'China cyber threat enormous, targets US critical infrastructure'

The designs for more than two dozen major weapons systems used by the United States military have fallen into the hands of the Chinese, US Department of Defense officials say. Cyber tension flares between the US and China, as president Obama gets set to confront Chinese leader Xi Jingping over hacker attacks on American military networks. How important should countries take defending their online infrastructure? Former Pentagon official Michael Maloof talks to RT. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/5nbek8

'China cyber threat enormous, targets US critical infrastructure'

The Bitcoin Search Engine Launches

Johann Summers | On 30, May 2013. Billing itself as an easy to use, user generated, searchable database of businesses that accept Bitcoin, The Bitcoin Search Engine (TBSE) has launched bitcoinsearchengine.com.

Featuring a crisp site design, and the tag line “Get Listed, Get Indexed, Get Found,” the new service encourages users to list Bitcoin friendly businesses for free after creating an account. Sign up is simple, and includes a refreshingly legible CAPTCHA. The website also provides a discussion forum with sections for The Bitcoin Forum, Bitcoin Ideas, Development & Technical Discussion, and Project Development.

The database is searchable by keyword (although this feature appears to be only available in the mobile version at this time), as well as country, category and region. While sparse on listings as of this writing, (searches for “food,” “cupcakes,” “alpaca,” and “socks” returned no results) the service appears to be intuitively designed for ease of use. Like other Bitcoin service listings, The Bitcoin Search Engine appears to be waiting for user generated data to catch on, while distinguishing itself for style and presentation. TBSE has indicated plans to implement a Bitcoin based auction site as well as a rewards system for merchants, taking advantage of its affiliation with the “Billing and Rewards solution” software company CRM New Zealand. - Read more here: http://bitcoinmagazine.com/the-bitcoin-search-engine-launches

Why Bitcoin can benefit from respectability

30.05.2013 by David Meyer. Major Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has taken some of the anonymity out of its treatment of the crypto-currency. Some Bitcoin fans may be suspicious of this move, but they shouldn’t be.

Mt. Gox, the best-known Bitcoin exchange, is making an effort to go respectable. On Thursday the Tokyo-based exchange announced the introduction of user verification for currency deposits and withdrawals – that excludes deposits and withdrawals of Bitcoin itself, but it does mean those spending dollars or euros or whatever to buy Bitcoin or sell it may now be logged.

Now, is this a bad thing? Some Bitcoin fans would argue it is – much of the attraction of the crypto-currency is its anonymity of use. That’s not gone in the case of Mt. Gox (the nature of the Bitcoin system precludes such a possibility anyway), but the anonymity of ownership has now been diminished for many if not most users buying into the system or cashing out from this point on.

For those planning to build a legitimate, profitable ecosystem around Bitcoin, this is a completely necessary development.

Unsettling times

Look at it from Mt. Gox’s perspective. This last week saw the Liberty Reserve shut down because it was a money-laundering hub. Of course, that operation was allegedly set up for that very purpose and was definitely used as such by criminals, while nobody has levelled such accusations at Mt. Gox (as far as I’m aware), but it would have certainly given the Mt. Gox proprietors pause for thought.

And then there was Homeland Security’s seizure of some Mt. Gox funds earlier this month. This wasn’t an anti-Bitcoin move, as it had to do with Mt. Gox owner Mark Karpeles’s alleged misrepresentation when opening a bank account (he apparently promised he wasn’t going to engage in a currency business), but again the reasonable reaction would be to stress how legit the operation is trying to be.

As the U.S. financial crimes authority Fincen has recently clarified, it’s the exchanges that need regulation, not digital currencies themselves. That stands to reason: Bitcoin transactions simply can’t be monitored due to the inherent anonymity in the system, but the exchanges are businesses that will benefit from not getting raided – it’s ultimately in their interests to play by the rules. - Read more here: http://gigaom.com/2013/05/31/bitcoin-can-benefit-from-being-demonstrably-legit

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CRYPTO-ANARCHY AND LIBERTARIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP – CHAPTER 3: THE KILLER APP OF LIBERTY

Chapter 1: The Strategy
Chapter 2: Public-Key Cryptography

May 29, 2013 · by Daniel

How Bitcoin Works

 

Unquestionably the greatest example of the kind of free community that can be created using cryptography is Bitcoin, the system of digital cash invented by Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains unknown. Bitcoin uses all the principles I have described in the previous chapters. It is built upon free software and it uses public-key cryptography to establish identities and to ensure the validity of the messages relayed upon it.

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital cash that is independent of banks and government. For a detailed explanation of how Bitcoin works, Satoshi’s original paper is very readable1, but it works exactly along the lines I outlined above. Each person has one or more wallet files which contain a public and private key. Bitcoin software can construct messages signed by the private key of a wallet which state that the title to a given amount of bitcoin is transferred to another wallet.

The history of all Bitcoin transactions are stored in a publicly available database called the block chain. The block chain is duplicated across many computers. The amount of bitcoin that a wallet contains is known by reading the block chain. This is how Bitcoin uses the system of reputation I descrbed above. The wallet’s prior history determines what it is capable of. If it has spent all the bitcoin that have been sent to it, than it can spend no more. - Read more here: http://themisescircle.org/blog/2013/05/29/crypto-anarchy-and-libertarian-entrepreneurship-chapter-iii/

GoldMoney News: Bitcoin vs Fiat - The future

Episode 127: Félix Moreno interviews Tuur Demeester, editor of the Macrotrends (macrotrends.be/) and author of the paper The Gloom of Central Banking.

Tuur expresses his fears about an increase in bail-ins within the banking sector, which would put depositors' funds at risk. All investors should be aware of this risk -- though for obvious reasons, governments are loath to be too upfront about this risk.

Felix and Tuur then discuss the bad health of global currencies and possible effects of the recent rise in Japanese bond yields. Tuur argues that this may herald the beginnings of competitive currency devaluations.

Alternatives to the fiat system and how people may protect themselves from counterparty risk are discussed. The advent of crypto currencies and the widely debated pros and cons of Bitcoin are addressed amid a broader discussion about the future nature of money.

This podcast was recorded on the 30 May 2013.

GoldMoney News: Bitcoin vs Fiat - The future

Regulators Have Been Reasonable About Bitcoin, Now It’s The Media’s Turn

May 31, 2013 Posted By Jonathan Stacke. Over the past few months an abundance of regulatory actions and updates have been issued around bitcoin, particularly in the United States. Every update has led to a visible effect on bitcoin prices, not because any of them are particularly threatening to the future of bitcoin, but because of market fear largely driven by uninformed or unscrupulous journalists.

