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1. DeZwarteRidder 27 maart 2014 00:54

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   Circle Receives $17m Funding, Unveils Exchange and Wallet Service
   Emily Spaven (@emilyspaven) | Published on March 26, 2014 at 13:00 GMT | Circle, Companies, Exchanges, Wallets
   
   Circle Internet Financial has closed a $17m Series B funding round and announced the launch of its first consumer product.
   
   The bitcoin company raised the $17m from various investors, including Breyer Capital, Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners, bringing its total funding to date to $26m.
   
   Investment was also received from Oak Investment Partners, Pantera Capital and the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, which is run by Barry Silbert, founder and chief executive officer of SecondMarket and founder of the Bitcoin Investment Trust.
   
   Leonard H. Schrank, the former chief executive officer of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) also invested, as did Circle board member M. Michele Burns and Fenway Summer, a consumer finance advisory and venture firm led by Circle board member Raj Date.
   
   Jeremy Allaire, Circle founder, Chairman and CEO, said:
   
   “We are thrilled to have such a strong showing of support and vote of confidence from world-class investors and strategic individuals as we move into the commercial phase of Circle.”
   
   He explained the funding will allow Circle to build its team, increasing roles across product, operations, legal, compliance, security and customer support. Allaire also has plans to open offices in a number of locations outside the US.
   
   On top of this, the funds will be used to invest in the infrastructure required to provide a secure platform for the company’s customers.
   Product debut
   
   Up until now, Circle has been very secretive about what it has been working on and the products it aims to offer. Today, the company has launched its first consumer product, but only a limited number of people will be able to test it out at this stage.
   
   Allaire revealed his company is offering something akin to a bitcoin exchange and wallet service, although he is loath to use those terms.
   Jeremy Allaire, CircleJeremy Allaire, founder, chairman and chief executive officer at Circle
   
   He said users will be able to use the service to convert their fiat currency into bitcoins, then take advantage of tools that make it easy to send, receive and spend funds.
   
   The company’s main aim is to open bitcoin up to a broader market and make it easier for the masses to get involved in digital currency. Circle wants to make sure the service it offers is perfect, though, before making it available to all.
   
   “We are being very careful and deliberate in how we add users to our system, ensuring that it is a product that users value and recommend to their friends and family, and that, from an operational perspective, we are able to deliver an exceptional experience,” said Allaire.
   
   He explained that his company is building a global consumer financial service and institution that it wants consumers to trust with protecting and securing their digital assets. This is something Allaire claims the vast majority of bitcoin companies have failed to do:
   
   “They’ve failed to meet consumer support expectations, they’ve failed to meet even rudimentary security and audit obligations, and so we believe that the bar needs to be high in terms of offering a consumer service around bringing bitcoin mainstream.”
   
   For this reason, Circle is being patient and is launching an invitation-only limited release this week.
   Working with regulators
   
   Allaire, who has founded two previous startups that both saw successful IPOs, said Circle hasn’t so far faced any problems with regulators or banking partners. He puts this down to Circle’s upfront approach.
   
   “Unlike many first-generation bitcoin companies, we’ve been extremely engaged and transparent with regulators about our commercial and product plans,” he explained.
   
   He believes it is important for companies in the space to educate government and commercial banking partners about what they are doing, and also integrate any feedback and suggestions.
   
   “We’re all in this and learning together, and it’s critical that industry participants look at government and the banking industry as partners in building the ecosystem for digital currency,” Allaire added.
   Investment
   
   Circle isn’t the only bitcoin company to announce investment this week. Yesterday, Kraken announced it had received $5m in Series-A funding, led by Hummingbird Ventures.
   
   Kraken, which allows users to buy and sell bitcoin, namecoin, dogecoin and Ripple, among other digital currencies, is owned by Payward, Inc.
   
   Other companies in the space are expected to make funding announcements this week, too.
2. DeZwarteRidder 27 maart 2014 00:59

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   Agora Commodities Reports Over $10 Million in Bitcoin Sales
   Eric Calouro | March 25, 2014 |
   
   Agora Commodities, a company specializing in selling investment-grade precious metals, announced today that they’ve sold $10 million worth of gold and silver paid for in bitcoin.
   
