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busttheblock
04-09-2013, 05:11 AM
There are going to be more and more unscrupulous opportunities popping up now with the increased popularity of Bitcoins.

Just look at this latest load of crap sent out by Brian Spatola!


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littleroundman
04-09-2013, 06:08 AM
IM(very)HO, Bitcoin will turn out to be the architect of its' own demise if it continues to allow itself to be used in this manner.

It's hard to imagine any country on the planet is going to stand by and allow such blatant criminal activity to take place under the guise of Bitcoin being merely an "alternative currency"

ribshaw
04-09-2013, 08:13 PM
I am thinking this market may take care of itself sooner rather than later, when articles like this start to appear hope and greed have taken over.
Bitcoin currency value reaches record high of $147 before plunging down Interest in digital coin system spikes dramatically after banking crisis in Cyprus, nearly tripling in value since last month.Bitcoin currency value reaches record high of $147 before plunging down | Technology | guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/03/bitcoin-reaches-record-high-currency)

3598

Who knows when, but it always ends like 3599 and never like 3600

scratchycat
04-10-2013, 08:30 AM
Yesterday this came up in a news feed I received. Of course, I could not post it since we were once again off & on.

Wanted on Craigslist: bitcoins - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/wanted-on-craigslist-bitcoins/2013/04/09/64a78e8a-a141-11e2-be47-b44febada3a8_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_t witter_washingtonpost)

Wanted on Craigslist: bitcoins


Video: The cyber-currency has skyrocketed in value, but is it a sign of a new paradigm or speculative bubble? The Post’s Anthony Faiola fills us in from London.

By Caitlin Dewey,

Published: April 9


Loc Tran is selling an iPhone, but not for cash. On Saturday, the 22-year-old George Mason University student posted a brief ad to Craigslist: Brand new, unopened iPhone 5 for three Bitcoins. Not $390, the cash equivalent — three Bitcoins only.

“I saw an investment there,” Tran said. “If there’s more demand for bitcoins, the value will go up. So I could gain more value than the phone is actually worth.”

Interesting article to find on Washington Post.

littleroundman
04-11-2013, 01:42 AM
Bitcoin drama continues

Bitcoin, a new digital currency, lost more than US$160 (A$152) in value on Wednesday, just hours after hitting a record high.

The currency hit a new high of US$266 (A$252) before falling to US$105 and then bouncing back to US$130. At its low on Wednesday, the currency had lost some 60 percent of its value from the day’s peak.

The virtual currency went onto stage a sizeable comeback before getting slammed again.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the new currency taking the world by storm and has seen its value surge more than 1000 per cent from around US$15 at the beginning of the year to current levels of around US$170

Bitcoin is a decentralised, anonymous, digital-only currency that's lately got a lot of public attention and sparked a trading frenzy.

Not managed like a typical currency, Bitcoin belongs to no particular country, is not minted on plastic, paper or metal and under the control of no central bank.

The biggest question everyone has had about Bitcoin in recent weeks, aside from how it works, is whether or not it's in a bubble and ready to crash.

How Bitcoin works

Bitcoin was originally developed in 2008 by a computer developer using the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto", who published a paper describing how it could work.

Bitcoin generation is based on a highly complex computer algorithm, programmed to generate a fixed number of Bitcoins per unit of computing time.

By 2140, the total number of Bitcoins in circulation will be capped at 21 million.

In other words, the Bitcoin system is self-sustaining, coded to prevent inflation, and encrypted to prevent anyone from disrupting its code.

Bitcoins can be bought with money and they also can be "mined".

There are around 11m Bitcoins in circulation, 25 new bitcoins are produced every 10 minutes, and they are traded through online exchanges like Mt.Gox.

The Motley Fool Australia explains that obtaining Bitcoins is similar to opening an account through a bank. “All a user has to do is visit Bitinstant and convert a local currency into the virtual money. The currency is traded just like any other.”

Wednesday’s wild ride

The record high and subsequent crash experienced on Wednesday was potentially sparked by a Reddit user who gave away thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoins.

A Reddit user under the name"Bitcoinbillionaire" had given away US$13,627.69896 worth of Bitcoins to Reddit users over the day, reported Business Insider.

The mystery donor signed off with a quote from Ron Paul, libertarian politician and one-time would-be presidential candidate: "It's no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking."

Yahoo Finance (http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-drama-continues-053655700.html)

ribshaw
04-11-2013, 09:22 AM
This is really getting interesting to watch. One thought I have is they really need to bring some stability to this currency if it is to become mainstream. I found this a rather prescient call:

3605

Until two days later:

3606

For those that want to follow there is some good discussion on this board, I linked it to the thread I pulled the quotes from. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=170762.0
Right now several threads are reading a lot like the Stock Message Boards did in 1999.

Blue Wolf
04-11-2013, 06:50 PM
In other words, the Bitcoin system is self-sustaining, coded to prevent inflation, and encrypted to prevent anyone from disrupting its code.



I'm a little confused by this article.

When our currency loses value, and we lose purchasing power, it's called inflation.

So, when Bitcoin lost 60% of its value, wouldn't that be called hyperinflation?

I know that I would be terrified if my money lost most of its value in a single day.

NikSam
04-11-2013, 07:02 PM
I am a bit disappointed that a big name and respected cryptologists such as Bruce Schneier refuses to review the security of Bitcoins
using his lack of expertise in politics and economics as a reason.

He doesn't have an opinion but also provides reference to a criticism

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/04/bitcoins_in_the.html

NikSam
04-11-2013, 09:45 PM
very interesting criticism of BitCoins
BitCon: Don't in [Market-Ticker] (http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=219284)

So transactions keychain is out there forever , if you were involved in something illegal it will follow you forever, one day you use an exchange with your credit card, or order something to be shipped, and thats how it's possible to put a name on your coins and cross match it with ceased coins from some illegal place (think of Ponzis you played with bitcoins and won, laundered some money and did not pay tax, paid for some illegal substance) the record will stay there forever.

Something makes me think that Satoshi might be a nickname for NSA, BitCoins is in fact most traceable transaction system ever created.

Hypanor
04-12-2013, 08:53 AM
Interesting article, thanks for posting that.

ribshaw
04-12-2013, 03:41 PM
WOW, just crossed on CNBC Bitcoin closed at $75.51 to the USD, down from a high of $250 this week. Have heard a few stories of folks that backed up the truck to buy these things, bad week for them.

I was poking over on the Bitcoin forum linked above. One thing I will find interesting to watch is what happens with transactions that were made with BitCoins this week when the price was in the 200s. When Tulipmania came crashing down many were left with contracts that the counterparty had no intention of filling at the collapsed price. If memory serves the government got involved and voided a lot of the contracts. That was hundreds of years ago, what will happen now with people all over the world giving scouts honor with one hand and crossies with the other?

scratchycat
04-12-2013, 04:37 PM
Well during lunch today as usual I was channel switching (to keep away from commercials) and caught the Bloomberg report on Bitcoins. So Wall St. is now pushing this thing and they were saying silicon city is getting in on the act? They were connecting it to the two guys who were in the fight for ownership/creator rights of Facebook. Seems they have put up a bunch of money in it. Sorry, names escape me and I wanted to give you guys something to do anyway, surely you are bored by ProSun and BB by now. For verification, I suppose you could check out Bloomberg online for info.

NikSam
04-12-2013, 05:32 PM
Another interesting article on Ars technica how hedge funds are jumping on Bitcoins.
“Taming the bubble”: investors bet on Bitcoin via derivatives markets | Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/04/taming-the-bubble-investors-bet-on-bitcoin-via-derivatives-markets/)

Sorry but all of it looks to me those hedge funds are just HYIP ponzi scams
with all those different Anatoliy Knyazev and Alex Stukalov russian fund managers :)

All they say sounds as a standard ponzi pitch, sometimes is just so ridiculous as they said we hired a hacker under handle "xxx"
or we have a trader under nickname "yyy"

:)

ribshaw
04-12-2013, 05:36 PM
Well during lunch today as usual I was channel switching (to keep away from commercials) and caught the Bloomberg report on Bitcoins. So Wall St. is now pushing this thing and they were saying silicon city is getting in on the act? They were connecting it to the two guys who were in the fight for ownership/creator rights of Facebook. Seems they have put up a bunch of money in it. Sorry, names escape me and I wanted to give you guys something to do anyway, surely you are bored by ProSun and BB by now. For verification, I suppose you could check out Bloomberg online for info.

I find this whole thing very exciting, two months ago Ribshaw had never even heard of Bitcoin. My only investing experience is in collector plates !
3616

This has a bit of everything, no pun intended. Ponzi, market manipulation, DDos Attacks, or Not, Government Conspiracies, Naysayers, Pimps, what's not to like.

The Winklevoss twins (two major characters Facebook creation story) are back in the news, this time making headlines with their $11 million purchase of one percent of all bitcoins, the virtual currency. As of Thursday morning, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss own approximately 108,000 bitcoins. With simple math they are in at a price of $101.85 against a closing price of $75.81.

Winklevoss twins try to buy up bitcoin market - CSMonitor.com (http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2013/0412/Winklevoss-twins-try-to-buy-up-bitcoin-market)

NikSam
04-12-2013, 05:43 PM
i just wish that mainstream media would not be that retarded.

ribshaw
04-12-2013, 05:46 PM
Another interesting article on Ars technica how hedge funds are jumping on Bitcoins

I want to see how this shakes out, but I am betting not very well. If you have two entities trading Bitcoin back and forth instantly that is one thing. But what happens when another transaction enters in to the mix. For instance I heard about people mortgaging their house to buy Bitcoin. Hypothetically speaking, if someone sold their house for 1000 BC this week or $250,000, they now have $75000 worth of BC. In a true organized exchange they would be bound to that transaction, but in a completely anonymous exchange what happens? My guess is they walk away from the transaction and if this happens more than once the currency will very likely collapse.

Blue Wolf
04-12-2013, 06:05 PM
The more I read about Bitcoin, the more I don't like it.

Why bother using Bitcoins when you can simply use your own currency? These Bitcoins have no real value. It's like a joke (like multi-level marketing.)

And what's to prevent other people from starting their own crypto-currencies? We could have hundreds of different crypto-currencies floating around, with people encouraging their friends and family to buy some before the price goes up.

Having too many currencies is just not a good thing. (At one point, the United States had thousands of different currencies. We all know that didn't turn out too well. (http://www.frbsf.org/currency/expansion/history/))

_____________________________________________

"By 1860, an estimated 8,000 different state banks were circulating worthless currency called "wildcat" or "broken" bank notes, so called because many of these banks were located in remote regions and frequently failed or "went broke." The era ended in 1863 with the passage of the National Bank Act."

NikSam
04-12-2013, 06:25 PM
There are already other crypto currencies.
LiteCoins for example are claimed to be very "undervalued" right now.
How can somebody put a realistic fair "value" on it, beats me.

laidback
04-13-2013, 12:33 AM
There are already other crypto currencies.
LiteCoins for example are claimed to be very "undervalued" right now.
How can somebody put a realistic fair "value" on it, beats me.

At least this is more entertaining than the Dinar Dodos...!

scratchycat
04-13-2013, 04:27 PM
I find this whole thing very exciting, two months ago Ribshaw had never even heard of Bitcoin. My only investing experience is in collector plates !
3616

This has a bit of everything, no pun intended. Ponzi, market manipulation, DDos Attacks, or Not, Government Conspiracies, Naysayers, Pimps, what's not to like.

The Winklevoss twins (two major characters Facebook creation story) are back in the news, this time making headlines with their $11 million purchase of one percent of all bitcoins, the virtual currency. As of Thursday morning, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss own approximately 108,000 bitcoins. With simple math they are in at a price of $101.85 against a closing price of $75.81.

Winklevoss twins try to buy up bitcoin market - CSMonitor.com (http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2013/0412/Winklevoss-twins-try-to-buy-up-bitcoin-market)

We are glad to see you excited about being in RS and thank you for looking up that info that I only hinted about because of limited time. Yes, it was the Winklevoss twins I was trying to remember and it was an extensive article on Bloomberg. The more I watch that channel, the more it does look like all the hedgefunds, big money players, etc. are battling money games. I never knew how Bill Gates came along and 'stole' the browser idea from owner and creator of Netscape. I am sure through a search engine anyone can read this story and maybe most of you already have.

littleroundman
04-13-2013, 10:51 PM
Hacker currency Bitcoin crashes

IT'S a promising form of electronic cash free from central bankers and beloved by hackers. It - Bitcoin - may also be in trouble, registering catastrophic losses that have sent speculators scrambling.

Although the cybercurrency has existed for years as a kind of Internet oddity, a perfect storm of developments have brought it to the cusp of mainstream use.

As currency crises in Europe piqued investors' interest, a growing number of businesses announced they were accepting bitcoins for an ever-wider range of goods and services. The value of a single bitcoin began racing upward amid growing media attention, smashing past the $US100 ($94.9) mark last week before more than doubling again in just a few days.

Then came the crash.

The price of Bitcoin has imploded, falling from around $US266 on Wednesday (US time) to just above $US40 on Thursday, according to bitcoincharts.com, which tracks trades across the Internet. The best-known exchange, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, has suspended trading for what it described as a 12-hour "market cooldown." By late Thursday, the currency was back up to just more than $US100.

This is bad news for the notorious Winklevoss twins, who claim to own 1 per cent of all Bitcoins in existence according to the New York Times. (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/as-big-investors-emerge-Bitcoin-gets-ready-for-its-close-up/)

“An array of speculators have now bid up the price of the Bitcoin to the point where the outstanding supply of the digital money was worth $US1.3 billion at last count. The Winklevii — as they are popularly known — say they own nearly 1 per cent of that, or some $US11 million.”

Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist for the ConvergEx Group, said it was a "great question" whether the currency could survive the wrenching ups and downs.

"At this point I would say yes, since it has before," Colas wrote in an email. But he noted that, unlike previous oscillations, Thursday's collapse was taking place in the full glare of international media attention.

"A lot more people know about Bitcoin than during the prior problems," he said.

To its supporters - tech-savvy libertarians, currency geeks, and online speculators - Bitcoin has enormous promise.

Bitcoins are created, distributed, and authenticated independently of any bank or government. The currency's cryptographic features make it virtually immune from counterfeiting, and its relative anonymity holds out the promise of being able to spend money across the Internet without fear of censors, regulators or nosey officials.

The linchpin of the system is a network of "miners" - high-end computer users who supply the Bitcoin network with the processing power needed to maintain a transparent, running tally of all transactions. The tally is one of the most important ways in which the system prevents fraud, and the miners are rewarded for supporting the system with an occasional helping of brand-new bitcoins.

Cryptographers argue over whether bitcoin is well-designed, but the true test of any currency is whether it can be used to buy anything.

Increasingly, Bitcoin is passing the test. From hard drugs to hard currency, songs to survival gear, cars to consumer goods, many retailers have welcomed the money, whose unofficial symbol is a dollar-like, double-barred B.

Atlanta-based BitPay handles Bitcoin transactions for more than 4,500 companies, taking payments in bitcoins and forwarding the cash equivalent to the vendor involved, which means that its clients are insulated from the cybercurrency's volatility.

BitPay Chief Executive Anthony Gallippi said many of the businesses he served were e-commerce websites, but he said an increasing number of traditional retailers were looking to get into the game as well.

"We just had an auto dealership in Kansas City apply," he said.

Artists are into bitcoins too. Tehran-based music producer Mohammad Rafigh said the currency allows him to sell his albums "all over the world and not only in Iran."

There's long been a black market use for bitcoins as well.

Argentine software developer Patricio Fink described how he recently swapped bitcoins for a wad of American currency with a couple of Australian tourists at a Starbucks in Buenos Aires. The visitors wanted spending money at black market rates without the risk of getting roughed up in one of the Argentine capital's black market exchanges. Fink wanted more bitcoins to insulate his savings from Argentina's high inflation.

"It's something that is new," said Fink, 24, who described the deal to The Associated Press over Skype. "And it's working."