Based on their actions to date, regulators are not attacking bitcoin any more than they are attacking banking itself. They have merely applied longstanding rules to bitcoin entities.

This is in no way an endorsement of regulation, but rather a necessary acknowledgement and contextual overview of regulators’ reasonable application of existing laws, as well as a plea to widely-read media outlets to act responsibly by understanding bitcoin before reporting on it.

Recent Regulatory Actions

The flow of traditional currencies has been the sole target of regulators’ actions around bitcoin; they have not once made an attempt to regulate bitcoin itself. Despite that fact, the broader media has called the death knell for bitcoin with each announcement when that is neither the case, nor the visible intention. This week, the bitcoin fear-mongering has escalated to simply egregious with the recent Liberty Reserve news. - Read more here:
http://www.thegenesisblock.com/regulators-have-been-reasonable-about-bitcoin-now-its-the-medias-turn

Why I Invested in Bitcoin

By Chamath Palihapitiya May 30, 2013 7:06 PM. The weeks of speculation about whether JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon would be forced to give up one of his titles has ended. I didn't take a side in the battle, if only because I couldn't get beyond the threshold questions: “Why does anyone even care, and why do we believe we are still beholden to people like this?”

Since the 2008 financial crisis, we have seen a massive decline in trust in the financial services industry: Lehman Brother, Bear Stearns, American International Group, the "London Whale," Cyprus and a host of lesser scandals have prompted consumers to say one thing loud and clear: “I don’t trust you.” Or "You're only in it for yourself.” Or “Who made you king?” Or some very reasonable variant thereof. It seems the financial services industry’s best response is, “Trust me, I went to Harvard Business School.”

The point is that this fundamental trust no longer exists; in its place, rises Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was launched in 2008 during the depths of the financial crisis. It is a growing phenomenon that you can find out more about here, here and here. In short, it’s a crypto-currency that is completely electronic, peer-to-peer, unregulated (or unregulate-able) and uncontrolled (or uncontrollable) by any government or agency. Each Bitcoin is simply a long string of numbers and letters that can identify itself within the Bitcoin economy to be unique and legitimate. Bitcoins can’t be copied or tampered with; they don’t exist in the real world -- only on your phone, computer or tablet -- but they have the same value as physical currency. - Read more here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-30/bitcoin-the-perfect-schmuck-insurance.html

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Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn Calls for Innovation Leadership with Mention to Bitcoin

May 30, 2013. At a a re-election fundraiser breakfast, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said to a packed crowd “We can lead here in Seattle!” The diverse crowd cheered as Mayor McGinn discussed his open-minded approach to meet with any and all groups who are interested in making Seattle a better place.

He shared his vision of a future-oriented and forward-looking Seattle where technology and innovation, social issues, and environmental policies go hand in hand.

“I am always meeting with new groups,” Mayor McGinn said. “I was even approached by a group interested in Bitcoin.” - Source: http://onbitcoin.com/2013/05/30/mayor-mike-mcginn-calls-on-seattle-to-lead-with-reference-to-bitcoin

One Of Bitcoin's Earliest Developers Explains Why The Feds Have No Prayer Of Shutting The Currency Down

Rob Wile | May 31, 2013, 8:51 AM. The man who created Bitcoin's user interface and performed its first-ever transaction says he is not at all worried about the U.S. government's seizure of another digital currency service.

In an interview from his home in Finland, Martti Malmi, who goes by who goes by 'Sirius' online, told us that since Bitcoin is just a program, not an actual corporation, it can never be shut down. Earlier this week, U.S. authorities charged executives at Liberty Reserve, a combination digital currency purveyor and wire transfer service, with running a massive money laundering scheme.

Malmi says authorities could even go after Bitcoin Foundation, Bitcoin's non-profit custodian, and the currency would survive.

"It's just one way to distribute the program," he said. "If [Bitcoin.org] got shut down, the program could be distributed in some way like torrent files. It's not a point of failure for the system, just a distribution channel." - Read more here: http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoins-marti-maimi-not-worried-about-liberty-reserve-2013-5

Amagi Metals Becomes The World’s #1 Bitcoin Retailer

Denver, CO (PRWEB) May 30, 2013. Amagi Metals, a Denver, Colorado precious metals ecommerce retailer, has recently become the world’s largest Bitcoin retailer. Processing more than $800,000 in Bitcoin transactions during the month of April alone, Amagi Metals has processed more retail sales of Bitcoins to consumers than any company in the world.

Amagi Metals, a Denver, Colorado precious metals ecommerce retailer, has recently become the world’s largest Bitcoin dealer. Processing more than $800,000 in Bitcoin transactions during the month of April alone, Amagi Metals has processed more retail sales of Bitcoins to consumers than any company in the world.

In addition to Bitcoins, Amagi Metals specializes in working with individual investors looking to buy gold coins, bars, rounds, and bullion, as well as to buy silver coins, bars, rounds, and silver shot. Amagi Metals is one of the few online retailers that allows consumers to buy gold and silver with Bitcoins, futher establishing them as the leader in Bitcoin retail sales.

Some people regard Bitcoins as a speculative commodity similar to gold, oil or wheat futures, and to a certain extent, they are. But there are differences, too, and those differences make the cyber-currency attractive to a wide variety of individuals and businesses. Amagi Metals is one of the companies that see enough upside in Bitcoin trading to accept them as payment for their goods. - Read more here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/bitcoin_dealer/Amagi_Metals/prweb10783265.htm

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Senate Banking Committee Staff Monitoring Bitcoin

THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2013. This should come as no surprise. Federal regulators are considering beefing up their oversight of bitcoin and other virtual currencies, reports The Hill.

From The Hill:

In March, as the currency's value started to climb, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued the first guidance clarifying that virtual currency administrators and exchangers would be treated like any other financial institution under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Bitcoin watchers like Timothy McTaggart, a partner at the law firm Pepper Hamilton, thought the FinCEN guidance was “a little unusual” and a recognition by the government that it may have not been paying enough attention to the virtual currency market.
Agencies most likely do not need new legal authority to expand their oversight to the new currencies.

“I think that an argument could be made that the regulations are in place, it's just a matter of clarifying that this unique, novel thing that we know as bitcoin is indeed covered by the regulation,” said Ryan Straus, a lawyer in Seattle with the firm Graham and Dunn.