   The impressive figure comes nearly one year after the company announced it would be accepting the digital currency — some time before the secondary “rush” of interest that took place in late 2013 (following the price spike in November).
   
   Agora dubs itself as “one of the earlier innovators in the Bitcoin market” and has become the world’s largest bitcoin-to-bullion dealer in the world. Aside from gold and silver, the company offer palladium and rhodium products as well.
   
   These stories of success in accepting digital currency are seemingly becoming commonplace. Most recently, major retail outlet Overstock.com announced they had surpassed the $1 million mark. Electronics retailer TigerDirect also reported they had surpassed the $1 million mark recently.
   
   But Agora has these two companies beat by $9 million (roughly). Of course, they’ve been accepting bitcoin a lot longer, but still, it’s pretty impressive.
3. DeZwarteRidder 27 maart 2014 01:09

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4. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 07:53

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   Here's what is going on in China (self.Bitcoin)
   
   6 uur geleden geplaatst* door neuro_blast
   
   On 3/21, several media reported that the People's Bank of China* would ban all the bitcoin trading in China. This was later proved to be wrong. The People's Bank of China made a announcement on n weibo (the Chinese version of twitter) that this was a false interpretation. But it didn't come with a correct version.
   
   On 3/26, one of the largest financial media, Caixin, confirmed the actual message sent by People's Bank of China. It requires that all the banks and 3rd party payment services stay away from bitcoin trading platform, making it impossible to fund or withdraw money. The deadline is 4/15.
   
   Edit: There's a translation of the Caixin article
   
   *People's bank of China is actually NOT a bank. It is a regulatory agency controlling all the financial activities. Edit: And it is also the central bank of China. (Thanks Poop_is_Food).
   
   BTW, I am a native Chinese speaker, but currently living in the U.S. Sorry about the grammars. And I can probably more accurately intemperate Chinese news, cause I can tell which source is more reliable.
   
   Update: 10:23 pm. The Caixin article remains to be the only source. The reporter of this article ,???, is rumored to be the daughter of vice-minister of ministry of financial. (evidence? A random guy @ her with vice-minister's appearance on TV. She replied "my old man didn't really dress up like others". This happened 10/12/2013.)
   
   12:06 am. I guess there is nothing new. I will try to post update before work tomorrow.
   
   www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/21j...
5. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 08:12

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   Champion Investor Bill Miller Owns Bitcoin
   0 Comment
   27 Mar 2014 Posted by Aaron Sines
   
   Prominent Investor Bill Miller told CNBC just minutes ago that he started buying up bitcoin immediately following the Mt. Gox crisis:
   
   “When that didn’t destroy, in essence, the underlying psychology of it, it looked to me like it probably had a decent base of around $500 per coin,” he said.
   
   Miller, who was once ranked among the top 30 most influential people in investing, the “Power 30? by SmartMoney, finds bitcoin to be an incredible investment opportunity:
   
   “[bitcoin] is as big as an addressable market as there has ever been in the history of the world” he told CNBC
   
   Miller compares bitcoin to being a venture investment, he explains that while the price could reach zero, he finds the digital currency to be resilient and believes that the upside potential outweighs the possible risks:
   
   “Gold alone has an $8 trillion market value, bitcoin has about a $7 billion market value, so if it’s only 10 percent as successful as gold you get 100 times your money.”
   
   Miller also commented on today’s situation regarding China saying that “anything that undermines the ability of a sovereign to control its finances is something that is going to be controversial.” he said.
   
   Watch the video here: cnbc.com
   
   cryptocrimson.com/2014/03/champion-in...
6. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 09:10

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   quote:

   DeZwarteRidder schreef op 28 maart 2014 07:53:

   Here's what is going on in China (self.Bitcoin)
   
   6 uur geleden geplaatst* door neuro_blast
   
   On 3/21, several media reported that the People's Bank of China* would ban all the bitcoin trading in China. This was later proved to be wrong. The People's Bank of China made a announcement on n weibo (the Chinese version of twitter) that this was a false interpretation. But it didn't come with a correct version.
   
