California introduces new bill imposing digital currency business to operate with a license, Ukraine's hyperinflation leads locals to turn to cryptocurrencies, Electrum releases version 2.0, and more top stories for March 4, 2015.
New Californian Bill Imposes Digital Currency Businesses to Be Licensed
A new bill introduced in California on February 27 by Assembly Member, Matt Dababneh, proposes to forbid digital currency businesses from operating in the state, unless they hold the appropriate license issued by the Department of Business Oversight.
Chris Ramsey, a spokesperson for Dababneh, told CoinDesk:
"This bill is something that has been in the works in the state for a couple of years, and as the leader of that committee, Matt dedicated himself on the issue and thought it was the right move to make for the state of California at this time."
Utah Bitcoin Committee Resolution Passes in the House
Introduced on February 10, 2015 by Republican, Marc K. Roberts, the H.C.R. 6, "Concurrent Resolution on Payment Options for State Services" resolution, which aims to create a committee to study the possibility of accepting bitcoin as a payment method for government services, had passed the third reading and final passage in the House with 38 yeas, 36 nays, and 1 absent or not voting.
Ukraine's Hyperinflation Leads Locals to Turn to Bitcoin
As Ukraine is experiencing an outrageous 272% hyperinflation, cryptocurrencies are starting to be considered as a viable safe haven.
Michael Chobanian, founder of the Bitcoin Embassy of Ukraine, told Cointelegraph:
"Yesterday a 62 year old man managed to get back his money from the bank (after 3 month of persistent attempts) and came to buy bitcoins. He does not trust the state nor the bank and is willing to take the risk of bitcoin volatility."
CriptoBanco Launches First Bitcoin Exchange in Colombia
CriptoBanco, in collaboration with Mimetic Markets, announced today the launch of the first Colombian Bitcoin exchange, allowing users to trade the popular digital currency against Colombian pesos.
CriptoBanco's exchange is powered by Mimetic Markets' platform. The two companies had partnered with leading Bitcoin security platform BitGo, which will power the exchange's wallet via its platform API.
Electrum Releases V2.0 with Major Security Features
Popular hybrid online/offline wallet Electrum, had finally released the much anticipated version 2.0.
Focusing on security, the update features multi-signature functionality and supports 2FA as well as popular hardware wallets Trezor and BTChip.
Stock Market Trader Gives Away $6,000 Worth of BTC on Twitter
Yesterday, Chris Dunn, a stock market trader and founder of Daily Trading Profits, gave away nearly US$6,000 worth of Bitcoin in a three-hour "giving-session" on Twitter.
The story initially started with a "small" US$50 giveaway to "a broke 17-old-kid who was hungry to trade" and "a couple delicious Belgian style beers," Dunn wrote in a blog post.
Dunn then said he would give the first 10 people emailing him US$50 in bitcoin "to help them start trading." Turned out, the trader received close to a thousand emails from people looking to take his offer, leading him to give away nearly US$6,000 in BTC.
How did this night end up with way? lol, I started out by giving $50 worth of $bitcoin to 10 people, Now I'm up over 120 people lol
— Chris Dunn (@ChrisDunnTV) March 3, 2015
Dunn concluded:
"This was by far the most fun I’ve had in the Bitcoin community so far."
Inside Bitcoins NY Conference Reveals Keynote Speakers
MecklerMedia Corporation, the organizer of the Inside Bitcoins Conference in New York City, announced yesterday the keynote speakers for its event occurring on April 27, 28 and 29, at the Javits Convention Center.
The event's keynotes speakers include prominent players from the industry, notably Perianne Boring, founder and president at the Chamber of Digital Commerce, Dan Morehead, founder and CEO at Pantera Capital Management, as well as senior columnist Michael J. Casey, and reporter Paul Vigna from the Wall Street Journal.
As an official media sponsor of the Inside Bitcoins New York Conference, Cointelegraph invites its readers to register to the event with the discount code COINTELEGRAPH, in order to redeem 10% off.
Blockchain Joins Forces with the Bitcoin Foundation for DevCore London
Blockchain.info announced yesterday it had become an official sponsor of the much anticipated DevCore London, which will take place at Dexter House in the Royal Mint building, on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 from 8:30am to 5:45pm.
DevCore London will consist in a series of workshops especially designed for developers that are interested "in deepening their technical expertise to support to the future development of Bitcoin Core."
Bitcoin lead developer Gavin Andresen, will give a keynote presentation entitled "Why We Need a Bigger Chain," followed by several other interventions, notably by Blockchain.info's Matt Tuzzolo, and Lighthouse's Mike Hearn.
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