The Bitcoin Foundation: Some Questions
bitcoin foundationI’ve just spend a pleasant evening, nursing a cold beer, looking over The Bitcoin Foundation’s posts and educating myself as to who exactly these people are and what they are bringing, or at least claiming to bring, to the table. Now, I’ve never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the proverbial drawer and for that particular reason I’ve decided that I will take this task slowly and stop to ask a few questions whenever I happen to find myself starting to feel confused. Clearly, the foundation has been put there for our betterment and for that reason I hope you will bear with me on this short journey of discovery.
The foundation’s website states the three primary objectives for fulfilling Bitcoin’s mission to achieve its potential.
Bearing in mind the three stated objectives of: Standardising Bitcoin, Protecting Bitcoin and Promoting Bitcoin and accepting that “Cryptography is the key to Bitcoins success. It’s the reason that no one can double spend, counterfeit or steal Bitcoins. If bitcoin is to be a viable money for both current users and future adopters, we need to maintain, improve and legally protect the integrity of the protocol.” Here is the first question:
The problem of Transaction Malleability has been known about since 2011, so why did the foundation not move to address this issue before the criminals began to exploit it during 2013?
Under the title of “What I hope the Foundation will accomplish“, Jon Matonis states: ” There’s a huge amount of support for the Foundation from many of the people who matter to Bitcoin’s future: Charlie Shrem, Mark Karpeles, Gavin Andersen and Jon Matonis are all starting out on the Board of Directors”. Unfortunately, Mark Karpeles resigned in 2014 as a result of the spectacular collapse of Mt Gox and his far from glorious role in that collapse and that Charlie Shrem resigned following an alleged link to illegal drugs trading. I am pleased to state that the two other directors, Jon Matonis and Gavin Andersen are people of the highest moral character, but:
Bearing in mind the importance of the foundation, (self stated!), how carefully did the Foundation select it’s directors and did anyone check the history of the newly appointed directors, Karpeles in particular?
It has been alleged that in 2011, Mt gox made an appeal to the community that 400,000 bitcoins had gone missing and asked for help. It was decided to provide that help. 150,000 of the missing bitcoins were recovered in 2012 and the plan was to continue this support in 2013 but the sudden, and somewhat unexpected, increase in Bitcoin price during 2013 raised the cost of fixing the problem from a somewhat manageable $3M to a completely unmanageable $15M. A blogger posting on Reddit, disclosed in November that he, could deposit coins with Mt Gox and then withdraw more than he had deposited. Question number 3:
Had the Foundation been bailing Mt gox out since 2011, if so, how much in total was spent? Who was told, who made the decision and was that decision influenced by Karpeles status within the Foundation and how much in total was lost?
During the collapse of Mt Gox and accepting the volume of the losses:
Did the foundation have access to make withdrawals on a priority basis when other investors were being denied this right?
Finally, as we have gone through a period of monumental losse, and poor publicity, a period affecting ordinary investors:
What actions will the Foundation undertake, going forward, to ensure a future for not only the Foundation, but also Bitcoin; what have we learned from the Mt gox debacle?
I would be grateful to have these small points addressed to ensure that confidence is restored and knowledge gained.
Topic: BITCOIN NEWS EVRYDAY! From multiple sources. - page 12. (Read 51272 times)
Is mcxNOW turning into a wasteland of altcoins?
mcxNOW used to be one of the hottest cryptocurrency exchange around until RealSolid, whose real name is a “hidden secret”, shut it down late fall of 2013 because he experienced too many customer problems. He decided that he would improve the exchange making sure it would not cause problems for his customers again when withdrawing or depositing different cryptocurrencies.
The Re-Launch of mcxNOW
When mcxNOW got back up after a long time left out in the cold, it immediately started to pick up where it had left with a total trade amount of above 1000 bitcoins. The fuel continued to burn when RealSolid decided to add MaxCoin to the exchange.
http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Maxcoin-bitcoin-mcxnow-.png
MaxCoin failure
MaxCoin, like most of the other coins that are launched with big endorsements, initially peaked then to have what’s called a slow death. Some altcoins manage to revamp their expectations by doing some major changes, but unless there is an economy built around the cryptocurrencies themselves, they won’t survive.
Maxcoin bitcoin mcxnow
The Slowly Death of MaxCoin
The Failure of not adding Dogecoin
RealSolid has time after time told his users of mcxNOW that he would add Dogecoin soon. We even got confirmation after confirmation that “this week is it”. It is now clear to see that RealSolid has a major problem with following up on his promises, including running what we would call a business.
By not adding Dogecoin, one of the most traded altcoins out there, he shows a lack of understanding of basic market economics. It seems like he has given up on mcxNOW and what he wanted to make “the world’s greatest digital exchange”.
When he also sold 5000 of his remaining 10 000 mcxFEEs to sell, he told us that he would not sell his remaining 5000 mcxFEEs for a long time. However after a short period, his last batch was sold. RealSolid is either two or more people, or, well you get the math.
Will mcxNOW come to a halt?
After RealSolid cashed in many thousands of bitcoins on mcxFEEs, he could be suffering from greed and megalomania. This makes the small amount he now makes on his remaining mcxFEEs irrelevant and, therefore, mcxNOW irrelevant.
I would go so far to say that if you have any mcxFEE at mcxNOW now, I would seriously consider selling it for a loss just to get some value out of it and transfer the bitcoins out of the exchange.
If RealSolid doesn’t change his business ethics and methods, mcxNOW will not survive.
What do you think? Write in the comment field below.
mcxNOW used to be one of the hottest cryptocurrency exchange around until RealSolid, whose real name is a “hidden secret”, shut it down late fall of 2013 because he experienced too many customer problems. He decided that he would improve the exchange making sure it would not cause problems for his customers again when withdrawing or depositing different cryptocurrencies.
The Re-Launch of mcxNOW
When mcxNOW got back up after a long time left out in the cold, it immediately started to pick up where it had left with a total trade amount of above 1000 bitcoins. The fuel continued to burn when RealSolid decided to add MaxCoin to the exchange.
http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Maxcoin-bitcoin-mcxnow-.png
MaxCoin failure
MaxCoin, like most of the other coins that are launched with big endorsements, initially peaked then to have what’s called a slow death. Some altcoins manage to revamp their expectations by doing some major changes, but unless there is an economy built around the cryptocurrencies themselves, they won’t survive.
Maxcoin bitcoin mcxnow
The Slowly Death of MaxCoin
The Failure of not adding Dogecoin
RealSolid has time after time told his users of mcxNOW that he would add Dogecoin soon. We even got confirmation after confirmation that “this week is it”. It is now clear to see that RealSolid has a major problem with following up on his promises, including running what we would call a business.
By not adding Dogecoin, one of the most traded altcoins out there, he shows a lack of understanding of basic market economics. It seems like he has given up on mcxNOW and what he wanted to make “the world’s greatest digital exchange”.
When he also sold 5000 of his remaining 10 000 mcxFEEs to sell, he told us that he would not sell his remaining 5000 mcxFEEs for a long time. However after a short period, his last batch was sold. RealSolid is either two or more people, or, well you get the math.
Will mcxNOW come to a halt?
After RealSolid cashed in many thousands of bitcoins on mcxFEEs, he could be suffering from greed and megalomania. This makes the small amount he now makes on his remaining mcxFEEs irrelevant and, therefore, mcxNOW irrelevant.
I would go so far to say that if you have any mcxFEE at mcxNOW now, I would seriously consider selling it for a loss just to get some value out of it and transfer the bitcoins out of the exchange.
If RealSolid doesn’t change his business ethics and methods, mcxNOW will not survive.
What do you think? Write in the comment field below.
Just like coindesk ?
Menufy Now Supports Bitcoin Payments at 400 US Restaurants
Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on March 14, 2014 at 20:52 GMT | Coinbase, Lifestyle, Merchants
US-based online restaurants service Menufy has integrated Coinbase into its e-commerce platform, allowing consumers to spend bitcoin at hundreds of US restaurants.
Menufy didn’t make much of a fuss out of the news, however – the Coinbase deal was announced only on Twitter and reddit.
The company says its service is available in nearly 400 restaurants across 28 states.
The service is free of charge, so any restaurant that wants to enroll can do so freely, with no contracts.
Level playing field
Menufy develops e-commerce software and custom websites for each of its restaurants. The service is mobile-friendly and allows users to order and pay for food in a few easy steps, even if the restaurant in question doesn’t have its own website.
The approach is rather clever, as most small restaurants still don’t have their own e-commerce platform, and many don’t even have a web presence.
Menufy lets small restaurants sell online without spending a fortune, and, as a result, helps level the playing field with big franchises that can afford to invest in such services.
Room to expand
The news doesn’t mean that 400 restaurants have started accepting bitcoin directly, however, as Menufy handles the whole process through Coinbase.
The proprietors might not even be aware that they are accepting bitcoin payments – in the same way most people don’t know they’re using HTTP when they browse the Internet.
Though the 400 restaurant total sounds impressive, some relatively big states like California and New York are underrepresented.
Texas is not, however, and Texans tend to love both a nice meal and bitcoin, so it’s a match made in heaven, perhaps. Menufy says it is working to extend its reach to other states and expand its portfolio.
Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on March 14, 2014 at 20:52 GMT | Coinbase, Lifestyle, Merchants
US-based online restaurants service Menufy has integrated Coinbase into its e-commerce platform, allowing consumers to spend bitcoin at hundreds of US restaurants.
Menufy didn’t make much of a fuss out of the news, however – the Coinbase deal was announced only on Twitter and reddit.
The company says its service is available in nearly 400 restaurants across 28 states.
The service is free of charge, so any restaurant that wants to enroll can do so freely, with no contracts.
Level playing field
Menufy develops e-commerce software and custom websites for each of its restaurants. The service is mobile-friendly and allows users to order and pay for food in a few easy steps, even if the restaurant in question doesn’t have its own website.
The approach is rather clever, as most small restaurants still don’t have their own e-commerce platform, and many don’t even have a web presence.
Menufy lets small restaurants sell online without spending a fortune, and, as a result, helps level the playing field with big franchises that can afford to invest in such services.
Room to expand
The news doesn’t mean that 400 restaurants have started accepting bitcoin directly, however, as Menufy handles the whole process through Coinbase.
The proprietors might not even be aware that they are accepting bitcoin payments – in the same way most people don’t know they’re using HTTP when they browse the Internet.
Though the 400 restaurant total sounds impressive, some relatively big states like California and New York are underrepresented.
Texas is not, however, and Texans tend to love both a nice meal and bitcoin, so it’s a match made in heaven, perhaps. Menufy says it is working to extend its reach to other states and expand its portfolio.
Avalon ASIC’s 40nm Chip to Bring Hashing Boost for Less Power
Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 19:50 GMT | Avalon ASICs, Butterfly Labs, KnCMiner, Mining, Technology
A newly released report reveals details of Avalon ASIC’s upcoming third-generation bitcoin mining chip.
According to the preliminary report, the 40nm ASIC – which Avalon is calling the A3233-Q48 – will have 7 GH/s of power per integrated circuit, which is a substantial performance increase from Avalon’s previous 55nm node chip.
Furthermore, that boost will come with reduced power consumption because of the decreased node size – welcome news for miners struggling with high electricity bills.
The chip will come in a 7 x 7mm form, which has not changed from the second-generation version.
Smaller and shorter paths will endow the chip with lower power consumption, but increased heat density – hence the decision to stick with the same overall dimensions.
Avalon was the first company to manufacture and deliver ASIC chips for bitcoin mining, but it has experienced problems with shipment delays in the past, which they have tried to put behind them.
ASIC Evolution
When asked about the new chip, Yifu Guo, co-founder of Avalon, told CoinDesk:
“[With the] last generation, we had 120 hash cores in the chip design, 1.5 GH/s per chip, 2 watts per GH/s, on 55nm standard cell design. This generation we have 768 hash cores, 7 GH/s per chip, 0.75 watts per GH/s, on a 40nm full custom design.”
The new chip will be able to hash much faster, while increasing power efficiency by a factor of 2.5. For comparison of specifications, Avalon’s second-generation A3255-Q48 chip preliminary report can be found here.
Avalon A3233Q48 architecture, which appears similar to its predecessor. Source: Avalon Datasheet
The Avalon A3233-Q48′s architecture appears similar to its predecessor. Source: Avalon Datasheet
Focusing on chips
Guo said that pricing for the A3233-Q48 has not yet been determined, but he made it clear that Avalon’s focus is on selling quantities of ASIC chips to sophisticated buyers:
“Pricing is not yet determined. We are focusing mainly on chip sales, and producing some of our design as prototypes to demonstrate the chips.”
The company currently has its second-generation chip available for 13 BTC per 2,500 units. At recent CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index valuations, that’s around $8,200.
That chip operates out of the box at 1.2 GH/s, but it can be overclocked to 1.5 GH/s.
Avalon has also said it is publishing open-source designs for the chips on its GitHub pages to be used for different applications. A USB stick, 2U rack-mount blade and a PCI-e design will be available form factors.
