Popular digital currency forum BitcoinTalk has been taken offline following a social engineering attack, Streamium launched a fully decentralized paid video streaming application that uses bitcoin for payments, and more top stories for May 22.

BitcoinTalk Server Compromised During Social Engineering Attack

Popular digital currency forum BitcoinTalk has been taken offline following a social engineering attack that resulted in a server compromise. The attack is said to have targeted the site's ISP, a company called NFOrce that is based in the .

Bitcointalk operator Theymos took to the bitcoin subreddit to offer an explanation, writing:

"The forum's ISP NFOrce managed to get tricked into giving an attacker access to the server. I think that the attacker had access for only about 12 minutes before I noticed it and had the server disconnected, so he probably wasn't able to get a complete dump of the database."

Streamium Launches Decentralized P2P Pay-as-You-Go Video Streaming Platform

Streamium launched a fully decentralized paid video streaming application that uses bitcoin for payments. The open source software leverages various prior technologies to achieve trustless pay-as-you-go video streaming with no intermediaries to establish a competitor for Meerkat and Periscope that includes the option for payments.

As written on Streamium's GitHub page:

“Content creators offer their streaming services in exchange for bitcoins using a payment channel with the client, streaming a series of cost-free transactions with no counterparty risk.”

Citi Calls on Gov’t to Launch ‘Inevitable’ Digital Currency

Leading global bank Citi has called on the government of the United Kingdom (UK) to adopt a digital form of legal tender to reduce the cost of moving money, increase consumer spending and add greater liquidity to the market. Citi made the request in a response to the government's public call for Information on digital currencies from the UK Treasury made in November, which asked for views on the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

The bank stated:

“This currency would be less expensive, more efficient and provide greater transparency than current physical legal tender or electronic methods.”

DigitalBTC Raises 3.5 million AUD to Launch AirPocket

Digital BTC, an Australian Bitcoin company that is publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange has secured a AU$3.5 million funding round by a group of institutional and individual investors to launch a remittance-focused product, AirPocket. The funds from the investment will be used to accelerate the roll out and commercialization of AirPocket in Latin America and the .

Digital BTC CEO and founder Zhenya Tsvetnenko stated:

“The quality of the joint venture team provides strong validation of the commercial potential for AirPocket and I’m confident they are the right people to execute the business strategy in Latin America and the and capitalize on the huge potential to disrupt the multi-billion dollar remittance market.”

Bloomberg Report Points Finger at Hoarders for Bitcoin’s Low Price

Bloomberg has released the latest edition in its Bloomberg Briefs series, in the form of a special report dealing solely with Bitcoin and its future. The report draws on the expertise from a group of well-known names in cryptocurrency on issues ranging from regulation to price and value. Bitcoin’s status as an investment and currency are debated separately, with Bloomberg’s Noah Smith offering his take on Bitcoin’s mainstream entry hurdles, writing:

“The sooner people give up the hope that bitcoin will skyrocket in price, the sooner they will be willing to spend bitcoins in everyday life, the way they now spend dollars.”

Outlines New Bitcoin Tax Regulations

has recently instituted new regulations that clarify the northern European country's stance on Bitcoin and cryptographic currencies. Among others, the new rules show that is not going to ban Bitcoin anytime soon. Additionally, bitcoin does not seem to be deemed as “capital,” so bitcoin will not be taxed as income derived from capital. Profitable miners will need to pay income tax over their earnings, however.

Bitcoin Exchange Coinage Graduates from Accelerator

Philippines-based bitcoin exchange Coinage has graduated from the Boost VC accelerator program in , coming away with US$20,000 seed funding as well as ongoing access to the company’s network. Earlier this year the company entered Boost VC’s three-month accelerator program, having previously been self-funded as it built its exchange. Coinage CEO and co-founder, Anthony Giovanni Chua, said the startup was stoked to have been selected.

He added:

“As a bitcoin startup in the Philippines, the odds are stacked against you, but a chance like this - working with the very best in the industry, being mentored by tech and investing icons - is a leap forward in the best possible direction.”

ShapeShift.io Partners with Crypto Payment Processor CoinPayments.net

Instant Bitcoin and altcoin exchange service ShapeShift.io has partnered with CoinPayments.net, a cryptocurrency checkout system for merchants, through the integration of the ShapeShift API. The integration powers CoinPayment’s platform to allow merchants to receive various cryptocurrencies and automatically trade them for their digital asset of choice.

CoinPayments CEO Alex Alexandrov commented:

“We are excited to offer simple and frictionless conversions to our customers using the ShapeShift API. This partnership gets us one step closer to a system where customers can pay in any currency they choose and vendors settle in what they find most convenient for their business.”