One of the most prominent destinations for bitcoins remains Silk Road, a black market website where drug dealers advertise their wares in a consumer-friendly atmosphere redolent of Amazon or eBay - complete with a shopping cart icon, a five-point rating system and voluminous user reviews. The site uses Tor, an online anonymity network, to mask the location of its servers, while bitcoin payments ensure there's no paper trail.

One British user told AP he first got interested in Silk Road while he was working in China, where he used the site to order banned books. After moving to Japan, he turned to the site for an occasional high.

Drug dealers aren't the only ones cashing in on Bitcoin. The hackers behind Lulz Security, whose campaign of online havoc drew worldwide attention back in 2011, received thousands of dollars' worth of bitcoins after promising followers that the money would go toward launching attacks against the FBI.

A report apparently drawn up by the bureau and leaked to the Internet last year said that "since Bitcoin does not have a centralized authority, detecting suspicious activity, identifying users and obtaining transaction records is problematic for law enforcement."

It went on to warn that bitcoins might become "an increasingly useful tool for various illegal activities beyond the cyber realm"- including child pornography, trafficking and terrorism.

That is, if the currency survives.

Bitcoin's dramatic collapse - from peak to trough, the currency shed more than 80 percent of its value - has left many enthusiasts anxious and many skeptics saying "I told you so."

"Trading tulips in real time," is how longtime UBS stockbroker Art Cashin described Bitcoin's vertiginous rise, comparing it to the now-unfathomable craze that saw 17th-century Dutch speculators trade spectacular sums of money for a single flower bulb.

"It is rare that we get to see a bubble-like phenomenon trade tick for tick in real time," he said in a recent note to clients.

One Bitcoin supporter with a unique perspective on the boom-turned-to-bust might be Mike Caldwell, a 35-year-old software engineer based in suburban Utah. Caldwell mints physical versions of bitcoins at his residence, cranking out thousands of homemade tokens with codes protected by tamper-proof holographic seals - a retro-futuristic kind of prepaid cash.

His coins are stamped with the words "Vires in Numeris" - Latin for "Strength in Numbers."

Some may wonder whether Caldwell's coins will one day be among the few physical reminders of an expensive fad that evaporated into the ether.

When asked, Caldwell acknowledged that bitcoin might be in for a bumpy ride.

"The way I look at it is that there will be bugs and there will be minor issues from time to time," he said. But barring a complete unraveling of the currency's electronic architecture, he predicted that it would continue to grow.

"Bitcoins will either be worth nothing or worth a whole lot more than its current value," he said.

For Colas, the market strategist, the most important thing to keep in mind was that bitcoins suffer from the same weakness as any other form of money. If people increasingly believe they're not worth anything, then they're not worth anything - no matter how clever the currency's design.

"The future of bitcoin is, like all currencies, going to come down to trust," he said.

www.news.com (http://www.news.com.au/money/money-matters/bitcoin-crashes-hacker-currency-gets-wild-ride/story-e6frfmd9-1226618761314)

ribshaw
04-13-2013, 11:18 PM
I keep coming back to the trust issue with such a volatile currency. To be a legimate marketplace for goods and services people will need to know their transactions will be carried out. For instance someone can with reasonable certainty buy a car from Ebay and know it will be delivered. Craigslist, er not so much and CL is a lot Bitcoin. This pops up for CL in 10 tips to avoid being scammed. 4. NEVER USE ONLINE ESCROW. If someone insists on using an escrow website, cancel the transaction immediately. Online escrow sites are normally run by scammers.
10 Tips to Avoid Being Scammed On Craigslist (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10346884.htm)

There then becomes the problem of staying anonymous and dealing with a central clearing house at the same time. I am sure Drug Lords and Gun Smugglers have ways of dealing with payment disputes. But for the rest of the world that is relegated to 1 Star and a bunch of :RpS_mad: frowny faces next to a sellers name this dog doesn't hunt.

ribshaw
04-15-2013, 07:51 PM
And you have to love when stories like this hit the presses:

“I’ve got a friend who forgot he had his computer mining Bitcoins in his garage—he checked and it’s worth about $12 million today,” says Kenna, 30, who is chief executive officer of Tradehill.

Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires
Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires - Businessweek (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-10/meet-the-bitcoin-millionaires)

NikSam
04-16-2013, 10:52 AM
It is interesting to watch how mainstream media who recently pimped the Bitcoins went on defensive.

Oh now it is not good idea? really ? why did not you say so when you were so excited about it?


Bitcoin: Whatever It Is, It's Not Money! - Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2013/04/16/bitcoin-whatever-it-is-its-not-money/)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/opinion/krugman-the-antisocial-network.html?_r=0
Bitcoin's Wild Ride Shows It's Not Real Money - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-11/bitcoin-s-wild-ride-shows-its-not-real-money.html)

ribshaw
04-16-2013, 11:36 AM
It seems that once things like this hit the press the bubble is about to pop. Consider the introduction of the shows Bull, Black Gold, Property Ladder, and Gold Rush. Wait for Honey Boo Boo buys BitCoin and the bottom will fall out.

littleroundman
04-18-2013, 05:44 PM
Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor closes, gives its users their money back

18 April 13 by Ian Steadman (http://www.wired.co.uk/search/author/Ian+Steadman)

Bitcoin trading exchange Bitfloor (https://bitfloor.com/) has announced it is to "cease all trading operations indefinitely".

The exchange's founder, Roman Shtylman, has posted a message on the site's homepage. He writes: "Unfortunately, our US bank account is scheduled to be closed and we can no longer provide the same level of USD deposits and withdrawals as we have in the past. As such, I have made the decision to halt operations and return all funds."

He adds that "over the next days we will be working with all clients to ensure that everyone receives their funds".

Bitfloor has had an unfortunate history. In September 2012 it was the victim of what was the largest Bitcoin heist (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-09/06/bitcoin-heist) up to that point -- hackers gained access to unencrypted backups of the site's encrypted wallet keys and made off with 24,000 bitcoins. At the time those coins were worth roughly £160,000, but at the current exchange rate (as of writing) of £60, they'd be worth £1.44m.

Shtylman was openly apologetic about the security lapse, and had to take to the site's forum to urge users not to panic and withdraw their money. At the time that seemed to work, but now the site appears to no longer be practical.

Since the Bitcoin bubble burst last week (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/11/bitcoin-crash-loses-half-value), the value of the currency looks to have settled down after a wild few days of fluctuation. Mt Gox, which as the largest exchange acts as the de facto indicator of the current exchange rate, has been showing mild ups and downs between roughly £60 and £40 for almost a week now.

That's where it was before the mad spike of late March and early April, which saw it reach a high of more than £170 per bitcoin, briefly, before it crashed down again. While the bubble no doubt made a lot of money for some people (and lost a lot of money for many more), a return to a stable price can only be a good thing for the cryptocurrency's future as a practical payment method.

http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/a_c/bitcoincrash.jpg

Bitcoin bubble pops (a bit), halves in value, recovers slightly


Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor closes, gives its users their money back (Wired UK) (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/18/bitfloor-closes)

littleroundman
04-19-2013, 10:16 AM
Bitcoin - not quite a currency

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UfmknKLjOxI0kKy.8z2NQA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9Zml0O2g9Mjc-/http://l.yimg.com/os/689/2012/06/07/aaplogo-JPG_074450.jpg (http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/copyright/5071049/aap-copyright-notice/)
Bitcoin isn't a currency.

It looks like a currency, it sounds like a currency, but it isn't a currency.

For those unfamiliar with it, bitcoin is a system of electronically stored units, called bitcoins, which can be exchanged over the internet.

Additional bitcoins are issued in return for "mining" - data processing done by the computers that keep the heavily encrypted system going.

Much of the publicity surrounding bitcoin centres on its attractiveness for those involved in the drug trade and other clandestine activities.

As Bitcoin's web site says, "Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment systems."

But while bitcoins may appeal to money launderers and arms dealers, its attractiveness goes beyond that.

One aspect of its appeal is that it is not controlled by any government.

It's a sentiment that seems to resonate with the anti-government sentiment that's fashionable in some circles these days.

But it's right at this point that bitcoin fails the currency test.

At school and at university we are told a plausible story that currencies exist because they are a "store of value" that make trade convenient and allow societies to move beyond bartering one commodity directly for another.

But why do we in Australia use Australian dollars rather than, say, US dollars or clam shells.

The answer is simple.

When we earn an income, in whatever currency, we have to pay tax.

And we have to pay tax in Australian dollars.

If we don't, we go to jail.

That's why the Australian dollar is a currency and bitcoin is just a commodity.

The other aspect of the bitcoin's appeal is its limited supply.

The system is designed so that the supply of bitcoins rises at a predetermined rate, currently 25 bitcoins every 10 minutes.

That pace will slow, step by step, until supply reaches 21 million, a little less than twice its current level, in 2140.

That's a powerful attraction for those filled with libertarian zeal, who see the recent expansion of bank reserves by central banks like the US Federal Reserve as just more evidence of the malign nature of government.

Fiat money - money which is money simply because the government says it is - is routinely held up as a fraud or a scam, with governments debasing their money by expanding its supply willy-nilly, setting the scene for hyper-inflation.

But, to the rescue, here comes bitcoin, whose supply is fixed.

What better way to circumvent the fraudulent, money-debasing ways of the bureaucrats in (insert your nation's capital here)?

The problem - one that economists will spot right way - is that the idea that rapid growth in bank reserves inevitably causes inflation, even if it were true, applies to economies.

Economies, with governments and a real currency.

And bitcoins aren't tied to any economy.

Their value rises and falls according to the whims and fancies of those who might speculate in the market for them.

They are more like a precious metal than a currency, except even then, precious metals often have real uses.

Bitcoins, as University of Queensland professor John Quiggin put it recently, "are the most demonstrably valueless financial asset ever created".

Their fixed supply may give them the allure of "hard currencies", like the Deutschemark or Swiss franc of old.

But if no-one wants them, and no-one has to own them, their fixed supply will still be way too much and their value will fall to zero.

They will have become completely debased, without the involvement of any government.

Yahoo! Finance (http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-not-quite-currency-084602912.html)

littleroundman
04-21-2013, 07:58 PM
When you discover Bitcoin has its' own subforum on one of the "usual suspect" HYIP ponzi forums, you just KNOW it's unlikely to be taken seriously by anyone in the real world:

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/2157/bitcoin.jpg

trader
05-10-2013, 05:27 PM
When you discover Bitcoin has its' own subforum on one of the "usual suspect" HYIP ponzi forums, you just KNOW it's unlikely to be taken seriously by anyone in the real world:

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/2157/bitcoin.jpg

Believe JimParis of ChristianMoney.com likes them
James L. Paris Christian Financial Advice: Bitcoins: The Hot New Digital Currency (http://blog.christianmoney.com/2013/04/bitcoins-the-hot-new-digital-currency.html)

fromthehood
05-11-2013, 04:09 PM
"Jim Paris Discusses His New Book – How To Pray For A Financial Miracle" is his top video. Pretty far from Jesus teaching, is not it?

NikSam
05-30-2013, 09:00 PM
On May 14 U.S. District Court - District of Maryland issued a seizure warrant on a Dwolla account of Mt.Gox - the biggest exchanger of BitCoins.

Mt Gox Dwolla Warrant 5-14-13 (http://www.scribd.com/doc/141683565/Mt-Gox-Dwolla-Warrant-5-14-13)



Articles:
Feds Seize Assets of World's Largest Bitcoin Exchange (http://gawker.com/feds-seize-assets-of-worlds-largest-bitcoin-exchange-506790294)
Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Assets Seized - Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/mt-gox-bitcoin-exchange-shut-down-2013-5)

NikSam
05-30-2013, 11:12 PM
On March 18, FinCEN released a guidance that defines virtual and crypto currencies exchangers and administrators as Money Service Businesses (MSB),
which makes them a subject of required registration:
http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/pdf/FIN-2013-G001.pdf

REMARKS OF JENNIFER SHASKY CALVERY - FINCEN DIRECTOR: Prepared Remarks of FinCEN Director Shasky Calvery: National Cyber-Forensics Training Alliance CyFin 2013 Conference (http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/speech/html/20130416.html)

Tank
06-16-2013, 01:20 AM
This bitcoin excitement appears to becoming a trend. I am not sure I understand it all. Can someone explain the pros and cons as well as the risks and rewards? Thanks.

BoBosworth56
06-16-2013, 01:22 AM
It is definitely a scam.

BoBosworth56
06-16-2013, 01:46 AM
Very good chance this person is a troll!

ribshaw
06-16-2013, 11:01 AM
This bitcoin excitement appears to becoming a trend. I am not sure I understand it all. Can someone explain the pros and cons as well as the risks and rewards? Thanks.

This is probably a good place to start, you can lose yourself for hours in the treads if you choose. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php

Personally, I believe that it would need the same regulation, guarantees, and transparent markets as any other currency to become used in mass commerce. And at that point hasn't it lost a lot of the mystery behind it? I am sure you will always be able to buy water bongs and music downloads with these types of currencies. But in its current form I don't see many businesses that would enter into a ten year multimillion dollar contract payable in bitcoin.

littleroundman
06-25-2013, 02:51 AM
Cease and Desist, California Warns the Bitcoin Foundation

Although the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation doesn't serve as a Bitcoin exchange, it recently received a letter from the state of California warning that it "may be engaged in the business of money transmission without having obtained the license or proper authorization."

Said Jon Matoris of the foundation's board of directors, "the Bitcoin Foundation is not engaged in money transmission."

There's no denying that Bitcoins have caused considerable controversy since their appearance on the financial scene back in 2009, but recently the virtual currency encountered a new kind of obstacle.

Specifically, the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation -- which was created last year to help develop the currency's software -- received a letter from the California Department of Financial Institutions warning the group that it is a violation of state and federal law to be involved in money transmission without registering with the U.S. Treasury or California's Commissioner of Financial Institutions.

"It has come to the attention of the Commissioner that Bitcoin Foundation may be engaged in the business of money transmission without having obtained the license or proper authorization required by the California Financial Code," began the May 30 letter, which was posted Sunday on Forbes.

"YOU ARE HEREBY WARNED TO CEASE AND DESIST FROM CONDUCTING THE BUSINESS OF MONEY TRANSMISSION IN THIS STATE," added the letter, signed by State of California Senior Counsel Paul T. Crayton and copied to Department of Financial Institutions Deputy Commissioner Robert Venchiarutti.

If found to be in actual violation of the California Financial Code, the Bitcoin Foundation could be fined up to US$2,500 a day per violation and even face criminal prosecution.

'Meant to Be a Warning'

The Department of Financial Institutions downplayed the severity of the message, however.
"I want to clarify, the letter that is circulating is not a C&D," DFI spokesperson Alana Golden told the E-Commerce Times. "Some articles are calling it a C&D, which may be causing some confusion."

Rather, "it's a letter meant to be a warning to businesses or representatives that are unlicensed," Golden added. "The letters -- and C&Ds -- are communication between DFI and the recipient, and the goal is safety and soundness and compliance with the laws that DFI enforces."

Recipients of such letters "can contact DFI to discuss if the law applies to them or not," Golden added.
'An Opportunity to Educate'

Unlike Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which was just recently the target of a seizure order issued by the U.S. District Court in Maryland for failing to register as a money transmitting business, the Seattle-based Bitcoin Foundation is not actually a Bitcoin exchange.

"I can say that the Bitcoin Foundation is not engaged in money transmission," Jon Matoris, a member of the foundation's board of directors, told the E-Commerce Times. "We should view this as an opportunity to educate state regulators on issues related to the Bitcoin industry."

The group's official response is expected to be sent out this week by its law firm, he added.
"It would be premature for us to provide the press with an official position prior to our law firm's official response to California DFI," Matoris said.

A Revenue Gap

While the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network branch, which is responsible for monitoring electronic transactions involving currencies, has emphasized that companies in this market must be registered, individual users of virtual currencies remain exempt.

