Death Threats, Fraudsters and Lawsuits

bitcoin

Bitcoin Tracker | Week 46

 

Ok, so even the Coinbase CEO used the word bubble, saying that bitcoin is in a “rebuilding” period after going thru its most recent bubble. Well, it’s got a ways to go, if its price is any indication. It’s right back down to 358.33 from $377.12 according to thePYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price index. And, if adoption and use is any indication, the newest bitcoin exchange, Independent Reserve Exchange in Australia, reports that only 8% of people have used bitcoin. However, 68% of people surveyed feel they understand bitcoin and more than 75% definitely or possibly plan to find out more about it in the near future.

 

Speaking of using it, B2B seems like a more popular use case these days, with a lot of energy and momentum going into its use as a ‘transport’ currency across the bitcoin rails. Stay tuned.

 

As always, if you have any news you’d like to share, please send it our way at contactus@pymnts.com.

 

On the Plus Side …

The world may see its first bitcoin IPO in early December and Australia boasts that it’s home to the safest exchange, Independent Reserve. It says that it has many levels of safeguards to ensure that users are well protected and will be audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

  •  October 23, 2014 – Digital currency merchant processor,GoCoin, recently received an investment from BitFury Capital and GoCoin’s CEO announced that the operation will make B2B payments a top priority.
  •  October 23, 2014An academic researcher atMIT says that he has a way to predict the price of bitcoins with a technique called the “Bayesian regression”. The technique can automatically identify patterns from the data which can be used to trade accordingly.
  •  October 23, 2014 –Japan has ambitions to become the most friendly bitcoin nation and the Japanese Government has ruled that it is not necessary to regulate sales, purchases and/or exchanges of bitcoins.
  •  October 22, 2014 – Some big names in bitcoin have launched a product to create an independent environment for innovators to work freely with core software without harmingbitcoin’s basic software program. The goal is to create a “Bitcoin 2.0” technology to decentralize commercial and financial activity.
  •  October 22, 2014 –Payment executives believe that in essence, bitcoin should benefit from Apple Pay because consumers will become familiar with paying by smartphone, but virtual currencies are still held back by unclear regulations.
  •  October 22, 2014 – Melbourne basedBitcoin Group is on track to be the world’s first bitcoin IPO in December.
  •  October 22, 2014 –Alternet Systems, a B2B facilitator for digital currency and mobile commerce services announced plans to launch the first U.S. based bitcoin debit card.
  •  October 22, 2014 – Merchant billing service providerPaydici announced a partnership with BitPay to enable small merchant clients to accept bitcoin as payment for recurring bills.
  •  October 21, 2014 –Bitnet, the payment processor that was created by former Visa and Cybersource employees, has pulled in $14.5 million in funding.
  •  October 21, 2014 –Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong says that bitcoin is in “the rebuilding period after the most recent bubble.”
  •  October 20, 2014 – A new global bitcoin exchange launched inSydney, Independent Reserve. It was developed by a team of financial and IT players who aim to legitimize the industry and move Bitcoin to a broader stream of consumers. They aim to offer worldwide users a safe place to trade and add a source of liquidity to the bitcoin market.
  •  October 20, 2014 – UK based bitcoin exchange,Coinfloor, is planning to expand their operations by including more fiat currencies to be traded with bitcoin.

On the Dark Side …

When bubbles pop, they hurt. The Swedish company that produces a lot of bitcoin mining equipment is being asked by the miners to return their stuff – too expensive now. The judge who is overseeing the Silk Road case against Ross Ulbricht had her private information exposed and a creepy, nefarious individual threatened her life. A bitcoin company goes bankrupt and the former CEO and almost $1.5 million are nowhere to be found. Earlier in the week it was confirmed that the CEO of Moolah was actually a long time internet scammer, who formerly went by the name Ryan Kennedy.

  •  October 23, 2014 – Almost $1.5 million of bitcoins that were held by the now bankrupt Moolah have gone missing. It is believed that the suspected con-artist, the company’s former CEO and founder, Alex Green is holding the bitcoins.
  •  October 23, 2014 –Silver Law Group is pursing claims against many multiple bitcoin exchanges for allegedly buying and selling cryptocurrenices with misleading and false claims of easy profits, high returns and little risks.
  •  October 23, 2014 –Privacy advocates are upset with New York’s financial regulators say that potential regulations on digital currencies may harm free speech.
  •  October 22, 2014 – AcrossItaly, municipal council offices have had their computer files encrypted by a ‘ransomware’ virus that is demanding payment in bitcoin. Currently the fee is set at €400.
  •  October 22, 2014 – Bitcoin’s‘chief scientist’ holds by his statement that bitcoin is STILL an experiment and for it to get past this stage, it needs “regulatory clarity, ease of use, and no-single-point-of-failure security”.
  •  October 22, 2014 – The judge overseeing theSilk Road case against Ross Ulbricht had as subject to a death threat.
  •  October 21, 2014 –The Swedish company that provides an estimated 25% of bitcoin mining hardware has seen many of its customers ask for their money back and look to return their equipment. They are changing their business model to mine the bitcoins on their own by expanding their operations.
  •  October 19, 2014 – New information was revealed supporting the theory that bitcoin exchange CEO of Moolah,Alex Green, could be the infamous Ryan Kennedy.