Know Who's Provable and Who's Not!


Discover if your favorite online bitcoin casino is a Provably Fair Casino or a Non-Provably Fair Casino, and once you've discover everything about your bitcoin casino, staying with them or leaving them is your discretion.

Showing posts with label bitcoin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bitcoin. Show all posts

Provably Fair Bitcoin Casino

If you are always losing on a Bitcoin casino game, chances are you will be thinking a lot of things and be wondering about if the house is already playing tricks on you. If this is the case, all you want to do is that you can verify if all your games are fair. We all know that in every Bitcoin casino all that you need to protect is your winnings and you would really love to know if your online Bitcoin casino is not playing tricks on you when you bet with Bitcoin! Online Bitcoin casinos now are starting to be more transparent in their games and in their players.  One reason is the players are now being smart about their bet and about their winnings we all know that you want to play because you want to win and you want to double or even triple what you have.

In short, you can trust that a game of Bitcoin that are provably fair are guaranteed to be random and reliable, the said provably fair just have and explained in a simple and basic logic it’s just like your pin code or password.

Bitcoin casino now are offering Provably Fair Gaming this is the trait that makes Bitcoin gambling distinct from the normal gaming experience offered in online casino. This provably fair gaming offers the players to have the power to keep a watchful eye on the game outcomes of your every bet, take note that every casino games now are offering a provably fair gaming like provably fair Bitcoin poker, Bitcoin dice, Bitcoin roulette, Bitcoin lottery, Bitcoin blackjack, Bitcoin slots, and a like.

If your Bitcoin casino or a online Bitcoin Gambling site utilizes this system, you can always expect that it uses the cryptographic hash functions to generate strings from normal data. Once the data is converted into strings, you will see a series of alphanumeric characters, which is actually called the hash.

In short this provably fair is just the reason why players are now aware that the Bitcoin casino where they play casino games is literally and technically legitimate. 

Ritz Grand Casino Offers


Ritz Grand Casino Offering Slot Play for Just One Cent Per Line

Ritz Grand Casino is announcing their special offer of allowing members to play their wide variety of slot machines for as low as one cent per line. After a long day at work, many individuals just want to sit back and put their legs up. When it comes to relaxation and entertainment at the same time, there are many advantages to trying one's luck at an exclusive internet casino that accepts Bitcoin payments. With the options available, those looking for a reliable platform will choose the one that offers the most bang for their buck.

This summer Ritz Grand Casino is announcing their special of allowing members to play their wide variety of slot machines for as low as one cent per line. There are three reel slots and five reel slots so players can choose their favorite games and start winning at the click of a button. Select from 777, Luxuriouslot, Golden Aztecs, Indian Charm, and more.

The Casino is a provable fair bitcoin casino, it was implemented together with quick payout platform. With an abundance of options, users can end up with huge winnings by playing the provably fair Bitcoin casino.

BetMoose The Bitcoin's Own Distributed Betting Market

The Bitcoin's Own Distributed Betting Market has been Launched!


Do you think that the next US president will be Hillary Clinton, or do you feel like Germany will win the FIFA World Cup? Well, then why not make some coin with your Nostradamus-like powers? And now you can, with BetMoose.com.

BetMoose is the place for P2P betting

BetMoose is a user driven betting exchange where you can place or create bets about anything and it is really anything.You can just make a bet about the first pitch in the San Francisco Giants vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks Game being called a "BALL", or that the bitcoin price will hit $1000 again before the year end. BetMoose makes a great exercise in testing your prophecy prowess.

The first thing that you'll notice when you arrive at the site, is its clean and organized homepage. There are not to many buttons or options to confuse you, just an easy on the eyes layout showing four of the many featured bets. Here is where the site gets interesting. You can place a bet on something you see, or host your own if you have a prediction. The site is P2P which means there are no unfavorable odds against you - bet against yourself if you wish, you'll get back your own coin.

Here are some of the bets posted at BetMoose, These are the most interesting bets that was posted since its first day:
  • Bitcoin Will Pass $1600 By the End of this Year
  • Ghash.io will reach 51% of the network hash rate in June - Resolved! (Guess what it was)
  • Bitcoin will hit $700 before 7/4/14
  • Amazon will accept Bitcoin by end of 2014
  • Hillary Clinton to announce US Presidential bid
"The purpose of BetMoose is to bring a convenient, secure, and user-friendly way for anyone to profit from their predictions while at the same time driving bitcoin adoption, and being an easy entry-point for new users."