The rivals
In comparison to Avalon’s business model, some ASIC chip designers, like Butterfly Labs, only currently sell full mining units. BFL is currently attempting to bring its 600 GH/s 28nm Monarch blade to market, but has experienced delays.
KnCMiner is also selling only complete miners. Its 20nm design has been taped out, making it the first SHA256 ASIC at that node. Taping out refers to last stage of the design process for an integrated circuit.
As for Avalon, Guo said he expects the bitcoin ecosystem to build complete miners with its chips.
The company is endeavouring to provide a low-cost entry into mining with its future chip designs.
Said Guo:
“We hope the community will take up the production, [so] we can focus on engineering and improving chip design in generation four, while lowering the barrier of entry for mining.”
Turbo mode
Avalon's second generation A3255-Q48. Source: Avalon
Avalon’s second generation A3255-Q48. Source: Avalon
The A3255-Q48 is able to achieve a 1.5-1.6 GH/s speed by overclocking from its typical core voltage of 0.9 volts to 1.0 V, with a maximum of 1.1 V.
Avalon will have overclocking, or ‘turbo mode’, results available soon for the third-generation chip, Guo says. This will exceed the 7 GH/s normal operating performance when at .075 V. The chip’s core maximum, according to the report, is .09 V. Guo added:
“This is [a] preliminary result. We will be releasing low-power performance mode data, as well as turbo mode data soon as results becomes available.”
The third-gen chip will be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor, which has been Avalon’s fabricator for all of its chips so far.
A release date for the A3233-Q48 has not yet been set, the company says.
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.
Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 19:50 GMT | Avalon ASICs, Butterfly Labs, KnCMiner, Mining, Technology
A newly released report reveals details of Avalon ASIC’s upcoming third-generation bitcoin mining chip.
According to the preliminary report, the 40nm ASIC – which Avalon is calling the A3233-Q48 – will have 7 GH/s of power per integrated circuit, which is a substantial performance increase from Avalon’s previous 55nm node chip.
Furthermore, that boost will come with reduced power consumption because of the decreased node size – welcome news for miners struggling with high electricity bills.
The chip will come in a 7 x 7mm form, which has not changed from the second-generation version.
Smaller and shorter paths will endow the chip with lower power consumption, but increased heat density – hence the decision to stick with the same overall dimensions.
Avalon was the first company to manufacture and deliver ASIC chips for bitcoin mining, but it has experienced problems with shipment delays in the past, which they have tried to put behind them.
ASIC Evolution
When asked about the new chip, Yifu Guo, co-founder of Avalon, told CoinDesk:
“[With the] last generation, we had 120 hash cores in the chip design, 1.5 GH/s per chip, 2 watts per GH/s, on 55nm standard cell design. This generation we have 768 hash cores, 7 GH/s per chip, 0.75 watts per GH/s, on a 40nm full custom design.”
The new chip will be able to hash much faster, while increasing power efficiency by a factor of 2.5. For comparison of specifications, Avalon’s second-generation A3255-Q48 chip preliminary report can be found here.
Avalon A3233Q48 architecture, which appears similar to its predecessor. Source: Avalon Datasheet
The Avalon A3233-Q48′s architecture appears similar to its predecessor. Source: Avalon Datasheet
Focusing on chips
Guo said that pricing for the A3233-Q48 has not yet been determined, but he made it clear that Avalon’s focus is on selling quantities of ASIC chips to sophisticated buyers:
“Pricing is not yet determined. We are focusing mainly on chip sales, and producing some of our design as prototypes to demonstrate the chips.”
The company currently has its second-generation chip available for 13 BTC per 2,500 units. At recent CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index valuations, that’s around $8,200.
That chip operates out of the box at 1.2 GH/s, but it can be overclocked to 1.5 GH/s.
Avalon has also said it is publishing open-source designs for the chips on its GitHub pages to be used for different applications. A USB stick, 2U rack-mount blade and a PCI-e design will be available form factors.
The rivals
In comparison to Avalon’s business model, some ASIC chip designers, like Butterfly Labs, only currently sell full mining units. BFL is currently attempting to bring its 600 GH/s 28nm Monarch blade to market, but has experienced delays.
KnCMiner is also selling only complete miners. Its 20nm design has been taped out, making it the first SHA256 ASIC at that node. Taping out refers to last stage of the design process for an integrated circuit.
As for Avalon, Guo said he expects the bitcoin ecosystem to build complete miners with its chips.
The company is endeavouring to provide a low-cost entry into mining with its future chip designs.
Said Guo:
“We hope the community will take up the production, [so] we can focus on engineering and improving chip design in generation four, while lowering the barrier of entry for mining.”
Turbo mode
Avalon's second generation A3255-Q48. Source: Avalon
Avalon’s second generation A3255-Q48. Source: Avalon
The A3255-Q48 is able to achieve a 1.5-1.6 GH/s speed by overclocking from its typical core voltage of 0.9 volts to 1.0 V, with a maximum of 1.1 V.
Avalon will have overclocking, or ‘turbo mode’, results available soon for the third-generation chip, Guo says. This will exceed the 7 GH/s normal operating performance when at .075 V. The chip’s core maximum, according to the report, is .09 V. Guo added:
“This is [a] preliminary result. We will be releasing low-power performance mode data, as well as turbo mode data soon as results becomes available.”
The third-gen chip will be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor, which has been Avalon’s fabricator for all of its chips so far.
A release date for the A3233-Q48 has not yet been set, the company says.
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.
Bitcoin Scoops Linux Media Award at CeBIT 2014
Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on March 14, 2014 at 19:12 GMT | Events, News
Bitcoin has won a Linux award at CeBIT 2014 – Europe’s premier tech trade show.
The award was handed out at the Linux New Media Awards 2014, where bitcoin was named the ‘most innovative open-source project’.
The open-minded, open-source community behind Linux has a soft spot for innovation, encryption and apparently privacy.
In addition to bitcoin, the audience also decided to hand out further awards to email encryptor GnuPG and the Tor project, along with developers’ tool Git.
Most innovative of them all
Thousands of Linux enthusiasts and readers of leading Linux publications took part in the vote, reports Linux-magazin.de.
However, bitcoin received the distinction of being the most innovative open-source project. Open-source advocate Thomas Uhl praised the role of digital currencies and said he is a bitcoin user and a fan.
The award was accepted by Oliver Flaskämper from Bitcoin Germany GmbH, the company behind bitcoin.de.
Here to stay
Flaskämper said bitcoin.de is the biggest marketplace for bitcoin in Europe, and that the exchange is in good health – probably in an effort to distance himself from now-bankrupt bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.
He likened bitcoin to several online services that have transformed the online landscape in the past, such as Wikipedia and social networks, and suggested that bitcoin will revolutionise the global financial system.
This is not bitcoin’s first tech accolade this year. Back in February, TechCrunch awarded it the Best Technology Achievement 2013 award, or ‘Crunchie’. The award was accepted by Peter Vessenes, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation.
In its summary of the award, TechCrunch concluded that bitcoin is “almost mainstream” and that it seems likely it is here to stay.
Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on March 14, 2014 at 19:12 GMT | Events, News
Bitcoin has won a Linux award at CeBIT 2014 – Europe’s premier tech trade show.
The award was handed out at the Linux New Media Awards 2014, where bitcoin was named the ‘most innovative open-source project’.
The open-minded, open-source community behind Linux has a soft spot for innovation, encryption and apparently privacy.
In addition to bitcoin, the audience also decided to hand out further awards to email encryptor GnuPG and the Tor project, along with developers’ tool Git.
Most innovative of them all
Thousands of Linux enthusiasts and readers of leading Linux publications took part in the vote, reports Linux-magazin.de.
However, bitcoin received the distinction of being the most innovative open-source project. Open-source advocate Thomas Uhl praised the role of digital currencies and said he is a bitcoin user and a fan.
The award was accepted by Oliver Flaskämper from Bitcoin Germany GmbH, the company behind bitcoin.de.
Here to stay
Flaskämper said bitcoin.de is the biggest marketplace for bitcoin in Europe, and that the exchange is in good health – probably in an effort to distance himself from now-bankrupt bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.
He likened bitcoin to several online services that have transformed the online landscape in the past, such as Wikipedia and social networks, and suggested that bitcoin will revolutionise the global financial system.
This is not bitcoin’s first tech accolade this year. Back in February, TechCrunch awarded it the Best Technology Achievement 2013 award, or ‘Crunchie’. The award was accepted by Peter Vessenes, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation.
In its summary of the award, TechCrunch concluded that bitcoin is “almost mainstream” and that it seems likely it is here to stay.
Chamath Palihapitiya to Speak at CoinSummit San Francisco
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 18:23 GMT | Events, News
Noted early tech entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya has been added to the speaker list for CoinSummit San Francisco, an upcoming two-day, invitation-only event to be held on 25th and 26th March at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Palihapitiya, one of the largest individual bitcoin investors and a prominent early executive at Facebook and AOL, joins an already impressive lineup of industry talent that includes keynote speaker and early software pioneer Marc Andreessen; Naval Ravikant, founder of AngelList; Chris Larsen, CEO of Ripple Labs; and Nejc Kodrič, CEO of bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.
Additional speakers include David Lee, partner at SVAngel; Tony Gallippi, CEO of BitPay; Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase; and Jackson Palmer, co-founder of Dogecoin.
Palihapitiya has emerged as one of the more credible investors advocating for bitcoin in recent months, memorably speaking out on the digital currency’s behalf at TechCrunch Disrupt last October.
The comments were seen by many as a key vote of confidence at a time when many in the mainstream were questioning whether bitcoin was a speculative bubble that would soon burst.
The result was that TechCrunch forecasted that Palihapitiya would soon become “one of the most prominent advocates for the digital currency”, a development that seems to be coming to pass with his addition to CoinSummit San Francisco.
What to expect
For the event, Palihapitiya will be interviewed by Brad Stone, a senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweek and author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. Stone co-authored a feature on bitcoin which made the front cover of a January edition of Bloomberg Businessweek.
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Palihapitiya grabbed headlines when he estimated his personal bitcoin holdings to be worth $5m and suggested he would look to double or triple this investment.
Palihapitiya focused much of the conversation on bitcoin as an investment, as well as the underlying technology, topics that are both likely to be on the docket for CoinSummit.
About Palihapitiya
Born in Sri Lanka, Palihapitiya is mostly known for his work at high-profile tech companies, beginning with ICQ Messaging, which was later acquired by AOL. Palihapitiya went on to work on AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).
Founder and partner at The Social+Capital Partnership, a Palo Alto-based VC fund made up of philanthropists and technologists, Palihapitiya notably invested $15m in Barry Silbert’s alternative investment platform SecondMarket, which is working on launching a regulated bitcoin exchange in New York this year.
Further, he is the current owner of the Golden State Warriors NBA franchise, which has added credibility to rumors that the franchise may accept bitcoin soon.
As noted in his profile in BusinessWeek, Palihapitiya was integral in helping Facebook grow from just 50 million users to more than 750 million users.
Bitcoin users can only hope his support helps the digital currency achieve similar results.
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 18:23 GMT | Events, News
Noted early tech entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya has been added to the speaker list for CoinSummit San Francisco, an upcoming two-day, invitation-only event to be held on 25th and 26th March at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Palihapitiya, one of the largest individual bitcoin investors and a prominent early executive at Facebook and AOL, joins an already impressive lineup of industry talent that includes keynote speaker and early software pioneer Marc Andreessen; Naval Ravikant, founder of AngelList; Chris Larsen, CEO of Ripple Labs; and Nejc Kodrič, CEO of bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.
Additional speakers include David Lee, partner at SVAngel; Tony Gallippi, CEO of BitPay; Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase; and Jackson Palmer, co-founder of Dogecoin.
Palihapitiya has emerged as one of the more credible investors advocating for bitcoin in recent months, memorably speaking out on the digital currency’s behalf at TechCrunch Disrupt last October.
The comments were seen by many as a key vote of confidence at a time when many in the mainstream were questioning whether bitcoin was a speculative bubble that would soon burst.
The result was that TechCrunch forecasted that Palihapitiya would soon become “one of the most prominent advocates for the digital currency”, a development that seems to be coming to pass with his addition to CoinSummit San Francisco.
What to expect
For the event, Palihapitiya will be interviewed by Brad Stone, a senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweek and author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. Stone co-authored a feature on bitcoin which made the front cover of a January edition of Bloomberg Businessweek.
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Palihapitiya grabbed headlines when he estimated his personal bitcoin holdings to be worth $5m and suggested he would look to double or triple this investment.
Palihapitiya focused much of the conversation on bitcoin as an investment, as well as the underlying technology, topics that are both likely to be on the docket for CoinSummit.
About Palihapitiya
Born in Sri Lanka, Palihapitiya is mostly known for his work at high-profile tech companies, beginning with ICQ Messaging, which was later acquired by AOL. Palihapitiya went on to work on AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).