So, those buying and selling the currency needn't worry about receiving a similar warning letter. Regulators may, however, be looking to close the gap on those businesses involved in currency transmissions.

"Bitcoin is currency that is currently used as an alternative to cash and bypasses taxes," noted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "It is also heavily used by those versed in technology, and California has an inordinate amount of these folks.

"As a result, the traffic, or the adverse impact on taxes, became material and the state is attempting to close this revenue gap," Enderle told the E-Commerce Times.
'Too Successful'

"This won't be easy because of the very convoluted way in which Bitcoins are minted and controlled," Enderle added. "It is a very decentralized structure, and the laws and remedies were built around more traditional centrally controlled methods. This suggests laws will likely need to be changed and litigation methods refined to address this new currency model."

Either way, it's often said that as California goes, so goes the country, so if California pursues its warning further, other states will likely follow suit.

"I doubt California will be a lone player here, and once any cash alternative gets to critical mass, it is likely one or more governments will move to wrap them with process and taxes to protect revenues and citizens," Enderle predicted.
"Bitcoin's problem is it became too successful," he concluded. "That is what made it a target."

ECommerce Times.com (http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Cease-and-Desist-California-Warns-the-Bitcoin-Foundation-78351.html)

ribshaw
07-15-2013, 11:34 AM
A BitCoin ETF seems to call the top, but who knows in this saga. I actually found the discussion of the diamond ETF more interesting just based on valuation of a portfolio of diamonds.

Diamonds and Kazakhs and Bitcoins, Oh My: An ETF Parade Diamonds and Kazakhs and Bitcoins, Oh My: An ETF Parade - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-12/diamonds-and-kazakhs-and-bitcoins-oh-my-an-etf-parade.html)
By Eric Balchunas - Jul 12, 2013 2:06 PM ET

There are 982 exchange-traded funds waiting to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Index Universe. In other words, there are nearly as many ETFs in registration as there are in existence. The good news for investors who shudder at the thought of yet more ETFs to sort through: only some of these will become reality.

The bulk of these filings are plain-vanilla ‘me-too’ products. Others, such as the Guggenheim Small-Mid Cap BRIC ETF, offer a slight variation on products currently on the market. Then there are a few that stand out like peacocks in a flock of crows. Here are some of the more intriguing ETFs awaiting SEC approval, along with ticker suggestions from yours truly.

1. Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF

The Winklevoss Twins propose to create an ETF that tracks the bitcoin, the crypto-currency, the same way that the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) tracks gold. There has never been a more highly publicized ETF launch. The reason for the buzz are the three forces of nature coming together: the bitcoin, the ETF and the Winklevoss Twins.

Unfortunately for the Winklevii, most of those articles panned the filing, citing the dozens of risks outlined in 18 pages of the prospectus, such as possibility of government regulation, security concerns and the twin's lack of experience managing a trust.

Ticker possibilities: WINK, COIN, WTF

2. IndexIQ Physical Diamond Trust

This ETF would store diamonds in a small vault in Antwerp, Belgium, similar to the way gold is stored in a very large vault in London for GLD. There’s nothing like this fund on the market. The closest thing out there is the PureFunds Diamond/Gemstone ETF (GEMS), which tracks companies involved in the diamond business.

The biggest question here: How to value diamonds and make a net asset value investors can believe in? If the ETF can answer that question and establish a logical system, it could be attractive to commodity investors looking for an alternative to gold.

Ticker possibilities: ROCK, IDO

NikSam
07-18-2013, 07:21 AM
did not those Winklevoss clowns claim they own 1% of all Bitcoins ?

And I believe they bought them when bitcoin was in high $260 :)

trying to save your ass and pimp it up with ETF ? heh :)
or just to make publicity news to pump it up ?

Who would be a dumb underwriter to consider it a good idea ?

littleroundman
07-23-2013, 07:42 PM
Man charged in alleged Bitcoin scam

SEC warns of Bitcoin scams, accuses Texas man of Ponzi scheme

(Reuters) - A Texas man ran a Ponzi scheme through the virtual online money system called Bitcoin, pocketing some of his investors' proceeds for his personal expenses and gambling, securities regulators charged on Tuesday, warning that the rise of such digital currencies could lead to more frauds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement that Trendon Shavers, 30, of McKinney, Texas, and his company Bitcoin Savings & Trust used money from new investors to cover withdrawals by other investors and his own expenses.

He raised at least 700,000 Bitcoin, or $4.5 million, from investors in multiple states, the SEC said.

Attempts to reach Shavers or find a representative were unsuccessful. The agency is moving to freeze Shavers' assets and seeking other relief, including financial penalties.

Bitcoin, which is not managed by any one company or government, is a relatively new phenomenon that exists through an open-source software program. Users can buy Bitcoin through exchanges that convert real money into the virtual currency.

In its statement about the Shavers case, the SEC on Tuesday also said it issued an alert warning investors to be on the lookout for scams involving virtual currencies.

"We are concerned that the rising use of virtual currencies in the global marketplace may entice fraudsters to lure investors into Ponzi and other schemes," the SEC said.

Less regulatory oversight and supposed greater privacy of virtual currencies compared with conventional ones could make virtual currencies more attractive to scammers, the agency said.

The U.S. government in May seized two accounts linked to a large Bitcoin operator, Tokyo-based exchange Mt. Gox.

Also in May, U.S. prosecutors filed an indictment against the operators of digital currency exchange Liberty Reserve, accusing the Costa Rica-based company of helping criminals around the world to launder more than $6 billion in illicit funds.

Bitcoin grabbed headlines in early July when Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins famous for having alleged that Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea that became Facebook Inc, applied to the SEC to launch a Bitcoin-tracking exchange-traded product (ETP) called the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust.

It is unclear whether the SEC's concerns about Bitcoin laid out in its investor alert on Tuesday could pose a problem for that offering.

The application is currently being reviewed by the SEC's Corporation Finance Division. That division reviews applications to ensure they meet SEC filing guidelines but cannot reject one based on the offering's merits.

However, once an exchange applies to list the ETP, another division in the SEC that oversees trading and markets can explore whether a Bitcoin product is viable or potentially vulnerable to manipulation.

The price of Bitcoin rose slightly to $96.50 during early Tuesday afternoon trading, after ending Monday at midnight at $93.

Reuters.com (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/23/us-sec-bitcoin-idUSBRE96M0SI20130723)

ribshaw
08-05-2013, 08:39 PM
I will go on a limb and say Ponzi. I would buy that in an inefficient market like Bitcoin was that skilled traders could grind out nice returns. What I don't buy is they have been using their "system" for two years and are now taking in investors AND making the system public. That seems almost laughable, then throw in the whole unlicensed securities thing and it ends one way. :crying_2:


Looking inside BitEnsure: Bitcoin savings account or Ponzi scheme? Looking inside BitEnsure: Bitcoin savings account or Ponzi scheme? (http://www.coindesk.com/looking-inside-bitensure-bitcoin-savings-account-or-ponzi-scheme/)
Published On August 5, 2013 at 11:12 BST | By David Gilson | Companies, Investors, News, Trading

Recently launched BitEnsure claims to be a new “bitcoin savings account”. In the wake of the SEC’s recent charging of Trendon Shavers for operating a bitcoin Ponzi scheme, it’s a contentious claim. CoinDesk interviewed the founder to find out more.

BitEnsure promises guaranteed returns on set-term deposits of ten bitcoins or more. The new company is backed by a team of traders and programmers who have been developing the Metaneural trading system for a number of years. We spoke to Metaneural’s John Jones to find out how this bitcoin savings account works.

The people behind BitEnsure are primarily traders. BitEnsure is their attempt at branching out into the bitcoin world by offering a traditional savings account. The thought that may occur to many bitcoin enthusiasts is that a savings account is so far the preserve of fiat banks which operate on a fractional reserve system.

For those who don’t know, fractional reserve banking is the process by where fiat banks do not hold sufficient funds to cover all of the deposits made by its customers. This is why the nightmare scenario for any bank is the classic “run on the banks” where nearly all the customers decide (usually in a state of panic) to withdraw their funds at once.

Jones stated that the company will not be using such a system, and customers effectively have a certificate of deposit and that the company has a cache of bitcoin to back up customer deposits. Jones also stated that in the event that the company has a catastrophic drain on its main bitcoin account, it has a backup of all customer deposits too.

BitEnsure also serves as a bitcoin mixing service. Jones told us the company never uses the same address twice, so it’s almost impossible to track bitcoin through its system, given that bitcoins leave BitEnsure to fund the group’s trading activities elsewhere. This provides an interesting option considering that BitEnsure charges no fees, compared to the Blockchain.info’s mixing service that takes 0.5%.

To elaborate on the trading activities of the BitEnsure team, their other company is called Metaneural, which is (so I’m told) a neural network automated trading system. While other exchanges allow users to automate trades by placing buy and sell orders on an “if this then that” basis, Jones explained to me that Metaneural’s system searches for patterns in the market and makes decisions on its own as to when it should enter and exit a market and with what volume. This software is sold to third-party clients. Metaneural’s forex performance can be seen over on MyFXBook.com.

“We have been using it for a few years now, but only made it public earlier this year. We like to test everything, obviously, just to make sure that it actually works and gives the profits that we profess. It’s been in the works for a while and we’re very proud of it.”

He went on to tell us: “We’re doing a little over 30% a year, which in the forex world doesn’t sound like much, but when you get into the 140% or 1000% that a lot of other people are promising, it’s probably not real. If you’re being very safe and you’re not over leveraging yourself, 30% is a very good profit margin for a year.”

investmentAs for what customers can expect, there is a minimum investment of 1 BTC. I asked Jones if this minimum would change, and he said that it would only change if bitcoin became super inflated, so as to not lock people out of the service.

The BitEnsure website shows that there are several saving plans, each with their own minimum fixed term. I asked Jones what would happen if a customer needed to urgently withdraw their funds. He answered that there is an emergency withdrawal system, where funds will be released during an active term, but will be subject to a penalty charge.

Understandably, there has been a somewhat negative reception to BitEnsure on the bitcoin forums, with several users suggesting that it is merely another scam.

Jones was quick to emphasise his company’s transparency in response: “I’d say it’s really a trust sort of business that we’re in. If we cheat our customers we can’t continue to do business. I know the current news about the Ponzi scheme, which was called Bitcoin Savings and Trust, has made a lot of people very sceptical, which is totally understandable. But the difference between what he was doing and what we’re doing is that we’re a lot more transparent. We’re telling you how much profit you’re going to make, where it’s coming from and we are an established business with a reputation. I’d say it comes down to giving it a try and trusting that we wouldn’t put all this effort into something that we want to fail.”

As for customers “giving it a try”, I asked Jones how many customers had signed up so far in the week since BitEnsure’s launch and he replied “over a hundred”.

littleroundman
08-08-2013, 01:44 AM
U.S. judge says SEC can pursue Bitcoin-related lawsuit

(Reuters) - U.S. regulators got the green light from a federal judge to proceed with their lawsuit against a Texas man accused of running a Ponzi scheme using Bitcoin, the virtual online money system.

Trendon Shavers of Bitcoin Savings & Trust had challenged the Securities and Exchange Commission's case against him, saying the regulator had no jurisdiction to sue him because the Bitcoin investments he offered are not securities or subject to any U.S. regulation.

But U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzant in the Eastern District of Texas ruled on Tuesday that his Bitcoin investments "meet the definition of investment contract, and as such, are securities."

Bitcoin exists through an open-source software program. It is not managed by any one company, it is not regulated by any central bank, and its supply is controlled through a computer algorithm. Users can buy bitcoins through exchanges that convert real money into the virtual currency.

The SEC warned investors against the dangers of potential scams involving virtual currencies like Bitcoin in an alert on July 23, the same day it filed the charges against Shavers.

Tuesday's ruling could have important implications for the still murky legal world surrounding digital currencies, which is not regulated by the United States.

Bitcoin has come under greater scrutiny after U.S. authorities in May seized two accounts linked to a major operator in the Bitcoin digital market.

The judge's decision could be important for Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins who became famous after alleging that Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their website idea.

In early July, they applied to the SEC for approval to launch a Bitcoin-tracking exchange-traded product known as the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust.

The SEC alleges that Shavers essentially used money from new investors in his Bitcoin endeavor to cover withdrawals by older investors and his own personal expenses.

The agency said he raised at least 700,000 bitcoins, or $4.5 million, from investors in multiple states.

Shavers had asserted that his Bitcoin investments are not securities because Bitcoin is not money, but the SEC countered that they constituted both investment contracts and notes.

"It is clear that Bitcoin can be used as money," the judge wrote. "It can be used to purchase goods or services."

Shavers could not be immediately reached for comment.



Read the original article on REUTERS.com (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/06/us-court-sec-bitcoin-idUSBRE97517G20130806)

ribshaw
08-13-2013, 03:30 PM
Bitcoin comes under scrutiny from New York regulators Bitcoin comes under scrutiny from New York regulators | Internet & Media - CNET News (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57598220-93/bitcoin-comes-under-scrutiny-from-new-york-regulators/)

The state's Department of Financial Services issues several subpoenas to companies and people associated with virtual currencies, including Marc Andreessen and the Winklevoss twins.
Dara Kerr
by Dara Kerr
August 12, 2013 4:52 PM PDT

(Credit: CNET)

New York state regulators are seeking more information on Bitcoin and other virtual currencies to both regulate and add extra safeguards to the nascent industry. The state's Department of Financial Services issued subpoenas to about 12 people and companies that have been associated with virtual currencies, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The subpoenas, which legally require people or companies to hand over information, were issued to venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, the Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss twins, Coinbase, BitInstant, Coinsetter, and others. According to the Journal, the DFS is especially looking for information on antimony-laundering programs, consumer-protection measures, and investment strategies.

Of all virtual currencies, Bitcoin is probably the most well-known. While it's been around since 2009, it didn't really get going until 2011 when it was worth $2 per coin. By 2013, the currency had climbed to $20 per coin, and then jumped to $266 in April. Now it's hovering around $100.

Digital currencies aren't regulated, which is what worries federal and state regulators. The virtual money can be manipulated or used to launder other types of money. Also, an all-digital currency allows people to evade various countries' currency controls with ease. It also, in at least some ways, is far more anonymous than moving cash through the legacy banking system.

In addition to the subpoenas, the DFS issued a public memo on Monday that detailed the state's concern with the growth of virtual currencies.

"We have also seen instances where the cloak of anonymity provided by virtual currencies has helped support dangerous criminal activity, such as drug smuggling, money laundering, gun running, and child pornography," department head Benjamin Lawsky wrote in the memo. "If virtual currencies remain a virtual Wild West for narcotraffickers and other criminals, that would not only threaten our country's national security, but also the very existence of the virtual currency industry as a legitimate business enterprise."

Related stories

Android-based Bitcoin digital wallets vulnerable to theft
Bitcoin is a legitimate form of 'currency,' a federal judge rules
SEC accuses Texas man of running Bitcoin Ponzi scheme
Winklevoss twins work to make Bitcoin more legit with SEC filing
Bitcoin Foundation ordered to cease operations in California

Lawsky says the DFS is considering the creation of new regulatory guidelines specifically for virtual currencies, which would include requiring safety and soundness for prompt transactions, taking measures to "root out illegal activity," and creating procedures for greater transparency and accountability.

When Bitcoin first began to gain traction, U.S. federal regulators issued their own set of guidelines for virtual currencies. Since then, several of the virtual currency exchanges have registered with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Giving even more legitimacy to the currencies, a federal judge ruled in a fraud case last week that Bitcoins are "a currency or form of money" and are subject to U.S. laws.

But it's a different process for virtual currencies to get a license in individual states, according to the Journal. So far, states are making different decisions on how they want to go about regulating Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. New York has been on the forefront of taking a closer look at the industry.

"It is in the common interest of both the public and the virtual currency industry to bring virtual currencies out of the darkness and into the light of day through enhanced transparency," Lawsky wrote. "It is vital to put in place appropriate safeguards for consumers and law-abiding citizens."

