Bitcoins for payroll and campaign contributions – and prices still sub-$500. Get caught up on all of the Bitcoin news this week.
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PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price and Volatility index.
Bitcoin Tracker | Week 23
Bitcoin prices fell this this week; it fell to 440.08 after trading at 461.49 just a week ago on May 1nd, according to the PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price index. Discussion and analysis continues on the subject after The Electronic Transfer Association in conjunction with the ATM Industry Association released a report on Bitcoin this week. Economist and founder of Market Platform Dynamics, David Evans, has even more to say about Bitcoin and focused on the protocol behind Bitcoin in his second installment of the Digital Currency Deep Dive.
Don’t forget, if you have any news you’d like to share, please send it our way at contactus@pymnts.com.
On the Plus Side …
More and more uses for cryptocurrencies are emerging, including for political committees and even for paychecks. And now when Bitcoin supporters have a case of the munichies they can open up their phones, use the iNacho app and find the closest location that accepts Bitcoin to buy some snacks. PYMNTS.com caught up with the founders of Dogecoin, which they started in jest, but has grown to be quite popular.
- May 8, 2014 – Coinbase announced that it acquired Kippt to use its social bookmarking service and business-messaging product.
- May 8, 2014 – The Federal Election Commission approved Bitcoin donations to political committees, but political committees must sell Bitcoins and convert to U.S. dollars before using them.
- May 8, 2014 – BTCTrip wants to bring Bitcoin books to hotel chains and over 150,000 hotels.
- May 8, 2014 – iNacho launched as an app where users can check where to buy snacks in their database and can Bitcoin for payment. Now this is a useful (and legal) app for everyone!
- May 8, 2014 – Cephas Holding Inc. launched Bitcoin Vending Network.
- May 7, 2014 – About 10% of Bitcoin friendly companies have paid their employees in Bitcoin, but its complicated.
- May 7, 2014 – A Cleveland Suburb hopes that Bitcoin Boulevard will draw in tourists.
- May 7, 2014 – Former AOL CEO, Steve Case and venture investor, Tim Draper invested $4M in Vaurum, a startup that offers code for financial institutions to offer Bitcoins.
- May 6, 2014 – A journalist found that a year later it is easier to live on Bitcoin, but still not easy, even in San Francisco.
- May 5, 2014 – Dogecoin was started as a joke, but ended up exploding in popularity. Who doesn’t love a good dog meme?
- May 5, 2014 – Alderman Mark Clear became the Wisconsin’s first candidate to embrace bitcoin as a means to finance his campaign
On the Dark Side …
The axe continues to fall in China on Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies, leading to a decline in the market. The Netherlands isn’t keen on digital currencies either and doesn’t think that alternative currencies will have a standing in the future. In the U.S. the Security and Exchange Commission released a lengthy warning to investors and the public about the risks of Bitcoin and virtual currencies. And they had some good evidence to back them up.
- May 8, 2014 – China’s biggest bank, ICBC, banned activities related to trading in Bitcoin.
- May 8, 2014 – The Dutch Central Bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) issued a warning on digital currencies such as bitcoin, saying that they “are unlikely to become a viable alternative for traditional currency in the foreseeable future”.
- May 7, 2014 – Public figures are attracting donations of $125,000 on a website that is offering “Anonymous, safe, secure, crowdfunded assassinations”.
- May 7, 2014 –The SEC published a long, long list of potential risks of Bitcoin and said it lacks ‘credibility and trust’.
- May 7, 2014 – The inventor of the technology which allows files to be attached to emails, Nathaniel Borenstein, believes that Bitcoin is just a “distraction” from the creation of a “rational digital currency”.
- May 6, 2014 – The Department of Defense identified the virtual currency as a possible terrorism threat.
- May 6, 2014- BTC China suspended yuan deposits from the Bank of China.
- May 6, 2014 – A new crypto currency was launched and it is backed by gold, a disaster waiting to happen.
- May 6, 2014 – 8pip in Singapore launched a Bitcoin prepaid card to make Bitcoin more accessable.
- May 6, 2014 – HashFash is another Bitcoin miner manufacturer that was accused of fraud.
- May 5, 2014 – Five new projects seek to make Bitcoin even more anonymous.