Founder and partner at The Social+Capital Partnership, a Palo Alto-based VC fund made up of philanthropists and technologists, Palihapitiya notably invested $15m in Barry Silbert’s alternative investment platform SecondMarket, which is working on launching a regulated bitcoin exchange in New York this year.
Further, he is the current owner of the Golden State Warriors NBA franchise, which has added credibility to rumors that the franchise may accept bitcoin soon.
As noted in his profile in BusinessWeek, Palihapitiya was integral in helping Facebook grow from just 50 million users to more than 750 million users.
Bitcoin users can only hope his support helps the digital currency achieve similar results.
Warren Buffett Urges Investors to ‘Stay Away’ from Bitcoin
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 17:42 GMT | Companies, Investors, News
Renowned investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett spoke out about bitcoin for the second time in as many weeks, calling the digital currency “a mirage” in an interview with CNBC on 14th March.
The comments follow Buffett’s first statements on bitcoin on the network on 3rd March, when he suggested that bitcoin was not a currency, writing it off as a passing fad.
Buffett was similarly dismissive of bitcoin again in his latest interview, at least as an investment opportunity, advising investors to “stay away from it”. He added: “It’s a mirage basically.”
Buffett did however allude to the underlying technology of bitcoin as a payments network, comparing it to checks and money orders as a “very effective” and “anonymous” way to transmit money, adding: “It’s a very fast money order”.
However, he also seemed to infer that were bitcoin to be used primarily for this purpose, its value would then be questionable, just as checks and money orders do not possess any value.
“I hope bitcoin becomes a better way of doing it, [but] the idea that it has intrinsic value is a joke.”
Full statements
The bitcoin question that arose around the nine-minute mark was an aside to the larger conversation, though it did spark a brief roundtable discussion of bitcoin and its ledger technology.
In the interview, Buffett covered a range of topics from his $1bn prize for this month’s NCAA college basketball tournament to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Buffett spoke more generally about investments too: commenting on the state of the US economy, as well as the investment benefits posed by stocks and bonds.
Influence
Though it’s unclear from the statements how deeply Buffett has assessed bitcoin or its underlying technology, these statements are likely to have an impact in the financial community.
Buffett’s influence is perhaps best summed up by his Investopedia profile authored by Richard Loth, who wrote: “Buffett has yet to write a single book, but among investment professionals and the investing public, there is no more respected voice.”
However, accounts of his investment style suggest bitcoin would not be a high priority for Buffett, as he favors predictable earnings, understandable ideas and strong franchises. For example, Buffett is famous for avoiding tech stocks, even those as promising as Facebook.
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 17:42 GMT | Companies, Investors, News
Renowned investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett spoke out about bitcoin for the second time in as many weeks, calling the digital currency “a mirage” in an interview with CNBC on 14th March.
The comments follow Buffett’s first statements on bitcoin on the network on 3rd March, when he suggested that bitcoin was not a currency, writing it off as a passing fad.
Buffett was similarly dismissive of bitcoin again in his latest interview, at least as an investment opportunity, advising investors to “stay away from it”. He added: “It’s a mirage basically.”
Buffett did however allude to the underlying technology of bitcoin as a payments network, comparing it to checks and money orders as a “very effective” and “anonymous” way to transmit money, adding: “It’s a very fast money order”.
However, he also seemed to infer that were bitcoin to be used primarily for this purpose, its value would then be questionable, just as checks and money orders do not possess any value.
“I hope bitcoin becomes a better way of doing it, [but] the idea that it has intrinsic value is a joke.”
Full statements
The bitcoin question that arose around the nine-minute mark was an aside to the larger conversation, though it did spark a brief roundtable discussion of bitcoin and its ledger technology.
In the interview, Buffett covered a range of topics from his $1bn prize for this month’s NCAA college basketball tournament to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Buffett spoke more generally about investments too: commenting on the state of the US economy, as well as the investment benefits posed by stocks and bonds.
Influence
Though it’s unclear from the statements how deeply Buffett has assessed bitcoin or its underlying technology, these statements are likely to have an impact in the financial community.
Buffett’s influence is perhaps best summed up by his Investopedia profile authored by Richard Loth, who wrote: “Buffett has yet to write a single book, but among investment professionals and the investing public, there is no more respected voice.”
However, accounts of his investment style suggest bitcoin would not be a high priority for Buffett, as he favors predictable earnings, understandable ideas and strong franchises. For example, Buffett is famous for avoiding tech stocks, even those as promising as Facebook.
US Mulls Regulating Bitcoin Under Rules for Commodities
Dan Palmer | Published on March 14, 2014 at 15:26 GMT | Law, News, Regulation, US & Canada
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) has announced that it is investigating whether it has the authority to regulate bitcoin and other digital currencies, Reuters reports.
“We are looking into that,” Mark Wetjen, the CFTC’s acting chairman, said at an industry conference. “It’s been initiated, there’s been an internal discussion at the staff level.”
The CFTC, which regulates the swaps and futures market, is studying whether bitcoin falls under the same rules as commodities markets, according to Wetjen. He said:
“I think people [within the CTFC] believe there’s a pretty good argument that it would fit that definition.”
Issues remain
“Then there’s a separate question about whether or not there is some derivative contract based on, or denominated in, a virtual currency and whether that’s listed on an exchange,” Wetjen stated, adding that the issue remains to be looked at in detail.
Wetjen said he could not predict the outcome of the discussions or give a timeframe for regulation. The chairman has previously spoken out about cryptocurrencies. In a statement before the US Senate Committee he said:
“Virtual currency [...] does present new risk, as a firm would be interacting outside of bank payment channels, increasing the risk of hacking or fraud, among other cybersecurity issues. The CFTC is working with registrants that are seeking to accept virtual currencies to educate them about best practices.”
Change of attitude
The comments follow New York State’s recent decision to commence regulating bitcoin exchanges this week.
Referencing the collapse of Mt. Gox and other exchanges, New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin M. Lawsky, announced that the state is accepting applications for digital currency exchanges, with such submissions representing a formal commitment to the regulatory process.
Lawsky said that these businesses will be regulated under new New York regulation, anticipated to be in place by the middle of 2014.
Wetjen’s comments seem to indicate that regulation is now very much on the horizon across the US as a whole, which will come as a relief to many bitcoin business that had complained of a lack of regulations to abide by.
Dan Palmer | Published on March 14, 2014 at 15:26 GMT | Law, News, Regulation, US & Canada
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) has announced that it is investigating whether it has the authority to regulate bitcoin and other digital currencies, Reuters reports.
“We are looking into that,” Mark Wetjen, the CFTC’s acting chairman, said at an industry conference. “It’s been initiated, there’s been an internal discussion at the staff level.”
The CFTC, which regulates the swaps and futures market, is studying whether bitcoin falls under the same rules as commodities markets, according to Wetjen. He said:
“I think people [within the CTFC] believe there’s a pretty good argument that it would fit that definition.”
Issues remain
“Then there’s a separate question about whether or not there is some derivative contract based on, or denominated in, a virtual currency and whether that’s listed on an exchange,” Wetjen stated, adding that the issue remains to be looked at in detail.
Wetjen said he could not predict the outcome of the discussions or give a timeframe for regulation. The chairman has previously spoken out about cryptocurrencies. In a statement before the US Senate Committee he said:
“Virtual currency [...] does present new risk, as a firm would be interacting outside of bank payment channels, increasing the risk of hacking or fraud, among other cybersecurity issues. The CFTC is working with registrants that are seeking to accept virtual currencies to educate them about best practices.”
Change of attitude
The comments follow New York State’s recent decision to commence regulating bitcoin exchanges this week.
Referencing the collapse of Mt. Gox and other exchanges, New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin M. Lawsky, announced that the state is accepting applications for digital currency exchanges, with such submissions representing a formal commitment to the regulatory process.
Lawsky said that these businesses will be regulated under new New York regulation, anticipated to be in place by the middle of 2014.
Wetjen’s comments seem to indicate that regulation is now very much on the horizon across the US as a whole, which will come as a relief to many bitcoin business that had complained of a lack of regulations to abide by.
Polish Bitcoin Exchange Bitcurex Targeted by Hacking Attack
Jaroslaw Adamowski | Published on March 14, 2014 at 14:52 GMT | Companies, Crime, News, Technology
UPDATE, 14th March, 17:37 GMT: Bitcurex official statement added.
—————————————————-
Poland’s leading bitcoin exchange Bitcurex temporarily shut down its site today following a hack which targeted funds in its users’ bitcoin wallets.
The exchange’s staff published a message on Facebook which stated that due “to an error and ongoing maintenance works” the platform had decided to “temporarily shut down [its] service”.
Company representatives told CoinDesk that the decision to temporarily close the website will allow the platform’s IT team to “perform a necessary verification”.
More details on the incident will be disclosed shortly once the maintenance works are completed, the representatives said, adding that there are reasons for optimism on their final outcome.
Filip Godecki, a representative of Bitcurex, told CoinDesk: ”Based on what our IT team has been able to determine, it seems that the worst-case scenario can be ruled out.”
The site reportedly halted all transactions at 09:37 am local time.
A statement from the company said:
“We successfully blocked a hacking attack on Bitcurex, preventing mass theft of BTC funds of our users. Thanks to automatic safety procedures, hackers managed to defraud only a portion of the funds stored in operational Hot Wallet Bitcurex. The majority of funds from Hot Wallet, as well the entirety of funds from Cold Wallet and FIAT monetary funds remained intact.
Our team located and removed the source of the problem. We are working on resuming normal service, at the same time an external audit is being conducted: we will soon provide the exact date of resuming all Bitcurex functionalities. More information will be provided in further statements.
We are sorry for the inconvenience, and most of all we thank the whole BTC community for the support we received: we were put to a test that will make us stronger.”
When asked exactly how many bitcoins had been stolen, Godecki would not part with the specifics, replying: “It’s managable – it was only a part of our hot wallet.”
Community reaction
Meanwhile, the platform’s users have been discussing the incident on various Polish cryptocurrency forums, and a user’s account of what happened was published by local news site Niebezpiecznik.pl. According to the information obtained, the attack targeted digital currency worth several million dollars. The user said:
“At about 09:34 am, someone placed an offer to buy bitcoins at PLN 5,000 per unit, for a total of at least PLN 94m, and after a while offers to sell for the same price were also made.”
As a confirmation of the presented account, a screenshot taken from the website prior to the shutdown by another user shows an offer to buy 18,978.5 BTC for the total amount of PLN 94.89m ($31.1m), which translates into roughly PLN 5,000 ($1,637) per BTC.
About Bitcurex
According to data obtained from Bitcoincharts on 14th March, Bitcurex had a 30-day volume of 18,359.3 BTC and PLN 36.61m ($12m). The platform’s six-month volume is 131,617.4 BTC and roughly PLN 229m ($75m).
The attack comes several weeks after Bitcurex released a statement designed to calm its users following the meltdown of Mt.Gox.
“Out of concern for the safety of transactions made by our customers and their funds … we repeated a series of internal audits, as we always treat such incidents very seriously, regardless of how efficient our system is and how much we trust our solutions.”
It added: “Bitcurex has always absolutely prioritized the safety of the service and the mechanics of its operation. This is why we always choose solutions that we are 100% sure [of], and it does not matter how much time and effort it takes to implement them.”
The incident is not the first attack to target a Poland-based bitcoin exchange. As earlier reported, in November 2013, Poland’s digital currency exchange Bidextreme.pl was hacked and its customers’ bitcoin and litecoin wallets were emptied.
The amount of digital currency stolen was not disclosed by the Polish platform, which was founded in 2013. Following the attack, the site was shut down by its owner and put up for sale for a minimum price of 170 BTC.
Set up in July 2012, Bitcurex is based in Łódź, Poland. The cryptocurrency exchange is operated by local company Digital Future Ltd.
Jaroslaw Adamowski | Published on March 14, 2014 at 14:52 GMT | Companies, Crime, News, Technology
UPDATE, 14th March, 17:37 GMT: Bitcurex official statement added.
—————————————————-
Poland’s leading bitcoin exchange Bitcurex temporarily shut down its site today following a hack which targeted funds in its users’ bitcoin wallets.
The exchange’s staff published a message on Facebook which stated that due “to an error and ongoing maintenance works” the platform had decided to “temporarily shut down [its] service”.
Company representatives told CoinDesk that the decision to temporarily close the website will allow the platform’s IT team to “perform a necessary verification”.
More details on the incident will be disclosed shortly once the maintenance works are completed, the representatives said, adding that there are reasons for optimism on their final outcome.
Filip Godecki, a representative of Bitcurex, told CoinDesk: ”Based on what our IT team has been able to determine, it seems that the worst-case scenario can be ruled out.”
The site reportedly halted all transactions at 09:37 am local time.