An aide with the Senate Banking Committee wrote in an email that “staff have been monitoring the use of various new digital currencies, as part of their routine oversight work, and will continue to follow developments in this area.” - Read more here: http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/05/senate-banking-committee-staff.html

The Social Mood of Money, and Why the Virtual Marketplace Is Thriving

By Professor Pinch May 29, 2013 10:51 am. While everyone curiously watches the world according to Bitcoin, our relationship to money may be set to undergo some profound changes.

There has been a lot of talk about Bitcoin the past few months. And you know what? There’s going to be even more discussion of virtual currencies of any sort, as evidenced by yesterday's news about the Liberty Reserve money laundering scandal.

I’m also pretty sure I won’t have the last word on this topic, either. In fact, I'm going to take this topic in a whole new direction.

But first, let's start with Bitcoin, the best known virtual currency.

The most obvious question is why. Why Bitcoin? Because, simply put, it’s never been done before. An alternative currency, not controlled by any government, developed by an anonymous hacker? If it all sounds a bit like a science fiction story, like from the futuristic Los Angeles of Blade Runner, that’s because it kind of is. There’s just something about the idea of Bitcoin that captures the imagination. Some establishments are now even accepting payments in Bitcoins as well as cash. So, no. Republic credits will not be fine anymore.

Read more here: http://www.minyanville.com/business-news/markets/articles/The-Social-Mood-of-Money-virtual/5/29/2013/id/50051

RussiaToday - Prime Interest ep 22: Freeh Skewers Corzine Over MF Global; Bitcoins Jump Through Regulatory Hoops

Today Perianne and Bob interview Jon Roe, co-founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition, about the latest developments with MF Global and a suit against Jon Corzine. And we feature another scintillating Bitcoin interview with Jered Kenna, CEO and co-founder of TradeHill. Then Perianne and Bob duel over Jon Bon Jovi and the European debt crisis.

RussiaToday - Prime Interest ep 22: Freeh Skewers Corzine Over MF Global; Bitcoins Jump Through Regulatory Hoops

Not So Anonymous: Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Tightens Identity Requirement

5/30/2013 @ 12:03PM. Since the crypto-currency Bitcoin hit the limelight, many libertarians and privacy advocates have heralded it as anonymous, digital cash. But the world’s biggest Bitcoin exchange–and the U.S. regulators breathing down its neck–see things differently.

On Thursday Mt. Gox announced that it would begin requiring “verification” for all accounts seeking to deposit or withdraw currencies other than Bitcoin, a measure that means users would need to submit government identification and a utility bill or information about the company they work for to trade Bitcoins for traditional money, in effect ending anonymous use of the service.

“The Bitcoin market continues to evolve, as do regulations and conditions of compliance for Mt. Gox to continue bringing secure services to our customers,” reads a statement on Mt. Gox’s site. “It['s] our responsibility to provide a trusted and legal exchange, and that includes making sure that we are operating within strict anti-money laundering rules and preventing other malicious activity.”

The new restrictions from Mt. Gox–which controls well over half of all Bitcoin trades–comes on the heels of an online currency crackdown. An indictment unsealed earlier in the week against Liberty Reserve, another digital currency service, alleged that it engaged in $6 billion worth of money laundering through its anonymity-friendly payment system. - Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/30/not-so-anonymous-bitcoin-exchange-mt-gox-tightens-identity-requirement

The changing face of money (Video)

Consumers for a while now have been using cash less and less to make purchases at the store. More and more people are paying their bills online and seldom writing checks anymore.

ATM transactions/Debit cards are ubiquitous in transactions along with credit cards. Not only is it more convenient and cleaner, than carrying paper currency and coins around, it also perceived as more secure.

The digital wallet is just around the corner. In other words paying with your mobile device, such as your smartphone. It is already here though not quite ready for prime time due to security concerns.

Whether or not the public is ready for it is another question. Also there will be a steep up front cost for retailers to have terminals that are synchronized with the mobile wallet.

But as those concerns are being addressed and people will learn to like this way of buying things by simply scanning the items they want to their smartphone. - Read more here: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-changing-face-of-money

What happens to Bitcoin if the lights go out?

Published On May 30, 2013 at 15:57 BST | By Shirley Siluk. While it’s a robust protocol online, Bitcoin might not be so resilient (or, dare we say it, “antifragile”?) in the non-digital world.

What does that mean? It means that Bitcoin – like the internet itself – is dependent upon functioning global networks, reliable power supplies and standing cellphone towers. Switch off the routers and transformers, and knock down the towers, and Bitcoin has a problem.
Imagine, for example, trying to conduct local commerce with bitcoins in New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy. People did get creative when it came to finding ways to keep their smartphones charged in the days and weeks following the Oct. 29, 2012, storm, but it wasn’t always easy.

So the question of how to keep a future Bitcoin economy functional after a natural disaster isn’t a purely academic one: these situations do arise – and have arisen – causing a lot of inconvenience, and frustration along the way. In a system where plain old paper cash and coin are still an option, even people with no heat or lights at home and no gas in the car can usually hoof it to the nearest convenience store to shop with their flashlights on and buy a few cans of Spaghetti-O’s, crackers and Spam.

It’s something to consider as a large coastal population in the Northern Hemisphere currently prepares to usher in Hurricane Season 2013 (set to start Saturday (June 1), and expected to be a doozy).

A March 2013 survey of nearly 8,400 residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut found that three-quarters of them went without power for at least one day after Sandy … “with a median of seven days.” Almost as many – 73 percent – reported losing TV and internet service after the storm. - Read more here: http://www.coindesk.com/what-happens-to-bitcoin-if-the-lights-go-out

New Bitcoin Trading Exchange Platform Bter.com

29 May 2013 | Derek N. Bter.com – A Bitcoin Exchange Platform, supporting LTC, CNC, FRC, FTC, BQC, BTB, WDC

Bter is a Bitcoin Exchange platform where users can buy, sell, and trade bitcoins and other crypto-currencies. The Bter API can return the ticker for a selected currency, the market depth including ask and bid orders, and recent trade history. The service uses REST calls and utilizes SSL and two-factor authentication for security.

Bter.com is maintained and operated by “MYIP Team” who have successfully maintained a number of websites, over the past few years. Bter is secured by

• SSL safe connection
• Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• Manually confirmed withdrawal
• Google TOTP Two-factor Authentication

- Read more here: http://bitcoinviews.com/new-bitcoin-trading-exchange-platform-bter-com

Will the ‘currency’ of personal data win over Bitcoin?

Published On May 30, 2013 at 14:41 BST | By Shirley Siluk. Money isn’t what it used to be, writes Minyanville macroeconomics regular “Professor Pinch.” And it probably won’t ever again be what it used to be.

