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FastCoin Crypto News

Bitcoin: Society's Boon or Bane?
Bitcoin, a virtual, decentralized currency, has recently been receiving a considerable amount of press coverage in international mass media. The digital coinage, which is based on an open-source, peer-to-peer online global network, was launched in 2009 by a mysterious developer who refers to himself as Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is currently the most widely used alternative currency in the world, with its total value in circulation recently estimated to be worth over a billion dollars. Though it is a highly sophisticated and well developed concept in both theory and practice, Bitcoin would have an extremely deleterious effect on our society if its broader economic role were to increase to substantial levels. Although many view it as an extremely attractive alternative currency alternative, Bitcoin could potentially harm our society in three particular ways: by significantly increasing crime, by causing a drastic decrease in social development investment, and by destabilizing economies due to lack of government control and regulation.  In recent months, Bitcoin has witnessed dramatic fluctuation in both cost and overall total value. With the price of a single Bitcoin recently reaching a high of $266 from $50 in mid-march and now hovering at around $103 , Bitcoin is currently the focus of a great deal of attention. Like any other commodity or currency, Bitcoin's value is derived from its demand and usage. In essence, its value stems from the people who value it. But the question remains: why are people so interested it? What is it about Bitcoin that makes it so controversial?


Bitcoin could be a boon for porn and other high-risk merchants
Could bitcoin be a boon for the adult entertainment business? At least one payment processor is trying to get bitcoin exchanges and payment firms on board.  Maria Sparagis, CEO of payment processing firm DirectPayNet, makes a living helping high-risk merchants make a living. She handles payment processing for businesses that the banks are often loath to touch. The adult entertainment industry figures highly in her portfolio, as do online gambling companies, some travel sites and merchants who just have problems getting credit.


Government seized $2.9m from bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox
The US government seized over $2.9m from Mutum Sigillum LLC, a subsidiary of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, a court document has revealed.
Published yesterday by GigaOM, the seizure warrant issued by the district court in Maryland details that the contents of a Dwolla account registered in the name of Mutum Sigillum LLC were to be seized.  The warrant was issued on 14th May, however, it was only filed on 19th August by US magistrate judge Susan K. Gauvey


Established Multinational Investment Firm Plunges Into Bitcoin
Shanghai, China -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/20/2013 -- In early 2013 Massive Luck Investments Limited, a Hong Kong based New Technology Investment Holding Group with offices in Manila, Philippines, Shanghai, China, and Dublin, Ireland, moved aggressively into the Bitcoin space by actively funding the development of next generation Bitcoin mining ASIC technology and establishing the first Global Digital Currency Supercomputer Center http://bitmine.ch http://betcoin.tm . The firm has a history of successfully investing in emerging disruptive technologies. The principals and their families were the first investors in Skype, before the ubiquitous VOIP software became a household name and was subsequently bought by Microsoft Corporation for $8.5 billion. Peter Nolan, head of PR for the Hong Kong based Investment Holding Group, explained how:

We began researching investment opportunities related to digital currencies in early 2012, and by the beginning of 2013 we made a strategic decision to aggressively move into the digital currency “Wild West”. Massive Luck Investments has identified digital currencies as a future growth area for the globally regulated traditional banking sector. Digital currencies provide traceable and expedient transfer protocols for consumers, governments, and banks, with the advantage of enabling users to conduct highly secure, low cost, instant transactions. As the world’s economies increasingly turn to e-commerce and non-physical cash transactions, the global marketplace will demand further integration of digital currencies with regulated infrastructure.



Three largest pools combined couldn't kill bitcoin with a 51% attack!
As the title says, the three largest pools amount to less than 51% of all power. A little while ago we were worried that BTC guild would be dominating the network, but it turns out that when you sell a lot of ASICS to the little guys it strengthens the network by furthering decentralization.

Just a reminder how fast things are moving...