BetMoose wants to make prediction markets mainstream, while also appealing to veteran oracles and prophets. To be the platform for those that want to place serious investments on future events, or hedge their existing positions on future holdings. The vision of an easy and safe experience carries right over to the core principles and policies of BetMoose.

Source: cryptocoinsnews.com

BitPay Sponsors Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl


The firm will rename the game as the "Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl" for the next four years. The firm decided to promote the digital currency it deals in rather than promotion its own brand name.

Digital currency processor BitPay has taken the naming rights to the annual postseason college football game in St. Petersburg, Florida after striking a deal with ESPN Events.

Now because of this sponsorship, the bitcoin casinos and bitcoin sites can expect a possible increase in online gamers later this year because of BitPay's new strategy. Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl is the first ever college football game sponsored by a cryptocurrency and it will kick off on December 26 in Florida and will serve as a tool to broaden Bitcoin awareness among mainstream audience like sports fans.

This move is indeed a great venue, because we all know that a football has a lot of fans, the game is set to air on the US sports television network ESPN, which reportedly has a viewership of about 100 million American households. As part of the tie-up, fans will have the opportunity to buy tickets for the game and associated merchandise using bitcoin. The agreement sees the bowl's organizers follow the example set by the NBA's Sacramento Kings, who became the first professional team to accept the virtual currency in January, while the San Jose Earthquakes soccer club also accept bitcoin.

Also expect bitcoin sports betting sites to add this bowl to the list of sporting events bitcoin users can bet on, it is really a win-win situation for bitcoin and for the online gambling industry.

The high possibility for more bitcoin adopters venturing into online bitcoin casino gaming and sports betting is promising. This deal is really a fantastic opportunity to raise bitcoin awareness to millions of new users.

Source: sportsmedia.com

Off Topic: 10 Most Interesting Places to Spend Your Bitcoins!


Bitcoin continues to gain popularity as a digital currency, but what business actually accept them? Here are 10 prominent online and brick-and-mortar retailers.

As of the time of writing, the going price for a Bitcoin is $621.69. If you've got some to throw around, here is a list of 10 places currently accepting Bitcoin as payment.

1. Virgin Galactic - The airline is now accepting Bitcoin for space flights on board the SpaceShipTwo. One seat on the six-passenger spaceship costs $250,000 and Virgin Galactic plans to operate flights out of Spaceport America in New Mexico by 2015.

2. Wordpress - The popular blogging platform accepts Bitcoins as payment for upgrades and allows users to install plug-ins for accepting the currency on personal websites that use the free service. The feature has been place since 2012.

3. Expedia - Expedia, the online travel site, announced it will start accepting Bitcoin for hotel bookings. If people utilize the service, the company said it will eventually bring it to other areas of the site like air travel, car rental, and other vacation services. 

4. Pizza for Coins - Order a Domino's, Papa John's, or Pizza Hut pizza with Bitcoin using the website PizzaforCoins and receive it at your door. Pizza for Coins prices fluctuates as the demand for Bitcoin changes, but a large, thin crust Papa John's cheese pizza is $0.0259 Bitcoin right now, or $16.32.

5. The Pirate Bay - The popular BitTorrent website for downloading music, movies, games, and software accepts Bitcoin as donation funds to keep the site up and running. Before, the site relied on banner ads for money, and the digital currency makes it much harder to trace who is funding the site.

Actually there are a lot of things that you can experience using bitcoins, so enjoy it while it's hot!

BetCoin Rises to the top

A Bitcoin Revolution!



Enter BetCoin, the Bitcoin-only gambling platform which has introduced the industry to the alluring combination of Bitcoin's complete user anonymity and provably fair, traceable gameplay. Bitcoin going mainstream may be the hot topic for the year, but the online gambling industry is on the way to achieving this already, unveiling a transformation Satoshi would be proud of.

"In contrast to many of its competitors, BetCoin designed and built their system from the ground up with cutting edge technologies to focus completely on crypto currency, rather than retrofitting old fiat casino systems." Said Wayne B

While the majority of online gamblers are still using fiat, this move has turned out to be a shrewd one, with BetCoin already outpacing its competitors, including bitcoin casino industry stalwart SatoshiDice.

Bet to the last Satoshi

BetCoin capitalizes on this and offers entertainment for players who would otherwise be unable to participate due to banking/monetary restrictions, "Users can place bets as low as 0.00000100BTC. The accessibility model does not belie a target market solely lower-end customers, however. "BetCoin's large venture-capital backing allows them to offer the highest maximum bets of any Bitcoin Casino, giving any person with internet access a chance to play and win big, regardless of financial status"

BetCoin capitalizes on this and offers entertainment for players who would otherwise be unable to participate due to banking/monetary restrictions.