   On 3/26, one of the largest financial media, Caixin, confirmed the actual message sent by People's Bank of China. It requires that all the banks and 3rd party payment services stay away from bitcoin trading platform, making it impossible to fund or withdraw money. The deadline is 4/15.
   
   Edit: There's a translation of the Caixin article
   
   *People's bank of China is actually NOT a bank. It is a regulatory agency controlling all the financial activities. Edit: And it is also the central bank of China. (Thanks Poop_is_Food).
   
   BTW, I am a native Chinese speaker, but currently living in the U.S. Sorry about the grammars. And I can probably more accurately intemperate Chinese news, cause I can tell which source is more reliable.
   
   Update: 10:23 pm. The Caixin article remains to be the only source. The reporter of this article ,???, is rumored to be the daughter of vice-minister of ministry of financial. (evidence? A random guy @ her with vice-minister's appearance on TV. She replied "my old man didn't really dress up like others". This happened 10/12/2013.)
   
   12:06 am. I guess there is nothing new. I will try to post update before work tomorrow.

   Als dit gerucht officiëel bevestigd wordt, dan kan dit weleens een forse deuk in de koers van de BTC opleveren.
   Ik hoop ook dat het waar is, want de Chinese gokkers en de Chinese regering hebben een hoop schade opgeleverd en wat mij betreft mogen de Chinezen aftaaien.
7. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 09:30

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   • DeZwarteRidder

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   Welcome to BitBeat, your daily dose of crypto-current events, written by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey.
   
   Bitcoin Latest Price: $521.15, down 10% (via CoinDesk)
   Crossing Our Desk:
   
   –Once again, bitcoin’s price got suckered by vague stories of a regulatory crackdown in China. It dropped 10% in dollar terms Thursday after news spread that the country’s central bank was going to stop banks from providing accounts to digital currency businesses. Trading as low as $512 on Thursday, bitcoin hit its lowest level since November.
   
   It’s tempting for bulls to dismiss this as another unsubstantiated rumor designed to help someone who needs to buy bitcoins cheaply. But there are reasons to be more concerned about this one than, say, last Friday’s similarly price-buffeting rumor that Chinese authorities were getting tough. For one, this story was reported by mainstream Chinese media such as Caixin Online as if it were fact, with details about a People’s Bank of China document that has instructed banks to shut the accounts of 15 specific web sites by April 15.
   
   It could still be a rumor circulated by a nefarious actor – a false document, perhaps – but the details in the news report have people like Bobby Lee, BTC China Chief Executive Officer, worried that he’ll have to deny customers direct fund deposits into their BTC China accounts. “If the rumor turns out to be true, that’s what’s going to happen,” he said in a telephone interview. That could kill volumes, much as it did when BTC China temporarily suspended direct deposits in response to a separate December PBOC ruling that sought to curtail bitcoin trading.
   
   If there’s a silver lining for bitcoiners, it may be that Chinese authorities are being vague about this, which could mean the apparent policy change is reversible.
   
   The fact that the PBOC has not publicly acknowledged this document suggests that unlike its formal, publically pronounced policy changes, this move fits within the more stealthy, informal approach to policy that it employs from time to time. Under that model, it implements changes quietly via back-channel communications with the country’s closely controlled banks. And since it’s not formalized, the central bank can later roll back or modify those instructions. Indeed, that’s what it appeared to do in January when PBOC officials used similar back channels to clarify that the December ban on bitcoin trading applied only to banks, not digital-currency exchanges.
   
   China appears to be walking a fine line with bitcoin. Its leaders want to rein in speculation in digital currencies, much as they worry about bubbles in real estate and “shadow banking” loans. But they’re not banning bitcoin outright. Perhaps that’s because they know that in the long run their increasingly globalized economy will have to embrace the groundbreaking technology behind it. (Michael Casey)
   
   blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/03/27/bi...
8. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 10:15

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   • DeZwarteRidder

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   Bitcoin bloodbath as China shutters all trading sites
   Cash will soon be the only way to pay for crypto-currency
   By Phil Muncaster, 28 Mar 2014
   1
   
   China’s central bank has ruled that all banks and payment service providers in the country must cease dealing in Bitcoin.
   