A statement from the company said:
“We successfully blocked a hacking attack on Bitcurex, preventing mass theft of BTC funds of our users. Thanks to automatic safety procedures, hackers managed to defraud only a portion of the funds stored in operational Hot Wallet Bitcurex. The majority of funds from Hot Wallet, as well the entirety of funds from Cold Wallet and FIAT monetary funds remained intact.
Our team located and removed the source of the problem. We are working on resuming normal service, at the same time an external audit is being conducted: we will soon provide the exact date of resuming all Bitcurex functionalities. More information will be provided in further statements.
We are sorry for the inconvenience, and most of all we thank the whole BTC community for the support we received: we were put to a test that will make us stronger.”
When asked exactly how many bitcoins had been stolen, Godecki would not part with the specifics, replying: “It’s managable – it was only a part of our hot wallet.”
Community reaction
Meanwhile, the platform’s users have been discussing the incident on various Polish cryptocurrency forums, and a user’s account of what happened was published by local news site Niebezpiecznik.pl. According to the information obtained, the attack targeted digital currency worth several million dollars. The user said:
“At about 09:34 am, someone placed an offer to buy bitcoins at PLN 5,000 per unit, for a total of at least PLN 94m, and after a while offers to sell for the same price were also made.”
As a confirmation of the presented account, a screenshot taken from the website prior to the shutdown by another user shows an offer to buy 18,978.5 BTC for the total amount of PLN 94.89m ($31.1m), which translates into roughly PLN 5,000 ($1,637) per BTC.
About Bitcurex
According to data obtained from Bitcoincharts on 14th March, Bitcurex had a 30-day volume of 18,359.3 BTC and PLN 36.61m ($12m). The platform’s six-month volume is 131,617.4 BTC and roughly PLN 229m ($75m).
The attack comes several weeks after Bitcurex released a statement designed to calm its users following the meltdown of Mt.Gox.
“Out of concern for the safety of transactions made by our customers and their funds … we repeated a series of internal audits, as we always treat such incidents very seriously, regardless of how efficient our system is and how much we trust our solutions.”
It added: “Bitcurex has always absolutely prioritized the safety of the service and the mechanics of its operation. This is why we always choose solutions that we are 100% sure [of], and it does not matter how much time and effort it takes to implement them.”
The incident is not the first attack to target a Poland-based bitcoin exchange. As earlier reported, in November 2013, Poland’s digital currency exchange Bidextreme.pl was hacked and its customers’ bitcoin and litecoin wallets were emptied.
The amount of digital currency stolen was not disclosed by the Polish platform, which was founded in 2013. Following the attack, the site was shut down by its owner and put up for sale for a minimum price of 170 BTC.
Set up in July 2012, Bitcurex is based in Łódź, Poland. The cryptocurrency exchange is operated by local company Digital Future Ltd.
Iranian Government Could Move Quickly to Regulate Bitcoin, Reports Suggest
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 13:33 GMT | News, Prices, Regulation
A new report from Fars News Agency has surfaced, suggesting that Iran’s National Center of Cyberspace (NCC) may consider implementing regulation regarding digital currencies, possibly as soon as this year.
Founded in 2012, the NCC is a government body responsible for implementing policies created by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC), which oversees Internet issues. The organisation has been described as a major decision-making authority in the hardware and software fields.
Informal translations of the text, corroborated by CoinDesk sources in Iran, suggest that the document provides an overview of bitcoin’s benefits, noting that it is not controlled by governments, features irreversible payments and comes with very low transaction fees.
Statements from Saeed Mahdyoon, described in past reports as a telecommunications official with the Irani government, indicate that the nation sees regulation as necessary, given that the world is quickly adopting digital currency payments and that the positive and negatives of their use are still unknown.
Further, he suggests high-level officials in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Central Bank of Iran may be involved in the deliberations.
Community reaction
A spokesperson for Iran-based bitcoin exchange CoinAva suggested that the reports seemed credible given that the Fars News Agency has ties to the Irani government. Though, he doesn’t believe this is an accurate representation of the agency’s internal thinking.
“I see this news as testing the water to get feedback and reaction from other authorities in power rather than an official stance.”
Mor Roghani, CEO of Iran-based e-commerce business Persian Shoes, was more positive about the announcement, suggesting also that this won’t be the last of Iran’s statements on bitcoin.
Said Roghani:
“The fact that someone in the government has positive attitude toward bitcoin is fascinating. I think we will see more in the coming months.”
Bitcoin ecosystem
Though the current bitcoin ecosystem in Iran remains small, the country’s population is predominantly young, meaning more than 50% of the population now uses the Internet.
Estimates from The Washington Post suggest Iran has the highest number of Internet users in the Middle East, and perhaps unsurprisingly, some of these individuals have become interested in bitcoin.
The business sector remains small as well. CoinAva launched in July, while merchants like Persian Shoes and musician Mohammad Rafigh are using the payment tool to open up paths to new customers.
Notably, speculation on reddit centered on how bitcoin could potentially gain significant inroads given issues with the domestic currency, the rial. In 2012, the currency suffered from severe hyperinflation, though more recent reports now suggest the currency has stablized. Discussions also theorized bitcoin could help the country hedge against harsh sanctions imposed by other nations.
Bitcoin in the Middle East
Though on-the-ground reports are scarce, some companies and countries in the Middle East have acknowledged bitcoin, suggesting awareness may be small but growing.
For example, Anghami, a streaming music platform serving the Middle East and North Africa, recently began accepting bitcoin.
The Central Bank of Jordan, the Bank of Lebanon and the Bank of Israel have also commented on digital currency regulation, with Israel and Lebanon issuing warnings to consumers and Jordan limiting its banks ability to work with the sector.
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 13:33 GMT | News, Prices, Regulation
A new report from Fars News Agency has surfaced, suggesting that Iran’s National Center of Cyberspace (NCC) may consider implementing regulation regarding digital currencies, possibly as soon as this year.
Founded in 2012, the NCC is a government body responsible for implementing policies created by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC), which oversees Internet issues. The organisation has been described as a major decision-making authority in the hardware and software fields.
Informal translations of the text, corroborated by CoinDesk sources in Iran, suggest that the document provides an overview of bitcoin’s benefits, noting that it is not controlled by governments, features irreversible payments and comes with very low transaction fees.
Statements from Saeed Mahdyoon, described in past reports as a telecommunications official with the Irani government, indicate that the nation sees regulation as necessary, given that the world is quickly adopting digital currency payments and that the positive and negatives of their use are still unknown.
Further, he suggests high-level officials in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Central Bank of Iran may be involved in the deliberations.
Community reaction
A spokesperson for Iran-based bitcoin exchange CoinAva suggested that the reports seemed credible given that the Fars News Agency has ties to the Irani government. Though, he doesn’t believe this is an accurate representation of the agency’s internal thinking.
“I see this news as testing the water to get feedback and reaction from other authorities in power rather than an official stance.”
Mor Roghani, CEO of Iran-based e-commerce business Persian Shoes, was more positive about the announcement, suggesting also that this won’t be the last of Iran’s statements on bitcoin.
Said Roghani:
“The fact that someone in the government has positive attitude toward bitcoin is fascinating. I think we will see more in the coming months.”
Bitcoin ecosystem
Though the current bitcoin ecosystem in Iran remains small, the country’s population is predominantly young, meaning more than 50% of the population now uses the Internet.
Estimates from The Washington Post suggest Iran has the highest number of Internet users in the Middle East, and perhaps unsurprisingly, some of these individuals have become interested in bitcoin.
The business sector remains small as well. CoinAva launched in July, while merchants like Persian Shoes and musician Mohammad Rafigh are using the payment tool to open up paths to new customers.
Notably, speculation on reddit centered on how bitcoin could potentially gain significant inroads given issues with the domestic currency, the rial. In 2012, the currency suffered from severe hyperinflation, though more recent reports now suggest the currency has stablized. Discussions also theorized bitcoin could help the country hedge against harsh sanctions imposed by other nations.
Bitcoin in the Middle East
Though on-the-ground reports are scarce, some companies and countries in the Middle East have acknowledged bitcoin, suggesting awareness may be small but growing.
For example, Anghami, a streaming music platform serving the Middle East and North Africa, recently began accepting bitcoin.
The Central Bank of Jordan, the Bank of Lebanon and the Bank of Israel have also commented on digital currency regulation, with Israel and Lebanon issuing warnings to consumers and Jordan limiting its banks ability to work with the sector.
Macro Energy Shares Soar on Australian Stock Exchange Following Bitcoin Deal
Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on March 14, 2014 at 12:30 GMT | Companies, Investors, News
Shares of Australian investment firm Macro Energy gained 42% yesterday, after news emerged that it plans to enter the bitcoin space and raise A$9.1m ($8.2m) in funding.
Yesterday, the company announced the acquisition of Digital CC and its subsidiary digitalBTC, which runs a bitcoin mining operation and a trade desk.
The move will make digitalBTC the first bitcoin company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Macro Energy also announced that it has firm commitments from investors who are planning to invest A$9.1m in the consolidated company.
The money will be used to expand digitalBTC’s mining and trading operations, as well as to develop retail bitcoin products such as mobile apps.
Zhenya Tsvetnenko, the founder and chairman of digitalBTC, pointed out that the ASX listing will allow public market investors the opportunity to get involved in digital currencies.
Are institutional investors looking at bitcoin?
A number of leading names in the financial industry have started looking into bitcoin and several interesting reports have been published over the last couple of months. None of them will enter the bitcoin space anytime soon, but their interest has not gone unnoticed.
They are not keen on bitcoin as a currency, but rather as a cost-effective payments platform, especially for microtransactions and remittances. While the media buzz is still focused on speculation, questionable practices and volatility, the big players are looking at the Bitcoin protocol and the network.
Earlier this week Perseus Telecom announced the launch of a globally integrated bitcoin exchange and the Digital Currency Initiative. The firm is one of the leading providers of high-bandwidth communications used by trading firms around the world and it believes it can offer unparalleled security and speed, trouncing existing bitcoin platforms.
Movement on the regulatory front
Regulatory issues remain the biggest concern for big investors who are reluctant to make investments in a completely unregulated market. However, the ball is finally rolling and New York State is leading the charge, spearheaded by New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin M Lawsky.
Lawsky and the NYDFS are working on no-nonsense regulation that could pave the way to the creation of New York-based bitcoin exchanges and a lot of headway has been made over the last couple of months.
The NYDFS bitcoin hearings in January were a step in the right direction and this week New York started accepting applications for digital currency exchanges.
However, the rest of the US might not be as keen to regulate and embrace digital currencies. The Texas State Securities Board has apparently informed Balanced Energy LLC to stop getting involved in bitcoin.
The company has also been accused of selling unregistered securities, so regulatory involvement may have a different background than some reports indicate, ie it has more to do with violating securities legislation than merely investing in bitcoin.
The regulator also pointed out that Balanced Energy has failed to disclose to investors the risks of using bitcoins to purchase interest in various investments. Extreme swings in the price of digital currencies could affect the amount of money available for business operations, the regulator warned.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, this is the first bitcoin-related cease and desist order issued in the US.
The company has been ordered to stop accepting bitcoin investments and selling unregistered securities.
Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on March 14, 2014 at 12:30 GMT | Companies, Investors, News
Shares of Australian investment firm Macro Energy gained 42% yesterday, after news emerged that it plans to enter the bitcoin space and raise A$9.1m ($8.2m) in funding.
Yesterday, the company announced the acquisition of Digital CC and its subsidiary digitalBTC, which runs a bitcoin mining operation and a trade desk.
The move will make digitalBTC the first bitcoin company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Macro Energy also announced that it has firm commitments from investors who are planning to invest A$9.1m in the consolidated company.
The money will be used to expand digitalBTC’s mining and trading operations, as well as to develop retail bitcoin products such as mobile apps.
Zhenya Tsvetnenko, the founder and chairman of digitalBTC, pointed out that the ASX listing will allow public market investors the opportunity to get involved in digital currencies.
Are institutional investors looking at bitcoin?
A number of leading names in the financial industry have started looking into bitcoin and several interesting reports have been published over the last couple of months. None of them will enter the bitcoin space anytime soon, but their interest has not gone unnoticed.
They are not keen on bitcoin as a currency, but rather as a cost-effective payments platform, especially for microtransactions and remittances. While the media buzz is still focused on speculation, questionable practices and volatility, the big players are looking at the Bitcoin protocol and the network.
Earlier this week Perseus Telecom announced the launch of a globally integrated bitcoin exchange and the Digital Currency Initiative. The firm is one of the leading providers of high-bandwidth communications used by trading firms around the world and it believes it can offer unparalleled security and speed, trouncing existing bitcoin platforms.
Movement on the regulatory front
Regulatory issues remain the biggest concern for big investors who are reluctant to make investments in a completely unregulated market. However, the ball is finally rolling and New York State is leading the charge, spearheaded by New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin M Lawsky.
Lawsky and the NYDFS are working on no-nonsense regulation that could pave the way to the creation of New York-based bitcoin exchanges and a lot of headway has been made over the last couple of months.