Because of the investments, it has allowed BetCoin's developers to produce an impressive set of credentials. Games are provided using state-of-the-art security and HTML5, mobile-enabled graphics, while "provably fair gambling" technology is used to create the outcome of each game, which is done using SHA256 AND SHA512 encrypted hashes, in such a way that the outcomes cannot be tampered with, and are truly random."

Source: cointelegraph.com

BitCasino.io, the Internet's Best Choice for Bitcoin Online Casinos


With the internet's biggest powerhouses, Google and Yahoo, now adding Bitcoins to their financial outlets you can only imagine that the interest of this open source P2P virtual currency will continue to grow exponentially.

The popularity has already caught on within the online gambling industry as the first licensed Bitcoin online casino has launched. BitCasino is a licensed and accredited gambling operator currently available to Bitcoin players exclusively.

Playing at BitCasino

Players can register for an account, deposit, play, and withdraw money with Bitcoins as the only currency. This allows players to enjoy the freedom of gambling online anonymously and have access to some of the hottest online slot games from the industries biggest software developer.

BitCasino is powered by the award winning, innovator of 3D casino games, BetSoft Gaming! BetSoft Gaming offers casino operators some of the best cinematic 3D generated slots online with some personal favorites that include the newly released Gypsy Rose slot and our all time favorite, the off the wall sequel to Gold Diggin', More Gold Diggin'!

If you haven't experienced the vast collection of 3D slots from BetSoft Gaming don't hesitate to take on BitCasino generous welcome package giving new registrants a 100% up to 1BTC on your first deposit.

The look and feel of BitCasino will be just like playing at any other real money play online casino, with a transparency of intention to offer pure gambling entertainment. Simply register a username and password, deposit your Bitcoins to your BitCasino exclusive bitcoin address and within minutes your account will be funded and your on your way to some of the internet finest online gaming.

Source: casinoscamreport.net

SoKor Bitcoin Casino Seeks Asian Customers

The List Of Online Casinos Using Bitcoin Is Getting Longer and Longer!



With a large number of gamblers eager to spend their money playing casino games, the Asian market has a huge potential. The only trouble is online and mobile casinos are not only illegal, but also blocked in several Asian countries, where laws tend to be very restrictive and authorities impose harsh punishments on anyone who dares to break them.

Satoshinori, a company operating from South Korea, is hoping to draw a big chunk of those gambling-thirsty Asian customers. Virtual currency is often used to dodge anti-gambling laws by avoiding traditional payment processing and Satoshinori is the latest addition to the list of online casinos using bitcoins. The website is available in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and English. 

For now, the website doesn't offer online blackjack, but it does have a variety of multi-players games, including Seven Card Poker, Texas Hold-em and Matgo. Some of these game can only be played at Windows Explorer.

Testing the market

The South Korean website went live in May and is currently in beta testing. Players are welcome to participate and communicate their observations to the casino staff, via email. The team did not set a date for the full launch yet. An announcement published on the site says: "We will officially open when we finish the beta service."

It is Legal

When it comes to gambling with virtual currency, the biggest concern is the legality of the whole thing. Several Asian states – such as China or most American states – forbid playing online casino games for money. But the trick is… bitcoin is not real money; it’s virtual currency. It’s a completely unregulated market, because most states don’t even recognize it as a currency.

Source: virtualmining.com

Blockchain Launches Bitcoin.com

Blockchain Launches Bitcoin.com Android App



Bitcoin Wallet and Block explorer provider Blockchain has officially launched its Bitcoin.com website today, giving visitors a learning portal to the basics of the digital currency. Previously, the site was used by fellow consumer wallet provider Coinbase as a customer onboarding tool. However, Blockchain announced its 5-year deal to manage the domain name earlier this year.

At the time, the company expressed its hope "to help drive consumer adoption and education" using the web portal, standing; "We are excited to create new learning experiences and introduce millions of new users to bitcoin as a result of this exclusive deal."

The site is available in at least 70 languages, including Czech, Persian and Zulu, among others.

Blockchain for Android

The announcement coincided with the news that Blockchain will launch a more consumer-friendly wallet app update on Android devices next month, as reported by Business Insider. Blockchain executives told the media outlet that the app will emphasize security as well, and provided screenshots highlighting the app's improved interface.

