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!

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

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

World's Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin

DISH Cable Provider Becomes Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin!

DISH Network Corporation is the largest company to accept bitcoin to date, last year they were able to have a revenue of $13.9bn, The company has more than 30,000 employees. Today, DISH Network has announced that will be accepting bitcoin payments, making it the largest company in the world to do so. The company is the first subscription-based TV provider of its kind to make such a venture into the digital currency realm, and will start its new business model in the third quarter.

DISH Network

"We always want to deliver choice and convenience for our customers and that includes the method they use to pay their bills. Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals." Said the company's executive vice president and CEO Bernie Han.

DISH will now use Coinbase as its payments processor to deal with all bitcoin transactions. The company will make the most out of Coinbase's Instant Exchange feature, which converts digital coins into fiat currency.

Coinbase's co-founder, Fred Ehrsam, expressed his feelings towards the partnership.

"We're excited to support DISH and their current and new subscribers for their bitcoin transactions. This is a large step forward in the growing momentum of customers paying companies in bitcoin for things we do every day, like watching premium TV."

Han adds that the payments processing company will allow DISH to easily transition into the digital coin world. DISH customers will have the opportunity to go on mydish.com in order to pay cable bills with bitcoin, in addition to already existing payments methods.

Prior to March 31st, 2014, DISH announced that it provides approximately 14.097 million paying subscribers. As for Coinbase, the payment platform works with over 31,000 merchants to help them become well acquainted with the digital coin economy. DISH's move into adopting bitcoin may very trigger other cable, phone and internet providers into following their lead. If successful, DISH may become the benchmark for where bitcoin takes off in  the entertainment services industry.

Souce: coinreport.net - dish.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

Bitcoin Economy is Controlled?

Is the Bitcoin Economy Controlled by Online Gambling?

More than half of all Bitcoin Transactions are from Gambling Sites. But is the Future of Bitcoin a Safe Bet? There are many parallels between the risk of betting on bitcoin as the currency of the future and the risk of placing a bet on the Yankees. For one bitcoin enthusiast those risks are one and the same.

Bitcoin advocate, entrepreneur and CEO of Bitcoin Sports Trade, Tyler Wilson discusses what bitcoin means to the world and how it is the innovation that inspired him to create BitcoinSportsTrade.com

Gambling on Freedom

Wilson shares his thoughts on the true power of Bitcoin. "Bitcoin means much more to the world thatn just a new form of money" he says. "Bitcoin at its core represents the decentralization of a corrupted banking system and the freedom of choice. Bitcoin literally has the potential to unify the world and give the powe back to the people", he explains.

Using bitcoin to facilitate a bitcoin sports betting site is fun and all but what bitcoin really represents has far greater significance to me. Bitcoin gives a voice to the people, so the more we use bitcoin collectively, the louder that voice becomes, according to Wilson. He also says that the more companies start to accpet bitcoin and the more bitcoin based businesses are started, the more we will be able to shift the imbalance of control in the world.

Bitcoin is no controlled by any single entity. Nobody's in control so no one can tell you what to do with your bitcoins and how to spend them. Isn't that true definition of democracy?

Source: coinreport.com

Play Bitcoin games and earn some cryptos

Play and Win your Online Gold 'Bitcoins'

Bitcoin, the new face of currency, nearly worth an ounce of gold has become a craze worldwide. Many e-commerce websites are now dealing with this digital currency actively allowing you to purchase products online with Bitcoins and even play games.

Patrick Bryne the CEO and Chairman of Salt Lake's Overstock.com, one of the largest e-retailers in the world earning more than $1.3 billion a year in sales, also plans to convert millions of dollars into Bitcoins and become one of the first major online retailers to accept payment in Bitcoins.

To get your hands on the currency, you don't necessarily have to buy it every time from a marketplace; instead you can win them too! Wondering how? If you are a gamer and you love to spend hours playing online games, then try planning Bitcoin games. These games are probably the most easiest and enjoyable mediums to collect Bitcoins. A small bitcoin investment can help you earn big time.

There are numerous websites that offer gamers a wide range of exciting and super-fun bitcoin games to play and collect bitcoins. These websites have truly taken the gaming experience to a whole new level, where you not only immerse yourself in exciting and fun filled online games but also win Bitcoins. I'ts a win-win all the way!

Source: venturebeat.com 

Bitcoin Goes Hollywood

Top 5 Celebrities Investing in, Using and Talking about Bitcoin!

