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  Jeremy Rubin and Dan Elitzer, two MIT students, have raised half a million US dollars in a plan to distribute $100 worth of Bitcoin to every undergraduate at MIT in the Fall. With the eventual goal of establishing a Bitcoin ecosystem at MIT, this will purportedly be achieved through the utilization of the MIT […]

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More good news for those who entrusted Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox with their cryptocurrency. After filing for bankruptcy earlier this year, Mt. Gox found some 200,000 Bitcoins last month, and today it has tentatively settled its class-action lawsuit in...

Washington D.C., 4/29/14, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the enforcement arm of the United States Treasury Department, has issued its most recent ruling related to Bitcoin.  A concerned American miner sent a letter to FinCEN on 2/26/14 asking whether or not the rental of computer systems for mining virtual currency would make his company an […]

The post New US Treasury FinCEN Ruling Clarifies Money Transmission Status Of Renting Bitcoin Miners And Hashing Power appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

A group of Bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs are planning to dole out $500,000 in the currency to MIT undergraduates. Here's why that's troubling.

Pity the incoming freshmen at MIT this coming fall--at least for a moment. They've not yet graduated high school, but already they are part of a high-tech propaganda experiment.

Tuesday, a pair of entrepreneurially minded Bitcoin enthusiasts, both MIT students, announced they'd raised a half-million dollar fund, largely from fellow Bitcoin investors, to give every MIT undergraduate--all 4,500 of them--the equivalent of $100 in Bitcoin. On the surface, this seems like kind of a cool mass experiment. (And what student wouldn't take $100 in anything: beer, books, precious minerals, open-source cryptocurrencies…?) But peer into the web of interests in the recently volatile alternative currency by the project's creators and investors, and the giveaway starts to look a bit less wholesome.

The Tech, an MIT-affiliated publication, nods to the possibility that the Bitcoin experiment by Jeremy Rubin and Dan Elitzer is more about bolstering the "perceptions" of the cryptocurrency than fostering innovation among students:

Former International Monetary Fund chief economist Simon Johnson, an MIT professor unaffiliated with the project, said that he was "all in favor" of encouraging innovation in finance and that Rubin and Elitzer’s experiment "could be a positive" for perceptions of bitcoin. He noted that the cryptocurrency's credibility has become a bigger concern this year after the bankruptcy of Mt. Gox, once the largest bitcoin exchange.

What's the creators' interest in Bitcoin? The project was dreamed up by Rubin, a sophomore who studies computer science and who founded a Bitcoin-mining company called Tidbit, which was slapped with a subpoena from the state of New Jersey earlier this year. Tech publications at the time glossed over the subpoena's contents, instead focusing on the fact the scrappy startup had just won a prize for being "innovative" at a recent local hackathon. But the document asks for information regarding Tidbit accessing and installing programs on unauthorized computers.

Rubin's partner in putting together the fund is Elitzer, a student at MIT's Sloan School of Business. He's also the founder and president of the MIT Bitcoin club. In a phone interview, Elitzer told me he owns Bitcoin, but isn't sure whether Rubin does (he believes Rubin lost some in the recent Mt. Gox shutdown), and he found investors by talking to MIT alum and attendees of Bitcoin conferences, including the CoinSummit conference in San Francisco last month.

"We're trying to get some of the brightest minds of the generation using Bitcoin and experimenting with it on a deeper level," he said.

The investors who are pouring money into what will be an instant diversification of the ownership of Bitcoin--and perhaps a move that will bolster its reputation as an actual currency, rather than an investment or speculation tool--are also invested in Bitcoin's future. Half of the funding for the project comes from Alexander Moros, who's an investor in Bitcoin, a member of the Bitcoin Foundation, and lists himself in an online profile as a "Bitcoin angel investor." He's also one of the managing directors of Hudson River Trading, a firm specializing in high-frequency trading--you know, the subject of Michael Lewis's last investigative book, Flash Boys.