Bitcoin Bull Market Still Going Strong.  Bitcoin=Win FUD=Fail
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BITCOIN: A Primer for Policymakers
Bitcoin is the world’s first completely decentralized digi-tal currency. Four short years ago, knowledge of it was confined to a handful of hobbyists on Internet forums. Today, the bitcoin economy is larger than the economies of some of the world’s smaller nations. The value of a bitcoin (or BTC) has grown and fluctuated greatly, from pennies in its early days to more than $260 at its peak in April 2013. The current mar-ket capitalization of the bitcoin economy is estimated to be more than $1 billion.1 Businesses big and small have shown interest in integrating the Bitcoin platform into their operations and provid-ing new services within the bitcoin economy. Venture capitalists, too, are eager to put their money behind this growing industry.  The development of Bitcoin and its early successes are an excit-ing testament to the ingenuity of the modern entrepreneur.


5 ways Bitcoin needs to improve before it can enable emerging markets
Emerging markets are the future of Bitcoin, leading entrepreneurs and policymakers at the Bitcoin London conference concluded last month (while Wamda couldn't attend, we wanted to highlight their trove of videos).  This isn’t what you’ll hear if you read the recent news on the controversial cryptocurrency, which has revolved around its struggles with regulation in the U.S. and quiet hand-wringing over the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security’s decision to ask various three-letter government agencies to investigate Bitcoin.  Then there’s the recent scandal in which a bug in Android’s code allowed hackers to steal a grand sum of $5,700 from a few Bitcoin wallets.


Is Something Going Down at MtGox...?
Regular followers of this blog will know that we called a buy trade on Friday against support @ $108 (using MtGox's price data).  Earlier today MtGox was quoting $114 and over the last 4 hours the price on this exchange has surged North to tag $120.  In fact we have been as far up as $124.
 Ordinarily this would be a cause of celebration for Bitcoin holders that trade through MtGox, or a derivative product (like BTC.sx) that tracks the MtGox market.  However, it is becoming impossible to ignore the fact that NONE of the other major bitcoin exchanges are following the MtGox price up.  Indeed, at the time of writing everyone else is quoting around par (USD100 per bitcoin). In other words the spread between Mt Gox and everyone else has widened to around 20 per-cent.


Crypto-Keys are Free Speech
In a recent interview, privacy advocate Trace Mayer, who serves on the Editorial Board for Bitcoin Magazine, made the claim that Crypto-Keys are free speech and should be protected as such under the 1st Amendment.  Other voices protest this viewpoint calling the anonymity of Bitcoin its only flaw. Free speech, they say, are the words that come out of a person’s mouth, not a data packet you want to send over the public web.
More and more voices are calling for greater transparency. It is needed, they say, in order for Bitcoin to evolve to its full potential, and unless Bitcoin adopts transparency it will lose market share to the crypto-currency that does.  On the flip side, Bitcoin may seek favor with government regulators and opt for more transparency, but then some other crypto-currency could implement the ZeroCoin protocol. We might see LiteCoin or FeatherCoin go full-throttle in the direction of total anonymity, and if that happens the debate will be over. It seems inevitable that at some point one these emerging forks in the Bitcoin road will become an anarchist’s wet dream.


German Finance Ministry recognizes bitcoin as currency
Bitcoins have been a popular form of payment among netizens since 2009 although economists question their viability because they are backed by neither a government nor a central bank.An overseer group called the Bitcoin Foundation limits the total number of currency units to 21 billion, but it has been unable to avoid sharp fluctuations as it grows more popular.  Currently, 1 bitcoin is valued at about 110 dollars, according to online currency conversion site xe.com, which also states that the currency is currently not recognized by any national government.


How Bitcoin is Reinventing The Monetary System: Q&A with Laissez Faire Books' Jeffrey Tucker


Bitcoin To Replace Pennies & Nickels?
In this month’s edition of Futurist magazine, an article asked experts what they did not expect to be around in thirty years. One individual in particular, Virginia Holbert, responded:   ”pennies and other coins are becoming less useful, as parking meters, tolls, and public transits use smartcards and RFID technologies to streamline payment. Presumably by 2030 we will also see widespread acceptance of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.”  As inflation worsens, materials such as copper are making coins like the penny and nickel worth more than the face value of the coins in circulation, as US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner penned in written testimony to the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Wednesday.


