Well, a lot of people think that the Bitcoin Foundation is a good idea. A large number paid hundreds of dollars to join. Here are the foundation's objectives. I don't think they are the greatest, but they seem worthwhile.
Our mission is to help people exchange resources and ideas more freely.
We approach that mission with Bitcoin’s technology and community as our focus. There is tremendous potential in Bitcoin—from the opportunities it creates for entrepreneurs to the purchasing power it provides for citizens of countries large and small. Our goal is to help Bitcoin deliver on that potential. Bitcoin Foundation has chosen three primary objectives for fulfilling its mission. We believe that these activities will be of the greatest benefit to the Bitcoin community:
Standardizing Bitcoin
As a non-political online money, Bitcoin is backed exclusively by code. This means that—ultimately—it is only as good as its software design. By funding the Bitcoin infrastructure, including a core development team, we can make Bitcoin more respected, trusted and useful to people worldwide.
Protecting Bitcoin
Cryptography is the key to Bitcoin’s 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.
Promoting Bitcoin
In the context of public misunderstandings, misinterpretations and misrepresentations, Bitcoin needs to be clearer about its purpose and technology. Allowing the community to speak through a single source will enable Bitcoin to improve its reputation.
Rumor has it one company paid $100,000 USD for a Platinum Membership one day prior to the election to
allegedly (gotta make sure I put that in there) vote for the guy who invested in them, probably obtaining the $100K from GoCoin's VC fund to do such.
The following is only one example of GoCoin's
frugal spending habits (leasing a space formally occupied by other start-ups seeking cheaper digs) and media manipulation (we're getting our own office, leaving the incubator digs, for a...wait for it...much larger incubator digs so I can do the bunny hop between the various entities I oversee).
http://smdp.com/gocoin-moves-from-incubator-space-to-larger-digs/132325DOWNTOWN — A Santa Monica-based technology company specializing in digital currency has outgrown the nursery.
GoCoin, a payment processing site like Paypal that deals exclusively in Bitcoins and Litecoins, recently took over the third floor of the landmarked Keller Block building at the corner of the Third Street Promenade and Broadway as it prepares to expand operations. As more businesses begin accepting peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, the need for secure processing of payments has grown.
The move was facilitated by commercial real estate firm Avison Young, an emerging player in the creative office space market in Santa Monica, which has earned the moniker Silicon Beach for its collection of tech startups. The firm represented GoCoin and the landlord in the transaction, which includes a multi-year lease for 7,000 square feet with an option to expand if space becomes available.
The Keller Block building is a registered historic landmark. It has 22,500 square feet and was built in 1893. It is a regional interpretation of the Romanesque Revival style. The building is now fully leased with tenants like greeting card company Papyrus, Big Blue Bus, Café Crepe and a cigar shop.
Avison Young Principal Randy Starr, based in the company’s Santa Monica office, said GoCoin moved from the Real Office Centers — ROC Santa Monica location, a collaborative workspace for startup companies that occupies the former Google offices on Arizona Avenue.
Representatives from ROC and GoCoin could not be reached for comment.
“This was a strategic move to the heart of Silicon Beach in terms of location and recruiting new talent to the company,” Starr said. “The challenge in finding a space for GoCoin was to identify a property that was as turn-key as possible so that the tenant wouldn’t have to go through the typical tenant-improvement construction process. I was able to negotiate a below-market deal for the tenant, while saving the landlord capital in regard to construction dollars.”
Star said the average rate for creative office space in Downtown is $4.50 a square foot. While he would not say how much GoCoin is paying, he said the base rent was closer to the $3 range.
The Keller Block building has surrounding operable windows over the Third Street Promenade and Broadway and has a history of attracting creative firms. The property also provides easy access to the Santa Monica 10 Freeway and the neighboring communities of Pacific Palisades, Venice and Malibu.
News that a startup is staying in Santa Monica is welcomed after other tech companies have moved south and east in search of larger, more affordable offices.
My visit to Bitropolis: The LA Bitcoin Incubation Space
Author: Kevin Cruz
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014 - 18:00Last time I was in Los Angeles, I visited Bitropolis, a bitcoin incubation space in Santa Monica. I was informed about the existence of this place after interviewing the CEO of CoinMKT at a coffee shop just down the street from Bitropolis. I didn’t know it existed before then, and the CoinMKT guys put me in contact with Ken Feldman, CEO of BlockStreet, and one of the entrepreneurs utilizing the space. Ken let me in the building.
