Tag Archives: Bitcoin

‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Visa Application Refused After Renouncing Citizenship

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“Roger Ver, a high-profile member of the Bitcoin community who is commonly known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ has been denied a US visa — despite having been born in the country.  Ver is well known in the Bitcoin community as an entrepreneur and angel investor, having funded products including Blockchain, Ripple, and Blockpay. He became known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ after giving thousands of coins of the virtual currency away for free. Ver complains that the decision has forced him to miss speaking appointments at conferences and that the US embassy in Barbados refused to even consider the evidence for his application.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-jesus-visa-application-denied-2015-1

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Inside the Chinese Bitcoin Mine That’s Making $1.5M a Month

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“The mine we visited is just one of six sites owned by a secretive group of four people, part of a colossal mining operation that, as of our visit, cumulatively generated 4,050 bitcoins a month, equivalent to a monthly gross of $1.5 million.  Despite its dystopian appearance, the group’s six mining farms encompass eight petahashes per second of computing power, whose brute force, as of October, accounted for 3 percent of the entire Bitcoin network.  If you’ve bought or sold or conducted any Bitcoin transaction recently, these are some of the folks you have to thank.  Strangely, the mine’s workers actually live inside the facility itself, returning home just four or five days a month.”

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/chinas-biggest-secret-bitcoin-mine

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Bitcoin dealer sentenced to four years in prison

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“Robert Faiella, 55, and an accomplice were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and running an unlicensed money transmitting business. Faiella, who pleaded guilty in September 2014, was also ordered to pay $950,000.  He and accomplice Charlie Shrem, 25, were accused of running a company allowing people to use cash to buy bitcoins, and issuing $1 million in the virtual currency that is based on a mysterious computer algorithm.  Shrem was convicted to two years in prison on December 19.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Bitcoin-dealer-sentenced-to-four-years-in-prison/articleshow/45967280.cms

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Microsoft Has Aggressive Global Vision for Bitcoin

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“Microsoft accounts can now be funded with bitcoin and used to purchase apps, games and videos on its Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox platforms.  The BitPay executive team first met with Microsoft in Seattle three months ago, where they conducted a two-hour conversation with its executives, product specialists and engineers.  “They already did their homework on bitcoin, and were more interested in BitPay,” BitPay chief commercial officer Sonny Singh explained. ‘After that, they really felt comfortable and wanted to start proceeding as soon as possible.’  Singh stressed that he was impressed with Microsoft’s speed, calling its drive to follow through on the initiative ‘very impressive’.”

http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-microsoft-aggressive-global-vision-bitcoin/

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Dutch man injects Bitcoin wallet NFC chips into his hands

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“As an entrepreneur and founder of Mr. Bitcoin, a company that installs Bitcoin ATMs in the Netherlands and Belgium, Wismeijer had a 2 millimeter by 12 millimeter NFC Type 2 compliant NTAG216 RFID chip injected into the muscle tissue between his index finger and thumb on each hand. One he uses to store and overwrite common, everyday data, such as contact details, while the other holds his encrypted Bitcoin wallet key. After his doctor in Amsterdam understandably refused to perform the procedure, Wismeijer says he turned to a professional piercing artist to do the deed. Wismeijer is already planning to use his chips as keys to NFC-enabled door locks at his home.”

http://www.slashgear.com/man-injects-bitcoin-wallet-nfc-chips-into-his-hands-16355694/

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ID3 Hopes You’ll Opt-In to Your Own Surveillance

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“The ID3 software, called Open Mustard Seed, wouldn’t just contain your name, home address, birthday, government tracking numbers, etc. It would also contain “biometric” and ‘behavioral’ trackers, and all this data would be fused with every online transaction you ever used it for.  Sound a little nightmarish? Don’t worry, silly skeptic—ID3 crosses their hearts that the contents of your identity pack will remain anonymous to third parties. ID3 wouldn’t dream of sharing this mass of private data about you with others—unless, of course, the third party requesting the data is a government employee, by ID3’s own admission.”

http://cointelegraph.com/news/112900/id3-hopes-youll-opt-in-to-your-own-surveillance-op-ed

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Feds say Bitcoin miner maker Butterfly Labs ran “systematic deception”

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“BFL’s offices in Leawood, Kansas (just outside Kansas City) were ‘raided’ by the United States Marshals Service (USMS) last Friday.  Helen Wong, an FTC attorney, told Ars that all three principals had been served with the lawsuit and that no arrests were made. The USMS, she said, was present to ‘keep the peace.’ For the past year, BFL insisted that mere manufacturing delays were to blame for the company’s woes. However, suspicion of active fraud never died down—and only worsened after it came to light that Butterfly Labs’ largest shareholder, Sonny Vleisides, had violated the terms of his probation from a previous lottery scam case.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/feds-label-bitcoin-miner-maker-butterfly-labs-as-systematic-deception/

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Missouri halts investments in Springfield man’s Bitcoin operations

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“Secretary of State Jason Kander has halted investment activity associated with in a Springfield resident’s Bitcoin-related businesses, saying in a news release Monday that Kenneth Slaughter used ‘deceptive tactics’ to convince online investors to pay for the development of Bitcoin mining equipment.  Mining is the process of solving complex math problems to gain additional Bitcoins, an unregulated digital currency.  ‘The fact that somebody is selling investments through Bitcoin rather than traditional currency doesn’t change their obligations to investors, and I encourage Missourians to call my office before making any Bitcoin investments,’ Kander said in the release.”

http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2014/06/02/secretary-state-halts-springfield-bitcoin-business/9871263/

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It’s all over: Bitcoin miner maker HashFast to auction remaining assets

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“A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the auction of nearly all of HashFast’s remaining assets, putting the company out of business for good. According to court records, HashFast owes over $40 million to creditors primarily in the United States, but also to some customers in Europe, Russia, India, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.  Last Wednesday, US Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali granted the company’s request to sell thousands of its chips, wafers, mining boards, cooling fans, and older models of its miners.  HashFast’s execution problems appear to be endemic to many of its rivals, including Butterfly Labs and venture-backed CoinTerra.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/11/its-all-over-bitcoin-miner-maker-hashfast-to-auction-remaining-assets/

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Texas Man Arrested For $4.5 Million Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme

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“A Texas man has been arrested on wire fraud and securities fraud charges for his operation of what authorities allege was a Bitcoin-related Ponzi scheme that raised millions of dollars through a purported online digital hedge fund.  Trendon Shavers, known in Bitcoin forums as ‘Pirateat40,’ was arrested this morning on one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud.  Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as well as criminal fines.  The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Shavers in July 2013, which recently culminated in a federal judge ordering Shavers to pay $40 million in fines.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmaglich/2014/11/06/texas-man-arrested-for-4-5-million-bitcoin-ponzi-scheme/

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