In a column published Wednesday, the professor begins by noting that Bitcoin is currently “big” simply because “it’s never been done before.” Part science fiction, part gold, Bitcoin, he writes, appeals to “folks who mistrust government, central banks, and well, pretty much most of the rest of the world.”

Both gold and Bitcoin reflect a “me, here, now” philosophy, the professor writes. The problem with both those commodities, though, he notes, arises with the idea of credit. Credit, he argues, requires trust … while the appeal of Bitcoin and gold is more in the “every man for himself” camp.

So is there even room for credit in the future economy? Professor Pinch sees the answer in personal data. He quotes Atlantic Media CTO Tom Cochran, who argues that personal information, ultimately, will become “the currency of the 21st century digital economy.” - Read more here: http://www.coindesk.com/will-the-currency-of-personal-data-win-over-bitcoin

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Alternative payments growing fast in the UK

Published On May 30, 2013 at 10:28 BST | By John Oates. UK punters are using more electronic money, but cash is still king on the High Street. In 2012 use of cash for shopping fell 10 per cent – and the rate of decline is accelerating. The big winners are debit cards and newer methods such as PayPal, for online purchases.

The numbers come from the British Retail Consortium and show that just over half of all transactions are still carried out in cash – 54.4 per cent. But this is down 6.7 per cent in terms of numbers of transactions and a fall of 9.7 per cent in terms of value – the first time both figures went down in 13 years of collecting data.

The BRC said there was 3.4 per cent fall in credit and charge card payments as people try and keep a handle on their finances. Five per cent of transactions now avoid traditional payment methods entirely - being made via PayPal or other alternative.

Accepting cards is still costing shopkeepers dear. Average processing costs for cards are 25 times as much as for cash- 38 pence versus 1.5 pence for cash deals. - Read more here: http://www.coindesk.com/alternative-payments-growing-fast-in-the-uk

Bitcoin will continue to function beyond the reach of government and law

Thursday 30 May 2013 16.47 BST. Law enforcement caught up with money laundering hub Liberty Reserve but will struggle with decentralised online currencies.

When talking about the online currency Bitcoin – a currency backed not by any nation state, but instead a series of mathematical rules – coverage tends to focus either on the surging value of each coin (currently about $130 or £85) or the fact that Bitcoins are quite a handy way to buy drugs online, using the Silk Road website.

Both are of interest, but are roughly akin to focusing on how the aeroplane might disrupt the hot-air balloon industry: it's true, but drastically misses the true potential of an innovation to change the world – for good or for ill.

The real transformative power of Bitcoin, or something like it, lies not in a speculative bubble, but in its potential to put currency outside of the control of governments, or law enforcement agencies.

What that could mean has been brought to light by a massive international investigation into a different online currency, Liberty Reserve, which now stands accused of involvement in a $6bn money laundering scheme.

Liberty Reserve, which operated out of Costa Rica, was a centralised "gateway" currency, making transactions hard to trace. People needed to provide only minimal details – name, email, address and date of birth – to open an account, making it an easy way to make money traces disappear. - Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/30/bitcoin-beyond-reach-of-government

Mozilla Foundation eyes Bitcoin donations

Published On May 29, 2013 at 22:51 BST | By Alice Truong. Purveyor of an open web, Mozilla (known for its Firefox browser) is contemplating accepting bitcoins in its fundraising efforts.

Reddit user taliesan – who identifies himself as Geoffrey MacDougall, head of development at the Mozilla Foundation — has been picking the brains of the Bitcoin community, asking for resources as the company researches whether to take donations in the cryptocurrency. ”There are a number of people on my team advocating for it, as well,” he said.

First kicked off two days ago, the thread on the Bitcoin subreddit has received favorable reactions from fellow users, some of whom said they’d donate to contribute to a free and open internet, “a shared goal of both the Mozilla project and the Bitcoin project.”
Earlier in April, Mozilla introduced a JavaScript API called navigator.mozPay() to simplify online payments within the Firefox OS. Read more here: http://www.coindesk.com/mozilla-foundation-eyes-bitcoin-donations

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Is this the next shoe to drop for Bitcoin?

by SIMON BLACK on MAY 29, 2013. In the largest such case ever brought by the US federal government, the Department of Treasury shut down virtual currency provider Liberty Reserve yesterday as a ‘primary money laundering concern.’

If you’re not familiar with Liberty Reserve, it was a Costa Rica-based platform that allowed its 1+ million users to convert fiat currency into an online virtual currency that was loosely connected to the financial system.

Users could hold Liberty Reserve Dollars, euros, etc. which were tied to fiat dollars, euros… or even gold. And they could quickly transfer funds across the Liberty Reserve network.

Liberty Reserve’s cardinal sin was not making any effort to validate the identities of its customers. And for this reason, the US government labeled it a ‘primary money laundering concern.’

After all, only criminal terrorists want to bank anonymously.

The charges against Liberty Reserve are vicious, to say the least. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network claims that the service “is not designed for legitimate use,” and that it is “designed to facilitate money laundering and illicit finance.”

They go on to list a number of terrorists and criminals who have used Liberty Reserve… because, of course, that’s how they accomplish everything these days– by citing the threat of terrorism.

In fact, the government is deriving its authority to bring charges against Liberty Reserve (and seven of the company’s principals) from a little-known section of the USA PATRIOT Act. - Read more here: http://www.sovereignman.com/trends/is-this-the-next-shoe-to-drop-for-bitcoin-11949

Why Bitcoin Enthusiasts Should Pay Attention To Liberty Reserve's Shuttering

Kashmir Hill, Forbes Staff. 5/28/2013 @ 4:09PM. The big online payments news of the weekend is the shuttering of Liberty Reserve, the alleged banking service for cybercriminals which facilitated billions in transactions in “LR” dollars. It was allegedly being used to launder criminal money and to pay for fun things like drugs, child pornography, stolen identities, and hacking services; it “deliberately attracted and maintained a customer base of criminals by making financial activity on Liberty Reserve anonymous and untraceable,” according to an indictment from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney. Liberty Reserve charged low rates on transactions and offered a “privacy fee” which allowed depositors to send money without those receiving the money being able to see where it came from.

Seeing the feds crack down on a provider of anonymous online payments will make some ears in the Bitcoin community perk up; the feds are paying close attention to how virtual currencies are being used. As Tim Lee of the Washington Post notes, the way Liberty Reserve is described in the indictment “could just as easily describe Bitcoin.”