Does giving the equivalent of a quarter of a Bitcoin to thousands of young people add up to a conflict of interest for these students and their investors? Maybe it's totally harmless. No student is going to be forced to take the fraction of a bitcoin they're offered. And students are frequently the targets of giveaways--gum, Red Bull, and free haircuts all come to mind as things I was often offered as an undergrad. None influenced my long-term spending habits, taste, or investments.

But certainly, the university community might take pause, or even be taken aback, if MIT substituted for "Bitcoin" here at the magnitude of this deal, almost any other product. Say a group of coal investors gave every one of the 4,500 students $100 in coal stock? What if a soda company gave the same group of hyper-smart, tech-savvy 18-to-22-year-olds a stake in the future of the stuff in hopes that their outsized influence online would give the company a big boost? It certainly starts to feel icky--and a little exploitative of the MIT community--and raises ethical questions. (Plus, a half-million dollars from alumni might otherwise make for a very nice scholarship endowment.) There's a difference between a sample pack of gum and a literal investment in the future of a concept. When I brought this up to Elitzer, he seemed thoughtful, and admitted that he understood the analogy. He also agreed that most current Bitcoin owners use it more as an investment than as a currency. Still, he said, a college campus is an ideal Petri dish for this kind of experiment.

"New technologies tend to be adopted by college students," he said. "In that sense, we're hoping that doing this project at MIT it can give a glimpse at a community where Bitcoin is used."

Let's set aside the fact that early adoption is being purchased here. This particular project is being couched in terms of spurring innovation. And it will be neat to see, at least intiellectually, just what happens if a few thousand young adults are given a little bit of a new currency. Will they spend, and create a lot more liquidity for Bitcoin? Will the developers innovate further technologically upon the Bitcoin rails?

If only it were a simple thought experiment--or a project by impartial researchers or curious scholars. But it's not: It's a project engineered by individuals with a financial incentive in the success of the very product they are putting into the hands of tech influencers. What's certain is there is no downside to this experiment for its investors--who are also invested in the future of Bitcoin.

The trial of former Bitcoin Foundation vice chairman Charlie Shrem is now set to begin this September.

A primary school in Cyprus is now taking bitcoin payments for student fees.

Austral-Asia Bitcoin Expo The Asia-Pacific is about to be served up a slice of crypto heaven. Enthusiasts in Europe and the Americas can take their pick of exciting events. For those on the other side of the world, well, it’s slim pickings. This July CryptoCon aims to bridge the gap. Broadly the event will focus on Cryptocurrency as ‘The Internet of Money’. This means developments on higher-level blockchain technologies will also be showcased. The dialogue in the space is moving rapidly, so the event will give fair weight to both Bitcoin and the next chapter of blockchain technologies. The events will be held: Sydney: July 24th – 25th at the Park Royal Hotel, Darling Harbour. Singapore: July 28th – 29th at […]

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CoinDesk speaks to members of Mexico's bitcoin community for a detailed look at its domestic growth prospects.

Wisconsinites love their beer, and several craft breweries call Madison home. Among them is MobCraft, a brewing concern quickly earning a reputation not only for stunning original beers, but also for a truly distinctive business model. For starters, MobCraft’s brews are crowdsourced. The team monitors the “social popularity of each beer recipe through different channels of social media. The resulting data is merged into a social popularity tracker that will determine the most popular beer recipes each month.” After listening to what customers want in real-time, they set their brewing expertise in motion, crafting a beverage that’s as delicious as it is original. And now, to take things to a whole other level, MobCraft has started accepting bitcoin. As of April 25, […]

The post Madison’s MobCraft Combines Crowdsourced Craft Beer and Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Mt. Gox’s petition for bankruptcy protection during a proposed reorganization was rejected two weeks ago by a Japanese bankruptcy court. As a result, the beleaguered exchange has been ordered into liquidation. Unless or until CEO Mark Karpeles makes himself available in person to provide a deposition to courts in the United States, the same is likely to be the outcome for the bankruptcy filing by the company’s US subsidiary. In response, a group of investors calling themselves “Sunlot Holdings, Ltd.” has proposed a customer led reorganization under the title “Save Gox.” I started writing this article with the intention of heaping scorn on the notion of saving Mt. Gox. However, the more I thought about it the more I started […]

