Coin News

Can bitcoin conquer Argentina? CoinDesk explores the evidence in an attempt to discern whether the digital currency can really take off.

Those who lost money in the Mt. Gox implosion and would like to get some or all of it back have been given an extension to file their claim with the failed exchange's bankruptcy advocate. It is unclear what effect making a bankruptcy claim through the online method will have for customers who are seeking to recover funds. For one thing, the agreement on the "online portal" option prohibits users from seeking further legal action if they receive "any funds." If I/we choose to receive a distribution in cash by payment into an account at a financial institution, I/we will […]

The post Mt. Gox Bankruptcy Claim Deadline Extended appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

The existence of Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous founding programmer behind the Bitcoin project, has long interested artists and writers of all genres. In the below short film produced by Mike Anzel, a real-life Satoshi Nakamoto is sought after in much the same way he is “hunted” in last year's comic, The Hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto. Except in the film, it's not a group of gangster's and cyberpunks hunting the creator, but a news crew. Also read: Bitcoin Film Review: The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (2014) In order to avoid any spoilers on this very short story, we'll just let […]

The post New Bitcoin Short Film – Finding Satoshi Nakamoto appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

Yesterday, in a cryptic move, Anonymous posted a tweet (pictured below) saying that they hoped the New York Stock Exchange would get through today alright. Then, today, out of nowhere, all trading halted on the exchange.

The post Has Anonymous Hacked the New York Stock Exchange? appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

Uber has denied rumors that is currently integrating bitcoin as a payment option for its on-demand mobile ride-sharing services. Suspicions regarding a potential announcements first began to circulate on the social media network Reddit on 7th July after a user posted a cryptic interaction with one of the company's help desk representatives. The text of […]

Over the last few months, renowned global organizations and financial establishments have proposed designs, or at least have attempted to implement Bitcoin’s blockchain technology, to encrypt sensitive data or to settle transactions without the association of third-party institutions such as banks. Continuing the global trend, the MIT Media Lab and two Bitcoin entrepreneurs have developed a prototype of an encryption system called Enigma. Enigma is a Bitcoin blockchain-based encryption system that enables untrusted and anonymous computers to share sensitive information with a third party without putting the data at risk of hacking attacks and breaches. The system will be able to prevent shared information from being surveilled by government entities or law enforcement, as it can only be decrypted by […]

The post MIT Media Lab Project Enigma Enables Blockchain-Based Encrypted Data Storage appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

After grounding all of its domestic flights this morning over what it's calling an "automation issue," United Airlines is putting aircraft in the air again. But you can't just stop hundreds of flights without a major ripple effect across the system.

The post Here’s What Delaying All United Flights Does to US Air Traffic appeared first on WIRED.

Bitnet, a Bitcoin payments processor, seems to be on a mission of sneaking the Bitcoin option in by adding it to existing payment rails. The company made up of former Visa employees and other veterans of the traditional payments industry have partnered with a number of traditional payment processors, and in its most recent move has added Limonetik to its list of partners. Limonetik services clients around the world, including Paypal internationally. The partnership will mean that any company currently using the Limonetik payment platform will have the ability to add Bitcoin as a payment option. Companies that currently contract […]

The post Bitnet Enabling Bitcoin Internationally for Limontek Clients appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

CoinDesk speaks to MovieTickets.com CEO Joel Cohen about the company's decision to accept bitcoin and the future of the payments program.

Earlier this morning, United Airlines grounded all of its US flights due to what it's calling an "automation issue." The grounding order has been lifted, but when you stop hundreds of flights for any period of time, you get massive delays that ripple across the system.

The post Grounded United Flights Mean Monster Lines at O’Hare appeared first on WIRED.

At the DefCon security conference, one hacker will release a new tool for cracking bitcoin "brain wallets."

The post Brainflayer: A Password Cracker That Steals Bitcoins From Your Brain appeared first on WIRED.

The ride-sharing service that allows part-time taxi drivers to make a buck and (often) riders to save time and money has confirmed that they are “currently making Bitcoin work with Uber as of now.” The confirmation comes in the form of a response from an Uber support representative to a customer who asked to pay in bitcoins. CCN is working to get further statement from the company. Also read: Despite Denial, Uber Users Complaining of Hacked Accounts The question of how payment for the drivers would work must certainly be the one that's hardest for the company to answer. As […]

The post Uber to Accept Bitcoin Payments appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

“Bitcoin Is Unsustainable,” claims the title of a provocative essay by Motherboard contributor Christopher Malmo that has spurred considerable debate. Malmo’s central thesis is that Bitcoin uses way too much electricity. The essay opens with a future scenario that, in view of the crisis in Greece, is beginning to appear more plausible – in 2018, Greece is long out of the Eurozone and economic malaise is spreading to neighboring countries.  Panicked Europeans sell their euro for bitcoin, which is becoming a stable and respectable currency, causing even more user adoption and recognition by governments. According to Malmo this scenario, which sounds like heaven to faithful Bitcoin enthusiasts, is more like hell – a burning hell of bitcoin mining circuitry and […]

