The White House has appointed Ed Felter, a long time researcher of Bitcoin, as the Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer; BitFilm has released a trailer for an upcoming movie about Satoshi Nakamoto and more top stories for May 12, 2015.
Ed Felten, a Bitcoin Researcher, joins White House as the Deputy Chief Tech Officer.
The White House announced the appointment of Ed Felten as Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer. Many in the Bitcoin community have interpreted this as a positive sign of interest from the Obama administration with respect to blockchain technology.
Mr. Felten has a long time interest in cryptocurrency and has on many occasions voiced support for it including comments during New York BitLicense hearings.
White House statement:
“Ed joins a growing number of techies at the White House working to further President Obama’s vision to ensure policy decisions are informed by our best understanding of state-of-the-art technology and innovation, to quickly and efficiently deliver great services for the American people, and to broaden and deepen the American people’s engagement with their government.”
BitFilm has Released 'Satoshi's Last Will' Trailer
BitFilm has released the trailer for ‘Satoshi's Last Will’, a full-length fiction film set in a future world where Bitcoin and the Blockchain rule. It is a classical thriller plot that gives the viewers an opportunity to learn a lot about Bitcoin in a playful setting.
The film envisions a world in which governments and banks have lost their power and people live together in voluntary communities where interactions are hugely influenced by the blockchain technology.
Gavin Andresen pushes for change on the Bitcoin Core to increase the size of blocks.
Gavin Andresen, the Chief Scientist of the Bitcoin Foundation and lead Bitcoin Core Developer, has supported a proposal to have some changes made on the Bitcoin core. These changes will include increasing the size of the blocks, cutting down on the time it takes to complete transactions and changing the ring signatures.
As expected, this has sparked a heated debate with some community members supporting his proposal and others voicing their disagreement.
Tether gets one more partner in Cryptsy Exchange
Tether has announced a working partnership with Cryptsy, the world second-ranked most popular Bitcoin exchanges. This adds to the number of partners the company has acquired enabling users to use fiat currencies with all the benefits of the blockchain. Other Tether partner partners include ShapeShift.io, GoCoin, and BitFinex.
Paul Vernon, CEO Project Investors, Inc., whose company manages Cryptsy, said:
"We're excited to have such an innovative and disruptive approach to digital currency integrated with our platform. Being able to connect the Blockchain to Tether's fiat-backed digital currency provides a level of stability and reassurance not previously seen in this sector."
Lukoil Gas Stations to accept Bitcoin through SpectroCoin
Lukoil Oil Company, which operates gas stations in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia is now accepting Bitcoin as payment. The company is using SpectroCoin as its payment processor for this purpose.
In a blog post, SpectroCoin said the following:
"SpectroCoin.com is proud to announce that we have integrated WoraPay network into our Android, iOS and Windows Phone mobile wallets. So from now you can pay with Bitcoins in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia."
BitFinance from Zimbabwe accepted into Savannah Fund 2015 accelerator class
BitFinance, a Bitcoin exchange from Zimbabwe, has become the first Bitcoin related startup to be included in the Savannah Fund accelerator class. The fund, which has been in operation for three years, invests in startups from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Tawanda Kembo, co-founder BitFinance:
“How does it feel? Exciting! It's also reassuring to see that we're not the only ones who think that we're solving an important problem. How will it help us? We'll be able to make Bitcoin accessible to more people, and a lot faster than we would be able to do alone, initially in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and later to the rest of the continent.”
India’s Bitcoin Exchange BTCXIndia Losses Banking Support
BTCXIndia has lost its banking support and, as a result, the Bitcoin exchange is closing down. However, Bitcoin Alliance India has moved fast to allay the fears that this is what is likely to befall all the Bitcoin related enterprises in the Asian sub-continent nation.
Vishal Gupta, a member of the body that brings together bitcoin enterprises and also the founder of SearchCoin Network, told Cointelegraph:
“BTCXIndia has posted on their site that their bank accounts have been shut and further claimed that no other bank is offering to open an account for them. This seems to have set panic within the community at large. On our further probing the matter, it seems its a case in isolation, and there is no blanket ban or directive from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) to this effect. We at BIA would like tell Bitcoin users in India not to panic on this news. We would also like to request for BTCXIndia to make document they received from their bank public in the larger interest of Bitcoin community in India."