The NYDFS bitcoin hearings in January were a step in the right direction and this week New York started accepting applications for digital currency exchanges.
However, the rest of the US might not be as keen to regulate and embrace digital currencies. The Texas State Securities Board has apparently informed Balanced Energy LLC to stop getting involved in bitcoin.
The company has also been accused of selling unregistered securities, so regulatory involvement may have a different background than some reports indicate, ie it has more to do with violating securities legislation than merely investing in bitcoin.
The regulator also pointed out that Balanced Energy has failed to disclose to investors the risks of using bitcoins to purchase interest in various investments. Extreme swings in the price of digital currencies could affect the amount of money available for business operations, the regulator warned.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, this is the first bitcoin-related cease and desist order issued in the US.
The company has been ordered to stop accepting bitcoin investments and selling unregistered securities.
Australian Tax Office Explains Bitcoin, Intends to Tax it
Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 11:36 GMT | Asia, News, Regulation
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has provided businesses with some more guidelines on how it intends to deal with bitcoin, stating that income and profits derived from bitcoin transactions are taxable.
The letter, sent to an Australian bitcoin entrepreneur in response to a request made last June, was a private ruling to specific questions and noted its contents were valid only to that case. But it gives digital currency businesses in the country a better idea of how they should act to comply with tax regulations.
The first question asked if transferring bitcoins to a private company in return for shares would count as income, either ordinary or that from a for-profit undertaking. The answer was simply “Yes”.
As to whether transferring bitcoins to another party would be subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST), the answer was also a one-word “Yes”.
Bitcoin profits would also be subject to capital gains tax, though deductions depending on the individual case would apply.
Clear understanding
The letter also laid out a series of explanations showing the ATO has a very clear understanding of what bitcoin is, as well as the technology and processes behind it.
It acknowledges that bitcoin is “based on an open source cryptographic protocol, which is not under the control of a central authority”.
According to the ATO’s definition:
“A Bitcoin is a numerical amount that is allocated to a ‘Bitcoin address’. A Bitcoin address is a long string of numbers and letters, each one unique. The process through which Bitcoins are created and enter into circulation is called Bitcoin mining.
Mining involves using freely downloadable Bitcoin software to solve complex cryptographic equations that essentially verify and validate blocks of Bitcoin transactions. The first ‘miner’ to successfully solving an equation receives a specified number of newly created Bitcoins as a reward to their Bitcoin address.
Accordingly, Bitcoins rely on a network of Bitcoin miners using the system to validate transactions and collectively implement a replicated ledger of Bitcoin transactions. The security of this ledger is protected by this mining process.
Bitcoins are circulated using a peer-to-peer computer network. Bitcoin users store their Bitcoins in a software program called a ‘Bitcoin wallet’.
A transaction involving Bitcoins requires an account, which is in essence a ‘public-/private-keypair’. A Bitcoin address derived from the public key is used to identify the account. To transfer Bitcoins to an account a transaction is created with the address of the account as the destination. To send Bitcoins from an account, the transaction has to be signed with the private key associated with the sending account.”
It also identified that participants in the bitcoin economy did so with the intention of making money, particularly those who mined:
“You invested a substantial amount of money in computer hardware and advanced scientific computing systems with the purpose of making substantial profit from mining and selling Bitcoins.”
An ATO representative had said in early February that the department would publish guidelines on bitcoin for the current tax year, which ends in June. Transactions would be taxed according to their value in Australian dollars.
Permissive atmosphere
Australia has provided some of the more level-headed responses to bitcoin and bitcoin business so far. Compared to other nations, warnings from Australia’s regulators have been comparatively mild and so far unofficial.
While the country’s corporate banks have reacted in different ways, there have been no central bank moves to block those banks or other financial institutions from working with digital currency. There are no longer any government-owned banks in Australia.
So far the response has been similar to that of Singapore, which has also provided some guidelines on how bitcoin businesses should approach tax time.
Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 11:36 GMT | Asia, News, Regulation
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has provided businesses with some more guidelines on how it intends to deal with bitcoin, stating that income and profits derived from bitcoin transactions are taxable.
The letter, sent to an Australian bitcoin entrepreneur in response to a request made last June, was a private ruling to specific questions and noted its contents were valid only to that case. But it gives digital currency businesses in the country a better idea of how they should act to comply with tax regulations.
The first question asked if transferring bitcoins to a private company in return for shares would count as income, either ordinary or that from a for-profit undertaking. The answer was simply “Yes”.
As to whether transferring bitcoins to another party would be subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST), the answer was also a one-word “Yes”.
Bitcoin profits would also be subject to capital gains tax, though deductions depending on the individual case would apply.
Clear understanding
The letter also laid out a series of explanations showing the ATO has a very clear understanding of what bitcoin is, as well as the technology and processes behind it.
It acknowledges that bitcoin is “based on an open source cryptographic protocol, which is not under the control of a central authority”.
According to the ATO’s definition:
“A Bitcoin is a numerical amount that is allocated to a ‘Bitcoin address’. A Bitcoin address is a long string of numbers and letters, each one unique. The process through which Bitcoins are created and enter into circulation is called Bitcoin mining.
Mining involves using freely downloadable Bitcoin software to solve complex cryptographic equations that essentially verify and validate blocks of Bitcoin transactions. The first ‘miner’ to successfully solving an equation receives a specified number of newly created Bitcoins as a reward to their Bitcoin address.
Accordingly, Bitcoins rely on a network of Bitcoin miners using the system to validate transactions and collectively implement a replicated ledger of Bitcoin transactions. The security of this ledger is protected by this mining process.
Bitcoins are circulated using a peer-to-peer computer network. Bitcoin users store their Bitcoins in a software program called a ‘Bitcoin wallet’.
A transaction involving Bitcoins requires an account, which is in essence a ‘public-/private-keypair’. A Bitcoin address derived from the public key is used to identify the account. To transfer Bitcoins to an account a transaction is created with the address of the account as the destination. To send Bitcoins from an account, the transaction has to be signed with the private key associated with the sending account.”
It also identified that participants in the bitcoin economy did so with the intention of making money, particularly those who mined:
“You invested a substantial amount of money in computer hardware and advanced scientific computing systems with the purpose of making substantial profit from mining and selling Bitcoins.”
An ATO representative had said in early February that the department would publish guidelines on bitcoin for the current tax year, which ends in June. Transactions would be taxed according to their value in Australian dollars.
Permissive atmosphere
Australia has provided some of the more level-headed responses to bitcoin and bitcoin business so far. Compared to other nations, warnings from Australia’s regulators have been comparatively mild and so far unofficial.
While the country’s corporate banks have reacted in different ways, there have been no central bank moves to block those banks or other financial institutions from working with digital currency. There are no longer any government-owned banks in Australia.
So far the response has been similar to that of Singapore, which has also provided some guidelines on how bitcoin businesses should approach tax time.
Coins for Bands Hope to Disrupt Music Industry
Danny Bradbury (@dannybradbury) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 04:04 GMT | Altcoins, Lifestyle, News
Altcoins targeting specific communities are starting to emerge. This month sees the introduction of two separate cryptocurrencies aimed at musicians. Songcoin and FUNK each take different political and technical approaches to helping the independent music economy.
Songcoin is the brainchild of Pimovi, a subsidiary of Australian natural gas exploration firm The Chancellor Group.
Co-founded by Kasian Franks, who formerly founded now-defunct multimedia search firm SeeqPod, Pimovi is a digital entertainment company, eager to get involved in the cryptocurrency space.
Songcoin is designed not only to accommodate donations from fans, but also as a means of running contests and promotions – almost as a kind of loyalty points system that can travel between different bands and labels.
“We decided that the first phase should be providing musicians with tip jars. Fans can acquire Songcoins and can use them to tip musicians, and then as the circulation increases, the value would increase and the musicians would have another form of revenue,” Franks said. “We would step in as a company and do everything that we wanted to do to support it.”
Pimovi, 61% owned by the Group, has some muscle behind it. It has Rax Saxena of Cisco Systems, and formerly of JP Morgan Chase, Bank Of America And PricewaterhouseCoopers, on its advisory board. On the technical side, it has Dylan Durst, described as one of the co-architects of namecoin, advising.
The architecture of the coin was originally to be based on namecoin, but Franks said that the firm switched to litecoin, before finally settling on bitcoin. Now, it’s effective a bitcoin clone, with the same SHA-256 proof of work, reward block, and difficulty. Which begs the question: why wouldn’t musicians simply use bitcoin instead?
“The way I always answer that question is, why doesn’t the world have one credit card? The world has hundreds or thousands of them, serving different industries,” Franks says. “They all build in incentives and various ways that their customers specific to their industries can benefit. We can use Songcoin to create further incentives for music fans.”
Franks says that this extends into running services atop the coin, partnering with musicians for contents and promotions, but also with ticket houses and merchandisers to provide discount sales.
A marketing play
This seems to turn it into a marketing play, rather than a technological innovation. Songcoin will be premined, with the premined proportion amounting to far less than 50%, said Franks, although Pimovi hasn’t decided what proportion will be premined yet. The premine will be used for initial giveaways to promote the coin (known as ‘faucets’, in the cryptocurrency world).
But Franks maintains that bands are interested. He will work with the Merlin Group, he says, which represents many indie labels, and he already claims to have one large band interested.
Naturally, Franks sees big things ahead for the coin. “We are closely watching Auroracoin with its $230 million market cap along with its distribution designed for Iceland’s population. We see the music listening population as being much larger obviously,” he said.
He begins the premine in a week, and expects to provide wallets on Windows, OSX and Linux in around two weeks. Miners will be able to begin mining around then, too.
While Franks is using the bitcoin source for Pimovi’s coin, Simon de la Rouviere has chosen a Scrypt-based mechanism for his. De la Rouviere, co-founder of bitcoin-based digital content sales site Min.io, has launched the Cypherphunks, a network of musicians with its own cryptocurrency, called the FUNK.
Anyone can join the Cyberphunks, says de la Rouviere, who describes participants as a “decentralized band”. All musicians have rights to everything produced, and it can remixed and shared by participants in the collective. It is essentially crowdsourced, open sourced music.
The currency, like Songcoin, will be used for musician tip jars, and can also be used for donations. If members of the collective want to mount a project or play at a venue, then others could donate the cryptocurrency to help.
Venn diagrams of crypto currencies
De la Rouviere has his own argument for why musicians shouldn’t simply use bitcoin.
“Each cryptocurrency encompasses its own network, acting as stock in that network,” he said. “So if it is a new project that can’t necessarily fully fit into another cryptocurrency, it is better to create a new currency for it. Think of it in terms of venn diagrams: each cryptocurrency overlapping with others.”
The coin will have a two-minute block time, and will initially distribute 100,000 coins per block, an amount that will be halved every year for four years. From year 5 onwards, the block reward will be fixed at 5000 per block, and there will be no cap on the number of FUNKs.
“The infinite supply decision was difficult to make, because it untested at the moment. The reason for it was that if the coin also acts as stock in the idea, there might not be enough transactions in the future for the miners to sustain themselves just on transaction fees,” de la Rouviere said.
The coin will not be premined, he said. “Everyone needs equal stake in the idea for it flourish fully.”
De la Rouviere also sees potential for micropayments with the cryptocurrency, which will be traceable in and outside the Cypherphunks community, and he is working on various micro payments schemes, including a project based on PayFile, a micro transaction system initially developed by bitcoin core developer Mike Hearn.
This would allow users to pay for files downloaded on a per-kilobyte basis. “This could work well for things like streaming of MP3s,” he said, “but the jury is still out whether users would want to do it this way.”
In any case, members of the collective are all supposed to own the music, which makes micro payments a bit tricky, unless it’s donation-based, he points out.
“An idea is for each song sold (in say BTC or Doge), it is used directly to buy up FUNK on the market and then donate that FUNK to either projects within the community or just directly to the miners (as tx fees).”
The emergence of two musician-focused coins in the same month shows opportunity for a disruption in the independent music economy. With altcoins sprouting weekly and all of them targeting different communities, we’re sure these won’t be the last.
Danny Bradbury (@dannybradbury) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 04:04 GMT | Altcoins, Lifestyle, News
Altcoins targeting specific communities are starting to emerge. This month sees the introduction of two separate cryptocurrencies aimed at musicians. Songcoin and FUNK each take different political and technical approaches to helping the independent music economy.
Songcoin is the brainchild of Pimovi, a subsidiary of Australian natural gas exploration firm The Chancellor Group.
Co-founded by Kasian Franks, who formerly founded now-defunct multimedia search firm SeeqPod, Pimovi is a digital entertainment company, eager to get involved in the cryptocurrency space.
Songcoin is designed not only to accommodate donations from fans, but also as a means of running contests and promotions – almost as a kind of loyalty points system that can travel between different bands and labels.
“We decided that the first phase should be providing musicians with tip jars. Fans can acquire Songcoins and can use them to tip musicians, and then as the circulation increases, the value would increase and the musicians would have another form of revenue,” Franks said. “We would step in as a company and do everything that we wanted to do to support it.”