Joe_Shmoe
08-20-2013, 05:34 PM
Some scumbag trying to jump on the Bitcoin Bandwagon.

Little Jamie Waters

5630

littleroundman
10-02-2013, 10:43 PM
Bitcoin sinks in value after FBI busts Silk Road drug market

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The price of the bitcoin digital currency dropped on Wednesday, after U.S. law enforcement authorities shut down Silk Road, an online marketplace used to buy and sell illegal drugs.

The bitcoin, valued by many for its anonymity, fell to $129 from over $140 a day before, according to a website for trading bitcoins, Mt.Gox.

Earlier, the currency traded as low as $110.

Supporters say using bitcoins offers benefits including lower fraud risk and increased privacy, though critics argue the anonymity it offers makes the currency a magnet for drug transactions, money-laundering and other illegal activities.

The digital currency's drop came after the FBI arrested alleged Silk Road owner Ross William Ulbricht, 29, known as "Dread Pirate Roberts," on Tuesday in San Francisco.

Silk Road allowed tech-savvy sellers to post ads for drugs and other illegal products, which they sold for bitcoins and shipped to customers through the mail, according to the federal criminal charges filed against Ulbricht.

As well as Silk Road shoppers, drug traffickers who worried about the FBI tracking them down with data confiscated from Ulbricht may account for some of Wednesday's bitcoin selloff, said Garth Bruen, a security expert at Internet consumer group Digital Citizens Alliance.

"They're going to be pouring all over his records, getting subpoenas for every piece of data and account he has ever used and trying to figure out who all these different dealers are," said Bruen. "People are jumping ship."

While bitcoins, which are not backed by a government or central bank, have begun to gain a footing among some businesses and consumers, they have yet to become an accepted form of payment on the websites of major retailers such as Amazon.com.

The charges against Ulbricht said that Silk Road generated sales of more than 9.5 million bitcoins, roughly equivalent to $1.2 billion. There are currently about 11.8 million bitcoins in circulation.

With Ulbricht's arrest, authorities said they seized $3.6 million worth of bitcoins.

Gregg
10-09-2013, 04:05 PM
Bitcoin?

Indulge me a moment.

Bitcoin are created by an anonymous source, backed by nothing (except the next bigger fool theory, see Tulip Bulbs) and the actual act of creation follows the completion of mind boggling hard mathematical problems on decentralized servers.

Now, just exactly what purpose does solving these math problems serve? Who could use this data that otherwise couldn't generate it?

One theory is that the whole thing is created and run by the NSA as a back door into an underground economy, and if you think about it, that is right up their alley. Who knows?

But what I think is a much more interesting idea is that a nation, like North Korea perhaps, or a terrorist organization, that does not have access to a high end Cray Supercomputer, has parceled out the modelling and simulation involved in the design and testing of thermonuclear weapons and is using bitcoin mining to do the work for them.

The fact is we just don't know.

Nourjan
10-09-2013, 09:00 PM
Bitcoin?

Indulge me a moment.

Bitcoin are created by an anonymous source, backed by nothing (except the next bigger fool theory, see Tulip Bulbs) and the actual act of creation follows the completion of mind boggling hard mathematical problems on decentralized servers.

Now, just exactly what purpose does solving these math problems serve? Who could use this data that otherwise couldn't generate it?

One theory is that the whole thing is created and run by the NSA as a back door into an underground economy, and if you think about it, that is right up their alley. Who knows?

But what I think is a much more interesting idea is that a nation, like North Korea perhaps, or a terrorist organization, that does not have access to a high end Cray Supercomputer, has parceled out the modelling and simulation involved in the design and testing of thermonuclear weapons and is using bitcoin mining to do the work for them.

The fact is we just don't know.

Perhaps you should give us a tinfoil alert for that.

littleroundman
10-26-2013, 04:41 AM
$28 million in BitCoin digital currency seized by US authorities (http://www.realscam.com/newthread.php?do=postthread&f=37)

littleroundman
11-08-2013, 05:04 AM
Australian Bitcoin bank hacked: $1m+ stolen

A four-month-old Australian Bitcoin bank holding more than $1 million has been hacked, leaving thousands of customers in the lurch including a man who claims he was holding the virtual currency to buy a house with his girlfriend.The alleged hacking happened on both October 23 and 26, with the service's operator, known only as "Tradefortress (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=f1tasqdikruspupff2eab6a263&action=profile;u=67058)", saying hackers stole all 4100 Bitcoins held by the wallet service, or $1.3 million at the time of writing.

The Bitcoins were stored on servers in the US and it wasn't until this week that he decided to notify customers.

The incident again raises questions as to whether Bitcoin is a viable, stable and secure currency.

Bitcoin is a decentralised, crypto-currency, free from any government or central bank control. Electronic transactions can be virtually anonymous, with the currency bought and sold at online exchanges.

Tradefortress, a young Sydney man who told ABC News he was over 18, but only just, refused to give his real name to Fairfax Media.

He offered the wallet service through a website called Inputs.io. The Inputs.io domain is registered to a person with a landline based at a block of flats in Water Street, Hornsby, NSW, according to Fairfax searches.

The site claimed to be "one of the most secure web wallets on the market" and charged customers a small fee to store their coins.
As well as utilising two-factor authentication and location-based email confirmation, it claimed it was set-up to prevent "the hack of Bitcoins even if the web server was compromised".

It now seems that claim has been proven untrue, with Tradefortress telling users on the site: "I don't recommend storing any Bitcoins accessible on computers connected to the internet."

In an email interview with Fairfax, he said he would try to refund some of the hacked money using more than 1000 Bitcoins he personally owned and some not taken by hackers.

"Users are being repaid up to 100 per cent depending on the amount (sliding scale), generally 40-75 per cent," Tradefortress said.

"I won't have any Bitcoins left after this, except for a small amount of commemorative physical coins."

He said the hackers who made off with his customers' coins were able to bypass the two-factor authentication securing the server hosting them "due to a flaw".

"The attacker compromised the hosting account through compromising email accounts (some very old, and without phone numbers attached, so it was easy to reset)," Tradefortress said.

Because of the hacking incident, he said some users would probably lose trust in Bitcoin.

"I think that's likely - we haven't seen any extremely sophisticated Bitcoin malware, however advanced malware that infects the computer you use to send [Bitcoins] can steal [them] from external hard drives [and the] browser."

He said he won't be reporting the incident to law enforcement because there were "extremely limited actions" it could undertake considering the currency can't be easily traced.

Many of Input.io's users were "quite understanding" of what had happened, Tradefortress said.

"I've received a lot of comforting support, but there's also ugly responses. It's quite different from the reactions of non-customers."

The ugly responses were from users who accused Tradefortress of making up the hacking story.

"Some people think I have their money. I don't and I'm using my personal coins to compensate users, yet there's some ugly messages I'm receiving."

A sad face emoticon now sits at the top of the Inputs.io site, with text telling users that the hacking has "left Inputs.io unable to pay all user balances".

"I know this doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry, and saying that I'm very sad that this happened is an understatement," the notice says.

A customer wrote on Twitter that they had lost four Bitcoins as part of the heist, worth about $1216 today.

"I was the victim of part of a $1.2 million Bitcoin hack of an online wallet, inputs.io. If I'm lucky I'll get my principal back in a refund," wrote Marco Martoccia (@sheet_metal).

"I still have one ninth of my Bitcoin. I dunno how to feel," he added.

Martoccia told Fairfax he was planning on using the Bitcoins as a deposit for a house.

"I hope to get my Bitcoins back some day," he said. "I was [going to] use [them] to buy a house and start a family with my girlfriend in six years.

"Four Bitcoins isn't a lot, but it was everything to me."

Martoccia said he stored his Bitcoins on Inputs.io because he believed it would be safer than storing them on his own computer.

"On the surface it seems safer to keep Bitcoins in a bank [like Inputs.io]. I know people can just hack my computer, so I guess they're still vulnerable, even in that case. And paper wallets can be plain lost!'

Ty Miller, director of Australian IT security firm Threat Intelligence, said the underlying problem with online Bitcoin wallets was lack of regulation.

"The users of Inputs.io were trusting a random person with their money rather than in the real world when you're dealing with cash, where you trust banks to look after your money," he said.

"They're more likely to become compromised because they're not being audited in the same way that those financial organisations are."

The Reserve Bank of Australia declined to comment.

Miller said there were ways to secure Bitcoins to try to avoid fraud or theft.

"But it's really at this stage a personal effort to do that."

He recommended storing coins with a strong password on a device not connected to the internet, using hard-drive encryption and anti-virus.

For extra protection, storing the device in a secure room or safe was also recommended. When it came time to using the Bitcoins online, the amount needed could be transferred to an internet-connected computer, he said.

At the time of writing, one Bitcoin was worth $A309 or $US292.9 - up from around $US50 in mid-March. There are 11,925,700 million Bitcoins in circulation.

littleroundman
11-08-2013, 06:20 AM
New Silk Road drug bazaar opens a month after FBI bust

Reuters) - A new anonymous Internet marketplace for illegal drugs debuted on Wednesday, with the same name and appearance as the Silk Road website shut down by U.S. law enforcement authorities a month ago.

Like its predecessor, the new Silk Road listed hundreds of advertisements for marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and other illegal drugs available for purchase from independent sellers using the anonymous Bitcoin digital currency.

On October 1, the Federal Bureau of Investigation shut down the original Silk Road and arrested its alleged mastermind, Ross William Ulbricht, 29, known online as "Dread Pirate Roberts," in San Francisco.

"It took the FBI two-and-a-half years to do what they did ... but four weeks of temporary silence is all they got," a site administrator wrote, also using the "Dread Pirate Roberts" moniker.

The FBI declined to comment on the new version of the Silk Road. For more than two years, the original site acted like an eBay of vice, allowing users to buy and sell illegal goods and services on the assumption that they were safe from the law. Deliveries were made through the mail in discrete packages.

U.S. authorities also say Ulbricht had tried to call out a hit on a user who had threatened to expose the identities of thousands of Silk Road users.

Ulbricht's lawyer on Wednesday said his client would plead not guilty to drug trafficking, hacking and money laundering charges.

The charges against Ulbricht said his website generated sales of more than 9.5 million Bitcoins, roughly equivalent to $1.2 billion.

The new website improves on technology from the previous Silk Road meant to keep identities secret, including measures to keep users from losing their Bitcoins in case the site shuts down, according to the new Dread Pirate Roberts.

Senator Tom Carper, a top lawmaker on the Homeland Security committee, who plans to hold a hearing on digital currencies this month, said the new Silk Road site shows that government needs to adapt to fast-moving technology.

"Rather than play 'whack-a-mole' with the latest website, currency, or other method criminals are using in an effort to evade the law, we need to develop thoughtful, nimble and sensible federal policies that protect the public without stifling innovation and economic growth," Carper said in a statement.

A week after authorities shut down the Silk Road, British police said they arrested four men accused of being significant users of the site.

Two weeks ago, federal prosecutors said 144,336 Bitcoins were discovered on Ulbricht's confiscated computer, adding to more than 30,000 Bitcoins previously seized.

With the digital currency trading at an all-time high on Wednesday, those Bitcoins were worth close to $50 million, according to the Mt Gox trading website.

Like the original Silk Road, users access the new site using a no-cost, anti-surveillance service known as the Tor network instead of traditional web browsers.

The relaunched Silk Road will soon hire staff to handle marketing for the site, the administrator mentioned in his post.

"The Silk Road has risen once more. ... Open communication with your old suppliers and customers, let this wonderful news be taken to all corners of the Tor Network and beyond," the person wrote.

Reuters.com (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/07/us-crime-silkroad-idUSBRE9A608I20131107)

ribshaw
11-15-2013, 09:11 AM
Like moths to the flame...


Hong Kong bitcoin site said to have been a Ponzi scheme


A Chinese trading website for the virtual currency bitcoin which was unexpectedly shut down and caused losses in the millions of renminbi for users, was allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme, Shanghai's China Business News Daily reports.

Nearly 200 users joined an online group within six hours after they found they could no longer access the Hong Kong-registered bitcoin trading site Global Bond Limited on Oct. 26.

According to unofficial estimates, the number of users affected by the website's closure was around 500, and their combined losses may exceed 20 million yuan (US$3.28 million), the newspaper said.

Several users also went to the police for help, although law enforcement authorities in different jurisdictions have different methods of handling the individual cases.

Local authorities in Shanghai have not decided on the nature of the cases, which are currently being handled by the economic crime unit, while a user in Kunshan in Jiangsu province said local police consider such cases to be embezzlement rather than fraud.

A Hong Kong government website shows that the Global Bond Limited website was registered on June 10 as a company that operates several businesses including virtual currency exchange, investment consulting, and international trade. However, since it did not acquire any license to operate financial services, its website, which facilitated the trading of bitcoin, was likely in violation of Hong Kong's anti-money laundering laws and securities and futures regulations, the newspaper said.

One of the services that helped the website attract a large number of users, according to experienced bitcoin traders, was the trading of futures contracts for the virtual currency, which allowed returns of up to 10 times the original stake.

Moreover, the design of the website's trading mechanism, left loopholes that users could exploit and profit from, which also led to suspicion among some users, who had pulled out early as a result.

That the website hired brokers to help promote the website, has been described as similar to the operation of a pyramid scheme, the newspaper said.

An official with another bitcoin trading site, BTC China, told the daily that it is risky to trade in derivative products of the virtual currency, when the currency itself is not officially recognized by the government.

Hong Kong bitcoin site said to have been a Ponzi scheme (http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20131115000043&cid=1103)

littleroundman
11-22-2013, 09:50 AM
Silk Road mastermind 'spent $794,000 on six failed murder bids'

IT WAS almost the Silk Road to serial murder.
Ross Ulbricht — the scrawny alleged mastermind of a notorious anonymous drug bazaar called the Silk Road — spent $730,000 on a failed attempt to have six of his perceived enemies bumped off, federal prosecutors said in asking successfully that he remain held without bail, The New York Post reported (http://nypost.com/2013/11/21/silk-road-mastermind-spent-730k-on-6-failed-murder-bids/).

Ulbricht's supposed contract-hit currency of choice? Bitcoins, the feds allege, the same encrypted, digital coins of the realm that made Silk Road transactions devilishly tough to trace.

"It is not just fantasy — there was $US730,000 ($794,000) that this man spent to kill six people," Assistant US Attorney Serrin Turner told the judge in a packed Manhattan courtroom.

Turner said that his office has evidence that some $US80,000 of the alleged hit loot was paid out through wired cash, with the rest paid through the virtual currency, Turner said.

The recipients of this windfall and the six intended victims were not described or named; prosecutors have previously accused Ulbricht of trying to kill just two people.

As added incentive for the judge to withhold bail, the prosecutor claimed in court that Ulbricht — who allegedly moved mass quantities of drugs, including hundreds of kilos of heroin, through transactions as easy as in ordinary online shopping — was trying to become a citizen of "several' Caribbean countries, including Dominica.

Bogus documents Ulbricht sent in pursuit of those alternate citizenships were intercepted by Customs, the prosecutor said.

Ulbricht also allegedly had enough fake IDs for least ten aliases.

"He spent the last three years evading law enforcement and leading a double life," Turner said. "People around him had no idea what he was up to. He thumbed his nose at law enforcement."

Ulbricht was prepared Thursday to post $1 million in bail, through his parents, who "are willing to put up everything they have," offered defense lawyer Josh Dratel.

More than a dozen people have sent letters on his behalf, the lawyer added, in arguing for bail. Ulbricht is also traveling and living in LA under his real name, the lawyer said.

"The actual facts establish that he is not a risk of flight," he said.

But Magistrate Judge Kevin Fox said that regardless of the letters of support, "the accused has attempted to secure the murder of several people," and has "the means to flee."