Among those targeted by the feds were Liberty Reserve’s founders, Arthur Budovsky and Vladimir Kats. It’s not their first run-in with the law. In 2006, the two were convicted for running a money transmitting company called Gold Age, Inc. out of an apartment in Brooklyn. The charges this time are much the same — running an unlicensed money transmitting business and facilitating money laundering — but the stakes are much larger this time around. Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/05/28/why-bitcoin-enthusiasts-should-pay-attention-to-liberty-reserves-shuttering

Bitcoin, Digital Dollars, and More - Alberta Primetime May 6, 2013

Bitcoin, Digital Dollars, and More - Alberta Primetime May 6, 2013

Then They Fight You | Plan B - Episode 8

The funding methods around Bitcoin are under attack, and we chat with TheGenesisBlock.com's managing editor about what this means for the future of Bitcoin, and more.

Plus picking the right wallet for offline cold storage, a look at BitAngels the distributed Bitcoin angel fund, our concerns with Ripple, your emails, and much more!

Show notes: http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/37871/then-they-fight-you-plan-b-8

Then They Fight You | Plan B - Episode 8

CryptoCurrent shuts shop

Published On May 28, 2013 at 11:18 BST | By John Oates. Bitcoin seller CryptoCurrent has put its business on hold while it investigates the cost of getting properly licensed.

A one line statement on its website says:

“We feared this day might arrive, and it has; we are no longer selling bitcoins due to the cost-prohibitive nature of state licensure for a business of our kind.”

Meanwhile the company’s Twitter feed revealed last week that it was “putting CryptoCurrent business on hold indefinitely”.

CryptoCurrent offered anonymous Bitcoin transactions – users could send cash and receive bitcoins in exchange.

But it continues to work with its attorney to find a way to work legally. The feed noted that the Bitcoin conference made clear the need for a money transmitter license for each state – a process which is too expensive for a small business to manage.
The firm said on Twitter: “Well, it appears as though we will not be able to afford the exorbitant fees necessary to pursue the money transmitter licence”.

CryptoCurrent’s ups and downs have been tracked on a thread on the Bitcointalk forum here. - Source: http://www.coindesk.com/cryptocurrent-shuts-shop

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What's with all the Bitcoin Shutdowns?

May 28, 2013 by ROGER WEHBE. Over the past few days we have heard about accounts being seized at Mt.Gox , OkPay shutting down Bitcoin Services, Liberty Reserve being seized and a whole host of operations being shut down right and left that have anything to do with the words ‘bitcoin’ and ‘exchange’.

In the same breath we’re hearing Paypal wants to get involved in Bitcoin as well as Western Union and a host of traditional financial companies.

What’s the deal?

Well, in a nutshell bitcoin is going to be ‘allowed to succeed’ but you’re not the one that’s allowed to succeed with it. Don’t bother opening an exchange today, and if you own one you should seriously be looking over your back as regulators are gunning for you.

You’re going to hear a ton more of account seizures and bitcoin to fiat companies shut down until a few months from now you’ll get this press release saying that Paypal is now accepting Bitcoin (with a zero refund policy and them in the middle). - Read more here: http://www.adaptiveglass.com/?p=780

Money Backed by the Full Faith and Credit of Guinness

Posted: 05/28/2013 12:53 pm. With the growing disconnect with retail banking as exemplified by the expanding migration to Bitcoin and other virtual currencies such as Litecoin and PPcoin offering decentralized , peer-to-peer commerce without the mediation of the banking system, perhaps one of the more entertaining and imaginative solutions spontaneously emerged out of dire necessity.

Long before the Digital Age, Ireland, during the decade between 1966 and 1976, experienced three separate bank strikes that caused the banks to completely shut down for a total of 12 months, virtually bringing the country to a standstill. It was impossible to cash a check or carry out any banking transaction while the banks' doors were closed. Consequently, the population of Ireland could not access well over 80 percent of its money supply.

What arose from this seeming disaster was the largest, spontaneous nationwide mutual credit system--with the local pubs acting as the center of commerce. Michael Linton comments, "The Irish are an imaginative bunch, and they soon realized if the banks were closed then nothing prohibits writing a check and using this like cash. So they started writing checks that soon circulated as face-value money. A check would make the rounds between several people within a circuit facilitating business and people getting on with their daily lives. "

When official bank-issued checks were used up, individuals went to their local stationery shop or news agent for supplies and created their own checks. "Usually a guy would write out a set of checks, written in denominations of fives, tens, twenties and possibly fifties, because these would be easier to negotiate. The idea caught on quickly. Now, a person from Cork wouldn't necessarily take a Dublin check and vice versa. It was important in these transactions to know the people with whom you were dealing," adds Linton. - Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacqui-dunne/money-backed-by-the-full-_b_3346225.html

SiliconAngle LIVE: Liberty Reserve Seizure: the Spark Regulation Demands for Bitcoin + Virtual Currencies?

RYAN COX | MAY 29TH. On today’s SiliconANGLE Live NewsDesk Show, (see live feed below or visit youtube.com/siliconangle to watch on-demand), we continue the discussion on the U.S. government closure and seizure of Liberty Reserve, alleging that the online company acted as “a financial hub of the cyber-crime world.”

Yesterday, U.S. federal law enforcement agencies announced the closure and seizure of Liberty Reserve, an online, virtual currency platform that the U.S. government alleges processed more than $6 billion in criminal proceeds over the past seven years. Liberty Reserve is a well known online money exchange that uses its own virtual currency, dubbed as the Liberty Reserve, or simply “LR”, to provide anonymous payment processing services for online customers. The ‘currency’ is somewhat similar to Bitcoin, only it faces a far more sinister side to it due to its total lack of regulation. With that being said, this could be a huge blow to Bitcoin’s momentum and future as a ‘currency’. Or is it? - Read more here: http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/05/29/live-u-s-seizure-of-virtual-currency-liberty-reserve-not-hurtful-to-bitcoin

Liberty Reserve Raid Heralds Diminishing Economic Freedom for Americans - Breaking Analysis

Is Edmonton ready for Bitcoin?

Chandra Lye, CTV Edmonton Published Tuesday, May 28, 2013 1:58PM MDT. The coin that everyone online is talking about has caught financial organizations by surprise and it’s coming to Edmonton.

Local Bitcoin enthusiast Dan Jacob said the Edmonton community is small, but growing.
“If I were to speculate there are probably 50 to 100 people in Edmonton who have Bitcoins or who are actively engaged in Bitcoin,” he explained.
PHOTOS

Bitcoin enthusiasts Dan Jacob and Peter Dushenski say the local Bitcoin community is small but growing.