The post Is Bitcoin Unsustainable, and How Can It Be Made Sustainable? appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin Press Release: In a Bitcoin industry first, BitCasino.io the world's first legally licensed and regulated online Bitcoin-only casino gaming operator has expanded its casino games offering by integrating NetEnt casino games. Bitcasino.io have added 150+ games and 30+ mobile games that include Gonzo's Quest, Starburst, South Park and Blood Suckers that are compatible with all mobile devices. A spokesperson for BitCasino.io commented on the developments: “The addition of NetEnt’s impressive library of casino games content will be played in EUR and converted from Bitcoin on each transaction for players. These new games complement Bitcasino’s existing 750+ casino games, including […]

The post Bitcasino.io Expands Its Casino Games with NetEnt appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

Earlier this year Bitcoin policy think tank Coin Center claimed the role of interface to policymakers and regulators, with the publication of a framework for state digital currency regulation.  On March 27, Coin Center issued a detailed commentary to New York’s BitLicense, combining measured praise with constructive criticism. MIT Digital Currency Initiative lead Brian Forde praised the Coin Center commentary, and, in particular, the idea that regulations should strike a middle ground in such a way as to protect both consumers and digital innovators. “Our mission is to build a better understanding of these technologies and to promote a regulatory climate that preserves the freedom to innovate using blockchain technologies,” says the Coin Center website. “We do this by producing […]

The post Coin Center Praises California’s Updated Draft for Digital Currency Legislation appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Greece has not been a leading edge market for bitcoin, but the country's current cash crisis could be making it one. Many Greeks view the cash crisis as a boost for bitcoin, according to a Bloomberg Business report. Thanos Marinos, who prides himself on being the first to bring bitcoin to Greece a year ago, says bitcoin demand has jumped by 500 percent in four weeks. In a video interview, Marinos notes that when he began the bitcoin exchange btcgreece.com, there were five to 10 clients per day. Now there are 15 to 200 clients making deposits. "I didn't see […]

The post Greek Cash Crisis Fuels Bitcoin Activity: Bitcoin Demand Jumps 500% appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

OKWave, Japan's answer to social network Quora, has announced plans to launch a bitcoin tipping scheme.

New Jersey-based online casinos were hit with distributed denial-of-service attacks and faced additional threats unless they paid a bitcoin ransom.

Despite plunge protection measures and intervention by the Peoples' Bank of China, mainland equity indexes continue selling off, and the crash is accelerating. The Shanghai Composite Index has plummeted 32% from a 12 June top and the Shenzhen Composite Index has slid 41%. Yesterday (Tueday 7 July), the Shanghai Composite Index fell by a record 8.5%. Where will it end and what does it mean for the global economy? "World Equity Gauge" By noon (UTC) today, 1,323 companies' shares have halted trading on Chinese exchanges. The total value amounts to $2.6 trillion of shares - 40 percent of the Chinese […]

The post China Equities Crash Accelerating Despite Protections appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

Apple sold 1.5 million Apple Watches the first week they launched their new product line in early April. From there on out sales has declined rapidly with now more than 90% less sold watches than in the opening week. The results from a new market-research report are far below the expectations of Apple critics.

The post Apple Watch is Bleeding, is it the New Lisa? appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

Bitcoin price is sitting high and dry between two converging envelope lines near $265 and 1650 CNY. After the Greek referendum catalyst had pushed price to an intra-month high, it is now evident that Greece remains Europe's problem and negotiations have restarted (again). This lull and return to the status quo in the global economy may express itself in the Bitcoin chart as a period of sideways price action. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3 hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a $29 discount using the code CCN29. Bitcoin […]

The post Bitcoin Price Medium-Term Outlook appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin News.

Major financial and economic chaos will hit Greece over the next few days, pushing the troubled country out of the Euro - a Grexit.

Banks will run out of cash shortly, banks will therefore become insolvent, and workers will be given IOUs from the government because it won't be able to pay them their wages.

Barclays' analysts unleashed the devastating prediction in a note this morning, entitled "Euro Summit: One more step towards Grexit," and highlighted again how the "Greek position has been weakened after the referendum."

"We retain our view that (European Economic Monetary Union) EMU exit is the most likely scenario," said Barclays' analysts in a note. "Agreeing on a programme on the basis of Greek reforms in exchange for European-OSI with the current Greek government is at this point extremely difficult.

"First, the strong rejection by the Greeks at the referendum sends the message that a deal with the Institutions is not wanted on the terms presented over one week ago. Second, an improved deal for the Greeks would be a very difficult sell at home for EA countries, especially for Germany to get it through the Bundestag or in Spain ahead of the general election."

Greece's creditors gave the financially ravaged country only five days to itself together and come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from a Grexit.

"The stark reality is that we have only five days left ... Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week," said European Council President Donald Tusk in a news conference.

