FastCoin Crypto News Archive 1

Bill Gates: "[Bitcoin] is a techno tour de force."

“I am getting less and less sympathetic to individuals who refuse to upgrade their payment methods.” – Trace Mayer

Bitcoin Shakes Up Congress

Bitcoin is on the map in Congress as this morning as Politico, a leading newspaper and website predominantly read by Capitol Hill Staff Members and Congress published an article entitled, “Congress Starts Looking Into Bitcoin.”  What does this mean for the Bitcoin community, Congress and the US Executive Branch? Ideally, Members of Congress and the US Senate will take a closer and more holistic look into how regulators have been handling Bitcoin and will proceed with regulations or lack thereof.  While, it would be even more ideal for Bitcoin to have more time to flourish prior to catching the eye of Congress, the Bitcoin community now has a golden opportunity to rise to the occasion and share the truth on the merits, value and utility of Bitcoin, not just as an international currency but also as a symbol of freedom of speech.

Bitcoin Block Time Halved To Five Minutes Amid Exponential Network Growth

By now, bitcoin enthusiasts and professionals alike are aware of the tremendous growth of the bitcoin network so far this year. As millions of dollars (and bitcoin) are invested in increasingly powerful mining equipment, the cumulative hash rate of the network has continually blown by the periodic difficulty adjustments.  Earlier this year we explained the long-term implications of this, but the near term effects are being felt as well. Since that piece was published, the network has continued to grow, as has the growth rate, creating profound near-term effects. In particular, the average time between blocks has fallen to approximately five minutes on average, half the time bitcoin was originally programmed for.

Should expats avoid Bitcoin?

With conflicting opinions around the globe as to whether Bitcoin is a real currency, industry experts give their views on whether expats should steer clear or cash in.  Expats should not necessarily shy away from using Bitcoin, according to experts, despite Thailand recently becoming the first country to ban the computer-generated currency.   According to the Thai authorities, Bitcoin is not a real currency and it is illegal to buy and sell Bitcoins and to buy and sell goods and services in exchange for them.  It is also illegal to send Bitcoins to anyone outside of Thailand, or receive them from anyone outside the country.   However, on Tuesday August 6, a US federal judge in Texas ruled that Bitcoins are a real currency in the eyes of the law, despite only existing in the digital realm.  The developments raised questions for expats as to the pros and cons of using Bitcoin.

Zimmermann’s Law:
PGP inventor and Silent Circle co-founder Phil Zimmermann on the surveillance society

Phil Zimmermann might be a technologist, but he tends to get philosophical when it comes to the issues of privacy and security and how they intersect with our society. A cryptographer, in 1991, he created Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), an email encryption software and published it for free on the internet. Since then he has become an eloquent proponent for the need for privacy and tools. Zimmermann has had his run-ins with the authorities in the past, but he is widely respected for his views on cryptography and privacy — one of the reasons why he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame and has been a recipient of multiple awards recognizing his achievements.

13 Ways Americans Throw Away Money

Blame the government or blame the economy, but Americans should also blame themselves for their declining net worth. We waste a whole lot of money. Seriously, over half a trillion dollars each year—and that's just for areas with available data.   So what counts as a waste of money? We included fines, bad investments like lottery tickets, and unhealthy consumption items like cigarettes and alcohol. We're not telling you how to live your life—but we are identifying costs that everyone should consider cutting.

Hackers swap virtual currencies amidst Liberty Reserve debacle

Three months after a team of international law enforcement officials raided the digital currency firm Liberty Reserve, cyber experts say criminals are increasingly turning to another online currency called Perfect Money.  Idan Aharoni, the head of cyber intelligence at EMC Corp's RSA security division, said that some online scam artists and thieves are using Perfect Money's digital currency to launder money and conceal profits in much the same way they allegedly did with Liberty Reserve's currency.

New search engine protects you from NSA

Trust Google? The National Security Agency, which routinely collects its data, does.  After all, it’s one of the companies from which Washington apparently routinely pulls data about what Americans are reading, doing, seeing, researching, hunting and contemplating.   So an entrepreneur says he has started an alternative service, which offers encryption services to keep your details, well, your details. Out of Google’s files. And away from the NSA.

