Monthly Archives: March 2014

Goldman Sachs: Bitcoin Isn’t a Currency But Tech Holds Promise

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“A new Goldman Sachs report on digital currencies has found that while bitcoin is not a practical currency, its underlying ledger technology could hold promise.  In addition to its own researchers and scholars, Goldman Sachs also tapped a number of bitcoin advocates and critics, as well as industry veterans. Goldman Sachs envisions a future with more regulation and more security, but more regulation is not something that many in the bitcoin community desire at this point.  However, institutional investors will not get on board without a bulletproof regulatory framework and the collapse of Mt. Gox is bound to silence many critics.”

http://www.coindesk.com/goldman-sachs-bitcoin-isnt-currency-underlying-tech-holds-promise/

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Appeals court upholds Fed’s 21-cent cap on retailer ‘swipe fees’

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“A Federal Reserve rule allowing banks to charge retailers 21 cents to process debit-card transactions has been upheld by a federal appeals panel, a blow to big merchants such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp.  The dispute stems from a Dodd-Frank provision that required the Fed to set the so-called interchange fees, known colloquially as swipe fees, at a level reflecting the actual processing costs.  The Fed’s staff recommended cutting the fee from 44 cents per transaction on average to just 12 cents. But after heated protests from the financial industry, the Fed in June 2011 set a cap of 21 cents per transaction.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-debit-card-fees-20140321,0,7711407.story

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Silicon Valley can’t keep up with Korea’s financial revolution

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“T-Money, owned and operated by a conglomerate including the Seoul City Government and LG, has quickly become the de facto cash alternative for Koreans all over the country.  Not only can T-Money be used on trains, taxis and buses, it’s accepted in most major shopping chains, online, at vending machines, in bars and restaurants, and even at theme parks and museums.  Its first incarnation as a contactless credit card has evolved into a huge variety of form-factors, including wristbands, keychains, and dongles.  T-Money is part of the financial infrastructure of Korea, directly linked to bank accounts and debit cards everywhere.”

http://thenextweb.com/asia/2014/03/22/silicon-valley-cant-keep-koreas-financial-revolution/

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In Hong Kong, Placing Their Bets on Bitcoin

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“By day, David Shin is an investment banker at a major financial firm. By night and in pretty much every other free minute, he is an entrepreneur looking to break into Hong Kong’s growing Bitcoin scene.  Even as concerns swirl about the long-term viability of the virtual currency, Mr. Shin is raising money, courting clients and hiring staff to build a sort of stock exchange for Bitcoin-oriented companies. Mr. Shin, 38, plans to start his venture, CryptoMex, at the end of April.  He and his business partners built IceDrill, an operation in Montreal where racks of speedy computers race to generate Bitcoin. But he is now selling part of his stake in the Canadian mine and focusing on his start-up in Hong Kong.”

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/in-hong-kong-betting-big-on-bitcoin/?_r=0

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Gambling Website’s Bitcoin-Denominated Stock Draws SEC Inquiry

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“The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a formal inquiry into an online gambling website’s Bitcoin-denominated stock sale after the agency signaled that such dealings may break U.S. laws.  The SEC sent a letter asking MPEx, an online exchange for Bitcoin-based trading, to provide contracts and other documents relating to SatoshiDice.com, according to a copy of the request posted on the website trilema.com. Mircea Popescu, the MPEx operator to whom the letter was addressed, confirmed its receipt in an e-mail to Bloomberg News and said MPEx hasn’t broken any laws. The letter lists SatoshiDice as the topic of the inquiry without specifying what rules are at issue.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-19/gambling-website-s-bitcoin-denominated-stock-draws-sec-inquiry

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Company fined for smog-forming compounds in ‘Gorilla Snot’ hair gel

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“It was the styling product’s smog-forming compounds that prompted California air regulators to take action against Midway Importing Inc.  The Houston-based company, which distributes health and beauty care products nationwide, paid $213,000 in fines for selling the line of hair gel in violation of consumer product regulations designed to protect air quality, the California Air Resources Board said Monday.  During routine inspections in 2010, state investigators bought Moco de Gorila Gel Estilo Galan hair gel.  The state board estimated the hair products contributed an additional 23.9 tons of pollutants into California’s air and fined the company $8,900 per ton.”

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/12/science/la-sci-sn-hair-gel-gorilla-snot-smog-fine-20130812

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U.S. Risks National Blackout From Knockout Of Nine Power Stations

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“The study’s results have been known for months by people at federal agencies, Congress and the White House, who were briefed by then-FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff and others at the commission.  FERC has given the industry until early June to propose new standards for the security of critical facilities, such as substations.  Executives at several big utilities declined to discuss the risks to substations but said they are increasing spending on security. Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc., for example, said it planned to spend $300 million to $500 million within seven years to harden its facilities.”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304020104579433670284061220

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Over $100K in Bitcoin Was Stolen in a Ridiculously Low-Tech Heist

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“On Tuesday news broke that a Canadian Bitcoin exchange, simply known as ‘Canadian Bitcoins,’ was robbed of nearly $100,000 worth of cryptocurrency.  The method that Canada’s newly crowned most successful bitcoin thief used has exposed a massive (but by no means new) gap in computer security: human beings. All this thief did was open up a chat window with the data center that hosts the Canadian Bitcoins website and pretend to be its CEO, James Grant. Given that at no point did Granite Networks — the company that hosted Canadian Bitcoins — ever speak with the thief, the cyber-burglar could have been a 12-year old girl with an advanced knowledge of server systems and deception.”

https://news.vice.com/articles/over-100k-in-bitcoin-was-stolen-in-a-ridiculously-low-tech-heist

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Web Pioneer Marc Andreessen Keeps Faith, and Cash, in Bitcoin

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“Venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, where Mr. Andreessen is a co-founder and partner, has made about $50 million of investments in the area—believed to be more than any other firm—from a $1.5 billion fund, the firm says. The Palo Alto, Calif., firm plans to invest hundreds of millions of additional dollars over the next few years from other funds, people familiar with the firm say.  Like the Internet, bitcoin will emerge as an accepted technology, Mr. Andreessen argues, as it becomes more regulated and consumers and businesses become more comfortable with the idea of digital currencies. With those changes, he predicts, the subversive politics often associated with the currency will fade.”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304026304579453501821936252

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As Predicted, Stocks Make New Highs

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Anthony-Wile1

“The US stock market goes up. The US borrows and borrows and the Fed continues to print, along with every other major central bank in the world. The BIS presides over the greatest fraud since, well … the last great recovery that traveled from 2002 to 2008. That one ended badly, as well. But not until many became rich and some – those who were able to gauge the market’s arc – managed to keep all or part of their gains. It is indeed a fantasy … and a fraud … but it is also a reality unfolding before our unbelieving eyes. We are wafted upwards on the wings of fiat money printing. Our destination, like Icarus’s, is the sun.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/35140/Anthony-Wile-As-Predicted-Stocks-Make-New-Highs/

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