1. Ashton Kutcher

Actor Ashton Kutcher is the co-founder of venture fund A-Grade Investments, who have invested in BitPay, the payment processor that allows merchants to accept bitcoin payments. Speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt NY conference last year, he said: "The bigger thing with bitcoin is: what can that decentralised technology really do? Imagine if we can decentralise that issue, and if we can decentralized security.

Kutcher has been successful as a venture capitalist on the tech space following an offer by Anderseen, with whom she has since become close, in 2099 to invest in Skype. He has also invested Spotify, Airnumb, Foursquare.

2. Snoop Dogg

In a tweet last December, rapper and singer-songwriter Snoop Dogg teased that his next album would be "available in bitcoin" and "delivered in a drone". Although the tweet was facetious, he responded more seriously to BitPay and Coinbase when they reached out to him offering their services.

Snoop Dogg's representatives later said in an interview that he was not serious about accepting bitcoin, but the news brought waves of attention to the digital currency  by the general public.

3. Akon

Bitcoin "is going to change the world from a money transactional standpoint not just for Africa, but for everywhere", said recording artist and producer Akon at the Milken Global Conference this Wednesday (30th April).

His declaration is the latest of celebrity endorsements helping the technology and digital currency gain trust among the general public.

4. Nas

Rapper and songwriter Nas, along with his manager Aymen Anthony Saleh, are investors in more that 40 startup companies including digital wallet company coinbase and 500 startups, the Silicon Valley incubator accelerating bitcoin companies. And they're just getting started.

Last year, Coinbase raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz thanks to whom Nas and Saleh learned how to approach and assess their potential investment opportunities. The firm's partner Ben Horowitz is close with them, according to Saleh.

5. Mel B

Last Christmas former Spice Girl and X Factor judge Mel B partnered with London-based CloudHashing to become the first musical artist to accept bitcoin to purchase her music.

"I love how new technology makes our lives easier, and to me, that's exciting," she said. "Bitcoin unites my fans around the world using one currency. They can just pay using bitcoins." CouldHashing offers bitcoin-mining-as-a-service.

The company had a booth at the Austin music and technology conference SXSW this year to showcase their service to industry icons and enthusiasts still new to bitcoin.

Source: coindesk.com

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

Coindesk On App Store!

Coindesk Bitcoin App Now Available for Iphone!

Coindesk has released an iOS application featuring the latest bitcon news and analysis, Bitcoin Price Index, a price chart, currency converter and price alert notifications.

Users can check the real-time bitcoin price on the app's homepage which combines price and network pages from the websites. Users have the option to toggle between the bitcoin price and network statistics. Currently, the homepage features the USD price index, but users can take advantage of the currency calculator tab to view the price in their currency of choice. The bitcoin price is based on Bitcoin Price Index data.

The homepage also shows overview statistics, including: daily highs, lows, dollar amount changes, current market cap and the total number of bitcoins in existence. Users can select the charts page to view closing price and open-high-low-close (OHLC) bitcoin charts for the day, month and week.

All the news, analysis and opinion features available on the Coindesk website can be accessed via the app. The news reader showcases the most recent cryptocurrency stories at the top, but users can also take advantage of the search bar to navigate through the Coindesk archives. The app also features a bitcoin alert tab that can be customized to a minimum and maximum price. Once a price is selected, the app will notify you when one bitcoin reaches the specified price. It is launched today, the app is now available for download from the App Store for free. Android version of the application will be launch in no time!

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

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 Regulation Roundup

Legislation, Liquidation and Rumor Mill

Regulatory attitudes towards cryptocurrencies around the world are shifting. Hardly a day goes by without a central bank issuing a warning on the digital currency. However, it’s not all bad news – as some authorities are taking a much more positive approach. 

In CoinDesk’s regulation roundup, Certified Public Accountant and ACFE Certified Fraud Examiner Jason Tyra examines the most significant digital currency news from the world’s regulators and law courts over the past two weeks.

Chinese banks stop handling bitcoin related business

The rumors are true: bitcoin related businesses with Chinese deposit accounts reported receiving verbal notices from their banks last week that transfers to exchanges would no longer be honored, causing bitcoin prices on exchanges worldwide to plunge to their lowest levels in more than six months.  Though the move was obviously centrally directed, the People’s Bank of China has yet to make an official announcement, over a week later.