Cash2BTC's Briefcase-Sized ATM Is Bitcoin Banking Made Portable

Cyprus never saw its bitcoin ATM arrive. Jeff Berwick and his company, Bitcoin ATM, insisted the nation, embroiled in harsh economic circumstances—would be the first to see a bi-lateral bitcoin machine in action. Berwick was eventually forced by a 23-year old to leave the project. For a moment, it seemed a mainstream future of cash-to-bitcoin-and-back was waiting just a few steps ahead.  While we have yet to see Bitcoin ATM's machine pop up in Cyprus, I can't keep from knocking on wood when I say there are alternatives that beckon our attention.

CoinTap is a Canadian startup offering bitcoin gift cards

CoinTap is a Canadian startup which is seeking to make it easy for members of the public to get hold of bitcoins. CoinTap will sell bitcoin gift cards around the world that will allow recipients to claim bitcoins by using the redemption code on the card.  We spoke to CoinTap’s Ashley Fulks who told us that the company is “working with a large card distribution company to get the cards distributed through convenience stores”. The gift cards are sold based on their fiat value, for example, $20. As for how many bitcoins recipients will be able to redeem, we were told that people will be able to “redeem their card for bitcoins at a competitive rate”.

Bitcoin companies: banking regulator launches investigation

An American banking regulator has issued subpoenas to several companies involved in the trade of Bitcoin, as part of an investigation into the practices behind the virtual currency. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are high-profile investors in the online currency.  The New York Department of Financial Services is seeking information on the companies’ anti-money-laundering programmes, consumer protection measures and investment strategies, according to a Wall Street Journal report.  Coinbase Inc, BitInstand and Coinsetter have reportedly received the subpoenas.

Vancouver businesses jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon

A new and innovative payment system has a number of Vancouver business owners intrigued.  A slew of local businesses, from coffee shops to moving companies, are adopting Bitcoin – a new currency that many believe will revolutionize the way we think about money.  Bitcoin is a digital currency, meaning it has no paper trace and lives entirely online.  It is not regulated by any financial institutions. It is decentralized, and can’t be influenced by governments.

Bitcoin Architect Demystifies The Digital Currency

Much has been written over the past year about the new digital currency Bitcoin – especially after its price skyrocketed 15x in just a few months, followed by a blow-off correction of over 50%. But what exactly is it? How does it work? How secure is it? What are its advantages (and disadvantages) to sovereign fiat currencies? To precious metals?

Bitcoin is money and subject to law

The Bitcoin is a phenomenon of far-reaching economic libertarianism, which its proponents claim to be a currency, a purely digital one that is not backed or issued by any national government. Last week, it obtained significant recognition as a currency, though not in the most favourable context.  Apparently for the first time, a court has concluded, persuasively, that the Bitcoin is indeed money – but in a prosecution for fraud.
In 2011, Trendon T. Shavers of McKinney, Tex., who has used the Internet moniker pirateat40, started a company called First Pirate Savings and Trust, later changed to the less provocative name Bitcoin Savings and Trust. He promised an extraordinarily high interest rate – up to 1 per cent per day – and attracted 66 investors from across the United States. Their holdings were in Bitcoin units.

How Bitcoin and Cryptography Provides a Counter Hegemonic Alternative to Dollar Hegemony

The dollar is seeing its hegemony exhausted and its world reserve status threatened. The Yuan and the Euro, like vultures circling over its weary prey, are still undeserving of the hegemonic role on the initial front of simply not being in enough supply. Though it is the very overextension of the dollar that has seen the US deficit sky rocket to an unsustainable $17 trillion (US Debt Clock, 2013), which has left it vulnerable. Parallel to this, the method of fractional reserve banking, a regime that affords the dollar its hegemonic status, is the systemic genesis for the financial crisis that has seen many a central bank struggle to stay afloat, and even collapse. This is what makes the concept of virtual currencies so appealing, and in particular, its most widely used and talked about offspring; Bitcoin.

The Death of Cash

Tech giants - and startups like Square - want you to use your phone to pay for everything from gum to train rides. Here's how they plan to achieve cash-free nirvana.

BitTunes: Change Music Forever?

Bittunes allows users to generate micro payments in Bitcoin by buying and then re-distributing independent digital music files. Bittunes is somewhat like a P2P version of Apple's iTunes, however, Bittunes scales the complex iTunes model down to a much simpler service, decentralizes the distribution process, and totally inverts the music buying paradigm by allowing members to profit from the songs they buy.