Walmart Earnings Disaster Exposes a Collapsing Economy: Davidowitz
Walmart (WMT) reported earnings of $1.24 a share this morning on revenues of $116.2 billion. Analysts had been expecting $1.25 on $118.5 billion. Sales in stores open more than a year declined 0.3%. Walmart also guided lower for the full year citing a "challenging sales and operating environment." The stock is off sharply and at risk of going negative for the last 52 weeks.  Those are the numbers, but not the whole story. Walmart is the thermometer of the American economy. Disregard the government data. Jobs and GDP and all the rest are at best inaccurate measures of the economy and at worst flat out corrupt. Walmart is capitalism writ large. The entire organization is focused on nothing but selling goods and services to Americans. It may be an empire in decline, but Walmart sells more than $1 billion worth of merchandise per day in a bad quarter. When Walmart misses estimates, it can only mean one of two things: either Walmart or the American economy is weaker than anyone thought.


Coinbase enables users to buy, sell and send bitcoins via text message
Bitcoin wallet service Coinbase has created an SMS interface, which enables users to send and receive bitcoins via text message.  Any Coinbase customer, regardless of the network they are on and whether or not they have a smartphone, can use the new service. First, users have to head online and visit their Coinbase account page, verify their phone number, select a six-digit pin and click the ‘enable SMS’ button.  After sending ‘hi’ to 1 (650) 316-5555, the service is activated and the user can complete any of a number of actions, for example sending bitcoins to a friend’s Coinbase wallet, checking the current price of bitcoin and selling bitcoins.


Welcome to the Silk Road: An Inside Look At the Darkest Corner Of the Internet
They operate their business anonymously, through virtual tunnels and encrypted browsers, beneath layers and layers of the internet’s surface. They run a marketplace for sellers who advertise items ranging from books to Afghani black tar heroin. Welcome to one of the darkest corners of the underground web.  “Silk Road” does not refer to the ancient trade route between Asia and Europe, through which silk and other goods were hauled. This new Silk Road runs along one of the internet’s back alleys — the goods are narcotics, the caravans are modern postal services, and the currencies are digital crypto codes. It’s the web’s black market, where new cutting edge currency can buy you anything, but where drugs are the product of choice, delivered straight to your door through everyday mail services. It’s peaking in the age of online sales and communication, exponential booms in technology, and during a time that people are particularly primed to guard their digital privacy. Silk Road might just be the clandestine Amazon for druggies and dealers, but it also has broad and major implications for what the future could look like for virtual currency, online privacy, and even the international drug trade.


Lamassu Now Accepting Pre-Orders for their Bitcoin ATM
Lamassu, Inc., makers of the Bitcoin Machine, the world’s first Bitcoin ATM, are nearing production and have opened their website for pre-orders. Within hours of announcing pre-orders in a newsletter sent out on Monday, the preliminary production run had been funded with orders paid in Bitcoin.  CEO Zach Harvey expects the preliminary run of 15 units to ship in September and the remainder of the pre-orders to ship by the end of the year.  “We feel the urgency to get our machines out there,” Harvey says. “Obtaining Bitcoin is just as hard now as it was when we set out to develop the Bitcoin Machine, and this is a solution we feel a lot of people have been waiting for.”


‘bitcoinvention Asia 2013,’ Bitcoin is on Its Way to Asia
This October 17, 2013, witness the first-ever Asian Bitcoin convention, ‘Bitcoinvention Asia 2013 - Your Bitcoin Gateway to Asia.’ This event will be held at The Peninsula Hotel in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. With the goal to raise Bitcoin awareness in Asia as well as connect people in the Bitcoin industry, this even is definitely a must for anyone who has an interest in Bitcoin.  This ‘Bitcoinvention Asia 2013’ was established by two Bitcoin entrepreneurs based in Asia, Oron Barber and Eilon Arad. The decision came after seeing the fact that even though Bitcoin is quickly gaining popularity to most Asian countries, there still lack of information about these crypto-currency.


Bitcoin Law: What US businesses need to know
My name is Marco Santori. I’m a business attorney for technology companies. In particular, I represent digital currency businesses. I am also the Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation’s Regulatory Affairs Committee. In this multi-part series, I will give a basic primer on the state of US law as it applies to digital currency entrepreneurs. I aim to help bitcoin businesses assess their risks and develop an informed business model.  Bitcoin businesses are in a tough spot. Payment startups that once coasted quietly under the regulatory radar are becoming bright, interesting new blips on government monitors. 22 companies involved in bitcoin were subpoenaed by the state of New York earlier this week; a US judge ruled that bitcoin is a form of money; and the Bitcoin Foundation received a cease and desist letter from the state of California.  If the last few months have taught us anything, it is that there will soon exist a new and evolving body of law: The Law of Digital Currency, or, as some would prefer it: Bitcoin Law.