Jacob acknowledged that a lack of understanding of the concept of the currency has kept many away.

According to the Bitcoin website each user gets an address, which is used to make and receive payments, similar to an e-mail account. All transactions are shared on a public log, which is how users believe the coin keeps it integrity.

Investor, entrepreneur and another Bitcoin enthusiast, who also goes by the Twitter name @Bitcoinpete, Peter Dushenski, said Edmonton has the ideal culture to see Bitcoin excel.
“Edmonton is an innovative community. It’s a tech-oriented community. We love our Twitter. We love hashtag yeg. We love our smartphones and we are much less corporate than Calgary,” he explained.

“Bitcoin is the most disruptive, innovate, creative space in the entire world right now. Edmonton could very well be a good place to see that kind of idea shine.” - Read more here: http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/is-edmonton-ready-for-bitcoin-1.1300731

Money-Laundering Network’s Demise Is Bad News for Bitcoin

28.05.2013 at 4:27 PM. Liberty Reserve, an online currency exchange headquartered in Costa Rica, was broken up by authorities today after its operators were accused of hosting more than $6 billion-worth of illegal transactions over the last seven years. The indictment, which involved law enforcement officials in an astounding seventeen countries, accuses the site of functioning as the "bank of choice for the criminal underworld."

You've probably never heard of Liberty Reserve, which allowed people to transfer money around the world without verifying their identities. Not all of the activity on Liberty Reserve was criminal, but you can imagine how its lack of required verification made it the favored payment network for drug dealers, child pornographers, and other ne'er-do-wells. One law enforcement official told the Times that Liberty Reserve had essentially become "PayPal for criminals" and that it was brought down by an undercover agent who created a Liberty Reserve account under the fake name "Joe Bogus" and described his account's purpose as "for cocaine."

The legal issues surrounding Liberty Network are interesting in their own right. But even more interesting, I think, is what the fed's breakup of Liberty Network means for the Bitcoin community. Bitcoin, of course, is a lot like Liberty Network — it's a payments system that derives much of its value from the anonymity of users. Read more here: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/money-networks-demise-bad-news-for-bitcoin.html

Bitcoin Bubble or New Virtual Currency?

Yves here. I’ve heretofore avoided the topic of Bitcoin, since I recall the brief fad of the Second Life currency, which then flamed out impressively. And Bitcoin already has had the US Treasury clear its throat and say if market participants try exchanging Bitcoin for dollars, it takes a dim view of that. Recall that the IRS threatened to tax frequent flier miles, but later dropped that idea. But there is a more obvious choke point with Bitcoin, and the Treasury may come up with others if it were to be used as commercial tender. Nevertheless, the fact that Treasury has taken notice suggests that at least some readers are interested in it as well.

There are also some good skeptical comments at MacroBusiness, where this post first ran, and I encourage readers to give them a look. Consider this one (and make allowances for the command of English):

Conclusion: MtGox can pay journalists with 1.1 million dollars investment they got, so, medias will popularize BTC one period and after that BTC will go down. Most of users of BTC are exchangers who enjoy in speculating in order to gain profit, mass of people don’t have capital to be exchanger and speculate anything, therefore Bitcoin will not be used by masses/population than only by exchangers. Beside it, American law makers are against Bitcoin and MtGox owners are not ready to do anything against the law, so, MtGox will be closed before or later and then all BTC will become worthless.

Without MtGox, there is no market of BTC, they possess 80% of BTC trade. When police and judge abolish MtGox, ordinary user can bankrupt if he has all his savings in the form of Bitcoins. And Americans can impose their law even in other countries because they finance many governments, when America forbid BTC, many other countries will do the same. So, investors in Bitcoin will bankrupt, MtGox will sell every BTC they can and take cash and then close MtGox, so, ordinary users and investors (who already spent their money for marketing of bitcoin) will loose money, MtGox owners will save themselves. - Read more here: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/03/bitcoin-bubble-or-new-virtual-currency.html

MADBitcoins: Coinbase Standard? -- No OKPay for MtGox -- Roseanne Barr Supports Bitcoin!

Vienna, Austria -- I'm the Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Bill -- Here are Today's MadBits:

1.) Coinbase Leads Charge In Bitcoin's Consumerization
http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/27/bitcoin-2

2.) OKpay shuts down MT. Gox transfers
https://twitter.com/MtGox/status/339282421939859456

3.) Roseanne Barr supports Bitcoin!
https://twitter.com/TheRealRoseanne/status/339169691681570816

All Kings must fight in the first wave - Barr Sheehan 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGTbqfYwc1M

Bitcoin Charts
http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg10ztgTzbgEzm1g10zm2g25zxzps

Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Bill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_Wall_Street_Pay_for_the_Restoration_of_Main_Street_Bill

Coinbase Standard? -- No OKPay for MtGox -- Roseanne Barr Supports Bitcoin!

RussiaToday - The Prime Interest: The Need for Bitcoin Neutrality; Fannie & Freddie Tax Games

The Need for Bitcoin Neutrality; Fannie & Freddie Tax Games

The Voluntary Life – Getting Started with Bitcoin!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:51 — 48.4MB)

Show Notes courtesy of Jake from my guest appearance on The Voluntary Life – 109 Getting Started With Bitcoin! (Hint, it’s worth listening for the impromptu intro/outro ;-))

An interview with Stephanie Murphy, co-host of the show Let’s Talk Bitcoin, about getting started with using Bitcoin. Topics covered include:

What is Bitcoin?

• How Stephanie first got involved with using Bitcoin
• Exchanges and exchange services: changing fiat currency into and out of Bitcoin
• Software, wallets and technical issues
• Security issues
• Buying things with Bitcoin
• Selling your services and products for Bitcoin

Show Notes:
Let’s Talk Bitcoin podcast
Porc Therapy podcast
Fr33 Aid charity
We Use Coins (intro video about bitcoin)

- http://www.porctherapy.com/2013/05/28/the-voluntary-life-getting-started-with-bitcoin

Performance Marketing Agency mesasix Announces Bitcoins as Official Payment Method

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) May 28, 2013. Performance marketing agency mesasix is proud to announce that they accept bitcoins (BTC) as a payment method as of June 1st 2013.

Performance marketing agency mesasix is proud to announce that they accept bitcoins (BTC) as a payment method as of June 1st 2013.

Being on the cutting-edge of technology developments is what sets mesasix apart from the competition, as such, founders Steven Maroulis and Robert Hoddenbagh made the decision to start accepting bitcoins.