Whip
11-22-2013, 10:03 AM
Would that be a perceived $1,000,000 in bitcoins for bail? lol

laidback
11-22-2013, 10:56 AM
Would that be a perceived $1,000,000 in bitcoins for bail? lol
Nah, he was probably planning on Liberty Reserve...;->

littleroundman
11-25-2013, 09:13 PM
How thieves stole $1 million in bitcoins from a 'Bitcoin bank'

Hackers have broken into a bitcoin bank, wiping out customers' wallets. Now the affected company has explained their tactics.

Thieves have broken into a company that stores bitcoins for people and stolen $1 million worth of digital currency.

The crooks walked away with 1,295 bitcoins from BIPs, one of Europe’s biggest bitcoin payment processors, founder and CEO Kris Henriksen, told his customers via a post to the company's online forums.

That's about $990,00 based on today's value of Bitcoins on Coindesk (about $760 per coin).

BIPs offered a service that lets merchants accept bitcoins and exchange them into other currencies.

As part of that service, it stored people's bitcoins for free in what's known as a bitcoin wallet.

That's akin to a bank account. Hackers broke into that service on Friday and wiped out people's wallets, Henriksen said.

The company explained how the hackers broke in: First they created what's known as a denial of service attack, which is when computers on the Internet send a website so many hits that the website can't handle all the traffic and it shuts down.

That hack let them discover a weakness in the website.

Then they did a second attack two days later, broke into company's network, controlled the company's computer storage systems where the bitcoins were stored, and transferred the money into their own bitcoin wallet, Henriksen said in his blog post.

After the robbery, Henriksen tried to shrug off some of the blame, telling his customers, "Web Wallets are like a regular wallet that you carry cash in and not meant to keep large amounts in."

Needless to say, the people who were using BPS's free web wallet to store their Bitcoins are not happy that they were robbed.

Yahoo Finance (http://au.pfinance.yahoo.com/education/forex/article/-/20022324/How-thieves-stole-1-million-in-bitcoins-from-a-Bitcoin-bank)

ribshaw
11-26-2013, 09:11 AM
[B][SIZE=1][I][B]
Needless to say, the people who were using BPS's free web wallet to store their Bitcoins are not happy that they were robbed.


This is quickly turning in to the online version of a case full of diamonds. The things that people are trying to avoid by using Bitcoin are the very reasons we now have well regulated banks and organized exchanges. It will be interesting to see when the first bank run hits how the system handles it.

Although, I will admit the run up in value has gone a lot further than I ever would have imagined. I fully expected a crash when Bitcoin started to make the main stream press.

NikSam
11-26-2013, 10:13 AM
... I fully expected a crash when Bitcoin started to make the main stream press.

But there is always China.

Shh, US is paying it's national debt to China in bitcoins, do not tell anyone, they need to think its good ****.

busttheblock
11-26-2013, 07:23 PM
You can see the ponzi pimp Brian Spatola whining about his investment he made in the very questionable "currency". It really is too funny to watch a pimp whine!
Bitbillions - Bitbillions.com (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=437053&view=findpost&p=8070727)

Looks like he is getting exactly what he deserves.

littleroundman
11-26-2013, 07:51 PM
When the serial ponzi pimps start complaining on the usual suspect HYIP ponzi forums, you just KNOW the writing is on the wall:

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b508/cabanefeline/Scams/brian_zpse95942ea.jpg

Brian Spatola whining on the MMG HYIP ponzi forum (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Bitbillions-Bitbillions-t437053.html&view=findpost&p=8070727#entry8070727)

Poetic justice at its' finest.

Nourjan
11-26-2013, 09:05 PM
Although, I will admit the run up in value has gone a lot further than I ever would have imagined. I fully expected a crash when Bitcoin started to make the main stream press.

That or the bubble would grow even larger when the general masses began to pour more money into bitcoin, I wonder how "loud" the pop will be when it eventually burst.

Ironically this is what some strong proponents of bitcoin would have wanted.Some of them believed that the current worth of bitcoin to be artificial and that this cryptocurrency needs to be severely devalued for it to serve its original purposes.



You can see the ponzi pimp Brian Spatola whining about his investment he made in the very questionable "currency". It really is too funny to watch a pimp whine!
Bitbillions - Bitbillions.com (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=437053&view=findpost&p=8070727)

Looks like he is getting exactly what he deserves.

When the serial ponzi pimps start complaining on the usual suspect HYIP ponzi forums, you just KNOW the writing is on the wall:

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b508/cabanefeline/Scams/brian_zpse95942ea.jpg

Brian Spatola whining on the MMG HYIP ponzi forum (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Bitbillions-Bitbillions-t437053.html&view=findpost&p=8070727#entry8070727)

Poetic justice at its' finest.

I think we need to be careful to separate bitcoin and the ponzis(don't we already have a separate thread for bitbillions?) that uses them/ purportedly investing in them.

Blue Wolf
11-30-2013, 05:36 PM
Bummer!

$9M Bitcoin haul buried in U.K. rubbish tip - Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/9m-bitcoin-haul-buried-u-160800943.html)


$9M Bitcoin haul buried in U.K. rubbish tip

CNNMoney.com
By Virginia Harrison
November 29, 2013 11:08 AM


Hoarders everywhere may be feeling smug after a British man threw a hard drive containing more than $9 million in bitcoin into the trash.

The device is now buried under a mountain of garbage at a landfill site in Wales. It will be almost impossible to find.

James Howells got rid of the drive, which holds a digital store of 7,500 bitcoins, between June and August this year.

The IT worker mined the virtual currency four years ago when it was the exclusive domain of tech geeks.

Back then bitcoin was worth very little. On Friday, the cryptocurrency broke through $1,200, making the missing hard drive worth around $9 million.

Howells had been hanging onto it for several years before deciding to clean up his home.

After discovering the mistake late last week, a "devastated" Howells began a frantic search through computer files and other drives for a backup. There isn't one.

A trip to the garbage dump was the only option.

"As soon as I saw the site, I thought you've got no chance. The area covered is huge," he told CNN.

A spokesperson for Newport City Council said an item thrown away in the summer months would now be buried under 25,000 cubic meters of waste and earth.

The council, which operates the dump, said it has helped retrieve items in some circumstances "but this would have to be done very quickly after it was thrown away."

Howells said he's had all sorts of suggestions emailed to him about how to get the drive back.

But well-meaning individuals shouldn't bother heading to the tip on his behalf - it's closed to the public for safety reasons.

Speculators have helped power bitcoin's dazzling rise this year.

A growing number of businesses now accept bitcoins, including some Subway sandwich shops and Richard Branson's Virgin Galatic space travel venture, though critics claim it's unlikely to become a legitimate currency.

The program behind bitcoin was created anonymously and introduced on the internet in 2010. Unlike traditional money, bitcoins are not managed by a central authority and exist only in cyberspace.

Whip
11-30-2013, 06:49 PM
After discovering the mistake late last week, a "devastated" Howells began a frantic search through computer files and other drives for a backup. There isn't one.

So let's say he did find a back up. Wouldn't that make their alleged value half? If you throw away $20, it's gone. If you had another $20 in your pants, it's not worth the original $40.

NikSam
11-30-2013, 07:17 PM
So let's say he did find a back up. Wouldn't that make their alleged value half? If you throw away $20, it's gone. If you had another $20 in your pants, it's not worth the original $40.

if he had a backup, he would have the full sum back, it does not mean if you have multiple backups it will multiply your bitcoins :)
when a bitcoin sent to another wallet, you cannot claim you still have it, keychain will invalidate all duplicates.

ribshaw
12-02-2013, 12:36 PM
With Bitcoin interest (and prices) spiking, you might be considering investing in your own little cache of digital currency. But before you set up a Bitcoin wallet, you should think long and hard about who will watch over your digital wealth. In its relatively short lifespan, Bitcoin wallets and processors have been a target for hackers -- and old-fashioned fraudsters. In fact, within the last week, one of the most prominent European exchanges reported it had lost over $1 million worth of bitcoins to hackers.

An academic study published earlier this year by Tyler Moore at Southern Methodist University and Nicolas Cristin at Carnegie Mellon about the risks associated with Bitcoin exchanges reported that 18 of 40 services they studied over three years closed "with customer account balances often wiped out." In that study, less popular services were more likely to just disappear than popular exchanges -- but popular exchanges were more likely to suffer security breaches, which have also been blamed for disappearing bitcoins.

Their research supports the anecdotal evidence about the security of various Bitcoin services -- or lack thereof. The forum Bitcoin Talk has a relatively comprehensive list of incidents, but here are a few of the most notable (and costly) stories about investing in Bitcoins going bad.

European payment processor and wallet service loses over $1 million worth of bitcoins

BIPS, a Denmark-based Bitcoin payment processor with a free online wallet service reportedly lost 1,295 bitcoins over the course of a few days earlier this month -- just over $1 million worth at current exchange rates. Coindesk reports that the service was the subject of a series of DDoS attacks that appeared to be connected to the heist. The company's CEO said most of the missing funds were from the company's own holdings, but a statement addressing the incident noted that some users also took a hit

BIPS has been a target of a coordinated attack and subsequent security breached. Several consumer wallets have been compromised and BIPS will be contacting the affected users.

Inputs.io loses $1.2 million worth of bitcoins to apparent hack

Another online wallet service, Inputs.io, was compromised in late October. Hackers reportedly made off with 4,100 bitcoins, then worth $1.2 million, during two separate attacks -- despite an extensive list of security measures. TradeFortress, an individual associated with the service, said that it was a social engineering attack that allowed the adversary to reset the passwords for the system's cloud-hosting provider. Users are eligible for a partial refund of their losses out of its remaining funds on a sliding scale that decreases based on how much was stored, likely cold comfort for anyone storing significant sums with the service.

Chinese Bitcoin trading platform disappears -- with $4.1 million worth of bitcoins

A prominent Chinese Bitcoin exchange that claimed to be based in Hong Kong, GBL, disappeared in late October -- along with $4.1 million worth of bitcoins. The platform had only launched in May, and there were a few other red flags, including that it did not obtain a license to operate financial services, according to the Want China Times.

Alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme faces SEC suit

In 2011, an individual started advertising returns on Bitcoin investments that sounded too good to be true -- 1 percent interest daily via an investment scheme eventually called Bitcoin Savings and Trust. The whole thing looked like a bit of a pyramid scheme and shut down without returning some 500,000 bitcoins (then worth more than $5.6 million) to investors in 2012. And an SEC suit alleges that it was too good to be true, saying the proprietor of the service "falsely promised investors up to 7% interest weekly," but the actual offering "was a sham and a Ponzi scheme" where he used new investments to pay off outstanding returns and pocketed the rest.

When bitcoins go bad: 4 stories of fraud, hacking, and digital currencies. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/11/26/when-bitcoins-go-bad-4-stories-of-fraud-and-hacking/)

NikSam
12-08-2013, 02:41 PM
here is what was behind the recent dive in bitcoin prices

Baidu and China Telecom Stop Accepting Bitcoin, Price Slumps Again (http://www.coindesk.com/baidu-stops-bitcoin-price-slumps-again/)

ribshaw
12-09-2013, 12:51 PM
Certainly good for speculators if they are on the right side of the trade, but as a currency this is a nightmare. What is someone who sold something on Friday supposed to do? Honor the transaction, back away, try to renegotiate? One thing if it is a bag of apples, but something costing a few grand really presents a problem.

NikSam
12-10-2013, 01:12 AM
The best article on inner workings of the Bitcoin protocol so far:
How the Bitcoin protocol actually works | DDI (http://www.michaelnielsen.org/ddi/how-the-bitcoin-protocol-actually-works/)

ribshaw
12-17-2013, 10:02 AM
How not to mine for Bitcoin.

Apple's Mac OS X Does Not Contain Secret Bitcoin Mining Software


There’s a particularly horrible “joke” floating around out there that claims that Apple AAPL -0.02% has installed secret Bitcoin mining software inside Mac OS X. If you follow the instructions given you can then start your computer mining and you will, obviously, thereby become rich. The problem with this is that the commands you’re given actually wipe the system:

Apple’s so-called secret mining feature, which 4channers claim has been present in Macs since 2009, can be unlocked by opening a terminal command line and running the following command: sudo rm -rf/*, viral images falsely claim.

Do not try this at home – or anywhere else, come to that. In reality, typing rm -rf/* on a Unix system (including Mac OS X) tells your computer to delete all of your files and folders.

Obviously this is not something you want to happen. So, do not do it.

The source of this is obviously the 4chan forum, latterly the home, or at least the starting point of, Anonymous.

It was also the starting point for the hoax about how to make an XBox One backward compatible with an XBox 360. The instructions there simply bricking the machine altogether. And there’s also been a refinement of that trick, where instructions are given for using a PC to revive the bricked XBox One. And yes, you’ve guessed it, those instructions just end up ruining the PC.

These sorts of tricks have been around since the earliest days of the consumer computer industry including the old favourite of advising people to wrap their floppy disks in magnets in order to protect them from solar flares (or, in a variation, from airport screening scanners). Given that we no longer use floppies that’s no longer going to work but it’s the same impulse giving rise to this Apple hoax.

No, Apple really has not included Bitcoin mining software in Mac OS X. And you really do not want to follow those instructions and wipe your files and folders to find that out.

Reasonably basic advice is that you shouldn’t believe what you read on the internet. Further, it’s probably not a good idea to run an instruction if you don’t know what it’s going to do. And to find out what an instruction is going to do it’s best to read the manuals. At least that way if disaster does strike you know that you’ve got someone to blame.

Apple's Mac OS X Does Not Contain Secret Bitcoin Mining Software - Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/12/14/apples-mac-os-x-does-not-contain-secret-bitcoin-mining-software/)

NikSam
12-17-2013, 11:30 AM
Leaked AWS key in one of open source projects, was used to hijack Amazon AWS account for crypto currency mining.
Hit the developer with $3000+ Bill for usage of Amazon services.

more: My run in with Unauthorised Litecoin mining on AWS | Luke Chadwick (http://vertis.io/2013/12/16/unauthorised-litecoin-mining.html)

NikSam
12-17-2013, 11:38 AM
Crypto currency mining was linked to deficit and global increase in prices of computer parts, specifically Video Cards and DRAM.

LiteCoin is Causing Shortages of AMD Radeon GPUs - Bright Side Of News* (http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2013/12/9/cryptocurrencies-are-causing-shortages-of-amd-radeon-gpus.aspx)

Price trends on DRAM memory chips:

https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1463210_603062139758737_1538347014_n.png

NikSam
12-18-2013, 10:18 AM
the recent drop in BTC prices is in connection to China's government position on Bitcoin use.
The exchange of BTC to/from national currency is not authorized from now on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/business/international/china-bitcoin-exchange-ends-renminbi-deposits.html?_r=1&



http://i.imgur.com/RDWtmaO.png

busttheblock
12-19-2013, 05:46 PM
Oh no, here we go. Illegal gifting scams are coming BitCoin Mining is Dead | BitCoins Gifting Lives! (http://bitcoinsgifting.com/)

littleroundman
12-27-2013, 10:40 PM
Indian Bitcoin operator halts trade after warning on risks of virtual currency

INDIA'S biggest Bitcoin trading platform said on its website Friday it had suspended operations after the central bank warned against the risks of using virtual money.
BuySellBitCo.in closed its platform, citing an advisory by the Reserve Bank of India issued on Christmas Eve highlighting the risks of trading in digital currencies.

"We are suspending buy and sell operations until we can outline a clearer framework with which to work,'' BuySellBitCo.in said on its website, adding that the move was ``to protect the interest of our customers''.

The central bank's warning comes after Bitcoin, which can be stored either virtually or on a user's hard drive and offers a largely anonymous payment system, had begun gaining popularity in India.

The emergence of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies in India has come despite a traditional preference for assets backed by property and other tangible goods.

"There is no underlying or backing of any asset for virtual currencies and as such their value seems to be a matter of speculation,'' the central bank said in its December 24 advisory.

The "huge volatility in the value of virtual currencies has been noticed'', it added.

The central bank stopped shy of issuing a ban or any curbs on Bitcoin or other virtual currencies.

However, because the currencies were not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority there was no established recourse for customers in the case of problems, it said.