The company has also announced that it will further resubmit its app to the iOS store following Apple's most recent policy update, which may now allow for bitcoin apps with money transfer capabilities to be listed via the platform.

Site Overview

At Bitcoin.com, users are greeted by an introductory "What is bitcoin?" video, with the current bitcoin price displayed in the top corner. Just below, the site answers the question of how to use bitcoin, briefly explaining how bitcoin wallets work and directing users to Blockchain.info.

Bitcoin.com directs bitcoin beginners to the main players in the ecosystem-Coinbase, Bitpay, Overstock, among others - to answer other questions about how to become informed and involved with the digital currency.

Source: coindesk.com

Off Topic: Bitcoin Gifts for Father's Day


Know the Top 5 Bitcoin Gifts for Father's Day!

Father's Day is right around the corner and the usual gifts are flying off the shelves already. The good thing about this year is there are now more than 30,000 business and charities that are accepting Bitcoin through BitPay alone for payment for goods, services and/or donations. You can consider the following list of possible Father's Day gifts that you can purchase using Bitcoins:
  1. Send your Father into outer space and all the way to the moon itself. Virgin Galactic has announced that all of its space flights reservations can be paid for with Bitcoin.
  2. Give your Dad a chance to pick out his own gift with a gift card from merchants such as E-Gifter. E-Gifter offers cards from some of the top retail outlets in the world, such as Amazon, Dell, Best Buy, Home Depot and Macy's.
  3. You can also buy stuffs like leather furniture, watches, travel bags, great looking clothing, sports gear and electronics.
  4. Plan a vacation at BTCtrip or Cheapair, take care of the transportation, hotel, and car rental and you can also include things like an ice fishing to the Glacier Bay or a trip across Australian Outback.
  5.   Celebrate Father's Day in a family dinner dedicated to your father. There are 76 restaurants in 21 states that accept Bitcoin for payment including many specialty restaurants.
Finally, if you want to give your father a special treatment, you can simply give him bitcoins and direct him to the many options that has has online. This will not allow him to select his own gift but will help him understand a new technology.

Source: cointelegraph.com

If Digital Currencies were Popular Companies

There's no doubt that the technology industry has made its presence in pop culture known load and clear. Gone are the days when only engineers and geeky hobbyists talked about using new software applications or gossiped about the most recent company acquisition.

Though digital currencies may be relatively late to the party, they're certainly making up for the lost time. Thanks to the open source nature of the Bitcoin protocol, anyone with some time and programming experience can create their own uniquely branded digital currency. Now if we were to make some comparison to the most popular digital currencies and their counterpart when it comes to the most successful and popular companies.

Bitcoin would be Google!
Just like how Google is the fact search engine of choice for Internet users, a vast majority of people who use digital currencies are dealing with bitcoin. Bitcoin and Googl'es dominating popularity in their respective industries is not the only similarity between them, though.

Bitcoin has made it this far in part due to its open source development model, which allows developers to build applications that expand on the core protocol. Google has also taken a noticeably open approach to its development.

Litecoin would be Yahoo!
Litecoin was one of the first alternatives to bitcoin for digital currency enthusiasts. Though nearly identical to bitcoin, litecoin distinguished itself with a faster block time of 2.5 minutes (compared to the 10 minutes it takes on the Bitcoin protocol), and has even been declared the "silver to bitcoin's gold".

Though Yahoo! was around before Google, the veteran search engine has fallen behind Google in traffic rankings. In recent years, however, Yahoo! has revamped its marketing approach and has sought out expansion to new verticals, similar to litecoin's quest to use branding to distinguish itself and gain market share from its titan rival.

Ripple would be Uber!
Ripple arrived on the digital currency scene and right away grabbed everybody's attention. Situating itslef more as a payment protocol than an actual currency, Ripple was successful in disrupting the ecosystem of digital currencies that largely consisted of near clones of the Bitcoin protocol.

Like Ripple, Uber made a loud entrance into the world of ridesharing and taxi services when it was founded in 2009. Uber used software to build an app that quickly proved to be disruptive to the taxicab industry.

Dogecoin would be Snapchat!
Aside from bitcoin, dogecoin may be the most buzzed-about digital currency. Members of the dogecoin community are active, loyal, and vocal about their digital currency of choice, There is a lighthearted feel to the dogecoin movement, and supporters of the meme-inspired coin sometimes struggle to be taken seriously by other digital currency enthusiasts.

