before: transaction malleability. Mt Gox cited it as a key reason for suspending withdrawals, and it was also mentioned as the basis for an exploit used in a massive attack against the bitcoin network this week. So, what is it, how does it work, and should we be worried? Here’s what we know.What is transaction malleability?It’s an attack that lets someone change the unique ID of a bitcoin...

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Aria PC Technology Becomes Latest Computer Supplier to Accept Bitcoin

Major UK-based PC component and hardware supplier Aria PC Technology is now accepting bitcoin for payments.Aria was established more than 20 years ago, though its focus has shifted over the years from brick-and-mortar operations to e-commerce.The e-tailer began accepting bitcoin on 7th February, choosing to mention the news as an aside in a Twitter post announcing the launch of the new Gladiator Mining Frame.Continue reading at CoinDesk February...

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Coinbase Partners with Fiverr, First Large Services Marketplace to Accept Bitcoin

Coinbase Partners with Fiverr, First Large Services Marketplace to Accept Bitcoin:coinbase:Looking for some help updating your resume? Need a video promoting your product? Or maybe you’d like someone to write and record your own personal rap song? Starting today, these types of services can be purchased with bitcoin via Coinbase on Fiverr, the world’s largest two-sided marketplace for…February 11, 2014 at 09:0...

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Why Bitcoin’s Volatility Problem May Soon Be Solved

Just weeks ago, media outlets like Bloomberg and TechCrunch were all but declaring an end to bitcoin’s price volatility.Posts like “Bitcoin’s Emerging Price Stability” were widely circulated on the bitcoin forums, and research from Wall Street analysts like ConvergEx Group asserted that bitcoin was “on the road to stability”.Then, overnight, all was quickly forgotten.Continue reading at CoinDesk February 11, 2014 at 09:3...

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The Ten People You Meet In Bitcoin

(Forgot to post my first CoinDesk piece last week. Here it is!) Last month, over 600 people congregated in Las Vegas for the Inside Bitcoins conference, including yours truly. The critical mass of Bitcoin pioneers and thought leaders was stunning, and I wrote about the top 10 movers and shakers I had the chance to meet in person. This past weekend, nearly twice as many people attended the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami, and I was equally impressed by the enthusiasm, creativity, and yes, diversity of the crowd. As I flew back to Boston,...

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Bitcoin Exchanges Under ‘Massive and Concerted Attack’

A “massive and concerted attack” has been launched by a bot system on numerous bitcoin exchanges, Andreas Antonopoulos has revealed.The chief security officer of Blockchain.info said a DDoS attack is taking Bitcoin’s transaction malleability problem and applying it to many transactions in the network, simultaneously.“So as transactions are being created, malformed/parallel transactions are also being created so as to create a fog of confusion over...

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