Bitcoin Tracker | Week 30

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Bitcoin Tracker | Week 30

Uh oh. The CFPB last week said that it’s going to start poking around bitcoin after prodding by the GAO to give it a look-see. Bitcoin prices fell to slightly below $600 this week to $567.49 from $597.46 on June 19^th, according to the PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price index.

Overstock announced last week that it is putting its bitcoin where its mouth is, donating 3 percent of its bitcoin sales to organizations worldwide that are promoting the crypto currency. Intuit is bitcoin-enabling its small biz clients by partnering with Coinbase – the very same week that economist David Evans, released the fourth edition of his Digital Currency Deep Dive to examine whether Bitcoin really is cheaper and more efficient than traditional payments methods. His analysis proves that, if anything, it is more expensive, which pokes a few holes in the
bitcoin is free to merchants” theory of ignition that enthusiasts have been used to promote bitcoin. As Evans’s explains, the comparison of bitcoins to traditional payment methods is like making an apples-to-kumquats comparison. And, you’ll need good old greenbacks if you want to buy any of the booty seized in the Silk Road haul.

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 Swiss have ruled that there will be no rules for digital currencies anytime soon and many people are trying to turn the Island of Jersey into “Bitcoin Isle” or a great place to avoid taxes on crypto currencies. New opportunities for trading bitcoin short are developing and it will be interesting to see who takes that risk on. One family opted to spend their summer traveling across the country and paying for their vacation in bitcoin, if only we had a bitcoin every time the kids said “are we there yet”?

• June 26, 2014 – The founders behind bitcoin exchange Bitstamp are becoming more public, emerging for interviews and appearances.
• June 26, 2014 – The federal government is auctioning of bitcoin booty on Friday and one buyer plans to offer his artwork as a bid, rather than traditional cash, to spark a conversation about the value of art and bitcoin.
• June 25, 2014 – A family is taking a road trip using only bitcoin to pay for the trip.
• June 25, 2014 – Intuit will let merchants accept bitcoin with ‘PayByCoin’ service that will integrate Intuit’s QuickBooks Online payment processing service with Coinbase.
• June 25, 2014 – A short-only hedge fund targeting major bitcoin startups will soon be available.
• June 25, 2014 – In Argentina, firms are taking tourist dollars and delivering clients bitcoins in return. This is providing an escape route for the strict currency controls and dysfunctional financial system in Argentina.
• June 25, 2014 – The Swiss Federal Council has announced that there won’t be a law on digital currencies anytime soon.
• June 23, 2014 – The Island of Jersey, which is considered by many to be a tax haven, hopes to become the first “Bitcoin Isle”
• June 22, 2014 – Overstock plans to donate 3% of Overstock bitcoin sales to organizations that are promoting cryptcurrencies across the globe.
• June 20, 2014 – The United Kingdom is now an option for bitcoin-holding Chinese citizens who are looking to make an investment in real estate with London-based Cai-Capital.

On the Dark Side …

Canada is no longer the “wild west” of digital currency regulation and now cryptocurrency businesses will need to register with Fintrac or Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre. Banks will also be prevented form opening accounts for bitcoin businesses that are unregistered.

• June 26, 2014 – Bitcoin is going to receive more attention from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after being prodded by the Government Accountability Office.
• June 25, 2014 – CEO of Western Union, Hikmet Ersek, said the company will look to adopt bitcoin …. after it is regulated.
• June 25, 2014 – Bitcoin prices dropped ahead of U.S. Marshal’s planned auction of nearly 30,000 Bitcoin seized from the infamous online black market Silk Road later in the week.
• June 25, 2014 – Technically bitcoin is illegal in California, but that may change soon.
• June 24, 2014 – Canada’s parliament passed a bill that provided a comprehensive regulation of digital currencies and firms dealing in virtual currencies will be classified as ‘money services businesses’.

June 20, 2014 – The majority of the American public isn’t educated on bitcoin and a rece