   The ruling, effective from April 15th, basically shutters all Bitcoin trading sites in the Middle Kingdom and means cash purchases will soon be the only way to buy into the virtual currency.
   
   The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has not officially announced the ruling, although Chinese business site Caixin claims to have seen an internal document stating that any banks failing to comply would be punished.
   
   Said document apparently lists 15 trading sites which are set to be closed.
   
   "The only one way out for Bitcoin websites is moving their servers abroad and using the service of foreign banks and payment companies," an unnamed ‘expert’ told Caixin.
   
   The move is another blow to Bitcoin’s international credibility and stability, given that China is thought to comprise more than half of global trade in the currency.
   
   It comes after the PBoC in December last year banned all third party payment providers from offering clearing services for digital currency exchanges.
   
   Then in February, MtGox, once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, abruptly ceased trading and filed for bankruptcy, taking with at roughly a tenth of the world’s supply of the crypt-currency.
   
   Despite China's hardline stance, however, neighbouring Hong Kong appears to be taking a more laissez faire approach.
   
   In fact, it was the second location in the world to get its own Bitcoin ATM after an announcement from Canadian biz Robocoin in January. ®
   
   www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/28/bitc...
9. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 10:19

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   Ik vermoed dat de Chinese BTC-wisselkantoren allemaal naar Hongkong gaan verhuizen, het is gewoon stom om dit soort zaken te vestigen op het Chinese vasteland.
   Alles en iedereen is onbetrouwbaar in China.
10. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 10:41

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    Max Keiser: Bitcoin is going to put Western Union out of business, BitPay is going to be a billion-dollar company plus, and Bitcoin will become a multibillion-dollar industry (watch this video up to the commercial)
    
    www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_...
11. Procambarus 28 maart 2014 11:26

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    • Procambarus

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    Het aanpakken van de bitcoin exchanges is het stomste wat de Chinese regering kan doen, omdat ze daarmee de controle over het bitcoin verkeer volledig kwijtraken. Chinezen zijn gewend met contanten te werken en het kopen van bitcoins met contant geld moet daar geen enkel probleem zijn. Het overmaken van bitcoins van wallet naar wallet kunnen ze toch niet tegenhouden, dus ik denk dat, na de eerste schrikreactie, de koers zich weer snel gaat herstellen.
12. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 11:52

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    quote:

    Procambarus schreef op 28 maart 2014 11:26:

    Het aanpakken van de bitcoin exchanges is het stomste wat de Chinese regering kan doen, omdat ze daarmee de controle over het bitcoin verkeer volledig kwijtraken. Chinezen zijn gewend met contanten te werken en het kopen van bitcoins met contant geld moet daar geen enkel probleem zijn. Het overmaken van bitcoins van wallet naar wallet kunnen ze toch niet tegenhouden, dus ik denk dat, na de eerste schrikreactie, de koers zich weer snel gaat herstellen.
    

    Natuurlijk kunnen de Chinezen blijven handelen met contant geld, maar dat is oneindig veel moeilijker dan via de computer.
    De Chinese BTC-handel zal onvermijdelijk (tijdelijk of definitief) in elkaar storten, als de geruchten worden bevestigd.
13. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 12:11

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    Scare from China cause Bitcoin price to dip again
    
    Chinese news outlets reported that the government would penalize any banks dealing in Bitcoin after April 15, and the news spread like wildfire.
    
    Over the course of about four hours, according to Bitcoincharts.com, the price of 1 BTC dropped from about $560 to less than $520. At the time of writing, the price is fluctuating between $516 and $521.
    
    Here’s the problem: That news doesn’t appear to be true.
    
    “We didn’t get any official announcement,” China-based OKCoin’s CEO, Star Xu, said. BTCChina’s Bobby Lee said the same.
    