Pimovi, 61% owned by the Group, has some muscle behind it. It has Rax Saxena of Cisco Systems, and formerly of JP Morgan Chase, Bank Of America And PricewaterhouseCoopers, on its advisory board. On the technical side, it has Dylan Durst, described as one of the co-architects of namecoin, advising.
The architecture of the coin was originally to be based on namecoin, but Franks said that the firm switched to litecoin, before finally settling on bitcoin. Now, it’s effective a bitcoin clone, with the same SHA-256 proof of work, reward block, and difficulty. Which begs the question: why wouldn’t musicians simply use bitcoin instead?
“The way I always answer that question is, why doesn’t the world have one credit card? The world has hundreds or thousands of them, serving different industries,” Franks says. “They all build in incentives and various ways that their customers specific to their industries can benefit. We can use Songcoin to create further incentives for music fans.”
Franks says that this extends into running services atop the coin, partnering with musicians for contents and promotions, but also with ticket houses and merchandisers to provide discount sales.
A marketing play
This seems to turn it into a marketing play, rather than a technological innovation. Songcoin will be premined, with the premined proportion amounting to far less than 50%, said Franks, although Pimovi hasn’t decided what proportion will be premined yet. The premine will be used for initial giveaways to promote the coin (known as ‘faucets’, in the cryptocurrency world).
But Franks maintains that bands are interested. He will work with the Merlin Group, he says, which represents many indie labels, and he already claims to have one large band interested.
Naturally, Franks sees big things ahead for the coin. “We are closely watching Auroracoin with its $230 million market cap along with its distribution designed for Iceland’s population. We see the music listening population as being much larger obviously,” he said.
He begins the premine in a week, and expects to provide wallets on Windows, OSX and Linux in around two weeks. Miners will be able to begin mining around then, too.
While Franks is using the bitcoin source for Pimovi’s coin, Simon de la Rouviere has chosen a Scrypt-based mechanism for his. De la Rouviere, co-founder of bitcoin-based digital content sales site Min.io, has launched the Cypherphunks, a network of musicians with its own cryptocurrency, called the FUNK.
Anyone can join the Cyberphunks, says de la Rouviere, who describes participants as a “decentralized band”. All musicians have rights to everything produced, and it can remixed and shared by participants in the collective. It is essentially crowdsourced, open sourced music.
The currency, like Songcoin, will be used for musician tip jars, and can also be used for donations. If members of the collective want to mount a project or play at a venue, then others could donate the cryptocurrency to help.
Venn diagrams of crypto currencies
De la Rouviere has his own argument for why musicians shouldn’t simply use bitcoin.
“Each cryptocurrency encompasses its own network, acting as stock in that network,” he said. “So if it is a new project that can’t necessarily fully fit into another cryptocurrency, it is better to create a new currency for it. Think of it in terms of venn diagrams: each cryptocurrency overlapping with others.”
The coin will have a two-minute block time, and will initially distribute 100,000 coins per block, an amount that will be halved every year for four years. From year 5 onwards, the block reward will be fixed at 5000 per block, and there will be no cap on the number of FUNKs.
“The infinite supply decision was difficult to make, because it untested at the moment. The reason for it was that if the coin also acts as stock in the idea, there might not be enough transactions in the future for the miners to sustain themselves just on transaction fees,” de la Rouviere said.
The coin will not be premined, he said. “Everyone needs equal stake in the idea for it flourish fully.”
De la Rouviere also sees potential for micropayments with the cryptocurrency, which will be traceable in and outside the Cypherphunks community, and he is working on various micro payments schemes, including a project based on PayFile, a micro transaction system initially developed by bitcoin core developer Mike Hearn.
This would allow users to pay for files downloaded on a per-kilobyte basis. “This could work well for things like streaming of MP3s,” he said, “but the jury is still out whether users would want to do it this way.”
In any case, members of the collective are all supposed to own the music, which makes micro payments a bit tricky, unless it’s donation-based, he points out.
“An idea is for each song sold (in say BTC or Doge), it is used directly to buy up FUNK on the market and then donate that FUNK to either projects within the community or just directly to the miners (as tx fees).”
The emergence of two musician-focused coins in the same month shows opportunity for a disruption in the independent music economy. With altcoins sprouting weekly and all of them targeting different communities, we’re sure these won’t be the last.
Hong Kong’s First Bitcoin ATM Goes Live Today
Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 09:40 GMT | Bitcoin ATM, Companies, News
Hong Kong’s first bitcoin ATM opened earlier today at a cafe in one of the city’s busiest pedestrian districts.
The ATM, a Lamassu one-way bitcoin dispensing machine, will be sited at Mr Bing – a cafe franchise that specialises in Beijing crepes or jianbing.
The launch took place at 7:30am, within the franchise premises at 83 Wellington Street, just off Hong Kong’s Central-Mid Levels escalator.
With such a public location, it will likely serve as an indicator of the Hong Kong general public’s interest in bitcoin.
HongKongATM2
Competition
The exact same day, local Hong Kong bitcoin exchange ANXBTC also launched a similar machine, revealing a race was on to supply bitcoins to an increasingly aware public in the startup and financial hub. There are even reports that a third company, Alitobit, will unveil another ATM in the coming weeks.
Bitcoin ATM manufacturer Robocoin announced it would be shipping machines to Hong Kong back in early January, but it seems it has been beaten to the post by the simpler, smaller Lamassu version.
The special administrative region of China already has online digital currency exchanges like ANXBTC and Bitfinex, with others coming soon. Furthermore, ANXBTC opened a physical trading counter just a couple of weeks ago.
Ideal location
In densely populated Hong Kong, the Central-Mid Levels escalator is an 800-metre covered escalator and moving walkway system – the longest in the world – that carries 55,000 people a day, serving as a commuter transit system carrying city workers to and from their apartments.
The route has become a highly developed retail and restaurant precinct, and the Mr Bing outlet sees a high turnover every day.
The Beijing creperie – which was founded by New Yorker Brian Goldberg – was also present at Hong Kong’s recent ‘RISE:Bitcoin‘ event, which aimed to introduce newcomers to digital currency use in daily life and attracted over 100 interested attendees on the day.
The company launching the ATM, Bitcoin Group HK, was formed by five long-term Hong Kong residents who came together to find new opportunities for digital currency in the territory.
Should the first ATM prove successful, they will definitely be scouting out a location for a second machine.
Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on March 14, 2014 at 09:40 GMT | Bitcoin ATM, Companies, News
Hong Kong’s first bitcoin ATM opened earlier today at a cafe in one of the city’s busiest pedestrian districts.
The ATM, a Lamassu one-way bitcoin dispensing machine, will be sited at Mr Bing – a cafe franchise that specialises in Beijing crepes or jianbing.
The launch took place at 7:30am, within the franchise premises at 83 Wellington Street, just off Hong Kong’s Central-Mid Levels escalator.
With such a public location, it will likely serve as an indicator of the Hong Kong general public’s interest in bitcoin.
HongKongATM2
Competition
The exact same day, local Hong Kong bitcoin exchange ANXBTC also launched a similar machine, revealing a race was on to supply bitcoins to an increasingly aware public in the startup and financial hub. There are even reports that a third company, Alitobit, will unveil another ATM in the coming weeks.
Bitcoin ATM manufacturer Robocoin announced it would be shipping machines to Hong Kong back in early January, but it seems it has been beaten to the post by the simpler, smaller Lamassu version.
The special administrative region of China already has online digital currency exchanges like ANXBTC and Bitfinex, with others coming soon. Furthermore, ANXBTC opened a physical trading counter just a couple of weeks ago.
Ideal location
In densely populated Hong Kong, the Central-Mid Levels escalator is an 800-metre covered escalator and moving walkway system – the longest in the world – that carries 55,000 people a day, serving as a commuter transit system carrying city workers to and from their apartments.
The route has become a highly developed retail and restaurant precinct, and the Mr Bing outlet sees a high turnover every day.
The Beijing creperie – which was founded by New Yorker Brian Goldberg – was also present at Hong Kong’s recent ‘RISE:Bitcoin‘ event, which aimed to introduce newcomers to digital currency use in daily life and attracted over 100 interested attendees on the day.
The company launching the ATM, Bitcoin Group HK, was formed by five long-term Hong Kong residents who came together to find new opportunities for digital currency in the territory.
Should the first ATM prove successful, they will definitely be scouting out a location for a second machine.
Mintspare Will Pay Bitcoin For Your Old Electronics
Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 22:54 GMT | Companies, News, Startups, Wallets
Consumers can now receive bitcoin when they trade in their old electronics through a new startup called Mintspare.
Galfry Puechavy, Mintspare’s CEO, told CoinDesk that the company’s goal is to be a simple way to get started with bitcoin:
“It’s just allows people to get in very, very easily. I personally haven’t seen a simpler way to acquire bitcoins,” said Puechavy.
How it works
Mintspare has its own bitcoin wallet that it provides to customers when an account is created. Users choose a device that they want to trade in, select the model and then determine the condition that it is in.
mintspareselectdevice
Mintspare then generates a prepaid shipping label and the user sends it in for BTC. Explained Puechavy:
“When we receive your iPhone or iPad, after verifying and diagnosing it and making sure it’s the right model we just send out your funds to your Mintspare wallet within 24 hours.”
Mintspare’s goal is to introduce newcomers to owning their first bitcoins.
Puechavy believes that the verification procedures required for exchanges “scare” potential bitcoin enthusiasts. Instead, bitcoin for gadgets is an alternative onramp to the crytpocurrency ecosystem MintSpare provides.
Electronics for bitcoin
Mintspare isn’t the only company that takes bitcoin for used devices. Glyde, a Palo Alto-based startup, also pays out in bitcoin for gadgets.
But, Glyde is a marketplace that connects sellers with buyers and also pays out in dollars. Mintspare is a trade-in program focused solely on fueling bitcoin adoption.
“Glyde is a different model than what we have. They still have their purpose, but the main goal of Mintspare is to alleviate the friction of starting with ownership with bitcoin.”
Like Glyde, Mintspare has a referral program. But it’s a bit different: With Glyde, users who refer customers get $5 per sign up. Mintspare’s program is on a sliding scale based on the amount of BTC a user’s trade-ins are worth.
MintSpare referral program rewards.
MintSpare’s referral program rewards are on a sliding scale with tiers.
“We have a referral program that we opened up after the beta. Now we’re ready to go full throttle,” Puechavy said.
Values and transparency
Mintspare makes a valuation on used devices based on a number of sources.
It has put together its own proprietary resource that allows them to determine the dollar value of a gadget. It then converts that to bitcoin. Said Puechavy:
“We have our own database. It comes from multiple sources. We just have an average from those sources that we get our numbers from.”
The company believes that in order to sell the Mintspare idea to prospective users, it is key to provide as much information as possible.
Being a bitcoin-based business means Mintspare has to offer prompt customer engagement and education. Many people are still wary of BTC, so providing a level of comfort is important. Puechavy is aware of this, and told CoinDesk:
“[Mintspare is] very transparent, the entire process. It’s a huge issue.”
More about Mintspare
The company began a private beta one month ago, with limitations on the number of devices that could be sent in, and opened to the public this week.
mintsparescreenshot
The startup is a project that Puechavy and a small globally distributed team has been working on for six months.
“Because we deal in bitcoin,we have employees around the world. This is really the first time in the world that you can really seamlessly integrate an international team,” he said.
“There are so many benefits from bitcoin that you don’t realize until you are given the circumstances. This is something impressive,” Puechavy said.
Mintspare signups are now open to anyone who has devices to trade in for bitcoin.
Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 22:54 GMT | Companies, News, Startups, Wallets
Consumers can now receive bitcoin when they trade in their old electronics through a new startup called Mintspare.
Galfry Puechavy, Mintspare’s CEO, told CoinDesk that the company’s goal is to be a simple way to get started with bitcoin:
“It’s just allows people to get in very, very easily. I personally haven’t seen a simpler way to acquire bitcoins,” said Puechavy.
How it works
Mintspare has its own bitcoin wallet that it provides to customers when an account is created. Users choose a device that they want to trade in, select the model and then determine the condition that it is in.
mintspareselectdevice
Mintspare then generates a prepaid shipping label and the user sends it in for BTC. Explained Puechavy:
“When we receive your iPhone or iPad, after verifying and diagnosing it and making sure it’s the right model we just send out your funds to your Mintspare wallet within 24 hours.”
Mintspare’s goal is to introduce newcomers to owning their first bitcoins.
Puechavy believes that the verification procedures required for exchanges “scare” potential bitcoin enthusiasts. Instead, bitcoin for gadgets is an alternative onramp to the crytpocurrency ecosystem MintSpare provides.
Electronics for bitcoin
Mintspare isn’t the only company that takes bitcoin for used devices. Glyde, a Palo Alto-based startup, also pays out in bitcoin for gadgets.