The move comes weeks after the People's Bank of China ordered financial institutions not to provide Bitcoin-related services and products and cautioned against its potential use in money-laundering.

Bitcoin was invented in the wake of the global financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamotoby.

At the last rate posted by BuySellBitCo.in, which was conducting about 12 million rupees worth of Bitcoin transactions monthly, according to Indian media, one Bitcoin was selling for 48,039 rupees ($872).

The dollar worth of a Bitcoin has rocketed from just cents in 2010 to a $1200 peak in early December, but has since fallen back.

News.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/finance/indian-bitcoin-operator-halts-trade-after-warning-on-risks-of-virtual-currency/story-e6frfm1i-1226790933765)

ProfHenryHiggins
12-27-2013, 11:05 PM
Oh no, here we go. Illegal gifting scams are coming BitCoin Mining is Dead | BitCoins Gifting Lives! (http://bitcoinsgifting.com/)

It's Merlin's Magic Bitcoins, repackaged under a new name to keep robbing people. I traced a few of the members and associated websites.

littleroundman
12-28-2013, 12:10 AM
It's Merlin's Magic Bitcoins, repackaged under a new name to keep robbing people. I traced a few of the members and associated websites.

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/9352/vklf.jpg

IM(very)HO it's this sort of thing that is going to bring Bitcoin undone.

First China, now India and I can't imagine the other governments of the world standing by and having illegal activities using Bitcoin flaunted so very publicly, without acting.

busttheblock
12-30-2013, 07:04 AM
Here comes another new scam using bitcoin and attempting to look like a legit business with a legit "product". Of course, their product is a bogus e-learning training class on bitcoin. It is based in Seychelles (scam).

You have to watch the video that they have for co-founders. what an absolute hot air pos video presentation. This is being heavily pimped by Frank Astheimer (sure sign of scam)

bitcoin-economy.com on the bottom click Invite Only and then enter Invite2014 to be able to watch the bloated video.

Whip
01-10-2014, 11:57 AM
Overstock.com now accepts Bitcoin | WashingtonExaminer.com (http://washingtonexaminer.com/overstock.com-now-accepts-bitcoin/article/2541949?custom_click=rss)

NikSam
01-28-2014, 06:38 PM
WoW, Russia does not like any idea of Bitcoin.

Central Bank of Russia announced that use of bitcoin (monetary surrogates) is illegal.


auto translated


Information

On the use in transactions "virtual currency ", in particular , Bitcoin


The Bank of Russia notes that recently in the world have a certain distribution of the so-called "virtual currency " , in particular, Bitcoin . "virtual currencies " have no coverage and
there is no jurisdictional provision for their use . These operations are speculative in nature, carried out on the so -called "virtual exchanges " and carry a high risk of loss of value.

The Bank of Russia warns citizens and legal entities , primarily credit institutions and non-credit financial institutions , from the use of "virtual currency " in exchange for goods ( salaries, services) or cash in rubles and foreign currency.

According to article 27 of the Federal Law "On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia ) " issue in the Russian Federation monetary surrogates prohibited.

Due to the anonymous nature of the activity for the production of "virtual currency " unlimited range of actors and to use them for transactions citizens and legal persons may be , including unintentionally involved in illegal activities , including the legalization (laundering ) of proceeds from crime and terrorist financing .

The Bank of Russia is warning that Russian legal entities providing services for the exchange of "virtual currency " to rubles and to foreign currency , as well as for goods (salaries , services ) will be considered as a potential involvement in the implementation of suspicious transactions in accordance with the legislation on counteraction to legalization (laundering ) proceeds of crime and financing of terrorism.


January 27, 2014

Using materials reference to the press service of the Bank of Russia is required .


SRC: http://cbr.ru/press/PR.aspx?file=27012014_1825052.htm


PS: One of Russian-based Bitcoin exchanger - Metabank.ru today ceased its operations

busttheblock
01-30-2014, 12:11 PM
Here is the latest from BitBillions (wow, does this writing sound exactly like the Tagvillage owner. Funny how both programs ran out of funding and are now progressing along at a snails pace)


The Long Overdue Post
January 30, 2014

By bitadmin

From an inside management perspective, Bitcoin, GBBG, and bitbillions have been an extremely interesting, and challenging experience thus far, to say the least. What began as a hodge-podge of unorganized, unfunded dreamers filled with grand visions and expansive projects has slowly become a more organized, focused core. We are still very unfunded and understaffed, but that is changing quickly.

Much has been happening behind the scenes the past 6 months. Some things very positive and uplifting. Other things have been a bit sad. Overall, we feel the organization is moving in a direction that points to attainable goals, achievable profits, and a solid, dependable future for our members. To explain this view we will bite off several chunks in different blog posts over the next few weeks.

Today, we will talk about technology development, product vision, and how this affects our company and our membership.

When we began, we mistakenly predicted we would sell over 50,000 Founder positions around $50 each and easily have $2.5 million capital to begin cranking out products and developing extremely disruptive technology. As you all know, this vision was far from reality. So, we have spent the past 6 months continuing to raise capital while evaluating every technology opportunity for the absolute best we have to offer. This resulted in a massive reduction in project planning, product concepts, manpower, and items on our plate.

As of today, most of our original core of developers with various product/technology visions have had to continue without us. Many of them are attempting to raise their own funding through various means and will take their ideas to the market without GBBG. It is a mutually beneficial reality. GBBG cannot afford to fund several projects, we do not have the manpower or capital to spread over many avenues, and yet these people deserve the opportunity to take their concepts toward reality. We simply have not raised the projected capital to be involved in several different development projects.

However, this is not bad news. What we have accomplished is the ability to pick what we feel is the very best project, and pour our resources into it. We have raised the funding and technical manpower to focus intently on a disruptive technology we feel will entirely change the bitcoin, crypto-currency, and financial marketplace forever. We feel we have sufficient seed capital, manpower, technical vision, and a blueprint to accomplish a very focused, driven, and important mission.

We feel 2014/2015 will see GBBG release a product into the global marketplace that will rock the entire core of the bitcoin community. And you, our current members, will gain the most over the life of this project. Our inside teams have been evaluating and discussing product concepts, business models, technical revolutions, and overall practical applications for the bitcoin protocol for nearly a year now. The entire purpose of these discussions: to weed out all but the very best idea, and then focus 100% of our capital, resources, and future upon it.

However, before this becomes reality, we all need to go through a few major obstacle courses together. First, we must continue to grow our core bitbillions membership community. After all, this is the community that will provide some of the seed capital for our project, the entire beta testing population, and the original users and marketers of our upcoming, revolutionary product. Second, we need to transform GBBG’s current software into a long-term application capable of scale in areas such as data, content, and security. Finally, we must capitalize major engineering, legal, regulatory, and marketing plans. This is going to be a daunting task.

Together, we can do it. There are over 50,000 of us working together now. If we all pull together behind one vision, we can accomplish anything. When we started GBBG we set a goal to achieve 50,000 supporters. We dreamed this number would be the core basis needed to actually pull off a grand project. Today, we have that number. So, we are 100% confident we can work together, with you, to change the financial world forever.

Let’s move for a moment from the dream and look at current reality. We are far behind the original $2.5 million we thought we would have by now. However, we have 50,000 supporters, growing daily. We don’t have 10 or 20 projects to develop at this stage. However, we have one focused idea we think will rock the entire bitcoin/e-currency/financial world and produce massive profits for our organization.

Our original plan was to launch GBBG to the world through bitbillions with as much free, open-source coding as possible. Therefore, we chose systems such as Ajax, MySQL, and PHP for their ease of deployment, no-cost open-source environments, and wide-array of available developers. We knew these systems would not carry us into mass scale, but we also assumed we would have over $2.0 million in capital and teams of developers to quickly move from free, open-source environments into costly, enterprise quality environments. Boy were we ever wrong about that!

January has been a set-back technologically. A lack of capital, combined with a reduction of manpower has forced us to rely on free, open-source technology too long. We are still managing everything through a free, PHP driven CMS system. This is not only incredible, but entirely illogical. We should be running proprietary content management, client management, data, security, and other processes. We just can’t at this time due to funding and staffing. But that is about to change.

During the month of January we entirely rewrote our data and content/customer management processes to create a more robust environment. It is still free and open-source, but it is better constructed and better stabilized. However, all our managers and developers know it is not scalable and will never be a long-term solution. Therefore, we are already writing the blueprint to convert our entire operation to a solid, proprietary coding that will be scalable and have long-term potential. We are laying the ground now to quickly begin development of our Matrix Stage systems.

This means we will continue to have bugs, glitches, and growing pains in the current software for at least 6-9 months. It also means when we roll out our long-term Matrix Stage system we will again go through a period of testing, fine-tuning, and bug fixing. If you are unable to bear with uncertainty, glitches, system outages, and other growing pains through the next 12-18 months, we recommend you wait until after January 2017 to participate in all GBBG projects.

We are not a fly-by-night company. We are not a get rich quick scheme. We do not promise you will make money fast. We guarantee you will not make money over-night. We actually project that most of our members will not earn much at all over the next 12 months. What we do promise is that we are building a product so revolutionary, so important, and so overwhelmingly disruptive that those of you who are willing to bear with us through 18-24 months of development will gain so much you will laugh at every other opportunity you ever saw before.

If you need income now, you should look elsewhere. This is not the place for immediate income, unless you are capable of generating huge numbers of referrals who upgrade their accounts. For the next 9-12 months, most members who earn immediate income will do so only through referring commissions. If you need fast returns on your “investment” or want someone to give you unbelievable hype and unattainable promises, you should go somewhere else and look for the person willing to sell that to you. If you are trying to profiteer by leading people down some magical dream of a fairyland world where they deposit a few dollars, click a few buttons, and “poof” they are suddenly rich, you really need to exit the GBBG train immediately. We happen to live in reality. We happen to understand that real wealth comes slowly and methodically through a controlled, managed process. We do not promise anything else. Our only plan is to deliver undeniable, unimaginable wealth, to those willing to go the long-haul with us. And this means we are looking at a minimum of 2015 before things start to become palatable.

On April 4, 1975 a man had a vision to create a company that would affect the entire world forever. He promised his original investors they would see unimaginable results, but they would have to wait until after 2005 to receive their first dividend. Some people jumped on the opportunity, investing millions of dollars into his dream. Others, too impatient to see beyond 1975 called him a buffoon. Today, Microsoft still remains one of the most powerful, influential life-changers on earth.

We feel the overall bitcoin community is developing hasty, ill-planned, rapidly constructed concepts and using the overall human community as massive guinea pigs in a global economic experiment. Far too many products have been released, far too quickly. And almost every single one of them have been destroyed by security flaws, outright hacking, or criminal inside corruption. Just like the “dot-com” boom of the early 1990’s, bitcoin will have a similar story. History truly repeats itself and we know it will with this protocol.

Hundreds of thousands of products will hit the market over the next 24 months. The vast majority of them will die sudden and painful deaths. Billions of dollars will be lost in hopelessly ill-planned ventures. In the same way billions of dollars died rapid, painful deaths with Webvan.com or Pets.com or the hundreds of other dot-com flashes in the early 90’s, hundreds of millions of dollars will die in flashes such as first-to-market blockchain concepts, countless e-currencies, and other crypto-currency products. And then, the real winners will begin to emerge.

Over 500 search engines came and died through the 1990’s, until some unheard-of team of college kids dreamed of the search engine called Google in September of 1998. Thousands of email clients, web browsers, and online content providers came and died in the 1990’s, until true visionaries brought forth products such as Hotmail, Netscape, and Yahoo. We believe thousands of e-currency companies will come and die over the next 4-6 years. It is purely a natural, predictable, expected occurrence. Any person believing otherwise is a fool and should be avoided. Any person who projects long-term growth and stability on a fledgling, immature, infant-stage protocol such as bitcoin should seriously have their head checked.

Bitcoin is just like TCP/IP and MIME and the other revolutionary protocols that came before them, in the fact that it is an ingenious, revolutionary, ground-shattering way of doing something. But it is very new, very young, and extremely far from its true purpose. If you think bitcoin is a commodity, a currency, or a method of processing monetary transactions, you are simply a part of the stupidity and wackiness that would have tried to define what the “Internet” was in 1989. Yes, the Internet existed then.

Bitcoin is far too young, far too underdeveloped, and far too under-engineered to be regulated, poured into the foundation of any system, or especially mass-utilized. However, we do happen to live in a time when protocols such as TCP/IP and MIME have been fully vetted, therefore producing an incredible juxtaposition for bitcoin. We are too connected and too capable of accessing bitcoin to allow it to properly develop without regulation, flawed foundational attempts at the expense of the uninformed general public, and far-reaching visions of mass adoption, way before it is ready.

So, what is GBBG doing? Where do we fit into this picture? How will we earn money and allow our membership to gain from this reality? That is a topic that will be more completely discussed with the next blog post. But to help you dream a little, we will leave you with this.

GBBG understands bitcoin is too much an infant protocol for mass consumer adoption. Yet we understand an important step toward this is mass consumer access in a much more simple, user-friendly manner. GBBG understands bitcoin and all e-currencies are too far from the security, consumer protection, and regulatory compliance standards that will make them capable of truly disrupting banking/investment/global finance, yet we understand an important step toward this is street-level exchange.

In our next post, we will begin to describe how GBBG, and YOU, are going to make bitcoin so accessible, and so street-level usable, that current manner of obtaining bitcoin through exchanges will seem pointless, absurd, and down-right stupid. We are going to rock the bitcoin community so hard that every person currently participating in any manner of business related with the process of exchanging fiat currency into bitcoin will be shaking in their knees.

The current Banking Industry is going to be changed forever. For many of the archaic establishments, this may only mean death. The current Credit Card, Merchant Processing, and Payment Remittance industries will undergo painful, sweeping modifications. ATM and other currency machines, especially bitcoin ATM’s, could be absolute dinosaurs that may vanish as quickly as they came into existence. And you, with GBBG are in position to be a massive, powerful, extremely profitable part of this process.

ribshaw
02-05-2014, 04:34 PM
A Wisconsin man has lost $150,000 after attempting to exchange a stash of digital currency bitcoins for physical bitcoin tokens with a British scam artist.

Jamie Russell, 34, was attempting to secure money he had made investing in bitcoin when a unit of the digital currency was trading for $5 (it’s trading today for well over $800 per bitcoin). He contacted a British man through the website bitcointalk.org and arranged to send him 201.7 virtual bitcoins in exchange for 190 physical bitcoin tokens. These tokens do exist, and are typically physical “coins” loaded with the encrypted digital currency.

When the British man did not send him the physical tokens and cut off communication, Russell reported the theft to U.K. authorities, TwinCities.com reports. Russell does not expect to get his money back, even if the person who stole from him is prosecuted.

Despite the fraud, Russell remains a bitcoin proponent. ”Everything I’ve done in the bitcoin realm has been with my eyes wide open,” he said

Read more: Bitcoin Scam Costs Wisconsin Man Jamie Russell $150,000 | TIME.com Bitcoin Scam Costs Wisconsin Man Jamie Russell $150,000 | TIME.com (http://nation.time.com/2014/02/04/bitcoin-scam-costs-wisconsin-man-150000/#ixzz2sUBCG78v)

NikSam
02-05-2014, 06:23 PM
PayPal joined the fight on Bitcoin.




FYI, paypal has started a massive banning campaign on accounts selling anything bitcoin related, whether it's mining equipment, ebooks, or the currency itself.

This is a new action they started around mid Jan of this year.

You will be warned once, then your account will be perm banned from paypal, with all money inside frozen.

I got called from paypal because i sold a few casascius coins (no issues with the transaction itself, buyers all happy). But the lady said because i sold bitcoin my account is now under review for a perm ban. I stated i have been selling since early 2013 with no issues, and it's perfectly legal within ebay they even created a new category called virtual currency for it.