    Baseless Rumours From China
    
    This isn’t the first time this has happened. Just six days ago, on March 21, a similar rumor began to spread. Here is how the Sina news portal treated that rumor:
    
    “It is rumored that on March 18th the PBOC had issued a notice calling for all bitcoin transactions to be halted by April 15th. As of today the PBOC has not confirmed nor denied the statement.”
    
    Thanks, Sina.
    
    That news caused the price of 1 BTC to drop 5% against the yuan.
    
    Lest we forget, it was the Bank of China that brought Bitcoin down from its all-time high of $1200-plus back in December, when the central bank there told banks to stay away from cryptocurrencies. Thus, these rumors sound believable … and that’s exactly when panics start.
14. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 12:13

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    Bitcoin Foundation introduces BitPay as new Gold Member
    1
    
    Payment processor BitPay joins Circle as the only other Gold Member in the Bitcoin Foundation.
    
    The Atlanta-based BitPay has been on a roll lately, signing up more than 26,000 merchants (including Tiger Direct and the Sacramento Kings) and processing more than $100 million in BTC transactions last year alone.
    
    “BitPay paved the way in international merchant processing for the Bitcoin community; their clients rely on BitPay as a trusted, responsible partner,” said Jon Matonis, the foundation’s executive director.
    
    “That trust will keep the Bitcoin ecosystem growing. We’re proud to welcome BitPay as a Gold Member and look forward to helping their efforts for global bitcoin adoption.”
    
    Just this month, we reported on BitPay’s growth, including opening a new office in Argentina and upping their total staff to 31 people.
    
    “BitPay feels it is important to support the great work done by the Bitcoin Foundation, as they are leading the continued growth and success of the core protocol upon which we build our business,” BitPay CEO Tony Gallippi said.
    
    The Bitcoin Foundation describes its own mission as helping Bitcoin deliver on its potential for entrepreneurs to citizens around the world. This includes standardizing Bitcoin, buttressing its security and promoting the currency.
15. DeZwarteRidder 28 maart 2014 21:39

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    China bant Bitcoin uit betalingsverkeer
    
    28 mrt. 2014 door René Schoemaker Google+
    
    Nieuws - China doet de Bitcoin in de ban. Alle banken en betaaldiensten in het land mogen geen bitcoins meer verhandelen. Dat betekent effectief dat alle handelssites vleugellam worden.
    
    Het oordeel is geveld door de Chinese centrale bank, zegt The Register op gezag van en Chinese zakelijke newssite. Binnen de bank zou een memo circuleren met daarin opgenomen een lijst van 15 sites die in Bitcoin handelen en die per 15 april afgesloten zouden moeten worden van het officiele betalingsverkeer.
    Beter heil zoeken buiten China
    
    Dat betekent effectief dat Chinezen geen bitcoins meer kunnen kopen vanaf hun eigen bankrekening. De Chinese site laat een anonieme bron zeggen dat handelaren in Bitcoin hun servers buiten China zouden moeten onderbrengen en de diensten van buitenlandse banken moeten gebruiken.
    
    Onduidelijk is of de voormalige handelsvrijhaven Hong Kong onder de ban zal vallen. De ban op Bitcoin in China wordt gezien als een dreun omdat het land goed zou zijn geweest voor een groot deel van het handelsverkeer in de virtuele munteenheid.
    
    webwereld.nl/consumerization/81936-ch...
16. DeZwarteRidder 29 maart 2014 08:28

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    34% of Britons believe that bitcoin is the “currency of the future”
    03/28/2014 1:22 pm Filed Under: BTC - Bitcoin by Andrew Moran
    
    Law enforcement, governments and central banks have repeatedly purported that bitcoin is primarily used for illicit activities and criminal enterprises because the digital currency maintains anonymity. However, a new study coming out of the United Kingdom might contradict those claims.
    
    According to PriceSpy.co.uk, one-third (34 percent) of Britons believe that bitcoin is the “currency of the future” and another one-third say it’ll be a “stable currency that will retain its value.”
    