The post Mt. Gox Shouldn’t Stay Down…Or Should It? appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Singapore-based Payment Solutions Provider CoinPip has teamed up with 37Coins to  bring an SMS wallet to the region. CoinPip is excited to offer the opportunity for consumers to pay in bitcoin from absolutely any mobile device with SMS functionality. The company has gained attention with their BOOST events, promoting Bitcoin throughout the region in an intimate setting with a hands-on and educational approach. They saw a real need to rapidly integrate this service for their users on Apple devices or with dumb phones. Co-founder of CoinPip, Anson Zeall, is planning to expand to Hong Kong and Indonesia in the coming weeks, eventually introducing the wallet throughout South East Asia, in areas where 3G connections are still very limited. Anson informs […]

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A new payment system, Paym, allows people to send money to each other using only mobile numbers.

Bitcoin may be coming to a gas station near you thanks to Andy Schroder’s Bitcoin Fluid Dispenser II. For commodities like oil and gas, this innovation could help streamline the end of the supply chain and in turn, increase the usability of cryptocurrencies. So far, there are a few companies at the forefront of Bitcoin technology in the oil and gas industry. Recently, Texas based oil and gas data company Oilfield Intel LLC announced in March that it would accept Bitcoin, becoming the first provider in the industry to do so. The Cosmic Market in Greeley, Colorado announced in December that it would be accepting bitcoin at its retail gas station and convenience store manually at their cashier. However, the […]

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El anonimato fue uno de los quebraderos de cabeza en los inicios de Bitcoin, aunque recientes eventos lo hacen polémico de implementar. A este anonimato se le añadió el prefijo “pseudo”, haciendo que no se pueda saber la verdadera identidad del emisor/receptor, aunque las transacciones sean públicas en la cadena de bloques. En la actualidad, […]

The post Anonimato en criptomonedas. Parte I: Métodos appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Elections are underway at the Bitcoin Foundation after two high-profile resignations. CoinDesk takes a look at the candidates.

The no. 98 Ford driven by Josh Wise will have a new paint scheme after the Dogecoin community raised more than $50,000 to sponsor the car for this week's Aaron's 499 at Talladega.

Wise, who is in his third full Sprint Cup season, has spent much of the year with a main sponsor for his car.

A NASCAR fan on Reddit started a fundraiser to get Wise a sponsor and it took just eight days for the community of the internet currency to raise the funds necessary.

Here is the result.

Here it is! Thanks to all that made it happen. See you in 'Dega! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/gk0YlRrnBJ

— Phil Parsons Racing (@PPR98) April 27, 2014

Here is what Wise's car looked like earlier this season.

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CoinDesk's bitcoin app for iOS, featuring the latest news, analysis and prices, is now available for download.

Bountysource, a funding platform for open source software, has finally integrated bitcoin payments.

You may have heard of The Iron Rail Diner, the diner that has become known in the Dogecoin community for its acceptance and embrace of Dogecoin. The Iron Rail Diner is a diner in Maryland which has graciously accepted Dogecoin, along with Bitcoin and Litecoin. The Diner’s co-owner, Terry Linn, is active on the dogecoin […]

The post How to Accept Bitcoin and Dogecoin? Maryland diner tests it out with “Too the Moon” Sundae appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

You may have heard of The Iron Rail Diner, the diner that has become known in the Dogecoin community for its acceptance and embrace of Dogecoin. The Iron Rail Diner is a diner in Maryland which has graciously accepted Dogecoin, along with Bitcoin and Litecoin. The Diner’s co-owner, Terry Linn, is active on the dogecoin […]

The post How to Accept Bitcoin and Dogecoin? Maryland diner tests it out with “Too the Moon” Sundae appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

