Tag Archives: Bitcoin

Money Will Be Digital — But Will It Be Free?

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“What a strange world we now live in. Total surveillance of every citizen’s transactions, without any basis or suspicion, is not just normal but presented as a virtue, a form of patriotism. Using cash or wishing to retain your financial privacy is inherently suspect, a radical position, soon to be a crime.  Using cash or wishing to retain your financial privacy is inherently suspect, a radical position, soon to be a crime.  A future where all payments are trackable is terrifying, but a world with centralized control over transactions would be even worse. Digital currency with centralized control means the eradication of property as a right.”

http://fee.org/freeman/detail/money-will-be-digital-but-will-it-be-free

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Ecuador launches new digital currency after banning competitors

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“The new system, which is officially set to launch on Thursday, will work much like mobile phone bank payments in other countries: users will be able to exchange hard cash for digital money which is stored in an electronic wallet on their phones.  As with other mobile payment programmes, text messages will allow users to make payments to other accounts, but what makes this plan different is that this is the first time a national government will have full control; everything from the creation of new units to securing the system against attack will be managed by the Central Bank of Ecuador.  The bill that authorized the digital dollar also banned Bitcoin and other digital currencies.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/ecuador-digital-currency-dollar-rafael-correa

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Amid the Greek Crisis, Bitcoin Reminds Everyone It’s Not Perfect

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“The economic crisis in Greece has turned some attention to Bitcoin again. The price of the digital currency has rallied over the past few days, partly because some Greeks have been snapping up the currency amid bank closures and cash withdrawal limits.  But over the weekend, Bitcoin’s software provided a well-timed reminder of why it’s not the perfect financial system, either. Bitcoin transactions have been taking five times longer than usual to complete, according to Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. The problems stem from a new version of the Bitcoin software that runs on PCs and servers underpinning the currency’s decentralized system.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-06/amid-the-greek-crisis-bitcoin-reminds-everyone-it-s-not-perfect

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Bitcoin: Greece’s new euro workaround?

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“Joaquin Fenoy was wandering the streets of Athens Friday, doing his bit to ease Greece’s currency restrictions. He wasn’t handing out cash, but rather installing an ATM with a withdrawal limit of €1,000 (about $1,100). That’s €940 above the €60 daily ATM withdrawal limit the Greek government put in place to stop a bank run as its creditors decide the country’s financial fate. There is one catch, though: You need to have the virtual currency bitcoin to use it.  In Greece’s case, worried relatives in London could buy bitcoins and transfer them to the digital wallet of a family member in Athens, who could then withdraw the bitcoins as euros from Bitchain’s ATM.”

http://fortune.com/2015/07/10/greece-bitcoin-bitchain/

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Jeffrey Tucker: Greeks Prepare to Be Pillaged

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“One thing needs to be said about this frantic authoritarian approach: It never works. Bank closings add to the atmosphere of panic. They are often followed by an announcement that the government is going to devalue or outright steal people’s money. Whatever trust remains in the system is drained away along with the value of the currency.  But there’s another factor in play, for the first time. People are looking at Bitcoin as a way to store and move money.  There is now a Bitcoin ATM in Athens that is reportedly doing a brisk business. Redditors are sharing tips. And, of course, the exchange rate of Bitcoin is on the move again.”

http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/greeks-prepare-to-be-pillaged

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Bitcoin Payment Service Helps Greek Businesses Avoid Capital Controls

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“With the banking system locked down, capital controls prevent Greek citizens from accessing cash and this disrupts the economy. The Irish company Spartan Route has come to the rescue of Greek businesses with an innovative service proposal: They will invoice their Greek clients’ foreign customers in euro, collect the payment, and send bitcoin back to Greece.  Their proposal to Greek businesses is simple and crystal clear: 1. Invoice Spartan Route for your exports, 2. Deliver your goods as normal to your customer through your current supply chains; 3. Spartan Route pays you with bitcoin; 4. Spartan Route invoices your customer for euro.”

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/21104/spartan-route-offers-invoicing-bitcoin-payment-service-greek-businesses/

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Greece Closes Banks and Stock Markets, Introduces Capital Controls

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“The banks in Greece and the Athens Stock Exchange will remain closed until at least July 6, the day after the referendum on the austerity measures demanded by the country’s creditors. In the meantime, cash withdrawals at ATMs will be limited to 60 euros ($66) and transfers abroad will be forbidden. Greece is the second Eurozone country, after Cyprus in 2013, to impose capital controls.  The move is evidently aimed at preventing panicked Greek investors and savers from taking their money out of the nation’s banks and moving it elsewhere. In the days before the predictable stall of the negotiations with Europe, many Greeks rushed to withdraw their money.”

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/21038/greece-closes-banks-stock-markets-introduces-capital-controls/

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The Dark Web Drug Lords Who Got Away

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“Despite Ulbricht’s ultimate punishment, the lesson for anyone closely watching the Dark Web drug trade has hardly been one of inevitable consequences. As independent researcher Gwern Branwen has documented in an ongoing survey of more than 70 Dark Web drug markets created after Ulbricht founded the Silk Road, only five of those sites’ administrators have been arrested. For many of the others, the security model Ulbricht pioneered—using Tor and bitcoin to protect administrators, buyers and sellers—has successfully kept law enforcement fumbling in the shadows.”

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/dark-web-drug-lords-got-away/

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Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto and the Birth of Bitcoin

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“Many in the Bitcoin community told me that, in deference to the Bitcoin creator’s clear desire for privacy, they didn’t want to see the wizard unmasked. But even among those who said this, few could resist debating the clues the founder left behind. As I had these conversations with the programmers and entrepreneurs who are most deeply involved in Bitcoin, I encountered a quiet but widely held belief that much of the most convincing evidence pointed to a reclusive American man of Hungarian descent named Nick Szabo.  Mr. Szabo is nearly as much of a mystery as Satoshi. But in the course of my reporting I kept turning up new hints that drew me further into the chase.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/business/decoding-the-enigma-of-satoshi-nakamoto-and-the-birth-of-bitcoin.html

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Jeffrey Tucker: Wall Street Discovers the Blockchain

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“What happens on the Blockchain is forever recorded on the Blockchain. Even now, you can observe every trade since its inception in January 2009.  What is this technology good for? It’s not just about money. It permits the packaging, titling, and commodification of any bundle of information data. This bundle can be ported from place to place and virtually zero cost. This happens without using a third party. Transactions take place person to person, exchanged just like goods and services.  In other words, the Blockchain allows information to behave exactly like physical property, but with one difference: you don’t have to be physically present to exchange it.”

http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/wall-street-discovers-the-blockchain

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