But she could careless just reading off a script, but I managed to get it out of her it's some new policy they are now implementing against bitcoin. She doesnt really even understand what it is, as long as the auction has the word bitcoin in it, over certain $ amount, and buyer paid with paypal, you are at risk getting the hammer. If you check online many similar stories in the last month or so.

That's one way to try shut down the competition. ,,!,, paypal


6972

URL: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=448847.0

NikSam
02-06-2014, 07:54 AM
Apple App store joined the war on Bitcoin.

Apple banned all Bitcoin wallet apps from their store

Apple Yanks World's Most Popular Bitcoin Wallet From App Store | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/02/blockchain_apple/)

ribshaw
02-06-2014, 08:54 AM
Niksam, what is your opinion on Bitcoin mining for the masses at this stage in the game? With some of the retail stuff for mining being peddled will end users end up profitable, or do the systems cost more than one can mine?

NikSam
02-06-2014, 09:13 AM
Do not know, i am not a miner, i think most miners now on LiteCoins, difficulty of Bitcoin raised up, hardware expense + electric power expense + hardware wearage is not that attractive as it used to be.

NikSam
02-07-2014, 03:39 PM
Florida cracks down on Bitcoin exchangers

Florida Targets High-Dollar Bitcoin Exchangers — Krebs on Security (http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/02/florida-targets-high-dollar-bitcoin-exchangers/)

NikSam
02-10-2014, 11:38 AM
A newly discovered bug (which was used to manipulate transactions) in core BitCoin software was the reason why
the biggest BitCoin exchanger Mtgox suspended all withdrawals.

https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20140210.html

littleroundman
02-12-2014, 06:49 AM
Bitcoin price plunges: Mt. Gox suspends withdrawals, says flaw in protocol allows fraud (http://www.realscam.com/f37/bitcoin-price-plunges-mt-gox-suspends-withdrawals-says-flaw-protocol-allows-fraud-2962/#post66200)

littleroundman
02-12-2014, 06:50 AM
Another Bitcoin exchange goes down (http://www.realscam.com/f37/another-bitcoin-exchange-goes-down-2961/)

NikSam
02-12-2014, 12:54 PM
In connection , Prices dropped to $500 range

7017

Blue Wolf
02-12-2014, 05:51 PM
I thought this was interesting:

http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/hearing/vchearing/williams.pdf

"Bitcoin is not a virtual currency, but a high-risk virtual commodity in a hyper-asset bubble that has begun to pop."

"If Bitcoin, in its embryonic stage, were to replace the U.S. dollar, it would be economically disastrous, causing trade to plummet, GDP to fall, and unemployment levels and bartering to surge."

"To transform Bitcoin into a virtual currency would require regulation, centralization, creation of a legal framework, and strong regulatory oversight."

NikSam
02-12-2014, 06:53 PM
I thought this was interesting:

http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/hearing/vchearing/williams.pdf
...

Thanks for that, there are way more great points from Williams, finally someone with respected financial background can look at it logically,
putting the media hype behind.

NikSam
02-13-2014, 04:31 AM
Here is another eye-opener for those who think exchanging Bitcoins for others is legally safe.

After Silkroad crackdown, feds are tracing from where bitcoins were arriving into silkroad's traders wallets, and one was specifically noted -
an exchanger - BitIntsant, ran by Charlie Shrem ("prominent businessman and public figure") - just google his name and see how he used to pimp Bitcoin and how every freaking media outlet respected him.

Well, on Jan 27, in New York JFK airport, Charlie Shrem been arrested and charged with:
"one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, one count of money-laundering conspiracy and one count of willful failure to file a suspicious-activity report."


Enjoy your freedom, Bitcoin exchangers.


URL: BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem Charged With Laundering Bitcoin | TIME.com (http://business.time.com/2014/01/27/bitinstant-ceo-charlie-shrem-arrested-for-alleged-money-laundering/)


PS: BitInstant was also backed and pimped by Winklevoss idiot-twins

NikSam
02-13-2014, 09:24 AM
Jed McCaleb, the creator and initial owner of MtGox Bitcoin exchange, also the creator of Ripple.com (OpenCoin/RippleLabs/XPR) currency/exchange/processor/platform,

Is now scaring everyone that he will bring to the world something bigger, a secret bitcoin project.

Secret Bitcoin Project - Come see. (http://alphatesters.secretbitcoinproject.com/)

littleroundman
02-13-2014, 09:47 AM
http://imageshack.com/a/img838/3423/z36c.jpg

Let's all play a game of "Who can spot the obvious flaw in Jeb McCalebs' strategy"

You can have three guesses, but the first two don't count

NikSam
02-13-2014, 04:56 PM
Now Quebec...

7034
URL: Alert - Bitcoin virtual currency (http://www.lautorite.qc.ca/en/press-releases-2014-corpo.html_2014_alert-bitcoin.html)

NikSam
02-17-2014, 01:09 AM
After Apple's ban on Bitcoin apps in Itunes store.

One individual on reddit under name 'round peg'
announced that he will be giving Android Nexus 5 phones to everyone who records a video of smashing his iPhone and if that video gets 100+ likes :)


http://youtu.be/DuQZTAJ2KLk

Story: Enraged Bitcoin true believers shoot, smash iPhones after Apple yanks Bitcoin app from App Store – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home (http://macdailynews.com/2014/02/06/enraged-bitcoin-true-believers-shoot-smash-iphones-after-apple-yanks-bitcoin-app-from-app-store/)


I wonder, what they gonna do when Google bans BitCoin apps on GooglePlay, after all Google is more likely to, they need to keep their licensing and compliance for GoogleWallet :)


BTC LAST PRICE: $290

littleroundman
02-17-2014, 02:16 AM
Enraged Bitcoin true believers shoot, smash iPhones after Apple yanks Bitcoin app from App Store – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home

Reminds me of the guys who hated the movie that was on at the drive-in so much, they went berserk and slashed the seats with boxcutters.

NikSam
02-17-2014, 03:37 AM
Big deal, after Google bans Bitcoin apps, they just would have to carry laptops to their drug dealer if they still want to pay in Bitcoin :)

NikSam
02-20-2014, 11:45 AM
Ok, WINKLEVOSS idiot-twins filled an investment trust - WINKLEVOSS BITCOIN TRUST

NOTE: SEC did not Approve it yet or will, ("Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities offered in this prospectus, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.")

URL: Amendment No. 2 to Form S-1 (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579346/000119312514058712/d562329ds1a.htm)

And more than that, now the idiots want to control / set the price for Bitcoin by opening their Bitcoin index site: Winklevoss Index (http://winkdex.com/) and showing which price their index thinks it should be :RpS_smile:
right now showing as $584.58


BTC LAST PRICE: $137.45

Whip
02-20-2014, 09:39 PM
my bitcoin price -$623.75

pretty easy right?

NikSam
02-20-2014, 10:17 PM
my bitcoin price -$623.75

pretty easy right?

Not easy at all :) before - there was only a BTC price and volume volatility , now there is cross-exchages volatility added to the mix.

7084


Because some exchanges got locked and unable to exchange money out, some are geographically restricted who they can have as clients, nobody can hedge and fill this gap.


A BitCoin in mtgox now is not the same as a BitCoin in BitStamp

Whip
02-21-2014, 10:28 AM
Mine was more of a joke that it has artificial worth to begin with.

littleroundman
02-21-2014, 10:56 AM
Silk Road heist could doom Bitcoin black markets

The jig may be up for online drug bazaars that accept bitcoins.

Black markets on the Deep Web offer everything: money laundering and a one-stop-shop for illegal drugs and guns. But a recent series of heists, busts and fraud have shown why these bazaars can't be trusted.

In October, the FBI shut down Silk Road, the biggest online black market, seizing $3.5 million of bitcoins in the process. In November, a similar site called Sheep Marketplace was labeled a scam after it lost $6 million in users' bitcoins in an alleged hack. And last week, administrators of a revived Silk Road claimed cyber attackers sucked out all the bitcoins it held in escrow -- valued at $2.7 million.

This latest episode "may mark the death knell for the dark markets," according to Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the International Computer Science Institute.

"Between busts, scam-markets, and now mass theft, it is a task that they clearly are incapable of doing," Weaver said.

The heart of the issue is that Bitcoin -- by design -- doesn't work well with shady middlemen. Anyone with access to your digital wallet can empty it forever. And all transactions are irreversible.

That's why it's not smart to fork over bitcoins to an underground website like Silk Road, which stands between buyers and sellers and holds on to money during a deal.

"When you introduce a third party holding on to people's funds, it's absolutely antithetical to the idea of Bitcoin," said Evan Rose, CEO of Bitcoin ATM maker Genesis. "You're giving someone cash over the Internet that you'll never be able to get back."

Silk Road's new administrators said hackers exploited a Bitcoin glitch to steal funds. But in the days since the attack, it's become painfully clear that the Bitcoin system isn't to blame. Only two scenarios exist, says Andreas Antonopoulos an engineer at Bitcoin wallet service Blockchain: Silk Road's leaders were fooled into emptying all their accounts willingly, or they simply swindled their customers themselves.

Those who currently use bitcoins to buy drugs, weapons or hire assassins also have something else to worry about. All transactions leave a permanent record that's traceable to specific wallets. Even though Bitcoins are technically anonymous, if they ever pull that money out in their name at a legitimate Bitcoin bank or exchange, law enforcement has a direct connection to a real identity.

That's why Weaver says bitcoins are essentially "prosecution futures."

Bitcoin tracing experts are already cropping up -- and they're teaming up with law enforcement too. Sarah Meiklejohn is a computer scientist and graduate student at the University of California in San Diego, where she explores how people are spending their bitcoins.

She said people spending bitcoins in black markets don't realize "every bitcoin is by nature a marked bill." And it's not as forgiving as actual cash. If police catch you buying something illegal in person, you get criminal charges for that single act. Bitcoin's permanent, public ledger gives prosecutors a much longer memory.

"if you get caught buying drugs with bitcoins and they look at your transaction history, you get caught on every transaction you've ever made," she said. "It's much more serious." http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif

CNN Money (http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/19/technology/security/bitcoin-black-market/index.html)

ribshaw
02-21-2014, 02:50 PM
Silk Road heist could doom Bitcoin black markets

The jig may be up for online drug bazaars that accept bitcoins.

I can't readily locate an adjective to describe this story, so go with the ole standby interesting...

Dead End on Silk Road: The Fall of Internet Crime Kingpin Ross Ulbricht | Culture News | Rolling Stone (http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/dead-end-on-silk-road-internet-crime-kingpin-ross-ulbrichts-big-fall-20140204)

ribshaw
02-21-2014, 03:02 PM
Not easy at all :) before - there was only a BTC price and volume volatility , now there is cross-exchages volatility added to the mix.


nobody can hedge and fill this gap.

This was one of the things I feared would hinder Bitcoin going mainstream as a currency. Pretty hard to take on a multi-year contract if companies can't hedge their currency risk. Presumably if the exchanges were a little more developed speculators could short bitcoin on one exchange and then deliver them when they are able to withdraw on their current exchange. Or accomplish similar with options or futures if there was certainty the writers would stand behind the contracts. Although we have established currency markets where all this occurs every day with a mouse click or a phone call in just a few seconds.

Stickin it to the man, sometimes easier said than done.

NikSam
02-21-2014, 07:15 PM
One of the proposals of regulating BitCoin from government was introduction of BitCoinLicenses to exchangers (miners would not need one).
Responsibility of an exchanger would be standard KnowYourCustomer rules, and every bitcoin wallet would need a verified name linked to it at exchange level ( and I bet they would require a SS# if it gets moving)
Exchangers will also have to comply to standard AML rules, submit Suspicious Activity Reports, cross-border transactions reports, over the limit reports, red flag destinations reports.
And if BitCoin to be treated as a commodity, exchangers must ensure to provide services only to worthy individuals (something like SEC Regulation D exceptions for accredited investors) because of high risks / volatility.

Basically , BitCoinLicense would be a brother of FinCEN MSB license but including a dealer option in commodities of digital currency.

That is what seems to me the only way to keep it legal, but who would want such a Bitcoin ? :) the whole point of BitCoin is to hide from the governments :)

ribshaw
02-21-2014, 08:36 PM
That is what seems to me the only way to keep it legal, but who would want such a Bitcoin ? :) the whole point of BitCoin is to hide from the governments :)

Makes it fascinating to watch, being part of history.

Without regulated markets I find it hard to believe Bitcoin will be able to break out of the shadows and get "big industry" buy in. As much as people hate the Fed, and regulation seldom do we see a run on the bank these days. Delivery of Corn, Oil, or Silver happens smoothly with 0 counterparty risk, why bother mucking that up?

These panics might create buying opportunities for the bold, or spell ruin. Could go the way of the Tulip, The Mississippi or South Sea companies. Or even something a simple as the WinkleBit Twins getting an exchange traded product could stabilize the markets.


Maybe should chuck these in the books section, history never repeats, but close...

Extraordinary Popular Delusions: Charles Mackay: 9780486432236: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Popular-Delusions-Charles-Mackay/dp/0486432238)

The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm: Robert F. Bruner, Sean D. Carr: 9780470452585: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/The-Panic-1907-Lessons-Learned/dp/0470452587)

NikSam
02-23-2014, 11:09 PM
Kolin Burges from London flew to Tokyo to find out, face to face, if he could withdraw his bitcoins from Mt Gox.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob9Ak1t09Ao



PART 2: Mt Gox Bitcoin Protest Update 17 Feb 2014 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcUBB6jHzmk)

BTC LAST PRICE (MtGox): $169
BTC winkdex: $580

NikSam
02-25-2014, 02:46 AM
Some upcoming headline news, insider info: MtGox lost 700k BTC due to that bug in the system

Sites/Twitter/ FB/ all their social media went down few hours ago

CEO resigned in advance on Feb 23.

The following document was spotted on scribd:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/209098983/MtGox-Situation-Crisis-Strategy-Draft-With-No-black-Bars


At this point 744,408 BTC are missing due to malleability-related theft which went unnoticed for several years.
The cold storage has been wiped out due to a leak in the hot wallet.

NikSam
02-25-2014, 03:41 AM
NY Times article on mtGox collapse:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/business/apparent-theft-at-mt-gox-shakes-bitcoin-world.html

Fat City, LA
02-25-2014, 04:05 AM
NY Times article on mtGox collapse:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/business/apparent-theft-at-mt-gox-shakes-bitcoin-world.html

from Wired
Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Goes Offline Amid Allegations of $350 Million Hack | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/02/bitcoins-mt-gox-implodes/)

NikSam
02-25-2014, 06:34 PM
Something new popped up on mtGox site:

7110


According to ComputerWorld (http://blogs.computerworld.com/security/23579/bitcoin-crash-bankrupt-mt-gox-leaks-its-own-acquisition-itbwcw)
the site spilled the following HTML comment on the page when site first started responding


<!-- put announce for mtgox acq here -->


So, it hinted they trying to follow their plan for possible recovery according to earlier leaked document.



BTC winkdex: $532.03

Joe_Shmoe
02-25-2014, 06:51 PM
Hmmmm? This virtual money seems virtually worthless. :RpS_unsure:

NikSam
02-26-2014, 08:06 AM
Just did a whois on GOX.com domain (as a guess from leaked doc)

And lookie here, on February 24 whois was updated and revealed a new owner:


Domain Name: GOX.COM
Registry Domain ID: 816800_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Update Date: 2014-02-24 17:29:44
Creation Date: 1997-10-09 23:00:00
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-10-08 23:00:00
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 146
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@godaddy.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.480-624-2505
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Mark Karpeles
Registrant Organization: MtGox Co.,Ltd.
Registrant Street: Cerulean Tower 15F
Registrant Street: 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho
Registrant City: Shibuya
Registrant State/Province: Tokyo
Registrant Postal Code: 150-8512
Registrant Country: Japan
Registrant Phone: +81.345206200
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: mark@tibanne.com
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Mark Karpeles
Admin Organization: MtGox Co.,Ltd.
Admin Street: Cerulean Tower 15F
Admin Street: 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho
Admin City: Shibuya
Admin State/Province: Tokyo
Admin Postal Code: 150-8512
Admin Country: Japan
Admin Phone: +81.345206200
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: mark@tibanne.com
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Mark Karpeles
Tech Organization: MtGox Co.,Ltd.
Tech Street: Cerulean Tower 15F
Tech Street: 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho
Tech City: Shibuya
Tech State/Province: Tokyo
Tech Postal Code: 150-8512
Tech Country: Japan
Tech Phone: +81.345206200
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: mark@tibanne.com
Name Server: NS-1009.AWSDNS-62.NET
Name Server: NS-345.AWSDNS-43.COM
Name Server: NS-1173.AWSDNS-18.ORG
Name Server: NS-1637.AWSDNS-12.CO.UK
DNSSEC: unsigned


And opening gox.com in a browser redirects to mtgox.com
So, here is a new planned home of mtGox which was mentioned in their leaked recovery plan (http://www.scribd.com/doc/209098983/MtGox-Situation-Crisis-Strategy-Draft-With-No-black-Bars).

