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

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.

Bitcoin will be Bigger than Facebook?

Winklevoss Bros: Bitcoin Will be Bigger than Facebook!

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss discovered bitcoin in June 2012 while on vacation, and have had big plans for the digital currency ever since. The duo claims that bitcoin encourages financial freedom and openness.

Bigger than Facebook

Their destiny's lead them to bitcoin while in Ibiza, after bumping into a familiar face. Tyler explains:

"We were on vacation, and happened to bump into a guy who is mutual friend and he started to tell us about bitcoin. We were fascinated from day one. At the time we were just re-immersing ourselves inside the tech world, getting into the trnches again."

The twins introduction to bitcoin occurred soon after legal battles against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The brothers won $65 million in a settlement, after Zuckerberg was accused of stealing their social media idea. With all that behind now, Tyler believes bitcoin is the next big mainstream focus, and that it has the potential to be even bigger than Facebook. He says:

"Bitcoin potentially could be more impactful because being able to donate 50 cents to someonce across the world has more impact that potentially sharing a picture. But they're very different. Facebook is like the internet - a large company and an application. Bitcoin is a protocol for decentralization, so you could build a decentralized company on top of it, a stock market. It's an internet of ownership, so it's not quite a direct comparison."

 As the 32-year-old investor mentions, bitcoin and Facebook are two completely different mediums, however, both work on bringing people to interact with one another through peer-to-peer networking. The brothers remain optimistic that the rest of the world, including Wall Street, will take notice and implement the digital currency. Tyler compares the doubters of the internet from the 1990s, to doubters of bitcoin today. Though the concept is new and some minor bugs need to be worked out, time will show how resourceful bitcoin will be.

Source: coinreport.net

No New Board Members

Bitcoin Foundation Vote Yields No New Board Members!

A vote to fill the two vacant seats on the Bitcoin Foundation's Board of Directors has ended with no candidates garnering enough votes to secure a position. Candidates needed at least 52 votes to be elected to seat, however, no candidates passed this voting threshold, election results show.

Though no candidates were elected, clear favorites for the position did emerge. BTC China CEO Bobby Lee received 44 votes while venture capital Brock Pierce and Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham finished second and third in the voting, capturing 34 votes and 21 votes respectively.

The foundation will now hold a run-off election featuring only these three candidates. The Bitcoin Foundation had earlier reported that 75% of its industry members had voted in the initial round, and that 102 out of the possible 137 ballots had been submitted by eligible voters.

Fifteen candidates were nominated for position, including Huobi CEO and founder Leon Li and BitcoinBlackFriday organiser Jor Homquist, among others. All candidates received at least one vote. Election committee chair Biran Goss indicated that details on a planned second round of voting would be released next week.

Source: coindesk.com

The Difference of Bitcoin and Dogecoin

Charts to show how Different Bitcoin and Dogecoin fans really are!

As messages boards and news articles routinely show, bitcoin and dogecoin have attracted markedly differently crowds to the digital currency community.

Bitcoin fans routinely allege that dogecoin's very existence undermines what they consider the overall message of digital currency movement that consumers should be freed from archaic monetary systems, while dogecoin users are quick to point out that bitcoin users can be overly focused on the value of bitcoin against the dollar.

Now, two new graphics have emerged that use the words of the communities' own reddit users to illustrate the differences between the respective groups. Popular terms "people", "money", and "time" dominate the bitcoin subreddit, while in the dogecoin subreddit, words like "dogetipbot", "verify" and "help" are the most common.

Bitcoin emphasizes financial systems

The bitcoin subreddit word cloud includes a wealth of terms related to existing financial systems, suggesting that bitcoin enthusiasts want to see BTC disrupt the global financial system. That, in turn, might cause its price to continue upward.

Words like "transaction", "government" and "bank" show that bitcoin fans on reddit are talking about BTC in terms of how it could be replace fiat systems of monetary value.

Dogecoins focuses on giving

By contrast, the dogecoin subreddit word cloud includes a number of terms related to gratitude. "Help", "thanks" and "community" are some of the more popular expressions used.

The dogecoin community has also created a lingo all of its own with terms such as "shibe", "wow" and "moon" prominently appearing on the chart. This suggest that dogecoin has created a unique community in the short time since its December launch.

Bitcoin versus Dogecoin?

It's hard to put bitcoin and dogecoin in direct competition with one another. Yes, they are based off of the same core software, but they were built for two different reasons. Bitcoin appeared because of distrust over government controlled money, which has been the subject of conversations on its subreddit.

Dogecoin, on the other hand, was started as a joke. No one would have ever thought that it would become so popular, even to the amazement of its creator, Jackson Palmer. And the more carefree conversation in the dogecoin subreddit is a reflection of that.

Source: coindesk.com

World's First Bitcoin Debit Card!