Selfie-taking teenage users of Snapchat also face some of the same problems of dogecoiners: they're the clear drivers behind their respective movements, but are still scoffed at by peers who consider themselves more mature. Similar to the story of dogecoin, few people expected Snapchat to become so popular in its early days. Both dogecoin and Snapchat have found considerable success!

Source: coindesk.com

When One Accidentally Sends BTC To A Wrong Wallet!

One User Accidentally Sends $520,000 in BTC to Wrong Wallet!


You know that "sinking pit in your stomach when all the blood drains from your face" feeling you get when you realize that something's horribly, HORRIBLY wrong?

Redditor TheDJFC must have gotten that feeling when he (she?) realized he had mistakenly sent 800 bitcoins (roughly $520,000) to the wrong wallet address.

"Messed up big time," the user posted on Reddit earlier this week. "I had previously sent this address 300 bitcoin a year ago, and for the life of me I cannot remember what that was!"

Providing the wallet address and screenshotted proof of the transaction, the blundering bitcoiner asked the Reddit community for help, posting, "If you just received 800 Bitcoin out of the blue, it was from me."
"If you just received 800 Bitcoin out of the blue, it was from me."
Luckily, another Redditor came to the rescue in identifying the lucky wallet recipient...which belongs, as it turned out, to defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. The Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange was once the largest in trade volume in the world until it declared bankruptcy in February, claiming that it had "lost" around 850,000 bitcoins (valued, at the time, at about $450 million).

The Redditor later posted an update saying he was trying to get a hold of Mt. Gox administrators to return the bitcoins, seeming notably blase about losing over a half-million dollars. "Hopefully bitcoin can learn from mistake," he wrote. "Apple accepting bitcoin...hell ya!"
"Hopefully bitcoin can learn from my mistake... Apple accepting bitcoin...hell ya!"
Though tragicomic, the situation does highlight both a major strength and a significant weakness of the Bitcoin system. The importance of securing wallet passwords and addresses cannot be overstated: as TheDJFC has demonstrated, once you've sent money to the wrong account or lost your password, there is no real recourse (besides posting online pleas for help from strangers). On the upside, the mixup highlights once again the brilliance of the blockchain: the transaction is fixed and traceable to a specific wallet provider, leaving some room for hope that theDJFC  will one day be reunited with his 800 bitcoins.

Source: cointelegraph.com

Bitcoin Entrepreneur Settles SEC Charges Over Stock Sales

SEC Charges Over Stock Sales!


Erik Voorhees, 29, who published prospectuses and solicited investors through the Bitcoin Forum websites to buy shares in FeedZeBirds and the popular bitcoin casino SatoshiDICE, both of which he co-owned, without first registering the offerings as required under federal securities law, according to the SEC.

A well-known proponent of the electronic currency bitcoin agreed to pay nearly $51,000 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges that he publicly offered unregistered shares in two Internet ventures, the regulator said on Tuesday.

The settlement calls for Voorhees to give up $15,844 in profit and interest, and pay a $35,000 fine. He didn't even admit or deny any wrongdoings.

Erik Voorhees is also a founder of Coinapult, which lets users transfer bitcoin via email or messaging service. The virtual currency is transacted independent of central control, and it is not backed by any government or central bank.

"All issuers selling securities to the public must comply with the registration provisions of the securities laws, including issuers who seek to raise funds using bitcoin," said Andrew Ceresney, head of the SEC enforcement division.

Brian Klein, a lawyer for Voorhees, did not immediately respond to request for comment. Klein has also worked for the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation, which advocates use of the currency. The SEC said Voorhees raise 2,600 bitcoins in May 2013 through the sale of 30,000 shares in FeedZeBirds, which promises to pay bitcoins to Twitter users who forward sponsored text messages.

It also accused Erik of helping raise 50,600 bitcoins from August 2012 to February 2013 through the sale of $13 million shares of SatoshiDICE, a bitcoin casino gaming website that pays out casino-like winnings in bitcoin, SatoshiDICE was sold last July for more than $11 million, Eirk Voorhess said at that time.

According to the SEC, the value of bitcoin has fluctuated since Voorhees' first unregistered offering from about $5 to $1,200 per bitcoin. 

The case is In re: Voorhees, SEC Administrative Proceeding No. 3-15902. The SEC's order finds that Voorhees violated SEctions 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1993.

In addition to the monetary sanctions, Voorhees agreed that he will not participate in any issuance of any security in an unregistered transaction in exchange for any virtual currency including bitcoin for a period of five years.

