Bitcoin Tracker: March 7

By PYMNTS | March 10, 2014

Bitcoin Tracker | Week 14

So, the big news of the week is that we now, finally, know the real identify of the inventor of Bitcoin. It turns out that Satoshi Nakamoto is really .. Satoshi Nakamoto! Yep, in the spirit of hiding in plain sight, there he was living in L.A. and going about his business. Well, no more. He’ll really have to change his name and his address and his telephone number and probably enter the Bitcoin witness protection program in order to stay anonymous now. This was, of course, at the end of the week that we learned that the Winkelvii will blast Bitcoin off in space, and Canada will nurture baby Bitcoin ventures. And, another week, another breach, as an online “bank” specializing in bitcoins has fallen victim to a technical flaw, and $600,000 just went up in smoke. But, don’t worry, be happy!

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

On the Plus Side …

The Canadians haven’t given up! Perhaps they’re more resilient and hopeful than most after their history with weathering long winters, and a new Bitcoin Accelerator was launched in Canada to nurture Bitcoin startups. And in the ashes of the Mt. Gox eruption, a mutant currency, Goxcoin was launched to let speculators and Gox customers create a market for assets lost inside the company. And those adventuresome Winklevii are at it again, this time taking their coins and headed to space on the Virgin Galactic!

March 6, 2014 – A new Bitcoin accelerator was launched in Canada, Bitcoin Decentral Accelerate, that will make initial investments of $25,000 for a 7% stake in each startup, and it will provide $25,000 of perks and a $100,000 convertible note to each graduate.
March 6, 2014 – Newsweek claims to have found THE Satoshi Nakamoto. It’s such a great read! And, it is true.
March 6, 2014 – The first Bitcoin ATM has arrived in the UK.
March 5, 2014 – The Winkevii booked their trip to outer space! The twins are taking their Bitcoins and traveling to space on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.
March 5, 2014 – Japan will lay out rules this week on how to handle Bitcoins – this could go either way. …
March 5, 2014 – Bitcoin executive director makes the age-old investment statement, “only invest what you can afford to lose.” That’s the spirit!
March 5, 2014 – A proposal for Goxcoin has evolved from the closure of Mt. Gox. Goxcoin lets its speculators and Gox customers create a market for assets lost inside Mt. Gox.
March 5, 2014 – The Native American tribe, Lakota nation, has adopted a digital currency calledMazaCoin. The tribe hopes that by implementing a digital currency, more of the money spent on the reservation at casinos and other venues will stay in the casinos. Probably a safe bet since the global acceptance of MazaCoin is nil.
March 4, 2014 – Overstock.com says it has surpassed more than $1 million of sales in bitcoin transactions. The average order size from bitcoin customers is 34% greater than “traditional” payment methods and represent new customers for the retailer. The real question however, is whether these customers are scared that bitcoin is losing its value and looking for anyplace to dump them or whether they are really interested in shopping using bitcoins.
March 2, 2014 – Britain will scrap at 20% “Value Added Tax” on bitcoins.

On the Dark Side …

The Edmonton police have launched an investigation into the Bitcoin bank that folded, Flexcoin, and academics and scientists continue to point out the flaws in cryptocurrencies. These flaws make it increasingly possible to find new ways to hack the system, pointing out that they may never truly be safe.

March 6, 2014 – Scientists have identified a way to steal large amounts of the currency when hackers run an unprivileged software on the same computer that is processing the coins, relying on “side channel analysis.”
March 5, 2014 – The New York Times compares the Mt. Gox loss to the recent loss byCitigroup’s Mexican banking unit, highlighting the instability of Bitcoin and need for regulation.
March 5, 2014 – It is easier to rob bitcoins than a bank, and it can be done without the exploding ink! As Willie Sutton said ….
March 5, 2014 – Charlie Shrem made his first announcement since arrest, and compares bitcoins to the printing press and argued that Bitcoin is one of the largest socio-economic experiments human kind has seen.
March 5, 2014 – The Edmonton police have launched an investigation after Flexcoin closed as the company and doesn’t have the resources or assets to figure out where the hack came from.
March 4, 2014 – Bitcoin bank, Flexcoin, shut down after theft of about $600,000 On February 25th the company had reported that they were not affected by Mt. Gox’s closure.
March 4, 2014 – California legislators are considering legislation that would legalize bitcoin, to gain control over digital currencies.