But, Glyde is a marketplace that connects sellers with buyers and also pays out in dollars. Mintspare is a trade-in program focused solely on fueling bitcoin adoption.
“Glyde is a different model than what we have. They still have their purpose, but the main goal of Mintspare is to alleviate the friction of starting with ownership with bitcoin.”
Like Glyde, Mintspare has a referral program. But it’s a bit different: With Glyde, users who refer customers get $5 per sign up. Mintspare’s program is on a sliding scale based on the amount of BTC a user’s trade-ins are worth.
MintSpare referral program rewards.
MintSpare’s referral program rewards are on a sliding scale with tiers.
“We have a referral program that we opened up after the beta. Now we’re ready to go full throttle,” Puechavy said.
Values and transparency
Mintspare makes a valuation on used devices based on a number of sources.
It has put together its own proprietary resource that allows them to determine the dollar value of a gadget. It then converts that to bitcoin. Said Puechavy:
“We have our own database. It comes from multiple sources. We just have an average from those sources that we get our numbers from.”
The company believes that in order to sell the Mintspare idea to prospective users, it is key to provide as much information as possible.
Being a bitcoin-based business means Mintspare has to offer prompt customer engagement and education. Many people are still wary of BTC, so providing a level of comfort is important. Puechavy is aware of this, and told CoinDesk:
“[Mintspare is] very transparent, the entire process. It’s a huge issue.”
More about Mintspare
The company began a private beta one month ago, with limitations on the number of devices that could be sent in, and opened to the public this week.
mintsparescreenshot
The startup is a project that Puechavy and a small globally distributed team has been working on for six months.
“Because we deal in bitcoin,we have employees around the world. This is really the first time in the world that you can really seamlessly integrate an international team,” he said.
“There are so many benefits from bitcoin that you don’t realize until you are given the circumstances. This is something impressive,” Puechavy said.
Mintspare signups are now open to anyone who has devices to trade in for bitcoin.
Xapo Raises $20 Million for Ultra-Secure Bitcoin Storage
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 21:00 GMT | Investors, Technology
California-based bitcoin security company Xapo has raised $20m as part of an initial round of fundraising led by Benchmark, Fortress Investment Group and Ribbit Capital.
The funding round is the second largest public round in the bitcoin space, trailing Coinbase’s $25m Series B completed in December, but coming in ahead of Circle’s $9m Series A round in October.
Founded by Wences Casares, former CEO and founder of digital wallet startup Lemon, the company maintains bitcoin cold storage facilities in two undisclosed locations.
Casares invoked his Argentinian background when talking about the company, noting his parents routinely lost money due to rapid inflation and deflation in his home country, and that as such, providing protection to clients against this risk is a matter he takes seriously.
Said Casares:
“I recognize that those are extremes but, when you grow up in that environment you become much more aware of problems with currency. So, when I saw bitcoin it was like a dream.”
The vaults boast enhanced security. For example, their servers were never online, meaning that no cybercriminals can fingerprint them as a means to steal information. Further, all the bitcoin in Xapo’s vaults are insured.
Fortress revealed in February that it bought $20m worth of bitcoins as part of its experimentation in the sector, while Ribbit Capital was founded by Bitcoin Foundation board member Micky Malka.
Service overview
Currently, Xapo holds bitcoin for large commercial customers such as hedge funds, family offices and wealth funds. Users pay 12 basis points a year for the service.
Benchmark partner Matt Cohler indicated that he believes the funding round is a natural step for the ecosystem, noting that he expects bitcoin users to eventually pick storage service providers the way they do banks.
Said Cohler:
“You’ll want to understand the company’s credibility, backing and solvency. In this case, you have a company led by one of the most important people in the bitcoin ecosystem, it’s insured and has investors from both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.”
2014 in startup funding
The Xapo funding is by far the largest round yet registered this year, in what has been a slow few months for funding. To date, the largest rounds in 2014 have been for Asian companies such as Singapore-based ATM manufacturer Tembusu and South Korean bitcoin exchange Korbit, both of which raised under $500,000.
However, if earlier predictions hold true it may not be one of the largest for long, as venture capital firms are still bullish on bitcoin‘s prospects across all sectors of the industry.
Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 21:00 GMT | Investors, Technology
California-based bitcoin security company Xapo has raised $20m as part of an initial round of fundraising led by Benchmark, Fortress Investment Group and Ribbit Capital.
The funding round is the second largest public round in the bitcoin space, trailing Coinbase’s $25m Series B completed in December, but coming in ahead of Circle’s $9m Series A round in October.
Founded by Wences Casares, former CEO and founder of digital wallet startup Lemon, the company maintains bitcoin cold storage facilities in two undisclosed locations.
Casares invoked his Argentinian background when talking about the company, noting his parents routinely lost money due to rapid inflation and deflation in his home country, and that as such, providing protection to clients against this risk is a matter he takes seriously.
Said Casares:
“I recognize that those are extremes but, when you grow up in that environment you become much more aware of problems with currency. So, when I saw bitcoin it was like a dream.”
The vaults boast enhanced security. For example, their servers were never online, meaning that no cybercriminals can fingerprint them as a means to steal information. Further, all the bitcoin in Xapo’s vaults are insured.
Fortress revealed in February that it bought $20m worth of bitcoins as part of its experimentation in the sector, while Ribbit Capital was founded by Bitcoin Foundation board member Micky Malka.
Service overview
Currently, Xapo holds bitcoin for large commercial customers such as hedge funds, family offices and wealth funds. Users pay 12 basis points a year for the service.
Benchmark partner Matt Cohler indicated that he believes the funding round is a natural step for the ecosystem, noting that he expects bitcoin users to eventually pick storage service providers the way they do banks.
Said Cohler:
“You’ll want to understand the company’s credibility, backing and solvency. In this case, you have a company led by one of the most important people in the bitcoin ecosystem, it’s insured and has investors from both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.”
2014 in startup funding
The Xapo funding is by far the largest round yet registered this year, in what has been a slow few months for funding. To date, the largest rounds in 2014 have been for Asian companies such as Singapore-based ATM manufacturer Tembusu and South Korean bitcoin exchange Korbit, both of which raised under $500,000.
However, if earlier predictions hold true it may not be one of the largest for long, as venture capital firms are still bullish on bitcoin‘s prospects across all sectors of the industry.
Bitcoin Proves Just the Tonic for London Gin Distillery
Roop Gill (@roopgill) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 18:03 GMT | Companies, Lifestyle, Merchants, News
UK Bitcoin holders can now spend their digital currency on a bottle of Dodd’s Gin or a 109 Cask, both distilled by The London Distillery Company (TLDC).
TLDC joins a growing list of merchants in London that are now accepting bitcoin. The distillery only opened their digital doors to cryptocurrencies this Monday and have since been surprised by the response from the community.
Chief Executive Darren Rook did not expect such immediate feedback:
“I’ve been amazed by the number of people who actually tried to do transactions through the website. It’s been pretty incredible actually. I don’t think I realised how many people have bitcoin and are looking for services outside of trading.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dYFNfLWNTkA
Located at the south end of Battersea Bridge, TLDC can be found in an old Victoria dairy. Neighoubouring vendors and businesses include an art collective, a boxing gym and a bar.
Rook says that once his business has ironed out all the technicalities with accepting bitcoin, he will bring up the idea to others as well.
“We are looking at our neighbours to say ‘We can accept bitcoin; maybe you should look at it too because we’ll have people coming through.’ Our plan is to iron out the issues that we’ll potentially have and then go to everyone and say this is the opportunity.”
Currently, BitPay has only approved TLDC for transactions under £55 ($100) per day, but they are hoping to raise that limit by the end of the next week. In the meantime, some customers who tried to order pricier items were met with disappointed.
“We saw someone from America trying to do a cask purchase worth £1,000, but because of the authorisation limits we have in place at the moment it couldn’t go through,” says Rook. But, he admits that he is excited to see a new clientele who want to use their bitcoin.
Rook also revealed that the TLDC is also considering installing a Bitcoin ATM on site, similar to the machine over the river in the Old Shoreditch Station Cafe. Cheers to that, Londoners.
Roop Gill (@roopgill) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 18:03 GMT | Companies, Lifestyle, Merchants, News
UK Bitcoin holders can now spend their digital currency on a bottle of Dodd’s Gin or a 109 Cask, both distilled by The London Distillery Company (TLDC).
TLDC joins a growing list of merchants in London that are now accepting bitcoin. The distillery only opened their digital doors to cryptocurrencies this Monday and have since been surprised by the response from the community.
Chief Executive Darren Rook did not expect such immediate feedback:
“I’ve been amazed by the number of people who actually tried to do transactions through the website. It’s been pretty incredible actually. I don’t think I realised how many people have bitcoin and are looking for services outside of trading.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dYFNfLWNTkA
Located at the south end of Battersea Bridge, TLDC can be found in an old Victoria dairy. Neighoubouring vendors and businesses include an art collective, a boxing gym and a bar.
Rook says that once his business has ironed out all the technicalities with accepting bitcoin, he will bring up the idea to others as well.
“We are looking at our neighbours to say ‘We can accept bitcoin; maybe you should look at it too because we’ll have people coming through.’ Our plan is to iron out the issues that we’ll potentially have and then go to everyone and say this is the opportunity.”
Currently, BitPay has only approved TLDC for transactions under £55 ($100) per day, but they are hoping to raise that limit by the end of the next week. In the meantime, some customers who tried to order pricier items were met with disappointed.
“We saw someone from America trying to do a cask purchase worth £1,000, but because of the authorisation limits we have in place at the moment it couldn’t go through,” says Rook. But, he admits that he is excited to see a new clientele who want to use their bitcoin.
Rook also revealed that the TLDC is also considering installing a Bitcoin ATM on site, similar to the machine over the river in the Old Shoreditch Station Cafe. Cheers to that, Londoners.
How to Increase Public Confidence in Bitcoin Exchanges
Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 19:23 GMT | Analysis, Bitcoin protocol, Exchanges, Investors, Technology
Digital currency exchanges have faced some trying times of late, with lawsuits due to negligence, closures because of regulatory pressure and collapses brought on by outright theft. All of which have fuelled the bitcoin media frenzy in recent weeks.
With so much dour news, what is the best way forward for the bitcoin industry? Are there methods to prove that an exchange has the asset holdings that it claims?
In fact, there are ways to verify this vital information, but implementing them will be a challenge.
Lack of disclosure
When doing business with a digital currency exchange, events like those mentioned above mean it is getting more difficult to entrust your bitcoins to hosted wallets and mysterious accounting structures.
Furthermore, to protect their interests, most exchanges do not disclose this sort of information.
Proprietary business knowledge is important to protect, of course, but surely transparency would be a better safeguard than a damaging leak, as seems to have happened with Mt. Gox.
Transactions excluding popular addresses has gone back up since the Mt. Gox collapse. Source: Blockchain.info
Recovery in progress: transactions excluding popular addresses have recovered ground since the Mt. Gox collapse. Source: Blockchain.info
There are certainly worthwhile digital currency exchanges that are trying to move bitcoin in a positive direction, but there have been far too many that have had serious problems.
Fiat currency institutions are not immune from all this, of course – payment card issuers, merchants and acquiring banks lost $11.27 billion to fraud in the calendar year 2012.
However, given the issues surrounding decentralised digital currencies, criminals are looking to profit within this environment. It’s low-hanging fruit versus the highly regulated banking industry’s estimated $1 trillion in IT spending year-over-year in the United States alone.
These problems permeate the mind and create a degree of uncertainty and mistrust concerning the industry. So, what can be done?
Public transparency
Proving legitimacy within the digital currency industry is becoming ever more important. When Bitstamp conducts audits and Coinbase allows a third party to review its infrastructure, this creates positive sentiment that there are people in the bitcoin sphere doing things correctly.
Jaron Lukasiewicz is the CEO and founder of Coinsetter. The company is an exchange and has a trading platform that links in with other exchange APIs.
Lukasiewicz has been gathering consensus about adopting a public transparency system. Coinsetter’s goal is to enable proof. Said Lukasiewicz:
“You can prove that you have a total amount of assets on the one hand and then prove or demonstrate the balance.”
‘Trustless proof’ of solvency gives exchange users a way to confirm that an exchange is doing what it says. It’s influenced by Gregory Maxwell’s proposal of ‘nodes’, which has seen increased interest over recent weeks.
Lukasiewicz explains the idea thus:
“What would happen is no one would ever know who a person is. They will benefit from cryptographic proof that shows their 10,000 BTC, for example, is theirs. I think any sort of downside is outweighed by the potential upside.”
Many exchanges are doing the right thing, but Coinsetter wants to go even further. Lukasiewicz is hoping that other exchanges will see the significance of an initiative like this.
“No one would give up privacy in the interest of assets. All I know is what we’re doing, but my hope is that other exchanges [will] do it,” he said.
Smart contracts
One problem with public transparency is that while it does provide information, how can you tell if the data you are getting is accurate?