Curiously, the People’s Bank of China announced on 11th April that it would not seek a ban on bitcoin.

China’s government and central bank have been ambivalent about bitcoin from the beginning, resulting in periodic rumors of an impending ban.  The spread of crypto-currency among Chinese users has often been cited as the driving force behind bitcoin’s dramatic rise during the latter half of 2013.  The Chinese government, on the other hand, is believed to see bitcoin as a threat to capital controls, while claiming that restrictions are necessary to protect Chinese banks from the risk posed by bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s price rebounded above $500 in the week following announcement of the Chinese restrictions.  Nevertheless, at least two Chinese exchanges suggested that they might consider moving to other countries if regulatory action made their businesses unsustainable.

Source: coindesk.com

Bitcoin Price Below $400

Deposit Freeze at Chinese Exchanges Drives Bitcoin Price Below $400!

The initial drop occurred following an announcement from Chinese exchange BTCTrade.com, which was then corroborated by similar statements from Huobi and BTC100.org.

The price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) fell below $400 for the first time since November 2013 on 10th April, as major China-based bitcoin exchanges began reporting that they had received notice that their bank accounts would be shut down by banking partners.

The price of bitcoin has fallen rapidly in recent weeks, after rumors surfaced on 27th March that suggested the PBOC, China’s central bank, would be looking to more tightly enforce restrictions it passed in December meant to ensure a separation between its nationalized banking system and the nascent digital currency industry.

Though no official announcement of the new policy has been made, the statements from major exchanges suggest that the rumored 15th April deadline for the enforcement of this stricter rule interpretation is being enforced.

USD markets plunge 13%

As illustrated by the USD BPI, the sell-off began at approximately 1:00 UTC on 10th April. The price fell from $440 to $410 within a few hours of BTCTrade.com’s initial announcement, before fluctuating between $407 and $412. At 15:00 UTC, the price began to fall precipitously, tumbling from $406 to $389 by 15:15 UTC. Two hours later the price briefly climbed above $400 before sliding into the $390 range.

At press time, the price of 1 BTC on the USD BPI was $381.

Source: coindesk.com

Changing the Face of Bitcoin?

Industry Group Aims to Change Bitcoin Symbol to ‘Ƀ’

There is an effort to better represent bitcoin as a symbol is launched. The Unicode ‘Ƀ’ symbol has been chosen by a website of industry members as a way to better legitimize bitcoin as a symbol both in print and online media.

It is already an existing Unicode character under the non-profit corporation Unicode Consortium, which describes it as a "latin capital B with stroke" that has the hex Alt +0243. A number of bitcoin companies already use Ƀ as the symbol to denote bitcoin. They include ZeroBlock, Lamasuu, Tip4Commit.

The current bitcoin symbol

Bitcoin has long been denoted as B however it is not recognized as a Unicode symbol by the Unicode Consortium, which develops such standards. Having a symbol in Unicode form means it would work in different fonts and formats and would help to better convey the cryptocurrency to the masses in various forms of media.

There has been community discussion to get B⃦ used in conjunction with the Unicode Consortium, with a Bitcoin Wiki resource devoted to it.

However, since the Unicode Consortium already accepts Ƀ, it could be an easier path to adoption since there are no standardization roadblocks in the way.

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

The Cryptocurrencies War!

In other words the war of cryptocurrency is as simple as what is the difference between an HD DVD and a Blu-ray Disc? In a nutshell, one is a lose and the other is a winner. In the late 2000s, the two battled it out on store shelves in what is known as a format war. Which won? Here's a hint: you won't be watching Gravity on HD DVD anytime soon!

The argument in favor of war is like this! If you were to view the cryptocurrenncy format from this perspective, bitcoin would be the clear front-runner. A few other coins- dogecoin, peercoin, and litecoin - would be trailing close behind. There might be other legitimate contenders in the near future.

The wide variety of coins may actually be hindering cryptocurrency rather than helping its cause. When HD DVD and Blu-ray were duking it out to be the industry standard, sales of both were ultimately hurt. Consumers were afraid to buy a player or discs of either one, wary they would commit to the format that eventually lost the fight.

The market for cryptocurrency involves everyone that uses money: it's everyone.

If this thinking holds true for cryptocurrencies, then the availability of so many coins may deter people (especially non-techies) from buying into any single coin. As a result, many will simply adopt a wait-and-see approach, especially as one cryptocurrency is bound to emerge on top.

Source: coindesk.com