    Meanwhile, close to one-fifth (18 percent) of British consumers who knew about bitcoin have used it to purchase goods and services online. Only five percent conceded to using bitcoin to acquire illegal drugs.
    
    What did consumers buy? The survey found that 22 percent bought online games, one-fifth bought clothes and 17 percent purchased electrical items.
    
    “Bitcoin is a hot topic amongst online shoppers and the tech community; however, there is still confusion over how to use it, if it is secure and how well it will retain its value in the future,” Erik Lorentz, head of communications at the website, told the London Telegraph. “It is clear from our research that the nation is increasingly using bitcoins and becoming more comfortable with it as a currency when purchasing online.”
    
    The most avid users were youth between the ages of 18 and 34, which accounted for more than two-thirds (67 percent). A majority owned anywhere between £50 ($83) and £100 ($166) – only six respondents had more than £5,000 ($8,307).
    
    The highest number of users was located in Sheffield, London, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Norwich.
    
    www.pfhub.com/34-of-britons-believe-t...
17. DeZwarteRidder 29 maart 2014 08:47

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    Poll: 48% of Americans understand bitcoin but most still prefer gold
    03/26/2014 10:40 am Filed Under: BTC - Bitcoin by Andrew Moran
    
    In today’s technological world, it’s pretty difficult to not hear or read about bitcoin on a daily basis. Although the ubiquity of the digital currency is pretty widespread, there will always be people who don’t know about it. Nevertheless, the people who do understand what the virtual currency is are distrustful.
    
    According to a new Harris Interactive online survey conducted for Yodlee, a Redwood City, California-based software company less than half (48 percent) of American adults understand what bitcoin is and a majority of these individuals do not trust it enough to invest their money in it.
    
    Despite the value of bitcoin gaining steam over the past year and remaining steady at around the $600 mark, Americans are unsure about its reliability as well as its usefulness as an alternative currency. This is why people are still investing in gold: only 13 percent of respondents said they’d opt for bitcoin instead of the yellow metal.
    
    As previous studies have highlighted, younger adults are more supportive of bitcoin than their older counterparts: one-fifth of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 would choose the virtual currency instead of gold.
    
    Men were also more aware of bitcoin than women (63 percent vs. 35 percent). In addition, the northeast region of the United States is the biggest proponent of the virtual currency, but again less than one-fifth would choose it over gold.
    
    “The financial industry benefits greatly from disruptive technology, but security is unfortunately a bigger challenge than some new financial innovators expect.” Tim O’Brien, Yodlee’s senior vice president of operations and information security, said in statement. “Bitcoin has addressed some major opportunities in the financial system, but the vulnerability of some Bitcoin exchanges, along with the currency’s overall volatility, are still serious issues.”
    
    When it comes to government regulation, a significant number were unsure if the government should regulate bitcoin (45 percent). However, for those who already had an opinion on the matter, it was nearly split: 44 percent said the government should regulate bitcoin, while 56 percent opposed the government intervening into the bitcoin economy.
    
    “Bitcoin will be hard for consumers to understand and trust on a large scale until secure, user-friendly tools and services emerge to make it as convenient and safe as possible to use,” O’Brien added.
    
    These findings are similar to previous studies tapping the opinions of average Americans on bitcoin. More individuals are aware of bitcoin, but it’s likely that the reason they distrust it is because of the numerous reports of virtual heists, bitcoin exchanges shutting down and government officials not being supportive enough of it.
    
    The positive for bitcoiners is the fact that people are beginning to educate themselves on cryptocurrency. With a bit of hard work, more communication and stability, perhaps a poll next year at this time will reveal a majority of Americans support bitcoin and think it’s a better investment tool than precious metals.
    