Bitcoin ATM Machines Receive Full Funding Hours After Campaign Launches
Startup Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures has managed to fund its initial production run of 15 Bitcoin ATM units just hours after pre-orders were announced. The company’s new Bitcoin ATMs promise to take your cold hard cash and instantly added your money to a bitcoin wallet. The new ATM machines were paid for mostly with the use of Bitcoins. Based on the cost of each machine the company has raised $60,000-$75,000 in sales revenue after only a few short hours. While Bitcoin value has drastically increased over the last year the company is hoping to introduce the digital currency to “non-geeks” who may find entry into the payment a bit confusing. To use the system simply obtain a Bitcoin wallet and then use that wallet at any of the Bitcoin ATM machines as they begin appearing.


Bitcoin: Changing money to change the world
People in Silicon Valley like to say it’s not about the money, it’s about changing the world. But with Bitcoin, it’s about changing the money to change the world.  Dot-com pioneers and fresh-faced 20-somethings alike are founding companies to help transact the virtual currency. A nationwide network has formed for angel investors keen to back such start-ups. And the Winklevoss twins — made famous by “The Social Network” film — plan a Bitcoin investment fund.  But what is “virtual currency,” anyway? And are those chasing Bitcoin headed for a gold rush, or fool’s gold?  Nick Holland, a Javelin Strategy analyst in Boston, is among those who believe math-based currencies like Bitcoin, which enable transactions from one user to another without official oversight or high fees, could upset the centuries-old tradition of paper money — much as user-generated Wikipedia all but replaced the venerable Encyclopaedia Britannica.


Bitcoin slowly becoming recognized as legitimate currency
Internet currency, better known as Bitcoin, seems to have become more popular than actual, real world currencies. With the rise of its popularity among Internet users, some countries decided to take a stand on the use of Bitcoin.  Thailand was the first country in the world to make actual move regarding Bitcoin. The country’s Central Bank concluded that there are not applicable laws that can control the crypto currency, so it decided to ban Bitcoin. The Central Bank informed the company overseeing Bitcoin in Thailand it was illegal to trade Bitcoins, use them to sell or buy goods or even move them in and out of the country. Considering that the Central Bank does not have the authority to actually forbid Bitcoin, it only issued temporary measure until it figures a way to control the crypto currency.  Some time later, the United States judge was the first to declare Bitcoin as a legitimate currency. Now the currency has the chance to fall under the regulation of the U.S. legal system. The decision came after Trendon Shavers, a 30-year-old businessman, was charged with running a Ponzi scheme using Bitcoin. Shavers argued that Bitcoin is not real money and therefore is not subject to regulation by the U.S. government. The court dismissed the claim and said that the Bitcoins invested in Saver’s hedge fund count as securities and as such are subject to SEC regulation.


Living on bitcoin is a real challenge for newlywed couple
Call Austin and Beccy Bingham Craig’s 90-day bitcoin challenge a publicity stunt, or call it an earnest effort to bring the cryptocurrency to a mainstream audience. It’s hard to pull off either one without a phone.  When CoinDesk tried to connect with the Craigs for an interview about their documentary-in-progress, Life on Bitcoin, telecommunications were a challenge. The Provo, Utah, couple’s goal of spending nothing but bitcoins during the first 90 days of their marriage (they tied the knot July 12) led Austin to drop the voice and data service for his iPhone.  So we tried communicating via the Internet connection at their co-working space (which they pay to use with bitcoins). After a Facetime connection failed, we talked on Skype until it dropped our call. Finally we resorted to a minor cheat, and completed the interview on the phone Beccy keeps for her job as a data center marketing manager.