The World's First Bitcoin Debit Card Is Almost Here

Bitcoin may be the future of digital money, but it has a big problem here in the United States: why use it to buy anything when millions of merchants already accept debit and credit cards?

Today, if you want to buy a bottle of lemonade with bitcoins, you need to scan a QR code with your phone or email a long bitcoin address to the seller. For most people, buying with bitcoins just isn’t as easy as Visa or MasterCard.

"You just have one card that you can use verywhere without restrictions."

But that’s set to change in the next two months. Xapo, a company that offers online bitcoin wallets, says it’s two months away from introducing the first debit card that will let you spend your bitcoins at any place that takes Visa or MasterCard.

It’s a sign of bitcoin’s growing maturity, and a look at how the digital currency is slowly integrating with the mainstream financial services industry, thanks to a raft of venture-backed bitcoin startups that are now coming online. There are a few other companies that offer prepaid bitcoin cards, but some of them have a fly-by-night feel. Xapo, it seems, is the first to really link your online bitcoin wallet to a card, and–backed by $20 million in VC funding–it’s on far firmer footing. Unlike others, it also operates out of the United States–though it’s incorporated in Hong Kong.

Here’s how it works. Xapo, a bitcoin wallet provider, is in the process of becoming a debit card issuer on one of the major credit card networks. That means that, like your bank, Xapo, can issue you a debit card number and expiration date. You get the card number for free. If you want them to send you some plastic so you can gas up or buy beer at a corner store with your bitcoins, then they’ll charge you $15.

When you use the Xapo card, the credit card number checks in with Xapo, which approves or declines the transaction, depending on how much bitcoin you have in your wallet. It then sells the bitcoin on the Bitstamp exchange and pays out the merchants just like any other card issuer.

Source: wired.com

Nakamoto Thanks Bitcoin Donors

Dorian Nakamoto Thanks Bitcoin Donors on Youtube!

Dorian Nakamoto, the California man who is Satoshi Nakamoto but not the one the media is looking for, has appeared in a YouTube video thanking the bitcoin community for its support.


Bitcoin identity Andreas Antonopoulos organized the fundraiser as partial compensation for Nakamoto’s recent troubles, after a Newsweek cover story ‘revealed’ him to be bitcoin’s mysterious originator. The appeal has raised over 47 BTC (roughly $23,000) and Nakamoto says he plans to keep his “bitcoin account” open and become a user.

In the three-minute video, Nakamoto appears alongside Antonopoulos and holds up a copy of Newsweek’s now-infamous “Bitcoin’s Face” edition, repeating his denial that he was involved with bitcoin or its creation in any way.

“I’m sure you guys will know that Satoshi Nakamoto is not me. But Leah (Goodman) thinks so, and Newsweek said so. But it’s not true,” he says.
“I’m very thankful for all these people in the US, Europe, Asia, in South America and Africa who supported me throughout. Thank you very much. I want to hug you, this 2000 of you who donated.”

He also mocks the notion that anyone wanting to anonymously unleash the world’s most disruptive cryptocurrency to date would use their real name in online communications.

Newsweek and Nakamoto

64 year-old Nakamoto, who has suffered both unemployment and health problems in recent years, was hounded by the media after Newsweek’s cover story appeared, causing him further hardship.

Today’s video is Nakamoto’s first public statement since he hired a lawyer and made an official denial of Newsweek’s claims in late March.

Newsweek and journalist Leah Goodman say they stand by those claims that Nakamoto created bitcoin, and the research behind them. The magazine used the story to re-launch its print edition after its acquisition by new owner IBT Media, but was accused by many in the bitcoin community of rushing to release the story based on flimsy circumstantial evidence.

Source: coindesk.com

Bitcoin is Technology and not a Money

Bitcoin is not a money, the deputy director of the Dutch Payments Association has declared.

"Bitcoin is not a claim and therefore not a money. If you and I agree to pay each other in tulip bulbs then we have established a private currency and the same applies to bitcoin."

Comparing the digital currency to tulip bulbs, which famously rocketed in price during the 'Tulip Mania' bubble of the early 1600s. Gijs Boudewijn dismissed suggestions that bitcoin could be currency!

Bitcoin has two almost distinct personalities. The first is the political revolutionary, destined to disempower government. The second is more prosaic; bitcoin is simply a better way of transferring money, a technology easily co-opted by a banking system seen by some bitcoiners as the enemy.

Bitcoin is really convenient. The comments come weeks after the Dutch Minister for Justice and Security said bitcoin would not be banned, and echo a recent UBS report that suggests that banks can adopt "a bitcoin-like technology" to create a new foundation for payment services that would prop up, instead of pull down, the existing banking system.

Someone doubts that bitcoin can become a widely-used currency, and argued that the need for government to provide confidence in a currency means bitcoin would be a limited prospect.

Source: coindesk.com