Source: reuters.com

Rapper Accepts Bitcoin for New Album

50 Cent's Accepts Bitcoin for his New Album 'Animal Ambition'



Business mogul and hip-hop star Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has joined the growing number of musicians and entrepreneurs who are embracing bitcoin by accepting the digital currency as payment for his new album, 'Animal Ambition'.

50 Cent's Shopify store will accept bitcoin payments for the new release, with BitPay acting as the payments processor. Shopify first integrated payments for its network of merchants in November 2013. The development brings a prominent face to the bitcoin community. In addition to being a successful rap artist and producer, Jackson is a notable entrepreneur, having invested in Glaceau - the makers of Vitaminwater - in a deal that would eventually propel his net worth toward $140m.

Tony Gallippi, BitPay's executive chairman, hailed the announcement by saying:
"We are excited to see high profile independent artists use bitcoin and 50 Cent's trail as an innovator is outstanding."
Jackson has also sold more than 30 million records to date, with hit albums including 'Get Rich or Die Tryin', 'Curtis' and 'Before I Self Destruct'. The release follows Jackson's decision to leave longtime label Interscope Records in February to work with distributor Caroline, part of the Independent Services division of Capital Records.

Bitcoin's Latest Entrepreneur

Most famous for his investment in Glaceau, which later sold to beverage conglomerate Coca-Cola for $4.1bn, 50 Cent has also engaged in other notable investments over the years. In 2013, he took another chance on the beverage market, launching Street King energy shots, which currently holds the number two market share in the $2bn annual industry.  Jackson is a noted activist as an investor, it's possible that the move signifies the rap star's larger interest in digital currencies. For example, by accepting bitcoin as payment for copies of 'Animal Ambition', the venture provides Jackson with an interesting way of accruing BTC.

BitPay's relationship with Shopify allows merchants to receive dollars, bitcoins or a combination of the two. It isn't clear which direction Jackson plans on taking the store in this regard. CoinDesk reached out to Jackson's representatives for more details, but was unable to receive immediate comment.

Source: coindesk.com

Maybe Bitcoin Miners Can Help Pay For Pirated Games!


This past few weeks a lot of reports suggests that a pirate release of game Watch Dogs contained a Bitcoin Miner. While no one wants their machine infected with unwanted software, could and authorized installation of a bitcoin miner on users' machines generate enough revenue for a developer to give his game away for free?

While it's no secret that some pirate games releases contain malware, during the past few days a more unusual story has been doing the rounds. According to a GameCrastinate report, this week thousands of BitTorrent users inadvertently became infected with Bitcoin-mining malware.

The problem apparently stemmed back to a leaked PC version of the much-anticipated game Watch Dogs from Ubisoft Montreal. While there was never any suggestion that the company had anything to do with it, the assumption has been that whoever leaked the game thought they could make a few dollars by installing the trojan on pirates' machines.

While there appears to be very little hard proof that the trojan ever existed or indeed spread on the suggested scale, the idea that tens or even hundreds of thousands of computers could be hijacked to generate mountains of dollars for a third-party gained a lot of traction in the press.

The idea of a sneaky trojan install is likely to annoy just about everyone, but what if a similar process could be put to a more creative and authorize use? What if a developer allowed his game to be shared online for free but in return installed a Bitcoin miner on downloaders' machines to generate revenue to pay for the software? That question was emailed to TorentFreak this week and while we had our doubts over the idea's viability, it could be pretty cool if it somehow came to pass. We promised to find out whether this was a crazy idea or a flash of genius.

Last year, Ars Technica bought a dedicated miner for $274 capable of magically churning out around 20$ in bitcoin every day. Sure it gobbled up %11 a year in electricity, but as a financial prospect it was a pretty safe bet. Gamers tend not to own dedicated mining hardware, but people playing game like Watch Dogs more often than not will have rather juicy graphics cards on board which could be coaxed into a bit of mining. Question is, would they be up to the task?

Roger Ver, an angel investor in several Bitcoin startups including Blockchain.info, BitcoinStore and BitPay, has been referred to in the press as the Bitcoin Jesus. In his opininon, could the "Watch Dog hackers" who sparked this story make much money with their illegal trojan?

"It depends a lot on the machines hardware, but to the hacker it is all profit since he doesn't have to pay for any of the hardware or electricity costs" Said Ver.

So with free money for the hackers established, we come back to the key question: could a Bitcoin miner installed with the permission of the downloader generate enough fractions of a single bitcoin on a single machine to keep the developer happy, in Watch Dogs' case, to the tune of around $60? Ver was quick to disappoint.