The decision was not only a business development one, but as technocrats, the crew at mesasix also sympathize with the new currency from an ideological standpoint. “In many aspects, this is what the internet is about, decentralization and bringing power to the people. The bitcoin currency is a perfect example of what we as a society are capable of when we collaborate. The internet was built on openness and transparency and I feel bitcoin embraces both," added founder Steven Maroulis. Read more here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10773021.htm

Why Bitcoin will be the next big thing: Interview with Jeff Berwick

The Dollar Vigilante's Jeff Berwick (http://www.dollarvigilante.com) on why bitcoin will continue to gain in popularity worldwide. In this interview with Cambridge House Live anchor Bridgitte Anderson he also discusses his massive real estate development just outside Santiago, Chile. Taped in Vancouver at the World Resource Investment Conference.

Why Bitcoin will be the next big thing: Interview with Jeff Berwick

The Internet Knows Bitcoin (video)

Bitcoin was first described in 2008 by pseudonymous developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, in his paper, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." One year later, that system became reality.

Here is the abstract from that paper: A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work.

The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.

Check out this video here: The Internet Knows Bitcoin

OKPAY Takes Bitcoin Hiatus

Johann Summers | On 28, May 2013. One year and two months after heralding “the ultimate integration of bitcoin” into their system, the ecommerce company OKPAY has announced that it is suspending its “complete Bitcoin integration.” In a statement on okpay.com Monday, OKPAY told its users; “Dear customers, we are currently suspending bitcoin processing” with the headline “Bitcoin processing temporarily suspended.” While no longer listing bitcoin as a payment option for individual users, a statement from the bitcoin exchange service Mt. Gox indicated that OKPAY may be allowing some of its larger customers (including Mt. Gox) time to phase out its bitcoin related service.

Another major bitcoin exchange using OKPAY, BTC-e, had users noting that they were no longer able to make deposits into the exchange using OKPAY’s service beginning the second week of May. BTC-e announced on 11 May that OKPAY deposits would be restored “next week.” There has been no indication since then that the issued has been resolved, or as to whether the cause of the problem originated from the exchange or the payment service.

Although OKPAY themselves provided no rationale for their decision in their most recently released announcement, a cached version of a previous announcement on their website says that they were temporarily ending their bitcoin related services “due to the exchange rate instability and current market situation.” - Read more here: http://bitcoinmagazine.com/okpay-takes-bitcoin-hiatus-2

Is Bitcoin science fiction come to life?

Published On May 28, 2013 at 16:21 BST | By Ariella Brown. Part of the geek appeal for Bitcoin users is that it is a real-life example of a concept often featured in science fiction or sci-fi-oriented computer games: an advanced, universally accepted form of currency.

Universally accepted forms of payments become essential in a society in which space travel enables humans – and other sentient beings – to hop from planet to planet inhabited by civilizations of all kinds. In some science fiction scenarios, though, the money system is universal not just for expediency, but because it’s backed by a centralized power seeking complete control. That aspect of digital currency does not jibe at all with the freedom from government authority that distinguishes Bitcoin.

“If you ever read sci-fi, it’s like creds,” Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik recently observed. (“Credits” are used by inhabitants of Star Trek within the Federation, though species outside of it, like the Ferengi, take “Gold Pressed Latinum” for payment.)

Gesturing to the USB cards designed to hold bitcoins, Garzik said, “It’s like giving someone your cred stick.”

But are credits truly central to Star Trek? The question of money for the Federation is a subject of both speculation and debate, as the television series and films have not been altogether consistent about if and how money is used in the universe envisioned three centuries into the future.

An article on the Star Trek site – “A Look at Money in Star Trek – Italian Style – examines the subject in detail, from the original series all the way up to the most recent reboot by JJ Abrams. Writer Gabriella Cordone begins by asserting that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry decreed that no currency was used at all in the Federation. Rodenberry didn’t want “the concept of accumulating wealth” in “his universe,” recalled Ronald D. Moore, co-executive producer of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series, in a web interview … nor did he want money to be the prime motivation for doing a job. - Read more here: http://www.coindesk.com/is-bitcoin-science-fiction-come-to-life

60+ Investors Band Together To Form BitAngels, The First Multi-City Angel Network & Incubator For Bitcoin Startups

28.05.2013 Nobody’s quite sure when (and if) Bitcoin will go mainstream, but plenty of investors and entrepreneurs have begun to place their bets. The snowball is off and rolling.

If this post doesn’t make it clear why venture capitalists are loving this emerging market, just in the last two months, we’ve seen the Winklevosses admit they have a crush on Bitcoin, Liberty City Ventures launch its own “Digital Currency Fund,” San Mateo-based accelerator Boost.vc dedicate half of its next batch to Bitcoin startups, while Chris Dixon has said publicly that he’s in and Fred Wilson finally made his first investment in a Bitcoin company.

Today, we can check another growth milestone off the list. Entrepreneurs eyeing the Bitcoin market will be pleased to learn that BitAngels is launching (what it believes to be) the first multi-city angel network and incubator created to invest exclusively in cryptocurrency startups. Fittingly, in the spirit of Bitcoin, it’s a distributed network of angels and entrepreneurs and one that was hacked together in a few days after the Bitcoin 2013 Conference.

Yes, Bitcoin has its own conference now. Better fund a mining buddy, pronto.

Led by Engine.co founder David A. Johnston, SocialRadius and Marketwire founder Michael Terpin and angel investor Sam Onat Yilmaz, BitAngels brings together a posse of angel investors who are looking to help entrepreneurs turn their Bitcoin side projects into full-time jobs. To do that, the angel network pooled together about $6.7 million in Bitcoin, which it will invest in approximately $20K chunks. - Read more here: http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/27/60-investors-band-together-to-form-bitangels-the-first-multi-city-angel-network-incubator-for-bitcoin-startups

What happens to your Bitcoins when you die?

May 28, 2013, 9:08 a.m. EDT. By now, you've probably heard about Bitcoins. They've been in the news regularly these days and the reports range from describing how Bitcoins will replace paper money in many countries to how Bitcoins are being used as a way to pay for drugs, gambling and sex.

Bitcoins are virtual currency that are generated from a computer based network of individuals that manages Bitcoin balances and transactions. They're "mined" from computer networks through the process of solving a complex mathematical problem.

Bitcoins are traded on numerous exchanges across the globe and converted into the accepted currencies in these countries. They are used to pay for products and services, albeit some illegal. The interesting aspect for me is that they are still being "mined" (or created) today, but at some point in the near future the total amount of available Bitcoins will ultimately be a finite number. This may create a huge demand and value for them in the future.