Bitcoin ATM Makers Open Pre-Orders & Fund Initial Run Of 15 Banknote-Eating Machines
Bitcoin startup Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures, the makers of a Bitcoin ATM which promises to eat your paper (fiat) money and spit Bitcoins into your digital wallet in return, have funded their initial production run of 15 units a few hours after kicking off pre-orders (via their website) — taking the bulk of payments in Bitcoin, fittingly.  Presumably that means they’ve booked $60,000-$75,000 in sales revenue for the initial production run — based on the $4,000-$5,000 per machine price-tag they talked about at the Bitcoin London conference last month. Lamassu is not, however, confirming how much revenue they’ve generated at this point.


First You Get The EBT Card and Then You Get The Women


Record High Demand For Physical Gold Threatens To Break The Back Of The Paper Gold Market
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The demand for physical gold is exploding all over the world, and bullion banks are now experiencing a supply crunch that is absolutely unprecedented.  As physical demand continues to rise, the massive Ponzi scheme that the bullion banks have been engaged in is going to become increasingly obvious, and at some point the lack of physical gold is going to break the back of the paper gold market and we are going to see the price of gold go to levels that we have never seen before.  You see, the truth is that the central banks of the world and the bullion banks have made “paper promises” that vastly exceed the amount of actual physical gold in existence.  This kind of scheme works fine if everyone does not come asking for their gold at the same time.  Unfortunately for the ones running this scheme, people are now starting to ask for their gold back and it is causing huge problems.



Germany rules that Bitcoin is “Private Money” and Illustrated Bitcoin Book is launched
Die Welt Newspaper reported that Bitcoin is now considered to be “private money” in Germany, making Germany the first country to take an official stance on the status of Bitcoin as money. The classification means that some commercial profits on Bitcoin related endeavours may be taxable, but that personal use of the currency would not be. Officials likened the decision to be much like that which applies to eBay sellers – occasional sellers would not be subject to tax, but a person making significant sums would be.  The decision is a good one for Bitcoin – it offers legitimacy, whilst also taking a reasonable approach to regulation of the currency. It also sets a precedent for other countries, like the US, who are currently grappling with understanding Bitcoin.


Dick Bove Bullish on Bitcoin
Earlier this week, Dick Bove predicted doublers in Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C). Now it’s a long-term bullish bet on bitcoins.
What will Bove pull out of his sleeve tomorrow?  Bitcoins aren’t going to crash and burn, and could be be a good investment at $50.  So says famed banking analyst Richard Bove, vice president of equity research at Rafferty Capital Markets. What’s more, Bove wouldn’t mind buying bitcoins at the right price. “If I could buy them at a low enough price, like $50, then I think it would be worthwhile speculating with a few of them,” he said in a phone interview.  As of this writing, bitcoins were valued around $96 USD — almost double the buy-under price Bove mentioned — so this speculative trade isn’t one that he’ll likely take action on in the near future.



Google issues a patch for Android Bitcoin wallet app bug
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google has acknowledged the existence of and issued a patch for a critical flaw in Android that put Bitcoin wallet app users at risk of theft.  The Bitcoin Foundation announced the discovery of the "critical weaknesses" earlier this week, blaming Google's Android mobile operating system (OS) for a flaw in the random number generator that is used to help keep the electronic cash system safe.  According to Bitcoin, the random number generator, which provides input used to build the private keys needed to create a Bitcoin wallet, contained bugs that have been exploited to steal balances from some Bitcoin wallet app users.


Bitcoins Are as Real as You Want Them to Be
When I was very small, I used to make mud pies and sell them. The process of making a mud pie is, if you’re five, labor-intensive and I wanted compensation for my hard work. I accepted it in the form of rocks. My friends would present me with stones big and small. In my rock-economy, a pocket full of pebbles meant I was flush. This was my currency. It was as real for me, just as Bitcoins are for the millions who invest in and use them today.  I had been struggling with the concept of Bitcoins. If you’ve never heard of them, the idea is, for the most part, pretty simple. It’s decentralized, online money that springs out of virtual mines. There are a few ways to get currency: One is to have people give Bitcoins (as payment or a gift). Another is to offer up the computational power of your own computer to help mine new Bitcoins.