I wonder how much did they pay to the past domain owner.

NikSam
02-28-2014, 11:36 AM
MtGox files for Bankruptcy:
MtGox Files For Bankruptcy, Nearly $500M Of Bitcoins Lost : The Two-Way : NPR (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/28/283863219/mtgox-files-for-bankruptcy-nearly-500m-of-bitcoins-lost)


Japanese authorities are investigating MtGox:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/10664459/Japan-investigates-ailing-Bitcoin-exchange-MtGox.html

MtGox has been subpoenaed by federal investigators in the United States:
http://rt.com/usa/bitcoin-subpoena-mtgox-karpeles-894/

ribshaw
02-28-2014, 02:20 PM
Nik, what is your understanding of how the hacked bitcoins can be recirculated? I thought that the Block Chain acted as sort of a governor to protect against fraudulent transactions.

NikSam
02-28-2014, 03:03 PM
You can read about it here: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Transaction_Malleability

I never actually diged too deep to try to understand it, but was planning to research and produce a fake transaction and see for how long it will survive in the system.


Something like: to validate if a arrived bitcon is actually not fake, takes time, for full validation might take up to 20 mins (and that time grows with more bitcoins being mined), that is why bitcoins are unsuitable to be on the spot payment (stores/immediate downloads/etc) but most people do not know that, because it was never exploited before, but was a known flaw since the beginning.

Kind of a century old trick, when you pay with a check signed by disappearing ink.

MtGox did not use a standard bitcoin software but used in–house written one by Jeb McCaleb (original owner of MtGox, Opencoin/Ripple labs), as by his words standard software was not able to keep up with the amount of transactions they needed to.
It is hard to say what really happen, maybe there was a backdoor, maybe Malleability was exploited, maybe a theft they trying to cover up, or we will never know.


Or more simple,
a) if you can trick the software that money came, but really did not, and transaction was invalidated later.
b) if you can trick the software after sending money that transaction failed and you try re-sending it, not realizing till later you paid twice.




PS: When i see some grocery-store mentioned in news which takes bitcoins, I think to myself "Great, when i figure it out I'll come and buy everything in there " :RpS_thumbsup:

PPS: and another trick, called Double-Spending: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_bitcoin_works#Double_spending

littleroundman
03-01-2014, 06:28 AM
Tokyo MtGox Bitcoin exchange files for bankruptcy

THE troubled MtGox Bitcoin exchange has filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, with its chief executive saying it had lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the digital currency in a possible theft.

Mark Karpeles, who has not been seen in public for several days, re-emerged to tell a press conference that his firm’s digital vaults had been almost completely emptied.

“We have lost Bitcoins due to weaknesses in the system,’’ French-born Karpeles said in Japanese.

“We are really sorry for causing trouble to all the people concerned,’’ he said, before bowing deeply.

The company’s lawyer said 750,000 Bitcoins belonging to customers had gone, along with MtGox’s own store of the currency, which she said was around 100,000 units.

That number of Bitcoins would be worth around $US477 million ($533 million).

Karpeles said MtGox had liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($71 million) and that around a million users had been affected when hackers broke into the exchange in early February.

The global virtual currency community was shaken this week by the shuttering of MtGox, which had frozen withdrawals earlier this month because of what the firm said was a bug in the software underpinning Bitcoin that allowed hackers to pilfer them.

Supporters rallied round, insisting that the Bitcoin itself is sound and the problems lay with MtGox, which they said was badly-managed and unable to cope with the burgeoning popularity of the young currency.

Kolin Burges, an investor who has kept vigil outside the Tokyo offices of MtGox for several weeks, said on Twitter that he would be packing up.

“Karpeles in Tokyo says MtGox is bankrupt. 750,000 customer bitcoins stolen & 120,000 company bitcoins stolen. None left,’’ he tweeted.

He later added: “Packed up enmtgoxprotest for the last time and did leaving interview with Asahi TV. It’s been a wild ride!’’

The admission that such a huge amount of the crypto-currency has disappeared could add to calls for regulation of an industry that has taken regulators and bankers by surprise.

Japan’s finance minister said he had always thought Bitcoin was suspect and said the country might take action following the MtGox debacle.

Taro Aso’s comments came as Vietnam said it was banning banks from using the unit and after chief US central banker Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve had no powers to control it.

Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said he had foreseen difficulties for the crypto-currency, which is generated by complex chains of interaction among a huge network of computers around the planet.

“I was thinking that this sort of thing won’t last long,’’ said Aso, 73. “I was thinking it would collapse sometime.’’

“Japan is overwhelmingly advanced in this field. In this sense, I was thinking since before that we might face a situation where Japan has to act, but I’d say it came earlier than I thought.’’

His comments come after Yellen told a Senate hearing that banks under the Fed’s regulatory purview were not involved with Bitcoin, and so it had no powers in the matter.

“This is a payment innovation that is taking place entirely outside of the banking industry,’’ she said.

“The Fed doesn’t have authority with respect to Bitcoin.’’

Yellen pointed to other US regulators, including the Treasury, watching the Bitcoin sector for potential money laundering and other criminal uses of the digital currency.

However, she stressed, “it’s not so easy to regulate Bitcoin’’ because it is used outside the banking system, and has no centralised authority behind, as do regular fiat currencies.

Vietnam banned its banks from handling Bitcoin, with the State Bank of Vietnam cautioning: “The ownership, trading and use of Bitcoin and other virtual money as an asset carries potential risks for users.’’

The Tokyo District Court accepted the application from MtGox, Jiji Press and public broadcaster NHK said.

The action was taken after US prosecutors reportedly served a subpoena on the company.

The website of Tokyo-based MtGox went dark on Tuesday, possibly heralding huge losses for investors, and sending ripples of alarm throughout the global community of digital currency adopters.

MtGox froze withdrawals earlier this month, claiming there was a bug in the software that underpins Bitcoin, making it vulnerable to thieves.

The value of the volatile unit plunged on the Tokyo exchange and was hovering around $US130 ($145) on Tuesday, just quarter of what it was fetching on other platforms, until the site suddenly disappeared at lunchtime.

YAHOO NEWS (http://news.yahoo.com/tokyo-bitcoin-exchange-files-bankruptcy-102841684--finance.html)

Fat City, LA
03-06-2014, 05:14 PM
Press chases alleged Bitcoin creator through Los Angeles | The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/6/5479050/press-chases-alleged-bitcoin-creator-through-los-angeles)

NikSam
03-07-2014, 04:13 AM
Satoshi doxed :http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/03/14/bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto.html

To me still seems dumb for media to search for a creator of Bitcoin, This guy denied he is involved,
all they got is the old name he used is of alleged/fictional "Satoshi Nakamoto" and one of developers "thinking" it is him.
Also his lifestyle does not look like he has millions BTC the creator had before sharing BitCoin with the world.

Also this guy was never noticed in any cryptologists or cipherpunks circles .

Stupid media made a nightmare of a regualr guy's life

NikSam
03-10-2014, 10:30 PM
A hackers group posted some data from the stolen mtGox database,
And alleges that the theft of Bitcoins at mtGox did not happen but Mark Karpeles looted it himself.

Hackers also said they have entire mtGox users database and scans of user's passports, which they do not intend to release.

MtGox bitcoin database leaked online as hackers crowdsource clues | Technology | theguardian.com (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/mtgox-bitcoin-database-leaked-online-as-hackers-crowdsource-clues)
Hackers allege Mt. Gox CEO still controls 'stolen' Bitcoin (http://www.zdnet.com/hackers-allege-mt-gox-ceo-still-controls-stolen-bitcoin-7000027137/)



stolen Source code of mtGox site also leaked:

Mt.Gox Source code leaked by Russian hacker 'Nanashi' on Pastebin | TechWorm (http://www.techworm.net/2014/03/mtgox-source-code-leaked-by-hacker-on.html)

Fat City, LA
03-12-2014, 07:33 PM
Yahoo! (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-real-reason-bitcoin-is-doomed-140437704.html)

NikSam
03-19-2014, 09:51 AM
why people never listen to me? :)

Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto Denies All Bitcoin Ties In Verified Letter Via Lawyer

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bi59sc6CEAE6NkO.png:large

Full story: Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto Denies All Bitcoin Ties In Verified Letter Via Lawyer | TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/17/dorian-satoshi-nakamoto-denies-having-created-bitcoin-says-hes-not-been-coding-for-over-a-decade/)

path2prosperity
03-19-2014, 03:56 PM
Came across an exchange which was new to me when I wondered if KennyBoy Russo was posting anything in PalsCafe. He seems to be trying to keep a low profile over there.

Anybody heard of Virtapay? (https://www.virtapay.com/)

NikSam
03-19-2014, 04:36 PM
Came across an exchange which was new to me when I wondered if KennyBoy Russo was posting anything in PalsCafe. He seems to be trying to keep a low profile over there.

Anybody heard of Virtapay? (https://www.virtapay.com/)

yeap, it is a processor or more correctly just a virtual currency (not an exchange), its been around for about 2 years i think, closed-end, no exchangers to the other currencies exist,
New accounts get some free virtapay currency which grows % inside everyday :)
for referring more users also some currency is paid,
users can send currency to each other with no reversals.

So hypothetically could be used as a payment method or exchanged if users somehow privately agree to exchange other currencies for sending virtapay inside.
It is not popular, and was a failure because of that.

Also there are a lot of people in it with huge balances (which grew out of thin air), any opening to the cross-exchange with other currencies will more likely devalue it to nothing

path2prosperity
03-19-2014, 05:21 PM
yeap, it is a processor or more correctly just a virtual currency (not an exchange), its been around for about 2 years i think, closed-end, no exchangers to the other currencies exist,


Thanks for explaining NikSam. Your work here is top echelon.

JustTooMuchTime
03-27-2014, 12:02 PM
"General tax principles that apply to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency," the IRS said in a statement, meaning that bitcoins would be taxed as ordinary income or as assets subject to capital gains taxes, depending on the circumstance."


"NOT LEGAL TENDER

The IRS also said that virtual currency is not to be treated as legal-tender currency to determine if a transaction causes a foreign currency gain or loss under U.S. tax law.

For other forms of gains or losses involving virtual currency, the IRS explained how to determine the U.S. dollar value of virtual currency and said taxable gains or losses can be incurred in related property transactions.

"The character of gain or loss from the sale or exchange of virtual currency depends on whether the virtual currency is a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer," the IRS said.

If a taxpayer holds virtual currency as capital - like stocks or bonds or other investment property - gains or losses are realized as capital gains or losses, the agency said.

However, when virtual currency is held as inventory or other property mainly for sale to customers in a trade or business, ordinary gains or losses are generally incurred, the IRS said.

Capital gains and losses are taxable and deductible at different rates and amounts than ordinary gains and losses."

More:
Bitcoins are property, not currency, IRS says regarding taxes | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/25/us-bitcoin-irs-idUSBREA2O1LR20140325)

Soapboxmom
05-05-2014, 01:31 PM
Department of Defense to study bitcoin as possible terrorist threat | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/05/05/department-defense-to-study-bitcoin-as-terrorist-threat/?intcmp=latestnews)

ribshaw
05-08-2014, 09:13 AM
You mean I can't earn 2% per day with a secret new Bitcoin strategy?


http://www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/ia_virtualcurrencies.pdf


Investor Alert: Bitcoin and Other Virtual Currency-Related Investments | Investor.gov (http://investor.gov/news-alerts/investor-alerts/investor-alert-bitcoin-other-virtual-currency-related-investments#.U2uQk1cvBGg)

SEC: Bitcoin Believers Are Ripe for Scammers - Businessweek (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-07/sec-bitcoin-believers-are-ripe-for-scammers)

littleroundman
05-08-2014, 10:31 AM
http://imageshack.com/a/img835/2552/un52.jpg

US Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Alert (http://investor.gov/news-alerts/investor-alerts/investor-alert-bitcoin-other-virtual-currency-related-investments#.U2uQk1cvBGg)

littleroundman
05-08-2014, 10:35 AM
http://imageshack.com/a/img845/5015/d6j7.jpg

IRS Virtual Currency guidance (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Virtual-Currency-Guidance)

NikSam
05-25-2014, 02:10 PM
Jed McCaleb, the creator of Ripple Labs XPR virtual currency and the original creator of Mt.Gox failed bitcoin exchange
and the creator of some super secret project to hit the world
announced that he is getting rid of his stash of XPR's (9 billion)

https://xrptalk.org/topic/2629-selling-my-xrp/

Blue Wolf
07-23-2014, 04:52 PM
I have a feeling that these "investors" are not going to see most of their money ever again.

Angry Bitcoin investors demand answers at Tokyo creditors' meet (http://news.yahoo.com/angry-bitcoin-investors-demand-answers-tokyo-creditors-meet-114524119.html;_ylt=A0LEVztiJNBTeXYASPtXNyoA;_ylu= X3oDMTExcTdidDdsBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dG lkA1VJQzFfMQ--)

NikSam
10-29-2014, 01:24 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AWga_xvzvw

NikSam
02-10-2015, 01:56 PM
...
The subpoenas, which legally require people or companies to hand over information, were issued to venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, the Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss twins, Coinbase, BitInstant, Coinsetter, and others.
...

Alert on Coinbase BTC exchanger from the California Department of Business Oversight:



01/27/15 - **DBO Commissioner Clarifies Coinbase Licensing Status in California**
Department of Business Oversight Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen today issued the following statement to correct erroneous reports that Coinbase Exchange has received regulatory approval from the State:

“Numerous press accounts about Coinbase’s Jan. 26 launch of Coinbase Exchange erroneously reported the Exchange has received regulatory approval from the State of California. The California Department of Business Oversight has not decided whether to regulate virtual currency transactions, or the businesses that arrange such transactions, under the state’s Money Transmission Act. California consumers should be aware Coinbase Exchange is not regulated or licensed by the State.”

In the Jan. 26 announcement, Coinbase called the Exchange a platform for bitcoin trading.

California consumers should contact the Department of Business Oversight to check on the licensing of companies, investments or other financial services they are considering by visiting the financial services licensee listing or calling the Department's toll-free Consumer Services Office at 1-866-275-2677.


URL: California Department of Business Oversight (http://www.dbo.ca.gov/Consumers/alerts/)

9261

NikSam
02-10-2015, 02:02 PM
Patrick's article on HongKong BTC exchange MyCoin which gone missing together with client's funds,
believed to be a $386M ponzi scheme:
Purportedly Based In Hong Kong And Offering Equity Positions, ‘MyCoin’ Bitcoin Exchange Reportedly Goes Missing; Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars May Be At Stake (http://patrickpretty.com/2015/02/09/purportedly-based-in-hong-kong-and-offering-equity-positions-mycoin-bitcoin-exchange-reportedly-goes-missing-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-may-be-at-stake/)

NikSam
06-09-2015, 11:52 AM
Arghh, NYSE launched the bitcoin index: NYSE creates a new bitcoin index (http://mashable.com/2015/05/19/new-york-stock-exchange-bitcoin/)

10958