Perhaps public transparency is only part of the equation. Smart contracts could further benefit everyone and are integrated within the Bitcoin protocol itself.
What a smart contract would do is guarantee users the existence of funds. When it comes to the US dollar and traditional banking, it is understood that the system is based on the backing of the federal government.
Bitcoin lacks a third party in the form of a powerful financial institution, so legitimacy may require reliance on some sort of cryptographic contract.
There are a number of efforts currently under way to provide smart contract concepts in some alternative digital currencies. However, employing this type of safeguard within bitcoin might be the most important goal for influencing adoption as a whole.
The banking industry is one sector that needs to see the iterative potential of digital currencies. Innovation in bitcoin would be one way to prove that the protocol can better adapt to the needs of the people than fiat currencies.
Mike Hearn, who oversees development of the bitcoinj Java client, has said that overall bitcoin development is falling behind, attributing the problem to fewer people putting in effort to move things forward.
Lukasiewicz agrees, and said that one of the reasons why he started the conversation is the lack of one right now:
“Bitcoin as a protocol, it’s had additions, it’s had fixes, but it hasn’t innovated on some of the more novel but very important things.”
Inherent risks
No matter if it is credit cards, banking or bitcoin there are always financial risks. Even transparency can come at a cost, because more information is being given out to those who may want to intrude and steal.
New ideas like security crowdsourcing are helping to combat this. The startup CrowdCurity, for example, brings more eyes to application-level security in the form of rewards-based incentives.
However, no matter how much is spent on securing a system, someone will always be there to try to get in. Just ask the banking industry.
Not everyone will like the idea of public transparency and/or utilizing smart contracts within bitcoin exchanges. Those uncomfortable with such ideas may simply go elsewhere.
When presented with that notion, Lukasiewicz couldn’t deny that people will always have options, but he contends that the expectation of privacy within this system is part of the plan. As he explained:
“People would probably go to other exchanges, but what I would say is that all the initiatives we’re looking to implement are anonymous. No one would give up privacy in the interests of assets.”
That is, at least, an improvement over the services existing financial providers offer.
Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on March 13, 2014 at 19:23 GMT | Analysis, Bitcoin protocol, Exchanges, Investors, Technology
Digital currency exchanges have faced some trying times of late, with lawsuits due to negligence, closures because of regulatory pressure and collapses brought on by outright theft. All of which have fuelled the bitcoin media frenzy in recent weeks.
With so much dour news, what is the best way forward for the bitcoin industry? Are there methods to prove that an exchange has the asset holdings that it claims?
In fact, there are ways to verify this vital information, but implementing them will be a challenge.
Lack of disclosure
When doing business with a digital currency exchange, events like those mentioned above mean it is getting more difficult to entrust your bitcoins to hosted wallets and mysterious accounting structures.
Furthermore, to protect their interests, most exchanges do not disclose this sort of information.
Proprietary business knowledge is important to protect, of course, but surely transparency would be a better safeguard than a damaging leak, as seems to have happened with Mt. Gox.
Transactions excluding popular addresses has gone back up since the Mt. Gox collapse. Source: Blockchain.info
Recovery in progress: transactions excluding popular addresses have recovered ground since the Mt. Gox collapse. Source: Blockchain.info
There are certainly worthwhile digital currency exchanges that are trying to move bitcoin in a positive direction, but there have been far too many that have had serious problems.
Fiat currency institutions are not immune from all this, of course – payment card issuers, merchants and acquiring banks lost $11.27 billion to fraud in the calendar year 2012.
However, given the issues surrounding decentralised digital currencies, criminals are looking to profit within this environment. It’s low-hanging fruit versus the highly regulated banking industry’s estimated $1 trillion in IT spending year-over-year in the United States alone.
These problems permeate the mind and create a degree of uncertainty and mistrust concerning the industry. So, what can be done?
Public transparency
Proving legitimacy within the digital currency industry is becoming ever more important. When Bitstamp conducts audits and Coinbase allows a third party to review its infrastructure, this creates positive sentiment that there are people in the bitcoin sphere doing things correctly.
Jaron Lukasiewicz is the CEO and founder of Coinsetter. The company is an exchange and has a trading platform that links in with other exchange APIs.
Lukasiewicz has been gathering consensus about adopting a public transparency system. Coinsetter’s goal is to enable proof. Said Lukasiewicz:
“You can prove that you have a total amount of assets on the one hand and then prove or demonstrate the balance.”
‘Trustless proof’ of solvency gives exchange users a way to confirm that an exchange is doing what it says. It’s influenced by Gregory Maxwell’s proposal of ‘nodes’, which has seen increased interest over recent weeks.
Lukasiewicz explains the idea thus:
“What would happen is no one would ever know who a person is. They will benefit from cryptographic proof that shows their 10,000 BTC, for example, is theirs. I think any sort of downside is outweighed by the potential upside.”
Many exchanges are doing the right thing, but Coinsetter wants to go even further. Lukasiewicz is hoping that other exchanges will see the significance of an initiative like this.
“No one would give up privacy in the interest of assets. All I know is what we’re doing, but my hope is that other exchanges [will] do it,” he said.
Smart contracts
One problem with public transparency is that while it does provide information, how can you tell if the data you are getting is accurate?
Perhaps public transparency is only part of the equation. Smart contracts could further benefit everyone and are integrated within the Bitcoin protocol itself.
What a smart contract would do is guarantee users the existence of funds. When it comes to the US dollar and traditional banking, it is understood that the system is based on the backing of the federal government.
Bitcoin lacks a third party in the form of a powerful financial institution, so legitimacy may require reliance on some sort of cryptographic contract.
There are a number of efforts currently under way to provide smart contract concepts in some alternative digital currencies. However, employing this type of safeguard within bitcoin might be the most important goal for influencing adoption as a whole.
The banking industry is one sector that needs to see the iterative potential of digital currencies. Innovation in bitcoin would be one way to prove that the protocol can better adapt to the needs of the people than fiat currencies.
Mike Hearn, who oversees development of the bitcoinj Java client, has said that overall bitcoin development is falling behind, attributing the problem to fewer people putting in effort to move things forward.
Lukasiewicz agrees, and said that one of the reasons why he started the conversation is the lack of one right now:
“Bitcoin as a protocol, it’s had additions, it’s had fixes, but it hasn’t innovated on some of the more novel but very important things.”
Inherent risks
No matter if it is credit cards, banking or bitcoin there are always financial risks. Even transparency can come at a cost, because more information is being given out to those who may want to intrude and steal.
New ideas like security crowdsourcing are helping to combat this. The startup CrowdCurity, for example, brings more eyes to application-level security in the form of rewards-based incentives.
However, no matter how much is spent on securing a system, someone will always be there to try to get in. Just ask the banking industry.
Not everyone will like the idea of public transparency and/or utilizing smart contracts within bitcoin exchanges. Those uncomfortable with such ideas may simply go elsewhere.
When presented with that notion, Lukasiewicz couldn’t deny that people will always have options, but he contends that the expectation of privacy within this system is part of the plan. As he explained:
“People would probably go to other exchanges, but what I would say is that all the initiatives we’re looking to implement are anonymous. No one would give up privacy in the interests of assets.”
That is, at least, an improvement over the services existing financial providers offer.
Mobile Ad Platform Vungle Offers Publishers Payouts in Bitcoin
Tom Sharkey | Published on March 13, 2014 at 17:07 GMT | Merchants, News, Startups
Good news for mobile app developers who want more options when getting paid from their advertising revenue: mobile advertising platform Vungle has just announced plans to offer their publishers the option to receive payments in bitcoin.
Vungle is one of Silicon Valley’s fastest growing companies in the mobile app monetization space, and after receiving $17m in series B fundraising last month, the tech company is looking to expand its reach.
The move to start offering bitcoin payouts to the publishers of more than 4,000 apps on the Vungle network comes in response to demand from app developers who expressed their desire for more flexibility in receiving payments from their advertising revenues, says Vungle’s VP of Marketing Andrea Sharfin:
“A lot of our independent app developers showed interest in bitcoin payments. These are usually teams of 2-3 people, working on their own out of a garage. These are the people who can especially benefit from the lower transaction fees associated with getting paid in bitcoin.”
More benefits for publishers
Publishers who serve their mobile app advertisements through Vungle will reap the benefits that bitcoin offers to users who may be dealing with credit card transaction fees and time delays.
vungle
Sharfin explains that in addition to the lower transaction fees that come with bitcoin payments (around 1%, as opposed to 3-5% with credit cards), publishers that opt to receive payment in bitcoin will also receive their money much faster.
Bitcoin payments are processed and delivered almost instantaneously, while credit card payments and bank transfers can take days.
Vungle has partnered with Coinbase to provide more flexibility for the roster of app developers in their network, and with mobile platforms becoming increasingly popular with the general population, publishers have started to place their focus on monetizing mobile content.
No stranger to bitcoin
Although Vungle has just started offering payments in bitcoin to their publishers, the platform has been keeping an eye on the digital currency, and Sharfin says the company has even been offering its employees the option to be reimbursed for expense reports with bitcoin “for some time”.
Building on comments from Vungle’s CEO Zain Jaffer that Vungle has a “long view” on bitcoin, Sharfin explained the company’s decision to offer bitcoin payouts as just one aspect of their progressive stance in the technology industry:
“Of course we can’t speak in certain terms, but we would love to be bullish in our long term prospects for bitcoin. For us, working with bitcoin helps us embrace our future in the tech industry as a leading monetization platform for apps.”
The value of feedback
Feedback from a number of their publishers acted as an impetus for Vungle to offer bitcoin as a payment method, and the company will continue to rely on this feedback to offer the most value for app developers on their network, says Sharfin.
When asked if Vungle expects to see a wave of new publishers from the bitcoin community joining their network, Sharfin was optimistic:
“We would love to see new customers joining the network, and we really hope that adding this flexibility for our existing partners helps maximize their profits and ease some financial stress. We will continue to rely on feedback from publishers in response to offering bitcoin payouts.”
Vungle currently works with a number of big names in a variety of industries to provide in-app advertisements for developers like Sega, Zeptolab and Wooga, all of whom now have the ability to get paid in bitcoin.
Tom Sharkey | Published on March 13, 2014 at 17:07 GMT | Merchants, News, Startups
Good news for mobile app developers who want more options when getting paid from their advertising revenue: mobile advertising platform Vungle has just announced plans to offer their publishers the option to receive payments in bitcoin.
Vungle is one of Silicon Valley’s fastest growing companies in the mobile app monetization space, and after receiving $17m in series B fundraising last month, the tech company is looking to expand its reach.
The move to start offering bitcoin payouts to the publishers of more than 4,000 apps on the Vungle network comes in response to demand from app developers who expressed their desire for more flexibility in receiving payments from their advertising revenues, says Vungle’s VP of Marketing Andrea Sharfin:
“A lot of our independent app developers showed interest in bitcoin payments. These are usually teams of 2-3 people, working on their own out of a garage. These are the people who can especially benefit from the lower transaction fees associated with getting paid in bitcoin.”
More benefits for publishers
Publishers who serve their mobile app advertisements through Vungle will reap the benefits that bitcoin offers to users who may be dealing with credit card transaction fees and time delays.
vungle
Sharfin explains that in addition to the lower transaction fees that come with bitcoin payments (around 1%, as opposed to 3-5% with credit cards), publishers that opt to receive payment in bitcoin will also receive their money much faster.
Bitcoin payments are processed and delivered almost instantaneously, while credit card payments and bank transfers can take days.
Vungle has partnered with Coinbase to provide more flexibility for the roster of app developers in their network, and with mobile platforms becoming increasingly popular with the general population, publishers have started to place their focus on monetizing mobile content.
No stranger to bitcoin
Although Vungle has just started offering payments in bitcoin to their publishers, the platform has been keeping an eye on the digital currency, and Sharfin says the company has even been offering its employees the option to be reimbursed for expense reports with bitcoin “for some time”.
Building on comments from Vungle’s CEO Zain Jaffer that Vungle has a “long view” on bitcoin, Sharfin explained the company’s decision to offer bitcoin payouts as just one aspect of their progressive stance in the technology industry:
“Of course we can’t speak in certain terms, but we would love to be bullish in our long term prospects for bitcoin. For us, working with bitcoin helps us embrace our future in the tech industry as a leading monetization platform for apps.”
The value of feedback
Feedback from a number of their publishers acted as an impetus for Vungle to offer bitcoin as a payment method, and the company will continue to rely on this feedback to offer the most value for app developers on their network, says Sharfin.
When asked if Vungle expects to see a wave of new publishers from the bitcoin community joining their network, Sharfin was optimistic:
“We would love to see new customers joining the network, and we really hope that adding this flexibility for our existing partners helps maximize their profits and ease some financial stress. We will continue to rely on feedback from publishers in response to offering bitcoin payouts.”
Vungle currently works with a number of big names in a variety of industries to provide in-app advertisements for developers like Sega, Zeptolab and Wooga, all of whom now have the ability to get paid in bitcoin.
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