Mars One mission: your Bitcoins can take humans to the Red Planet
The nonprofit foundation Mars One, which is planning to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023, has recently started accepting Bitcoin donations.  The project is also accepting applications from the brave people who want to become astronauts and settle the first human colony on the Red Planet. Until now, over 100,000 candidates registered for the selection program. In a near future, the chosen ones are going to be trained and sent to Mars.   “A human settlement on Mars is possible today with the existing technologies. Mars One mission plan integrates components that are well tested and readily available from industry leaders worldwide. The first footprint on Mars and lives of the crew thereon will captivate and inspire generations; it is this public interest that will help finance this human mission to Mars“,you can read on the mission’s website.


The Detroit Bail-In Template: Fleecing Pensioners to Save the Banks
The Detroit bankruptcy is looking suspiciously like the bail-in template originated by the G20’s Financial Stability Board in 2011, which exploded on the scene in Cyprus in 2013 and is now becoming the model globally. In Cyprus, the depositors were “bailed in” (stripped of a major portion of their deposits) to re-capitalize the banks. In Detroit, it is the municipal workers who are being bailed in, stripped of a major portion of their pensions to save the banks.

Bank of America Corp. and UBS AG have been given priority over other bankruptcy claimants, meaning chiefly the pensioners, for payments due on interest rate swaps they entered into with the city. Interest rate swaps – the exchange of interest rate payments between counterparties – are sold by Wall Street banks as a form of insurance, something municipal governments “should” do to protect their loans from an unanticipated increase in rates. Unlike ordinary insurance, however, swaps are actually just bets; and if the municipality loses the bet, it can owe the house, and owe big. The swap casino is almost entirely unregulated, and it is a rigged game that the house virtually always wins. Interest rate swaps are based on the LIBOR rate, which has now been proven to be manipulated by the rate-setting banks; and they were a major contributor to Detroit’s bankruptcy.



Congress Is Nervous About This Whole Bitcoin Thing
Dread Pirate Roberts, the owner of the world’s most popular online drug market Silk Road, told FORBES, “We’ve won the State’s War on Drugs because of Bitcoin.” It’s a provocative statement, and it’s part of the reason the digital currency — which has traditionally allowed people to buy things online without having it tied to their offline identities — is starting to get more attention from “the State.”  Bitcoin’s major businesses and investors got subpoenas last week from New York’s financial regulator who wants to make sure they are all on the up-and-up. Meanwhile the Senate Committee on Homeland Security sent a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano asking what the agency is doing to crack down on the illicit use of Bitcoins. According to the Washington Post, similar letters were sent to a host of other three-letter agencies including the DOJ and the SEC. Cryptonerds are no longer the only people who care about the online currency.


We haven’t seen $115/BTC since June.  Let’s see if there is any chance this will hold.
The steepness of the line indicates volatility.  Compared to the mountainous terrain of April with the high volume and constant movement, we are in a comparatively calm era.  This in itself can cause the price to rise, mostly from the confidence that stability brings.  Even more interesting, though, this chart shows that the likely bottom was in early July and that the rise has been consistent since then.  Looking at the parabolic SAR marks getting smoother and more horizontal over time gives the impression that the market could be building a foundation for another upward spike.  Stability with a constant rise can be enough to get the bears back in the market.


7 Famous Individuals Banking on the Success of Bitcoin
The world of Bitcoin might not have mainstream celebrities backing it, but it definitely has names just as big as the entertainment industry. In fact, their levels of influence actually extend beyond that which Hollywood celebrities and musicians can achieve.  That is, the heavy hitters in the world of Bitcoin are controlling and shaping a potential new economy for the world. While they may not sing or star in movies, they are revered nonetheless; these are seven major names you should learn about and follow if you are interested in the future success of Bitcoin.


Google and the Android Bitcoin flaw. There’s good and bad news
First, the good news
Google has confirmed the existence of a critical Android flaw that put Bitcoin wallets created on Android devices at risk of theft.  They have even told app developers how to fix it, and supplied details to handset manufacturers.

Now, the bad news.
It might be some time (if ever at all) that your Android smartphone or tablet receives a patch to its operating system.  The problem lies in a weakness in the way that Android phones and tablets generate the random numbers required to generate the private keys needed to create a Bitcoin wallet, meaning that the key could be recoverable by someone else.