You may have heard of The Iron Rail Diner, the diner that has become known in the Dogecoin community for its acceptance and embrace of Dogecoin. The Iron Rail Diner is a diner in Maryland which has graciously accepted Dogecoin, along with Bitcoin and Litecoin. The Diner’s co-owner, Terry Linn, is active on the dogecoin […]

The post How to Accept Bitcoin and Dogecoin? Maryland diner tests it out with “Too the Moon” Sundae appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

ie ganze Welt blickt in den letzten Wochen gespannt Richtung die Ukraine und Wladimir Putin. Der russische Staatschef hält die westlichen Mächte weiterhin in Atem. Eine Lösung des Konflikts, der anfangs von der Krim- Halbinsel ausging und nun die gesamte Ukraine betrifft, scheint nicht absehbar. Auch weitreichende Sanktionen der G7- Staaten scheinen bei Putin keinen […]

The post Warum Putin in Bitcoin investieren sollte appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

A group of investors and North American creditors are making moves to revive the bankrupt bitcoin exchange.

Good morning! Here's what you need to know.

Pfizer's Tax Gambit. Bloomberg's Jesse Drucker and Zach Mider report that if Pfizer successfully acquires AstraZeneca, they would join "a wave of U.S. companies using mergers as ways to slash income tax bills by shifting their head office overseas -- often on paper only. 'This is basically an opportunity to go outside the U.S. and still sell in the U.S. and strip the tax base,' said H. David Rosenbloom, an attorney at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington and director of the international tax program at  New York University’s school of law.

Energy Future Bankruptcy. The subject of the largest-ever private-equity buyout filed for creditor protection. Energy Future, once known as TXU, serves over a million customers in Texas. It could not fight through plummeting natural gas prices. "This is not the ending that the Wall Street private equity firms, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, TPG Capital and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, envisioned in 2007, when they acquired the TXU Corporation in a colossal $45 billion deal," the New York Times said. "Their investments are expected to be all but be wiped out in the bankruptcy."

Deutsche Bank Slowdown. The firm's net income dropped by a third in Q1 on low interest rates and slow client activity. "Deutsche is one of the least well capitalised banks among its peers and has faced pressure to raise equity amid concerns over its capital strength," the FT said. "Eurozone-wide bank stress tests by the European Banking Authority this summer could see Deutsche ordered to raise more equity, with executives at the bank said to be bracing for the possibility."

MtGox May Not Be Dead Yet. A group of American investors are hoping to preempt the Bitcoin's exchange's liquidation, and last night announced they'd come to terms with two sets of class action plaintiffs on its behalf. "The company negotiated the settlement as part of its effort to take over the bankrupt exchange before a court-ordered liquidation," Sunlot's statement said. William Quigley, one of the Sunlot investors, added that,“Liquidation would have adverse consequences for Mt Gox customers and the entire Bitcoin community. Millions of dollars worth of lost bitcoins would never be recovered and most of Mt Gox's assets would go to paying bankruptcy lawyers and others involved in the process rather than customers.” 

Fed Vacancy Votes. The Senate will vote on three nominees — including Stanley Fischer at vice chair — for vacant Federal Reserve board positions today.

Samsung Earnings. Earnings fell for the second-consecutive quarter but the company hit its forecast for Galaxy sales thanks to developing market demand. Operating profit fell 3.3% YOY, but sales increased 1.5%.

Case-Shiller. At 9 a.m. we get the Case-Shiller home price index for February. Expecations are for a seasonally-adjusted increase of 0.7% from January, down a bit from the prior 0.8% gain.

Consumer Confidence.   At 10 a.m. we get the Conference Board's consumer confidence reading for April. Analysts forecast it will come in at 83.0 from 82.3 prior.

Earnings. Twitter, ebay, and Sprint announce earnings today. Herbalife's earnings conference call begins at 11 a.m.

Markets. U.S. futures are up. Stocks are higher around the world, led by Germany's DAX at 1.26%. 