While there, I saw that there was a lot of space, a comfy couch, a table for meetings, and of course, offices placed along the border of the room, overlooking the lively city of Santa Monica.
GoCoin and ExpressCoin are the big tenants in the Incubation space with 20+ employees between them. BlockStreet is the other company, just coming out of stealth. There are several other smaller firms that are floating around but are in stealth mode right now.
While I was there, several investors came and left, and were shown hospitality and thoroughly schooled on bitcoin. In addition, several startups under stealth mode chatted with the individuals occupying the space.
When I showed up, there were several meetings going on. Ken told me I should wait and speak to Brock ( I didn’t know who Brock was), and I was instructed to a comfy couch to wait while they helped their visitors out. I ended up waiting about 30 mins-- but used my time wisely and made a phone call and conducted a phone interview for an article that is probably already published.
Brock Pierce, the entrepreneur responsible for initially organizing the incubation space, was walking around the roomy office on several conference calls all at the same time. Brock is known to be invested in many different startups in the Bitcoin space, and seems to be everywhere at once.
After waiting what seemed to me like a long time, I got to sit down and chat with him about the space, where he explained that essentially the whole building will be dedicated to bitcoin-related businesses and endeavours. The goal was to make Los Angeles a hub for Bitcoin. I could see it. The night before I had attended a very packed bitcoin meetup where I met many people from many different fields, but all interested in Bitcoin in some way.
Everyone that I met was very nice and prepared to answer any questions I had. I’ve visited incubation spaces in Austin, Texas and New York City as well.
Right now there are many incubation spaces coming into existence around the world, with the purpose of accelerating businesses in this nascent ecosystem.
The implications of this is that there will be the cross-sharing of ideas within facilities, causing a spike in productivity across the economy.
One of the things I realized on my visit to Bitropolis was the sense of community within the space, and the hospitality shown to visitors. To be honest, it was a hot meal short of a visit to my grandmother’s. These strong ties forged because of Bitcoin are often not written about, but are one of the most notable components of being part of the Bitcoin community.
Domain Name:BITROPOLIS.ORG
Domain ID: D170750431-LROR
Creation Date: 2014-01-22T19:09:33Z
Updated Date: 2014-03-24T03:46:30Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2015-01-22T19:09:33Z
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, LLC (R91-LROR)
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 146
WHOIS Server:
Referral URL:
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Registrant ID:CR158995981
Registrant Name:Brock Pierce
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: 666 71st St.
Registrant City:Miami Beach
Registrant State/Province:Florida
Registrant Postal Code:33141
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.9173403400
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bitropolis/218580488344862
So, there you have GoCoin in their new 7,000 square foot digs paying a reduced premium in the historical district of Santa Montica, CA, with Brock Pierce working the room, of what we now know is just another incubator by his truly, yet can't even get all them Bitcoin start-ups in said office to pause long enough to Like the Facebook page built to help give said start-ups a boost.
Question: When Brock Pierce finally has Bitcoin entities occupying the entire building, what floor will the community hot tub be on, and what hours will it be closed for cleaning?
Unless your blind, the same exact thing is being played out now as it was back when:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmaRTZpJgPA
In 2014, in the midst of the Bitcoin revolution, a company call Bitropolis was formed by an accused pedophile. This company and the sociopath who started it, set the bar for treachery, wastefulness and debauchery in a time when others opposite his ilk were paving a better path for mankind, sans the hot tub occupied by invited underage nude guests.And, if that's not enough:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:MFzP4pmZg0EJ:www.ripoffreport.com/r/gobig-network/santa-monica-227-broadway-california-90401/gobig-network-stole-money-out-of-my-checking-acct-santa-monica-227-broadway-california-967286+&cd=21&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
http://www.gobignetwork.com/ redirects to
http://www.startups.co/ having a myriad of Bitcoin related articles on their site. What are the odd of some real estate agent finding the ideal office for GoCoin that just happens/happened to have an entity well-versed in Bitcoin as its former/current client.
Remember, Bruce Wagner was beaten up pretty badly on this very forum for ONE comment and ONE ripoff incident.
Also, remember all the bitcoiners crying, "If only we would have know about Mark Karpeles before, I never would have..."
Now, here I is citing issues, upon issues, upon issues of a cancer much, much, much worse, only to have naysayers comin' outta the woodword espousing, "But none of that matters!", et al.
Utter madness!