US misprinted 30 mln new $100 bills
The US is approaching the release date of its new $100 bills, but the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is facing an embarrassing problem: 30 million bills were incorrectly printed, and fixing them will cost taxpayers an estimated $3.79 million.  The new $100 bills were designed to reduce counterfeiting, and were initially scheduled to be released in 2010. But that summer, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing noticed that the bills were being produced with a blank sliver, due to a fold in the paper. The release date was therefore pushed back to 2011, and again pushed back to Oct. 2013.  But additional printing problems could once again delay the release of the “Benjamins”.  The new $100 bills are designed to contain a Liberty Bell that changes its color, 3-D images that move when the bill is tilted, and a hidden message on the collar of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers.  Two currency factories are responsible for printing all US bills.


WORLDWIDE BANKRUPTCY COMING – ARE YOU READY?

Bitcoin Foundation Jon Matonis Interview

More Proof the Bitcoin Bubble May be About to Burst

Google patches Android after Bitcoin wallet issue
IDG News Service - Google is distributing patches for a cryptography flaw in Android that may affect hundreds of thousands of applications.
The patches have been passed to partners belonging to the Open Handset Alliance, a trade group dedicated to development of Android,
wrote Alex Klyubin, an Android security engineer.  Affected applications are those that rely on the pseudo random number generator (PRNG) within the Java Cryptography Architecture or "directly invoke the system-provided OpenSSL PRNG without explicit initialization on Android," Klyubin wrote.  Random numbers are used in part to generate secure encryption keys and for other cryptography processes. In some cases, the numbers were not "cryptographically strong values," Klyubin wrote.


FastCoin was referenced and Tweeted on the Ron Paul Network!
Project FastCoin was referenced, Tweeted and listed on the Ron Paul Network landing page!


Cyprus-like capital controls are coming to all of the EU
In the case of bankruptcy of the bank also those customers will get massive problems for which the balance to be guaranteed by the official deposit insurance. The current EU proposal provides that customers can withdraw a maximum of only 100 to 200 euro in case of a collapse of its banking daily. This state may last for up to three weeks. Anyone planning major purchases should think in time, as he will get his money.  These three gentlemen designing the rules for the banking union, which will be for the savings accounts of every European importance: Herman Van Rompuy (elected by no one), Dalia Grybauskaite (chosen by 68.21 percent of Lithuanians), José Manuel Barroso ( see Van Rompuy). (Photo: Consilium)


Bitcoins are a buy at $50, Richard Bove says
Bitcoins aren’t going to crash and burn, and could be be a good investment at $50.  So says famed banking analyst Richard Bove, vice president of equity research at Rafferty Capital Markets. What’s more, Bove wouldn’t mind buying bitcoins at the right price. “If I could buy them at a low enough price, like $50, then I think it would be worthwhile speculating with a few of them,” he said in a phone interview.  Bove decided to write about bitcoins after a top New York bank regulator issued subpoenas to several major bitcoin companies and issued a memo on virtual currencies.  Why the demand in this virtual currency? That has to do with central banks. The U.S. Federal Reserve currently buys $85 billion in mortgage and Treasury debt each month as part of its efforts to spur the economy. Speculation that it might soon taper those purchases has sent the dollar up  DXY . At the same time, the Bank of Japan has gone in the opposite direction, implementing monetary stimulus earlier this year that helped the yen USDJPY -0.22%  decline.


Goodbye Switzerland, Hello Bitcoins
Bitcoins are everywhere.  Last week, a federal judge in Texas held that the virtual currency qualifies as a form of money and allowed the SEC to charge a promoter of a scheme to invest in bitcoins with violations of the federal securities laws.  Earlier this week, the New York Department of Financial Services issued subpoenas to 22 virtual currency companies with an eye to determining whether the industry needs new regulations, and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee asked several federal agencies for information regarding their policies with respect to bitcoins and other virtual currencies.  Combined, these actions will undoubtedly fuel calls to regulate the burgeoning virtual currency market, and the IRS will surely be getting in the action soon.


Important BitCoin Breakout!
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Ron Paul Launches New Internet Channel
Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is back with a vengeance, using his new online TV channel to attack the policies of the Obama administration and anything else he sees as a challenge to his libertarian views.  The former Texas congressman launched The Ron Paul Channel Monday with an exclusive interview with Glenn Greenwald, one of two journalists who first disclosed the secret National Security Agency telephone and internet data collection program, based on leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.