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One of the main reasons that certain individuals don’t like the idea of using Bitcoin is that they’re afraid a hacker will be able to steal their bitcoins from their desktop computer. Although a person can do everything in their power to make sure their computer is not compromised, the reality is that there’s no […]

The post Bitcoin Authenticator Powers Wallet Security and Mainstream Adoption appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

A couple of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students have managed to raise $500,000 for a curious cryptocurrency project.

It could be useful to evaluate bitcoin’s potential against other commodities, but the cryptocurrency walks its own path.

Yelp now shows the local businesses that let you pay with Bitcoin, if you like your payment methods risky and volatile.

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The PBOC must hate cryptocurrencies. Their constant negative statements lead a reasonable hack to reach this assumption in any event. Why are they so anti Bitcoin? What potential danger does a cryptocurrency pose to China, the World’s second largest economy and most populous country? When you look at the facts, Bitcoin could well have the […]

The post Chinese Monetary Manipulation Endangered by Bitcoin appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

A group of investors that includes a former Hollywood child actor are attempting to hit the emergency stop button on MtGox's liquidation. 

Late Monday, Sunlot Holdings announced it had arranged a settlement in two class action lawsuits brought on behalf of Gox customers. The terms of the settlement must still be approved by Gox' court-appointed bankruptcy administrator, who just last week ordered liquidation to begin. 

"The company negotiated the settlement as part of its effort to take over the bankrupt exchange before a court-ordered liquidation," Sunlot's statement said. William Quigley, one of the Sunlot investors, added that,“Liquidation would have adverse consequences for Mt Gox customers and the entire Bitcoin community. Millions of dollars worth of lost bitcoins would never be recovered and most of Mt Gox's assets would go to paying bankruptcy lawyers and others involved in the process rather than customers.” 

Under the proposed settlement, Mt. Gox assets would be distributed by an independent auditor to 127,000 affected customers on a proportional basis. Customers would also receive a 16.5% interest in Sunlot, allowing them to share in company dividends, as well as benefit from any future buyout or IPO.

Sunlot also says it hopes to set up an Administration and Prosecution Fund to return $275 million of stolen customer assets — though it does not explain how this would work. Former Gox CEO Mark Karpeles said earlier this year nearly half a billion dollars' worth of Bitcoin had gone missing.

Sunlot has a website running called SaveGox.com, where it explains part of its rationale for trying to rehabilitate the troubled exchange. "If the Bitcoin community can prove to be self healing without government bailouts, the entire ecosystem will benefit, including our portfolio of bitcoin investments."

SEE ALSO: The Guy Behind A New Bitcoin Documentary Explains Why MtGox Went Down

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Some online retailers are quick to say whether or not they'll accept Bitcoins, but local shops aren't always so forthcoming -- and community mapping efforts like CoinMap only reveal so much. It might not be hard to find a cryptocurrency-friendly...

Bitcoin has an image problem! A problem of its own making and it’s a bad image, one that, to some extent, it deserves. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin has gone from a value of cents to being worth over $1,000, and in less than five years. It has now dropped back to less than $500 and, here […]

The post Insure Bitcoin: Secure Insured Wallets Now Available appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

You can hate globalization or love it. But you cannot deny that, today, we are living in the most interconnected global society the world has ever known. For the first time in human history, almost everyone in the world has reasonable access to near-instant communication with the rest of the planet. Pondering the consequences of this situation fascinates me. It is hard for many people to imagine a borderless, united world, but I cannot help but come to this conclusion when looking at current trends. While some people may consider it unlikely based on our species’ historical penchant for war, there are signs that we may be well on our way to a more enlightened society. Scholar Steven Pinker has […]

The post Bitcoin’s Place in a Planetary Culture appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Is the biggest difference between bitcoin and dogecoin enthusiasts the amount of generosity each group has?

Is the biggest difference between bitcoin and dogecoin enthusiasts the amount of generosity each group has?