"This isn't viable any longer," said Ver. "There are so many people mining bitcoins using specialized ASIC hardware that  home computer isn't very effective any more." So the idea of mining bitcoin in order to generate revenue from people who can't or won't pay for their games is a no-go.

Source: torrentfreak.com

Bitcoin Bots Bought MIllions In Its Dying Days

Mt. Gox Bought Millions in its last days.


Two algorithms, named Willy and Markus, bought around 650,000 bitcoins in the dying days of the bitcoin exchange, a new report alleges.

Bitcoin prices were being manipulated in late 2013 by a pair of autonomous computer programs running on bitcoin exchange MtGox, according to an anonymously published report. The programs, named Willy and Markus, allegedly pushed prices up to %$1,000 before the bubble burst after MtGox collapse in late February.

The report's author alleges that some of the trades were coming from inside the exchange itself. "In fact," the report says, "there is a ton of evidence to suggest that all of these accounts were controlled by MtGox themselves."

The so-called Willy Report uses leaked logs of activity on the new closed bitcoin exchange to analyze the behavior of the Willy trading algorithm, which users had noticed in December 2013. The robot bought small amounts of bitcoin in regular intervals for months, but until the logs were leaked in March, no-one could work out why. The report's author tracked down all the "Willy" trades, looking for accounts making 1-20 bitcoin transactions every five minutes, and found that $112m had spent to buy more than 250,000 bitcoin in the course of November.

"So if you were wondering how Bitcoin suddenly appreciated in value by a factor of 10 within the span of one month, well, this may be why," the writer adds. Bitcoin value went from around $200 at the start of November 2013 to a peak of $1,132 by the start of December - at which point the price collapsed. It stood at about $570 on Wednesday. But following the trail further back reveals a second bot, which the author names "Markus". That bot operated in a less elegant way. "First, its fees paid were always zero (unlike Willy, who paid fees as usual). Second, its fiat [non-bitcoin money] spent when buying coins was all over the place, with seemingly completely random prices paid per bitcoin."

The author suggests that the "Markus" bot, rather than spending bitcoin prices per bitcoin, In fact acquired the coins for free, "and the program that generates the trading logs simply takes whatever value was already there before. In other words, Markus is somehow buying tons of BTC without spending a dime." The total amount of bitcoin that the log shows was bought by Markus and Willy up to the end of November, when the logs end, is 570,00 bitcoin - equivalent to $379m on the average price of bitcoin during the month.

But the author also say that Willy was "active for the most part of December until the end of January as well. Although this was at a slower, more consistent pace (around 2,000 BTC per day), it should roughly add up to another 80,000 BTC or so bought." Add that to the total and it hits 650,000 bitcoin - the amount MtGox said it had lost to hackers when it closed its doors.

Source: theguardian.com

Can Bitcoin Stop Game Piracy?

Could Bitcoin Make Free2Play Games Obsolete?

The much anticipated game Watch Dogs was released yesterday and according to some report the pirated version that showed up on various illegal torrent websites contained a little extra added by the person who pirated it in the first place: a Bitcoin miner.
Piracy has long been the bane of the games industry - but one enterprising pirate may just have figured out how developers could make money from piracy, by using Bitcoin. And could this have implications for how legitimate game developers make money?

The way Bitcoin (and other so-called crypto-currencies) work is clever: essentially, your computer will over time slowly generate Bitcoins for you by 'mining' them - in other words, putting your processor to work by solving complex maths problems. The more computing power you have, to faster you can mine - and the richer you can get.

So what the pirate (allegedly) did was package in a secret bitcoin miner that had been programmed to send the virtual coins to his or her Bitcoin wallet - so when you play Watch Dogs, your computer is secretly making money for the pirate.

Whilst this obviously isn't good for Ubisoft, who put in the hard work making the game, you have to admit that it is very clever. And it is also funny to see people who have downloaded the dodgy torrent getting indignant at how the game that they pirated, giving no money to the developers, isn't quite as it seems.

This ruse though raises a bigger question: has it shown a new way for developers to monetise their games? With all of the talk in gaming communities about how much they hate "free to play" games (where micro-transactions are used for in-game items instead of paying upfront), could Bitcoin mining provide a unique solution?