Canada becomes leader in instant consumer access to Bitcoin.

QuickBT allows Canadians with an Interac-enabled debit card are able to seamlessly pay Bitcoin addresses. We are excited to officially launch on Monday, and as you'll find, it's quite handy.
We have a checkout API for merchants as well. It's just a link. Any Canadian with a major bank debit card can pay you instantly in Bitcoin and return to your site. See our About page.

Confirmed: Bloomberg staff are testing a bitcoin price ticker

A source inside Bloomberg has privately confirmed that the company is testing a bitcoin ticker among its internal staff.
The news, which should be officially confirmed by Monday, first surfaced on BTCGeek yesterday. The side said that someone overheard an employee of the financial giant at a Satoshi Square meeting mentioning that the currency was now available on the terminal, and that subsequent checks confirmed it.
“Bloomberg employees can see the Bitcoin ticker under {XBT Crncy<GO>} on their Bloomberg terminal and look up it’s [sic] pricing,” said the site.

What would happen to miners and merchants if the bitcoin price reached $500?

Bitcoin’s price has been relatively stable the past few months. That’s save for a nail-biting drop in value to almost $65 per BTC for investors in early July. Sixty-five USD was a low number that hadn’t been seen since the skyrocket-then-drop valuation of bitcoin in spring this year, when many believed we would perhaps see bitcoin reach a value of $250 or even $500.

What would happen to bitcoin if a better cryptocurrency appears?

I was wondering, what would the consequences be if a new currency were created, better than bitcoin in every aspect (basically an improved version of bitcoin). Would eventually everyone sell their bitcoins to buy this new alt currency dropping the BTC price to 0? Isn't this a weakness for bitcoin? A better currency is very probably going to appear somewhere in the future. I'm asking honestly, don't mean to flame or discredit the awesome innovation that Bitcoin is.

What's Bitcoin Worth In The Real World?

We’ve all got at least a passing understanding of Bitcoin, that digital crypto-currency that can’t be regulated by any bank or government (at least for now).  But here’s a trickier question: what’s a bitcoin actually worth?

It is most safe to sell products using Bitcoins than to buy them

Bitcoin has been officially declared a legitimate currency for the first time by a US federal judge. The digital crypto currency now has a real chance to fall under the regulation of the US legal system. The decision of the judge which is now a precedent means that Bitcoin will be officially considered a currency until any other federal judge rules otherwise. Vladimir Marchenko, chief technology officer of BTC Global (Uruguay), Inventor of Bitcoin Mining Contracts, Bitcoin and Information Security Consultant, talked with the Voice of Russia about one of the few currencies in the world which is absolutely decentralized and not officially controlled.

GLOBAL LOOTING:  The new EU bailin law was passed 8 days ago...did you notice?

Three beaming eurocrats – Barroso, Van Rompuy and Lithuanian Dalia Grybauskaite – emerged triumphant from a session two days ago, in which they mapped out the biggest bank heist in world history. This is to put flesh on the eurozone law hastily passed on August 1st (while EU citizens were on holiday) to deal with the inevitability event of a bank collapse. Under this draft proposal – which many expect to be applied to the entire EU – no depositor big or small will in future be able to feel safe with money deposited in a bank. The Slog now calls for those who represent us, across the entire cultural spectrum of European society – to do something.

Bitcoin Is a Real Coin! Federal Judge Rules Virtual Currency Is Valid

A federal judge has ruled that bitcoin is a real currency. So how does this change the money game?

Spend Bitcoin on Everything, Everywhere with All4BTC- Automatically Purchase from eBay, Amzaon and Anywhere Else Online

Berlin, Germany -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/09/2013 -- Based in Berlin, Germany, https://all4btc.com/ was launched in April 2013: a Bitcoin service allowing consumers to purchase anything from eBay, Amazon, and anywhere else online with Bitcoin, without needing to convert coins to fiat first. Originally conceived due to the lack of spending options available for Bitcoiners in Europe, https://all4btc.com/ has rapidly grown into one of the largest Bitcoin proxy purchasing services available online: now processing over 400 orders every month from customers worldwide. Differentiating itself from similar services, All4BTC is the first Bitcoin proxy buying service to utilize a fully automated system for processing customers' Amazon and eBay orders.