    At the time of this writing, bitcoin is trading at around $590.
    
    www.pfhub.com/poll-americans-distrust...
18. Procambarus 29 maart 2014 11:24

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    Dat een groot aantal beleggers de voorkeur geeft aan fysiek goud/zilver is logisch, gezien de perikelen van de afgelopen tijd met bitcoin: platform problemen, zoekgeraakte coins, regulering door overheden,verbod in China, een lawine van nieuwe altcoins en ga zo maar door. Het toverwoord voor het herstel van de bitcoin is consolidatie. Dat kan het vertrouwen terugbrengen en van bitcoin een wereldwijde alternatieve valuta maken. Nu is het nog een hap-snap currency voor probleemlanden als Argentinië.
19. DeZwarteRidder 29 maart 2014 11:59

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    quote:

    Procambarus schreef op 29 maart 2014 11:24:

    Dat een groot aantal beleggers de voorkeur geeft aan fysiek goud/zilver is logisch, gezien de perikelen van de afgelopen tijd met bitcoin: platform problemen, zoekgeraakte coins, regulering door overheden,verbod in China, een lawine van nieuwe altcoins en ga zo maar door. Het toverwoord voor het herstel van de bitcoin is consolidatie. Dat kan het vertrouwen terugbrengen en van bitcoin een wereldwijde alternatieve valuta maken. Nu is het nog een hap-snap currency voor probleemlanden als Argentinië.

    In China wordt het meest gegokt en gehandeld in BTC.
    
    In de USA zitten verreweg de meeste betalers en ontvangers van BTC.
    
    In landen zoals Argentinië is de BTC het meest nuttig vanwege de grote inflatie.
20. DeZwarteRidder 29 maart 2014 12:00

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    Why Banks cannot Replicate the Blockchain
    
    Today's post is one of the main reasons why I felt I had to start this blog. UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) has published a report of 36 pages on Bitcoin which can be found here). I'm going to focus on page 31 section "Institutionalising Bitcoin". An excerpt from the report says:
    
    "Instead, technologically, Bitcoin does provide a revolutionary new payment system. Bitcoin is already used as a cheap form of international money transfer - a market for which it arguably shows the most promise. In principle, financial institutions with existing anti-money laundering systems in place (like banks) could adopt a common Bitcoin-like technology to facilitate fast and secure international transfers between end-users, with fiat currencies as the unit of account (or possibly a digital currency serving purely as an intermediary), and minimal transaction costs. These institutions could also deal with bridging the confirmation time, by taking on the credit (and possibly FX) risk involved. By keeping track of users, they can also penalise or chase up those who attempt to defraud the system. This could be facilitated by new or existing entrants, although the question then becomes, given the costs associated with running a payments system, whether existing players like Visa or MasterCard could be out-priced. We elaborate on this in the first section of the note.
    
    With regard to technological issues, such as the 51% problem, the 10 minute transaction time, or the fact that Bitcoin is inordinately wasteful of electricity and computing resources - these are all first-generation problems that do have solutions. For instance, other mathematical processes can be used to discourage an arms race in mining, other consensus-building techniques exist to maintain decentralised transaction ledgers, and confirmation times can be reduced. Some of these are already being implemented in alternative digital currencies."
    
    I will now explain why the distributed ledger concept, called the blockchain, will never work for banks in the way they want it.
    
    First, it is important to understand WHY Bitcoin works. It works because there's no single point of failure. The system is setup so that if at least 51% of the participants in the network are not crooks, then the network works flawlessly. We don't even need to know who the other 49% are.
    
    Second, suppose that we would like to copy/mimic the Bitcoin blockchain approach backed by a fiat currency, or that its money supply can be regulated. Presumably the banks themselves would like to inject cash on by demand into the system. This means that we now abandon one of the most fundamental aspects of Bitcoin; the deterministic finite money supply. Unfortunately for the banks, this is impossible, because it will break the whole system by bypassing the very first requirement; violating the principle of single point of failure. Why?
    
    Today, new Bitcoins are created as a reward mechanism to the miners who process transactions. The transaction bundle (called a block) requires a verification process which is immensely computational complicated. The reason for why it is immensely computational complicated is not to waste electricity (which UBS seem to think), but guarantees protection for counterfeiting. By tying back new bitcoins in this process, also means that no one can easily create new money and inject that into the system. If that would have been possible, then bitcoin would have collapsed many years ago.