What if instead of paying £50 for Watch Dogs up front, or £2 for Angry Birds (or whatever), you were able to download the games for free on to your device, with the understanding that it would use your computer (or console) to mine Bitcoins for the developers? This perhaps isn't as crazy as it sounds. When the PS3 first launched, Sony made a big deal about how the console could be used for Folding@Home - a medical research app that used connected consoles to process shedloads of raw research data whilst the PS3 was in standby mode. Essentially exactly what I'm proposing - but for altruistic reasons. There is only one minor flaw in the plan though. People will have to start taking Bitcoin seriously.

Source: techdigest.tv

Superbike Racer Will Be Wearing Bitcoin Logo

Superbike Racer to Wear Bitcoin Logo at Isle of Man TT Classic!



Australian bitcoin payment infrastructure company Diamond Circle is bringing bitcoin to the racetrack, sponsoring local superbike rider David Johnson in this week's famous Tourist Trophy (TT) race on the Isle of Man. Taking a cue from the recent successful in the attention-getting stakes covering of NASCAR racer Josh Wise's car with dogecoin livery, Diamond Circle will put its logo alongside the orange 'B' on Johnson's helmet as he rides in the 107 year-old race classic, which is broadcast around the world.

CEO Stephen Rowlison believes that such associations and global sponsorship deals are the best way to bring light to the digital currency revolution as it rolls out its products, and thanked associates such as Jason Kelly of the Manx Digital Currency Association. He presented one of Diamond Circle's bitcoin debit cards to Johnson'[s racing team Lloyd James PR Kawasaki as part of the promotion.

Bitcoin friendly jurisdiction

The Isle of Man has made bitcoin headlines outside of motorcycle racing too. A recent ruling by the island's Financial Supervision Commission determined that licenses are not required for bitcoin exchanges, and over 15 bitcoin exchanges are said to be interested in setting up there. Fast internet and low taxes have already made the territory an e-commerce hub, including a large number of online gambling sites.

Business leaders on the self-governing British Brown dependency have formed the Manx Digital Currency Association, whose role is to assist government and protect the reputation of the Isle of Man through sensible policies.

The First In-Casino Bitcoin ATM


Las Vegas have the First In-Casino Bitcoin ATM

Tourists visiting the gambling and entertainment mecca of the US can now get their cryptocurrency at The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel. The D has partnered with Robocoin, a fellow Las Vegas-based company, to place a bitcoin ATM inside its casino.

The machine allows users to both buy and sell the currency. Derek Stevens, CEO of the D Las Vegas Casino Hotel, said in a statement:
"We're proud to be the first casino property to accept bitcoin and we're excited to offer our customers the convenience of a bitcoin ATM."
Vegas and Compliance

The D Casino Hotel is located downtown on Fremont Street, distanced from the main Las Vegas Strip. Stevens refers to this area of Las Vegas as a "growing high-tech hub". Earlier this year, the casino became the first to accept bitcoin for hotel stays, restaurants and gifts shop items. However, The D does not currently accept bitcoin for its gaming operations. The Nevada Gaming Control Board would have to approve [bitcoin for gambling], which seems unlikely for the foreseeable future," said Sam Glaser, Robocoin's CMO.

However, D Casino Hotel's Stevens previously told CoinDesk he thinks the Nevada Gaming Commission is closely looking is closely looking at bitcoin for future use. Jordan Kelly, CEO of Robocoin, says bringing a bitcoin ATM to the compliance heavy market of Las Vegas is a sign of progress:
"[We're launching] in the highly regulated state of Nevada. These are all signs of bitcoin maturity and institutional acceptance."
Source: coindesk.com

Starting CoinGG.com with a Bang!

This roulette betting site started making a buzz in the industry with a bang!

CoinGG.com debuts in the online gaming industry and in the community of bitcoin bettors with its introductory bitcoin giveaway, which is set to award the first 100 players who will post in its thread on bitcointalk.org with 0.5 mBTC each starting May 17.

The newcomer CoinGG boasts state-of-the-art technology in providing and maintaining a betting performance that is parallel to those of established Bitcoin casinos online, and therefore, it manages to offer premium roulette betting on the web, highlighting key features and services essential for a seamless betting experience.

The promotion proved to be success based on the response on the bitcoin forum, CoinGG is poised to attract players regardless because it has the makings of a prime-quality online bitcoin roulette game, which it describes as beautiful, clever, generous, swift, fair and secure.

But the best thing about this bitcoin casino and this is the lone feature that makes it stand out among the rest of the bitcoin casino games is the ability of players to invest in the platform and earn a share of the total house profits from every win and loss. It only means that the larger the investment is, the higher the profits will be; although the maximum profit a player can receive from a bet is limited to 2% of the house's bankroll.

Source: bestbitcoincasino.com