Although the value of a Bitcoin is market based and has been fluctuating regularly, it was around $130 for a Bitcoin on Friday, and Bitcoins can be divided into fractions and decimals.

Are they something to discuss for retirement? Probably not at this point. - Read more here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-happens-to-your-bitcoins-when-you-die-2013-05-28

US Busts Bitcoin-Like System Liberty Reserve in Costa Rica

Published: Tuesday, 28 May 2013 | 1:25 PM ET. U.S. authorities revealed on Tuesday they have shut down a Costa Rica-based money transfer company that they said provided a digital currency system widely used around the world by cyber-criminals.

In a statement, officials said authorities in Spain, Costa Rica and New York arrested five people on Friday and seized bank accounts and Internet domains associated with the company, Liberty Reserve.

Costa Rican prosecutor José Pablo González said Liberty Reserve and related businesses were used to launder funds from child pornography websites and drug trafficking.

Digital currency is made up of transferable units that can be exchanged for cash. Over the past decade, its use has expanded, attracting attention from the media and Wall Street. The most widely known digital currency is Bitcoin. Liberty Reserve's currency was not connected to Bitcoin.

Along with the five arrests, prosecutors filed charges against two more company employees, who were still at large in Costa Rica.

According to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, "Liberty Reserve has emerged as one of the principal means by which cyber-criminals around the world distribute, store and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity." - Read more here: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100769961

BITCOIN 2013 SAN JOSE – 61 Videos (17 playlists)!

reddit.com/r/Bitcoin by digitalmagus on May 27, 2013 Direct link to 17 BITCOIN 2013 Video Playlists: http://www.youtube.com/user/digitalmagus7/videos?flow=list&view=1&sort=da

Hello fellow Bitcoiners! It’s taken me over a week of effort, but I’ve finally completed uploading all 61 of my ‘Bitcoin 2013 San Jose’ conference amateur videos and organizing them into 17 playlists for easy viewing. Feel free to do whatever you want with these. Special thanks to the Bitcoin Foundation who organized the conference (fyi, I’m not associated with them), and the many outstanding lecturers – I was definitely impressed. I personally got a lot out of the conference, especially the networking with everyone, and getting to see the ‘face’ of Bitcoin, which might be quite different than one might imagine from only reading reddit or hanging out on IRC.

I strongly recommend attending these events in the future if you can. Below I’ve provided a list of the 17 playlists, but please note that there were many more lectures that I could not attend occurring in parallel to these and thus I could not record those. As such, keep an eye out for the Bitcoin Foundation to release official videos to all the lectures in the near future, until then, enjoy these! - Read more here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1f4flg/bitcoin_2013_san_jose_61_videos_17_playlists/

Chinese TV – Bitcoin, currency of the future?

The increasingly digital world is changing the way we pay for things. Instead of using physical currency, now virtual currencies like Bitcoin are -- well, gaining currency. The first ever World Bitcoin Conference is underway in Silicon Valley. And, the virtual currency is winning fans in Beijing.

In Beijing’s high-tech district of Zhong Guancun, a cafe like this one is a popular spot for IT geeks and internet entrepreneurs, they usually pay 20 yuan for a coffee and hang out for the day...but recently, an American teenager broke the norm. He bought his coffee using 0.012 of Bitcoin. - Check out more: http://english.cntv.cn/program/bizasia/20130517/104786.shtml

Wonderful Free E-book: Electronic Payment Systems for E-Commerce

http://www.scribd.com/doc/143729799/Electronic-Payment-Systems-for-E-Commerce

Authors: Michael A. Peirce, Hitesh Tewari, O'Mahony Donal

Publication Date: August 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1580532683 | ISBN-13: 978-1580532686 | Edition: 2 Sub

Generally society has been moving towards electronic payment systems since the 1970s, but it is only the arrival of the Internet and its vertiginous growth, that has made possible the recent advances in this area.

Publisher: Artech House

Computer Security Series

Electronic Payment Systems for E-Commerce by HideYoBooks

What the"Shadow CIA" Thinks about Bitcoin

MONDAY, MAY 27, 2013. In early 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing over 5 million Stratfor email messages. According to Global Intelligence Files, Stratfor is.

a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.

Barron's once referred to Stratfor as "The Shadow CIA." Amy Goodman, writing in the Guardian, referred to the first published leaks of Stratfor material as peering into the "intelligence-industrial complex"

In late 2011 (October/November), Stratfor had an internal email discussion about Bitcoin. Here are snippets of that conversation, compiled from emails released by Wikileaks.

[email protected] wrote:
A bitcoin (BTC) is decentralized digital currency developed by an individual or groups of individuals with the pseudonym SatoshiNakamto [you'll have to explain everything in this sentence later in the analysis. imagine you are explaining what it is, step by step, to an
idiot (or me).] - Read more here: http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/05/what-theshadow-cia-thinks-about-bitcoin.html

3D Printing For Bitcoin – Combining Disruptive Technologies

What happens when you combine two of the world’s most disruptive technologies? That’s what the newly formed site 3DP4BTC is exploring as they offer custom 3D printing for Bitcoin. That’s right, you can now order anything a 3D printer can produce with a purely digital currency that you help run from the comfort of your home. Welcome to the future ladies and gentlemen.

Also referred to simply as Crypto Printing, 3DP4BTC is the intersection of two burgeoning technologies, 3D printing and Bitcoin. 3D printing has been grabbing a lot of headlines as the technology is continually explored and expanded. For instance, Venture Beat recently reported about a project combining 3D printing and augmented reality.

It’s not surprising that Bitcoin and 3D printing have been combined considering all the attention the two have garnered recently. In fact these two also happen to be the focus of Seed Fund Boost VC, who recently announced they’ll be focusing on Bitcoin for this summer’s incubator batch (Boost VC and Crypto Printing aren’t directly related).

Boost is sector and stage agnostic but have current interests in consumer tech, 3D printing and Bitcoin related companies.

How CryptoPrinting Works

Crypto Printing showcases their NFC-enabled Bitcoin and Litecoin simulcra under their shop section. Purchasing these is pretty straightforward. Just add your choice to your shopping cart, enter your shipping information and checkout with BitPay (If you’re unfamiliar with BitPay it’s the same service I used in our recent NameCheap review). The simulcra are offered for $17 per Bitcoin/Litecoin or $30 for the pair. - Read more here: http://cryptojunky.com/blog/2013/05/27/3d-printing-for-bitcoin-combining-disruptive-technologies