Barclays reckons that it is more likely that there will a Grexit, than not.  However, it pretty much predicts financial and economic chaos over the next month:

1) banks run out of euro cash within days (five days, according to development minister George Stathakis);

2) default on the ECB holdings of SMP bonds appears inevitable

3) banks turn insolvent as the ECB shuts down ELA, no later than 20 July – at this point, Greek banks need both a liquidity and capital injection

4) issuance of IOUs to pay public wages and pensions could happen as early as this month.

On top of this, Barclays thinks the Syriza-led government will face a massive crisis under popular pressure and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is could step down.

"[The Greek crisis] could be precipitated by PM Tsipras stepping down or by a full-blown crisis as the socio-economic conditions become untenable over time (more likely).

"If a new moderate coalition were to come to power, the Institutions could re-engage on a programme, although starting from a much more deteriorated situation, with the country already in default."

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NOW WATCH: How to skip long lines at the airport — just like the 1%

By Mike Dolan

LONDON (Reuters) - For a world so confident that central banks can solve almost all economic ills, the dramas unfolding in Greece and China are sobering.

"Whatever it takes," Mario Draghi's 2012 assertion about what the ECB would do to save the euro, best captures the all-powerful, self-aware central bank activism that's cosseted world markets since the banking and credit collapse hit eight years ago.

From the United States to Europe and Asia, financial markets have been cowed, then calmed and are now coddled by the limitless power of central banks to print new money to ward off systemic shocks and deflation.

But even if you believe central banks will do whatever it takes - to save the euro, stop the recession, create jobs, boost inflation, prop up the stock market and so on - it doesn't necessarily mean it will always work.

Draghi himself merely pleaded for faith on that score three years ago when he added, "Believe me, it will be enough."

Critically, given the direction of events in Athens, his celebrated epigraph was preceded by "Within our mandate..."

And so the prospect of the European Central Bank potentially presiding over, some say precipitating, the first national exit from a supposedly unbreakable currency union will inspire a rethink of the limits of Draghi's phrase for all central banks.

Of course, the ECB does not want to push Greece out of the euro. But 'whatever it takes' may just not be enough to preserve the integrity of the 19-nation bloc if the ECB's mandate prevents it from endlessly funneling emergency funding to insolvent Greek banks.

And as long as the Greek government is at loggerheads with its creditors, the central bank can't wave a magic wand of monetary support without breaking its own rules.

The ECB continues to insist it will do all in its power to prevent contagion to other euro zone markets and there's little doubt it will make good on that. But the problems stemming from a Greek exit are not of financial seepage but of political contagion to other euro electorates tiring of austerity. And that sort of contagion is beyond ECB control.

ACROSS THE PLANET

Switch across the planet and another test of central banking determination and effectiveness is playing out.

The once awesome ability of the People's Bank of China to micro-manage the world's second largest economy and one of the globe's biggest stock markets is being sorely challenged.

Having helped inflate a bubble-like doubling of Shanghai stocks with easy money over the past year, the PBOC, along with government regulators, is now desperately trying to control a sudden implosion that's wiped 30 percent and $3 trillion off equity values in just three weeks.

The worrying bit is that after cutting interest rates and bank reserve requirements in late June and then last weekend injecting liquidity into a state-backed margin finance company, the PBOC barely got any market response.

Given that 85 percent of share trading in China is conducted by small retail investors, the economic ripples on consumer sentiment could be sizeable for an economy slowing to below 7 percent for the first time since the financial crisis.

Economists at Schroders point out, for example, that booming brokerage business saw a near doubling of the financial sector contribution to GDP growth to 1.3 percent in the first quarter.

But the loss of PBOC control, however temporary, asks yet another question of the omnipotence of central banks.

"If the PBOC fails to support its equity markets, it will be the first major central bank to have failed trying to influence the targeted asset markets," said Stephen Jen at hedge fund SLJ Macro Partners. "Investors could wonder if central banks in general may be approaching an inflection point with diminishing returns on their operations."

OVERBURDENED

The point is not lost on those tasked with monitoring the world's central banks.

Economists at the Bank for International Settlements warned on June 28 that a loss of control by central banks, now painfully short of new ammunition to deal with either a major market crash or a sudden world downturn, was one of the most worrying threats to the world financial system.

"Monetary policy has been overburdened for far too long," the BIS said in its 85th annual report, arguing deep-seated economic reforms must now be stepped up to take the pressure off over-easy monetary policy and highly indebted governments.

"The likelihood of turbulence will increase further if current extraordinary conditions are spun out. The more one stretches an elastic band, the more violently it snaps back."

U.S. and UK central banks, fearing zero rates are not only causing investment distortions but also societal problems due to ballooning wealth inequality, have indeed been flagging the likelihood of interest rate rises over the coming months.

But their ability to do whatever it takes to achieve that may be more clipped than it was when they were easing.

If China or a Greece-less euro zone were to blow up into another financial shock that hit global economic confidence, the Federal Reserve and Bank of England could well find themselves trapped at zero, having never reset interest rates during one of the longest financial bull markets in history.

What happens at that point starts to look a bit scary.

(Graphic by Vincent Flasseur; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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