Monthly Archives: March 2014

Clueless Grandstanding Senator Calls For US To Ban Bitcoin

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“I present Senator Joe Manchin, who (like plenty of Senators) does appear to get a fair bit of campaign money from financial services and banking institutions. He’s now calling for Bitcoin to be banned in the US with a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Fed Chair Janet Yellen. But what’s incredible in his letter is how… simply wrong he is about nearly everything regarding the cryptocurrency.”

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140226/13184826360/technologically-clueless-grandstanding-senator-calls-us-to-ban-bitcoin.shtml

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U.S. prosecutors subpoena high-profile Bitcoin startup Circle

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“The subpoena sent to Circle Internet Financial, a bitcoin services startup that received $9 million in venture capital funding in October, asked for information ‘pertaining to a criminal investigation that the (DoJ) is undertaking’ into ‘a company,’ said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire.  Allaire declined to identify the company named in the subpoena but said he suspected Circle had received the request because of its public response to the Mt. Gox shutdown.  Allaire, who founded Circle last year in Boston, said his company had never had commercial dealings with Mt. Gox and that ‘serious’ businesses in the Bitcoin community had stayed away from the exchange for nearly a year.”

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/27/prosecutors-subpoenahighprofilebitcoinstartup.html

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Tyler Winklevoss: Digital Darwinism

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“Mt. Gox’s closure continues to highlight the need for reasonable and responsible U.S. regulation that will both foster innovation and provide guardrails for consumers.  Currently, the lack of clarity has pushed many Bitcoin companies and VC dollars offshore.  US consumers have been forced to wire their money to Japan, the UK or Bulgaria, where there is little recourse for them if something goes wrong.  Last months hearings in New York convened by NYDFS Superintendent Ben Lawsky were a big step in the right direction.  People from over 117 countries tuned in; the world is watching.  Two days ago, Superintendent Lawsky continued to voice his prior commitment to thoughtful regulation.”

http://www.winklevosscapital.com/posts/78045275170

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Charlie Shrem Speaks Out About Mt. Gox

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“Charlie Shrem, the troubled bitcoin entrepreneur, speaking to me from his parents’ house in New York, where he’s currently under house arrest, tells me he classes Karpeles, CEO of the disastrous bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, as a good friend, but disagrees with a hell of a lot of the decisions the Frenchman has made.  The 24-year-old admitted he has some bitcoins in Mt. Gox.  However, he’s trying his best to be a good friend to Karpeles at a time when he’s (understandably) being hounded from all angles.  And Shrem certainly knows all about that, having been headline fodder for a good few weeks earlier in the year, following his arrest on money laundering charges.”

http://www.coindesk.com/exclusive-charlie-shrem-speaks-mt-gox-arrest-bitcoin-bromance/

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Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Sued for ‘Misappropriation’

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“Bankrupt Mt. Gox, once the world’s biggest Bitcoin exchange, was sued by a customer in federal court in Chicago in a proposed class-action lawsuit representing all U.S. users who lost money.  The Mt. Gox exchange announced Feb. 24 it had lost 750,000 Bitcoins belonging to users and 100,000 more of its own. The exchange filed for bankruptcy today in Tokyo, saying in a statement that its debt exceeded its assets by 2.7 billion yen ($26.4 million).  Greene is pursuing class-action, or group, status on behalf of all people in the U.S. who paid Mt. Gox to buy, sell or trade in bitcoins as well as a those who had currency stored with the Japanese entity on Feb. 7.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-28/mt-gox-bitcoin-exchange-sued-in-u-s-for-misappropriation-1-.html

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Leaked: Just before Bitcoin catastrophe, MtGox dreamed of riches

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“At some point in recent weeks, MtGox appears to have pitched investors, arguing that it was poised to increase its profits 20-fold in just two years on the back of ‘no debt nor outside financing.’  That’s according to a newly published document entitled ‘Business Plan Europe 2014-2017,’ and it appears to have been authored by MtGox executives in 2014. The 27-page document, which was first published late Wednesday, puts the company’s fiscal 2013 profits at $286,000, its projected fiscal 2014 profits at $2 million, its projected fiscal 2015 profits at $13.85 million, and its projected fiscal 2016 profits at $39 million.”

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/02/leaked-just-before-bitcoin-catastrophe-mtgox-dreamed-of-riches/

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Japan says any bitcoin regulation should be international

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“Any regulation of the bitcoin crypto-currency should involve international cooperation to avoid loopholes, Japanese vice finance minister Jiro Aichi said on Thursday.  Commenting on the closure this week of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world’s biggest exchange for the bitcoin virtual currency, Aichi said the ministry would respond to the problems ‘if necessary’, after finding out exactly what happened.  ‘It’s not just the Ministry of Finance; many other agencies are related,’ Aichi told a news conference. ‘As for its legal position, a currency (under Japan’s jurisdiction) would be coins or notes issued by the Bank of Japan. At the very least, we can say bitcoin is not a currency.'”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/27/us-bitcoin-mtgox-japan-idUSBREA1Q0I520140227

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Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy, Claims $63.6m Debt

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“Mt. Gox is officially filing for bankruptcy protection with an outstanding debt of ¥6.5bn ($63.6m), finally admitting openly that 750,000 of its bitcoins and 100,000 of the company’s own have been lost.  The exchange’s lawyer announced the news during a conference at the Tokyo District Court. CEO Mark Karpeles, wearing a suit and tie, bowed deeply in the tradition of disgraced Japanese business leaders fronting the media.  Assets include $5m ‘held by CoinLab‘ and another $5.5m ‘held by the DHS‘. The Department of Homeland Security seized that amount from Mt. Gox’s US accounts in mid 2013, claiming it had not registered properly as a money transmission business.”

http://www.coindesk.com/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-claims-63-6m-debt/

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Why the Working Poor and Banks Are a Bad Match

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“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to draft rules governing payday lending this year. But the conventional wisdom that will likely guide it is based on false perceptions about the working poor and the best way to serve them.  So argues Lisa Servon, a professor at The New School in New York, who spent four months as a teller at a check-cashing business in the South Bronx and three at a payday lender in Oakland, Calif. Servon’s conclusion is that many low-income consumers fulfill their financial needs outside the regulated banking system by choice and in many cases are better off for doing so.”

http://www.americanbanker.com/video/why-the-working-poor-and-banks-are-a-bad-match1064854-1.html

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Ukraine Protestors Turn to Bitcoin to Ease Cash Crisis

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“Field surgeries and hospitals treat the wounded, kitchens feed the crowds, blankets and clothing are distributed to those who need them, and people with vehicles shuttle everything around.  Not only is this a major logistical and people-management feat to co-ordinate, but it must all be paid for somehow. So, expatriate Ukrainians around the world have joined the fight to campaign and raise funds to assist the struggle back home.  PayPal only allows money to be sent out of Ukraine, while international bank transfers can take days to complete. Much of the time, transfers happen through friends and trust networks.  This week sees a new campaign to raise funds directly via bitcoin.”

http://www.coindesk.com/hold-ukraine-protestors-turn-bitcoin-fundraising/

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