Monthly Archives: February 2014

Cyprus Central Bank says Bitcoin is not illegal

Posted on by

“The Central Bank directly acknowledged for the first time yesterday that bitcoin is not illegal, but again highlighted the risks of using an unregulated digital currency.  ‘Bitcoin is not illegal, but at the same time neither is it subject to control or regulation,’ sources at the Central Bank told the Cyprus Mail.  The Central Bank warnings came just as bitcoin marketers Neo & Bee were poised to launch their business here. Following a weeks-long media blitz, Neo & Bee opened its flagship branch in Nicosia on Monday. The company has already partnered with a number of businesses accepting payment in bitcoin, including So Easy Stores, LTV and Telemarketing.”

http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/02/26/central-bank-says-bitcoin-is-not-illegal/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Cyber thieves blamed for botnet Bitcoin heist: researchers

Posted on by

“A gang of cyber criminals using an army of infected computers made off with at least $220,000 worth of Bitcoins and other virtual currencies, security researchers said Monday.  The researchers from the security firm Trustwave said the heist was accomplished by a botnet of computers using malware that has been dubbed ‘Pony’. The Pony botnet has infected an estimated 700,000 people or computers, allowing the criminals to control those accounts.  The botnet stole 600,000 website login credentials, 100,000 email account credentials and other secure account information.”

http://phys.org/news/2014-02-cyber-thieves-blamed-bitcoin-heist.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

SecondMarket to launch first New York-based Bitcoin exchange

Posted on by

“SecondMarket is spinning out its Bitcoin activities into a stand-alone company that eventually will include a New York-based exchange for the cryptocurrency.  The new company will receive from SecondMarket:  Digital currency asset management. This includes Bitcoin Investment Trust, the first-ever U.S. investment vehicle dedicated exclusively to Bitcoin. It sort of acts like a currency ETF, and was launched last fall. Trading desk: SecondMarket has an 11-person Bitcoin trading team that originally was just a market-maker, but now is on both sides after Mt. Gox began disintegrating.  $$: SecondMarket will contribute approximately $20 million in cash and Bitcoin assets.”

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02/25/secondmarket-bitcoin-exchange/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Better Bitcoin Exchanges Could Balance Out Mt. Gox Destruction

Posted on by

“The Bitcoin market will bounce back with a wave of impressively professional services that are currently in their infancy. It’s horrible that Gox has managed to lose so much of their customers’ money due to their incredibly poor business practices. But for those of us who have watched the market carefully while observing the former Magic Card hub’s various failures, this is not a surprise. For those who are taking the long-view of Bitcoin, this is a large speed bump that will cause a lot of people grief for a long time; but there are bigger and better services on the way that will be able to learn from this crucial example of how not to run a Bitcoin exchange.”

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/better-bitcoin-exchanges-could-balance-out-the-destruction-of-mt-gox

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

‘Japanese Regulators Take Closer Look at Bitcoin’ (Wednesday)

Posted on by

“Japan’s chief government spokesman and a member of the central bank’s policy board said authorities were looking into the regulation of bitcoin, a day after Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox shut its website and halted trading.  Compared with regulators in many other advanced economies, Japanese regulators have been relatively silent on bitcoin. But Wednesday morning, Japan’s top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, said the government was looking into the matter, collecting information through the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance and the police.”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304071004579406331583977114

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

‘Japan’s Authorities Decline to Step In on Bitcoin’ (Tuesday)

Posted on by

“Japanese authorities have been relatively silent about bitcoin. When asked in December for his view on bitcoin generally, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said that he was ‘very interested.’ He said the central bank’s research arm was looking into the currency, but that he couldn’t comment further.  A Bank of Japan spokesman said Friday that the bank ‘is not in a position’ to regulate bitcoin and its exchanges.  The Ministry of Finance said on Monday that it isn’t its job to supervise bitcoin and related services. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which is in charge of information technology and related issues, said, ‘We are not in a position to make any judgments on this matter.'”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304834704579402751676012112

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Japanese Police Shut Down Protest at Mt. Gox

Posted on by

“The small group of protestors outside Mt. Gox in Tokyo were moved on late yesterday by Japanese police, and warned not to return without a ‘demonstration license’.  This effectively ends the protest in its current form, since the group is unlikely to secure the license. For the most part the protest consisted only of two people, though they had been joined at other stages during the week by curious bitcoiners and financial media reporters. One of the Japanese language signs the pair was holding invited locals to join in and gave the street address.”

http://www.coindesk.com/japanese-police-shut-down-protest-gox/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

MtGox Subpoenaed By U.S. Prosecutor

Posted on by

“MtGox has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York, the Wall Street Journal’s Christopher M. Matthews reports.  An unnamed source tells him simply that federal prosecutors sent the subpoena this month.  A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York decline to comment to BI.  MtGox shut trading operations last night over what it says were ‘recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox’s operations and the market.’  Soon after the WSJ broke the story, Reuters reported that Japanese authorities were also looking into the Tokyo-based exchange.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/report-mtgox-subpoenaed-by-us-prosecutor-2014-2

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Bitcoin vs. The Fed: Andreas Antonopoulos, Stefan Molyneux

Posted on by

“Stefan Molyneux and Andreas Antonopoulos discuss the fall of Mt. Gox, the greatly exaggerated death of Bitcoin, the joy of failure within the Bitcoin economy, the incredible opportunity Bitcoin provides those without access to the modern banking system, and the difference between Bitcoin and the Federal Reserve System and fiat currencies worldwide.  Andreas Antonopoulos is the Chief Security Officer of Blockchain.info, a host on Let’s Talk Bitcoin and an expert on Information Security and Cryptography.”

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

G. Edward Griffin on Bitcoin with Max Wright and Trace Mayer

Posted on by

“Great Conversation with G. Edward Griffin, Max Wright, and Trace Mayer on Bitcoin.”

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet