Tencent and others have joined The People’s Bank of China and banned accountholders from engaging in Bitcoin-related activity. That caused the price of bitcoin to drop – The PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price Index can show you how much. Between that and a search to replace the members of the Bitcoin Foundation which seems to have hit a speed bump, it’s been a tough week for Bitcoin.
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PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price and Volatility index.
Bitcoin Tracker | Week 22
Bitcoin prices fell this this week, thanks to the edict from the People’s Bank of China banning accountholders from engaging in Bitcoin-related activity; it fell to 461.49 after trading as high as 496.93 just a week ago on April 24th, according to the PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Price index. The Bitcoin Foundation Board, in an attempt to replace the members that were shipped off to the pokey, held an election to fill the two open seats on the board. The voting was scheduled to end on the night of the 29th but due to technical difficulties, voting was extended. One major payments network is paying lobbyists to concentrate on Bitcoin and mobile payments at the same time MIT is giving incoming students $100 of Bitcoins to see what would happen if MIT became a Bitcoin economy. And, in a hot-off-the-presses report from economist who surveyed people who owned the currency, most people said that they viewed Bitcoin as more of a lottery ticket, trading it as a commodity in the hopes of striking it rich. No currency aspirations for them, and no little interest in using their Bitcoins to buy shoes or underwear at their local retailer.
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On the Plus Side …
Bitcoin and digital currencies are being used to do good in the world. In parts of Africa, developments are being made to use digital currencies as a form of remittance. In Mexico, Bitcoin is being used to buy everyday items like food and home wares. And former Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, didn’t go so far to endorse crypto currencies but he did warn naysayers against dismissing changes in payments.
On the Dark Side …
First it was federal warnings and now the independent states have come forward with warnings against investing in digital currencies. Missouri, Nevada, California, and New Mexico have all issued warnings against investing in and dealing with digital currencies. Banks in China have continued to drive the trading price of Bitcoin down by stopping their account holders from engaging in Bitcoin activity and a dark wallet was launched to make the holding and use of Bitcoins completely anonymous. And, miners (those clever people) found a way to take over Android apps and use them to hijack phones and computers to mine for Bitcoins.