1. Russian Central Bank: ‘Bitcoin Might Have a Future”
Allen Scott reported Wednesday that Russia and its central banks “could soon start developing regulations and guidance on how digital currencies are to be approached.”
“We are proponents of a diligent approach towards Bitcoin,” said Bank of Russia VP Georgy Luntovskyi. “We are monitoring this situation in cooperation with the Bank of International Settlements. It is impossible to deny this instrument, which might have a future.”
2. Moneero Unveils Crypto-Banking Platform
Uruguayan startup Moneero came out of stealth to introduce its currency-agnostic banking platform, ROX.
“Moneero ROX starts from the premise that by 2020, a new 3 billion people will be online, 80% of whom will be unbanked, at least within the paradigm of traditional banks. What’s more, these new users will be native to social media, mobile, and whatever other seismic changes to the internet come along these next few years.
“To bring these users into the global online economy, Moneero’s founders believe cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin will be necessary, but certain hurdles regarding security, legality and usability remain.”
3. Bitcoin Legalized in California
Carlo Caraluzzo reported on Sunday that California Gov. Jerry Brown, the same guy from the Dead Kennedys song, signed into effect Assembly Bill 129, which repealed an existing law that made it illegal to recognize any but an official currency in the state.
4. Tim Draper Wins US Marshals Silk BTC Auction
As reported by Sabina Laska, it was revealed on Wednesday that the single winner of the US Marshals Bitcoin stash confiscated in result of the Silk road bust was American VC investor, Tim Draper.
“Bitcoin frees people from trying to operate in a modern market economy with weak currencies. With the help of Vaurum and this newly purchased bitcoin, we expect to be able to create new services that can provide liquidity and confidence to markets that have been hamstrung by weak currencies,” said Draper.
5. MIT Students Turn Out Unparalleled Bitcoin visions
The MIT Bitcoin Project had produced its first winners of round one of the competition, as reported by Cyril Gilson, to create the ultimate yet ‘doable’ Bitcoin innovation. First place was taken by BitTax, which helps legitimize cryptocurrencies by providing a way for users to correctly file Bitcoin-related taxes.
“There were charitable applications, educational apps, and projects geared towards improving the ethnic and gender inclusivity of Bitcoin. There were even teams working on near-field communication point of sale solutions which would allow bitcoiners to transfer money via taps or even sound transfers. And those were just the Bitcoin 1.0 ideas,” commented popular blogger and contest judge, Two-Bit Idiot.
Elsewhere
- New York Times columnist David Brooks, in a piece titled “The Evolution of Trust,” published the following on Tuesday: “As mechanisms to establish private trust become more efficient, government plays a smaller role.” Welcome on board, Mr. Brooks.
- Vox interviewed Marc Andreessen about Bitcoin.
- A documentary titled “The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Schwartz” was posted on Archive.org.
Market activity
Bitcoin’s prices saw an upward jump of about 10% at the beginning of the week, which coincided with the US Marshals auction of nearly 30,000 bitcoins. The auction also prompted a spike in both trading volume and number of daily transactions during the first half of the week.
Post-auction, the second half of the week saw little volatility with the BTC price hovering around the $US630 mark.