What Goes Down, Did Come Up

bitcoin tracker

What a wild week! Bitcoin started at $402, went as high as $543 and ended at $486 at 6:30 am EST. It was 22 times more volatile than the dollar over the past 30 days. Jeff Bezos said “no” but a Texas AG said yes. This and more in week 20 of the Bitcoin Tracker.

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Link to live trading on the PYMNTS Bitcoin Price Index

Link to the PYMNTS Bitcoin’s Volatility Index here

Bitcoin Tracker | Week 20

What is the value of a bitcoin?  Well, now, we feel, we can say with certainty. PYMNTS introduced its  Bitcoin Price and Volatility Indices which, as the name implies,  are two separate ways of tracking the price and volatility of this cryptocurrency. Both were developed in conjunction with economists at Global Economics Group who are experts in the methodologies and design of financial indices. What both revealed is that it was a wild week. The price of Bitcoin started the week at $402, rose as high as $543 and then settled at $486. It was 22 more volatile than the US Dollar.  Both indices are updated in real time, so bookmark them and keep track of its rise and fall!

 

In other news, a political candidate said “yes” to accepting Bitcoins as campaign donations, while Jeff Bezos said “no” to accepting them on Amazon.  The CEO of Mt. Gox also said “no” to coming to the US related to the Mt. Gox bankruptcy proceedings for fear of being arrested, and vending machines in Colorado said “yes” to accepting Bitcoins for buying marijuana from them.

 

Oh, and another story has emerged that the real “Satoshi” has been found.

 

Just another week in the world of Bitcoin. 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 Bitcoin prices ended up after a rough week. A Bitcoin ATM emerged in China, despite banks being banned from dealing in Bitcoin there and one emerged in Sydney also. Bitcoin can now be used at marijuana vending machines in Colorado and a Bitcoin online shop opened a physical headquarters.

  • April 17, 2014 – Coinfloor becomes the first “publically auditable” Bitcoin exchange.
  • April 17, 2014 – Bitcoin Shop, a virtual currency e-commerce marketplace, announced the opening of their corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA.
  • April 17, 2014 –Microelectronics has announced that they have negotiated with a Bitcoin equipment supplier for Bitcoin Mining servers.
  • April 17, 2014 – Marijuana vending machines in Colorado will accept Bitcoin.
  • April 17, 2014 – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot’s campaign for governor will accept Bitcoin donations.
  • April 16, 2014 – BTC China installed the first Bitcoin ATM in China, going around regulations.
  • April 16, 2014 – The first Bitcoin ATM in Australia launched in Sydney.
  • April 16, 2014 – Linguistics Experts think they have found the real creator of Bitcoin. They think it is Nick Szabo a cryptographer.
  • April 16, 2014 – An engineer has developed a fuel dispenser that accepts virtual currency as payment.
  • April 15, 2014 – Corkket.com an online trading market, creates local trading with Bitcoin.
  • April 15, 2014 – LibraTax is prepared to help with the tax nightmare that Bitcoin has created for Americans who are involved in Bitcoin.
  • April 15, 2014 – Both Ciphrex and BitGo have announced a multi signature feature for Bitcoin wallets that will increase security and offer more of the security features that traditional payments providers have long used.
  • April 14, 2014 – A group of investors wanted to purchase Mt. Gox for 1 Bitcoin and then set aside 50% of the transaction fees to pay back the customers and creditors who were affected.

On the Dark Side …

People in the UK really don’t trust Bitcoin, Ron Paul sounded like an economist this week when asked about Bitcoin (on the one hand, it’s not true money but on the other, I like it) and things are not looking good for Charlie Shrem. Jeff Bezos has made his decision that  Bitcoin is a “no-go” on Amazon and will steer clear of all virtual currencies at this time, well except for Amazon Coin of course.

  • April 17, 2014 – A YouGov poll reported that the majority of people poled (71%) wouldn’t use for purchasing online and 43% of people polled don’t trust Bitcoin at all.
  • April 17, 2014 – Former presidential candidate, Ron Paul, said that Bitcoin is not “true money” but he did express support for it.
  • April 16, 2014 – Mt. Gox will liquidate as ordered by the Japanese bankruptcy court.
  • April 15, 2014 – Amazon announced that they will say no to engaging with Bitcoin.
  • April 14, 2014 – Bitcoin entrepreneur Charlie Shrem was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of money laundering.