Monthly Archives: December 2013

Bank of Japan “Very Interested” in Bitcoin: Kuroda

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“The Bank of Japan is ‘very interested’ in the online virtual currency Bitcoin, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday.  The central bank’s Institute of Monetary and Economic Studies is studying it, Kuroda said at a regular news conference.  ‘Compared with traditional ways of money transfers and existing electronic money, Bitcoin has both similar and different aspects,’ Kuroda said.  Central banks around the world are closely watching Bitcoin, the value of which has been swinging wildly due to speculative trading.  The BOJ currently has no plans to take action on the situation surrounding Bitcoin, Kuroda said.”

http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2013122000949

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Australian Bank Publishes Report ‘Bitcoin to replace AUD?’

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“The National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banking groups, published a three-page research paper on 19th December titled ‘Bitcoin to replace AUD?’ (Australian dollars).  Despite the provocative title, the paper does not suggest replacing the national currency with bitcoin, nor say it could happen in the near future. Rather, it is an explanation of bitcoin and a comparison of the nature of digital currencies with existing sovereign currencies, and how they fit into the current international financial system.  Bitcoin could well become a widely accepted medium of exchange, the paper said, but it would take many more years to achieve mainstream acceptance.”

http://www.coindesk.com/australian-bank-report-bitcoin-replace-dollars/

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Singapore government decides not to interfere with Bitcoin

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“The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has decided not to intervene on whether businesses can accept Bitcoin as a means of transacting goods and services.  ‘Whether or not businesses accept Bitcoins in exchange for their goods and services is a commercial decision in which MAS does not intervene,’ it told Singapore-based Bitcoin trading platform Coin Republic in an email. Singapore is one of the world’s top finanacial hubs that is increasingly seen as a challenger to Switzerland’s private baking dominance.  The last time MAS issued a statement on Bitcoin was in September, when it warned speculators about the risks of trading the cryptocurrency.”

http://www.techinasia.com/singapore-government-decides-interfere-bitcoin/

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$1.4m Perth home put on the market for digital currency Bitcoin

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“A five-bedroom Perth Hills property for $1.4 million that overlooks a lake and has air-conditioning, a pool, timber decking and even a wood-fired pizza oven. The only catch: the owner must be paid in a digital currency known as bitcoin.  The sale, which would make the property the first in Australia to be sold for bitcoin, is the latest sign WA is embracing digital dollars.  But even bitcoin enthusiasts have been shocked by the offer, as the value of the currency fluctuates wildly.  Perth businessman Bret Treasure, 53, chairman of the Australian Web Industry Association and a board member of Bitcoin Australia, believes it’s the first bitcoin house sale in Australia.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/m-perth-home-put-on-the-market-for-digital-currency-bitcoin/story-e6frg6n6-1226788071548

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Realtor.com: Will You Be Buying Your Next House With Bitcoins?

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“If you’re not ready to throw down cash for that new house, maybe you can dig deep for some … bitcoins?  For the second time this week, a seller has promised to accept the virtual currency as valid payment for a new home, according to The Wall Street Journal.  One seller in the Hamptons is asking nearly $800,000 — or that value in bitcoins — for a four-bedroom, ranch-style home first listed in October. Earlier this week, a former casino owner said he’d be willing to accept bitcoins for his $7.85 million Las Vegas home.  Bitcoin is a digital currency introduced in 2009 that is not backed by a central bank or government.  The currency can be traded online through unregulated Internet exchanges.”

http://www.realtor.com/news/will-you-be-buying-your-next-house-with-bitcoins/

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Into the Bitcoin Mines

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“On the flat lava plain of Reykjanesbaer, Iceland, near the Arctic Circle, you can find the mines of Bitcoin.  To get there, you pass through a fortified gate and enter a featureless yellow building. After checking in with a guard behind bulletproof glass, you face four more security checkpoints, including a so-called man trap that allows passage only after the door behind you has shut. This brings you to the center of the operation, a fluorescent-lit room with more than 100 whirring silver computers, each in a locked cabinet and each cooled by blasts of Arctic air shot up from vents in the floor to cool the machines, which often overheat when they are pushed to the outer limits of their computing capacity.”

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/into-the-bitcoin-mines/

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Bitcoin trading illegal in Iceland according to Icelandic Central bank

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“It is prohibited to engage in foreign exchange trading with the electronic currency Bitcoin, according to the Icelandic Foreign Exchange Act. A written response from the Central Bank of Iceland to Morgunblaðið states that the Foreign Exchange Act specifies general restrictions on foreign exchange trading and capital movements between countries. ‘It does not appear that the provisions of the Act that exempt goods and services from the aforementioned restrictions can be applied to trading in Bitcoin or that other exemptions from restrictions of the Act apply to such transactions,’ the Central Banks’s response states.”

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1t8zf3/bitcoin_trading_illegal_in_iceland_according_to/

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Sweden moves closer to a cashless society with new business registry

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“The troublesome legislation does not end with a government registry and yet another extraction of resources from the citizens. Businesses must now in many cases also violate the privacy of its customers. According to the law, businesses or their employees must obtain detailed knowledge about its customers and also ask for their identification. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the financial police. Funnily enough businesses does not have to obtain knowledge about their customers if they are dealing with Swedish authorities or with banks and insurance companies. Article 2 section 5 of the law states that these are exempt.”

http://www.infowars.com/sweden-moves-closer-to-a-cashless-society-with-new-money-laundering-registry/

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Stolen Target Credit Cards Are Selling For $20 – $100 Each

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“Brian Krebs, the venerable security journalist who first reported the insane Target Holiday Security Breach that exposed up to 40 million credit cards, has located one of the black market sites selling the card information and says they are going for $20 to $100 each. They can be bought using, of course, Bitcoin, as well as other irreversible and semi-anonymous ways of sending money including Litecoin, WebMoney, PerfectMoney, and traditional wire transfers. Krebs went shopping on the black market to help a small New England community bank which has 120,000 cards in the wallets of its customers and wanted to know how many of them are for sale for fraudsters this holiday season.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/12/20/target-credit-cards-are-selling-for-20-100-each/

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Target confirms up to 40 million credit and debit cards are at risk

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“Retailers are an appealing target for hackers during the holidays, and Target may be learning that lesson the hard way. According to Krebs on Security, the US retail giant is investigating a major breach that could potentially involve ‘millions’ of customer credit and debit card records. The sophisticated hack reportedly took place over several weeks — starting on Black Friday and possibly extending all the way through December 15th — and is said to involve ‘nearly all’ Target stores in the United States.  Krebs says the breach ‘involves the theft of data stored on the magnetic stripe of cards used at the stores.'”

http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/18/5225252/target-reportedly-hacked-black-friday-millions-of-credit-cards-at-risk

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