Bitcoin: More Regulation, More Opportunity?
Bitcoin may be a $1.2 billion marketplace, but the virtual currency still operates in a legal gray area: Companies that accept Bitcoin as payment--including reddit, Wordpress, and Mega--aren't breaking the law, but they aren't exactly complying with it either. That's because there are no laws governing Bitcoin--yet.  On Monday, New York's top bank regulator announced it was launching a probe into Bitcoin. The New York Department of Financial Services subpoenaed 22 Bitcoin merchants, including the Winklevoss Capital Fund, a Bitcoin ETF led by the Facebook-famous Winklevoss brothers. The subpoenas were met, somewhat ironically, with open arms. Why?


Edmonton’s Remedy Café first brick-and-mortar store in Alberta to accept Bitcoin
An eccentric Edmonton café has become the first retailer in Alberta to accept a decentralized digital currency known as Bitcoin.  When self-described Bitcoin evangelist and Edmontonian Peter Dushenski approached Sohail Zaidi, the owner of Edmonton’s Remedy Café, to talk about Bitcoin, Zaidi immediately decided his stores should start accepting the currency.  He bought three iPads – one for each of his Remedy locations – and brought Dushenski in to help train staff on how to use the devices to accept the currency, which lives entirely online.


9 things you should know about Bitcoins
There's a huge buzz around Bitcoin because it only exists online. It can be generated, traded and used to buy things over untraceable online transactions. Want to know even more? Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj delve deep to get you all the answers.

How to start
Your first step is to sign up at www.coinbase.com or any other international digital wallet that accepts Bitcoins. Once you sign up, you'll get a unique Bitcoin address — essentially a long string of alphanumeric characters that you will need to use for each Bitcoin transaction. Note that creating a Bitcoin address is free and they can even be created offline using freely available software tools such as Armory (www. bitcoinarmory.com). Each Bitcoin address is also case sensitive, which means that manually entering it during a transaction is not advisable.



15 reasons why Bitcoins are better than gold
Technology is literally at the point where it is disrupting almost everything and this week has been a prime example of this trend.  On the one hand Google co-founder Sergey Brin was revealed as the investor behind growing synthetic meat in a lab in order to disrupt the cattle business and Elon Musk proved he can disrupt the auto market with his successful launch of Tesla Motors and the recent public acceptance of his company’s vehicles which surpassed analyst estimates.  Can you disrupt a commodity though? After some consideration I would assert you can and this post will explore the top reasons why Bitcoins are better than gold.


Private and secure file storage service SpiderOak to accept bitcoin
Just days after two secure email services shut down over fears of US government pressure, secure file storage service SpiderOak is to launch a pilot program to accept bitcoin.  The company, which enables users to store their files securely while retaining control of their own encryption keys, offers a standard free service providing 2GB of secure storage for life. This pilot will see it offer 25 account upgrades to its 100 GB service for a year, according to spokesperson Daniel Larsson.


Senate panel kicks off broad look at Bitcoin
(Reuters) - A powerful Senate Committee has started an inquiry into Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, asking a range of regulators to list what safeguards are in place to prevent criminal activity.  The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in an August 12 letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano also said it had started interviewing people about the risks - and promises - of virtual currencies.
Virtual currencies "can be sent nearly anonymously, leaving little or no trail for regulators or enforcement agencies," said the letter, which was signed by the committee's Chairman Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, and ranking member Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican.



Bitcoins 'real' money ruling creates stability, says expert
A ruling by a Texas judge may set an important precedent for digital currencies, says CBC technology columnist Jesse Hirsh.  Bitcoins are a type of digital money that can be traded for goods or services. They are popular among businesses online, but until now they have not been deemed a "real" currency.  The case centered around Trendon Shavers, who started a Bitcoin savings and loan.  "Basically an online bank account for people to deposit their Bitcoins, only he never had any intention of giving them their deposits back and that is basically a Ponzi scheme," says Hirsh.   "His defence in a Texas court was that Bitcoin is just a game, and he won the game by figuring out how to get other peoples Bitcoins and that he should not be subject to the laws because it's not a real currency."


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