RippleLabs, along with host organization Bitcoin Foundation, is holding a contest for digital currency entrepreneurs, and the price is the BTC equivalent of $10,000.
RippleLabs Putting Up $10K for Best Cryptocurrency Startup Buy cannabis online, in BTC, without using Tor Yes, this is a sensationalist headline, but we figured we would pre-empt the “Bitcoin-drug dealers” narrative here before someone else ran with it.
Interview: Texas Bitcoin Association’s Paul Snow Austin, Texas’ bow-tied Bitcoin evangelist Paul Snow has been working with computers for more than 30 years. So perhaps we can forgive him for scooping up a bunch of Bitcoins back in 2011 at 77 cents apiece and then promptly forgetting about his investment until 2013.
The Economist: Regulation doomed cryptocurrenices in China Over the weekend, The Economist offered its take on Bitcoin’s (and other altcoins’) China problem.
The Trouble With Mining Bitcoins A user in the r/Bitcoin subreddit shared his wife’s complaints about their house being cold after selling off his Bitcoin miners.
Bitporn: The naughty side of the coin “Utilizing Bitcoins for adult entertainment offers clients a degree of anonymity exceeding even the use of cash for such transactions,” reads a post on the website for Bunnies of Las Vegas [NSFW], an escort service that just announced Wednesday it would begin accepting Bitcoin payments.
Interview: Global Bitcoin Alliance’s Aaron Koenig Berlin-based Aaron Koenig has done a lot in the German and English-speaking communities to evangelize Bitcoin.
50 to 60% of Bitcoin transactions made on gambling sites Libertarian-leaning TV host John Stossel had an interesting segment called “Want to Bet” on his show last Thursday.
Chicago Sun-Times becomes first major paper to accept BTC for subscriptions The Chicago Sun-Times, one of America’s 10 largest newspapers by readership, rolled out Bitcoin payment processing this week, becoming the first major newspaper to do so.
University of Nicosia launches free online digital currencies course The Cypriot Bitcoin community has been talking about this for some time, and now it’s finally here: The University of Nicosia in Cyprus has opened up registration for its massive free online open course, “Introduction to Digital Currencies.”
IRS will tax cryptocoins as property, not currency The United States’ tax agency, the Internal Revenue Service, clarified its position on cryptocurrencies Tuesday in a statement. The full text is below.
European Central Bank repeats its 2012 stance on digital currencies At a speech in Rome yesterday, Yves Mersch of the European Central Bank reiterated the bank’s stance on cryptocurrencies from 2012, but warned that such currencies should not be ignored.
Colombia close to outlawing Bitcoin? Bitcoinexaminer reports that Colombia’s central bank, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, has issued a document that suggests all Bitcoin activity in the country will soon be illegal.
Cambodia central bank says Bitcoin is not a currency The Phnom Penh Post is reporting that the Cambodian government, or at least the central bank there, will not recognize Bitcoin as a currency.
US investigates regulating Bitcoin as a commodity Reuters is reporting that the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced it would look into whether it has the authority to regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Ron Paul was demanding legal currency competition back in 2011 Ron Paul, a former US Congressman from Texas and presidential candidate, has long rallied libertarians in the United States behind ideas that, honestly, many in the Bitcoin community would embrace but that fail to resonate at the mainstream level.
Japan: Bitcoin not a currency, ‘but taxable’ The ruling party in Japan, the Liberal Democrats, have formed an investigative committee that will look into Bitcoin from a governmental perspective, the party said in a statement.
Dorian Nakamoto disputes Newsweek story, says he’s not Satoshi Nakamoto As we reported Thursday, Newsweek magazine dropped a bomb on the Bitcoin community by either outing Satoshi Nakamoto or doxing an innocent man in California...
5 Curious Quotes From Newsweek’s Satoshi Nakamoto Exposé It sounds as if the man, who has worked as a contractor on classified projects for the US government, felt he had reason to be paranoid even before he developed the idea for Bitcoin.
Fed says it cannot regulate Bitcoin, would rely on existing legislations Federal Reserve Board chair Janet Yellen told Congress last week that the Fed has no authority to regulate Bitcoin.
Vietnam forbids Bitcoin transactions In mid-February, the Vietnamese government issued a statement explicitly prohibiting residents from using Bitcoins at all within the country.
Hungary’s central bank dubs digital currencies “risky” Hungary has joined the parade of European countries whose central banks have issued warnings recently about the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.
20% withholding: Italy announces capital controls on incoming foreign transfers Italian business publication Il Sole reported last week on an automatic withholding measure on all transfers from abroad that the government says will be retroactive to February 1.
Someone leaked EU proposals to redistribute wealth from personal savings accounts A Reuters journalist got access to an EU document that suggested a move was necessary “to mobilize more personal pension savings for long-term financing.”
Lithuania clarifies stance on cryptocurrencies The central bank of Lithuania has issued a statement that the possibility of regulation for digital currencies is being discussed, but no action is likely to be taken as the country monitors other such decisions throughout Europe.
Central bank of Cyprus disapproves of cryptocurrencies Without a hint of irony, the central bank of Cyprus warned citizens against cryptocurrencies, noting that such money is not government-backed, volatile and ripe for money laundering.
Ross Ulbricht pleads not guilty on all charges The man prosecutors believer to be Dread Pirate Roberts, the creator of the Silk Road, has plead not guilty on all charges in a Manhattan court Friday.
Argentines demand US dollars but don’t trust nation’s banks for safekeeping Last week, Argentina began to allow its citizens to purchase US dollars through official channels for the first time in two years.
Silk Road seller claims innocence, plans to sue US for seized Bitcoins Peter Ward argues that the 100 Bitcoins seized from him in the US government’s raid on the Silk Road last year were taken unlawfully, and he has announced a plan to lawyer up and try to get them back.
After arrest, Charlie Shrem resigns from post at Bitcoin Foundation In light of his arrest and conspiring-to-launder-money charges, BitInstant Charlie Shrem has stepped down as vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation.