Category Archives: Latest Ne.ws
Will you accept Bitcoin soon? #mentionbitcoin
This is a question I started asking companies about a year ago, in early 2013.
Back then, I knew there was little chance people would even take a little time to learn about bitcoin, let alone implement it in their store. Some business owners were even outright hostile of the idea.
Now with Overstock’s recent adoption of bitcoin, it’s a whole different story. Continue reading
Will Overstock force IRS to make up mind on Bitcoin?
Plenty of government regulating bodies are sitting on the sideline when it comes to clarification on the digital currency bitcoin. Now that Overstock is accepting bitcoin is it begs the question of how long it will last before tax implications are clearly expressed and enforced.
The IRS does need to tread lightly, to0 tight regulations or large tax burdens could drive bitcoin underground where they would have no recourse. This would also hinder bitcoin businesses from launching in the USA and moving to more bitcoin free countries like Germany, Singapore and others.
Either way, the pressure is on:
Bitcoin’s Tipping Point Could Come Soon
An article over on Bitcoin Magazine has come out comparing Overstock’s recent adoption with what it would be like if Walmart started accepting and paying its employees and suppliers in bitcoin.
According to the Census Bureau, there are slightly more than 27,000,000 firms active in the United States, the vast majority of which are the sort of small, independent shops that might be inclined to become early adopters of Bitcoin. However, Walmart alone accounts for more than 2% of annual GDP in the United States. Continue reading
Mega Net – The New Decentralized Internet (updated)
Max talks about the corruption in the financial world and later in the show we hear about what’s “going to change the world,” from Kim dotcom.
Bitcoin is live at Overstock.com! (updated)
Confirmed by Overstock.com’s tweet, they now accept the digital currency – Bitcoin!
Founded in 1997, Overstock.com has grown tremendously over the years by selling of a verety of store’s over stocked items online. They boast revenues of over a billion dollars annually.
This is a huge shift in support for the Bitcoin protocol and with this type of news it only means good things for the value of bitcoin in the long run. With its frictionless transfer and inability to counterfeit, many other retailers have got their eye on bitcoin as well. Continue reading
IRS: Tax Implications for Bitcoin Investors
By now most everyone has heard of Bitcoin. But exactly what is it? And how should it be taxed?
Bitcoin is usually described as virtual currency. That’s useful shorthand, but is it really money? And should it be taxed as if it is? Or is it a capital asset? How about a commodity? And then there is the matter of using this quasi-cash to avoid taxes and regulation altogether.
The IRS says it is studying the matter but has yet to issue any guidance. Until it does, it is anyone’s guess how Bitcoin should be taxed. Most users/investors will simply pick what is most beneficial to them when they file their 2013 returns.
See the full article here.
#Bitcoin – Rick Falkvinge – Pirate Party | London Real
Bitcoin Will Be Worthless – WSJ Investing Lessons From 2013
Today, a Wall Street Journal investing lesson chat session was prompted by BitcoinNe.ws to comment about bitcoin as a 2013 investment in its closing remarks. After first deleting the question from the que and not responding, we asked a few more times about bitcoin in the chat room full of crickets.
Charles Rotblut started off saying bitcoin will be “worthless” eventually and continued to spout off false associations with the gold rush, adoption rates and decentralization. He finished up with, “Bitcoin is interesting, but extremely speculative.”
Blockchain.info Hits 1 Millionth Bitcoin Wallet
“The year 2013 has been an unforgettable one for Blockchain. As the number of wallets has doubled from 500,000 since November, the world’s most popular bitcoin website is proud to announce reaching 1,000,000 wallets for their wallet service.”
Full Story: http://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-info-reaches-one-million-wallets/
Breaking: Facebook Tests Bitcoin Payments on Advertising Platform
We’ve heard about large companies, like Overstock.com and Netflix, testing bitcoin integration, but now one of the largest internet based companies in the world – Facebook?
Global companies like Facebook are a perfect match for digital currencies. They go through expensive red tape all the time trying to convert fiat currencies from on to another. Bitcoin will allow them to accept instant payments from any country, at any time, for any value. This news alone will be boosting price to new levels, let alone when its integrated and live.
The Future of Money – Trace Mayer at Inside Bitcoins 2013 Las Vegas
A Wall Street Analyst Has Identified The Winners And Losers In The Rise Of Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues to persevere through anything and everythingthrown at it: fraud schemes, thefts, rulings from the People’s Bank of China, etc.
Prices have now recovered to more than $800 on the Mt. Gox exchange after falling below $500 late last year.
So we are not totally surprised to see increasing coverage of the cryptocurrency by Wall Street analysts.
In a new note to clients, Wedbush analyst Gil Luria lays out which companies Bitcoin and/or cryptocurrencies in general could boost, and destroy.
“We believe Bitcoin and its associated technology represent a potential disruption to our covered companies,” wrote Lauria. “Furthermore, we believe Bitcoin’s potential lies beyond the ‘coin’ as the underlying blockchain protocol can be used to replace traditional intermediaries by acting as an exchange mechanism for a multitude of transactions.”
Check out the winners and losers at the rest of the article, here: http://www.businessinsider.com/winners-and-losers-in-bitcoin-2014-1#ixzz2pNYoZZXv
Bitcoin Neutrality – Andreas Antonopoulos
Published on Dec 19, 2013
Watch all 18 presentations at http://www.webee.com.ar/labitconf
Price Discovery in the Absence of Bitcoin Exchanges
Recently, authorities in India, China, Korea, Denmark, France, and Norway have issued stern warnings regarding the use and trade of bitcoin and other digital currencies.
As a consequence, important exchange outlets for price discovery have been slowed or shuttered following the government advisories. Furthermore, India and China represent nearly half of the globe’s total population.
The world has mostly underestimated the latent demand for a free and nonpolitical currency unit. In the face of this percolating demand, the arrogance of our monetary overlords is startling.
Rest of the article here.
Bitcoin is not backed by anything
This is a common objection I hear when people are trying to find reasons not to jump into bitcoin, or claim bitcoin can’t succeed.
Besides the statement that “bitcoin is not backed by anything” being untrue, lets not even go there for a second.
Why does it need to be backed by something like a government or commodity?
Only a currency that holds no value in of itself needs to be backed by something of value.
Does gold or silver have a backer? No, and they have been the longest standing form of money in history. Gold is not created by government decree nor can it be created out of thin air. Gold has value because it is a finite resource that has all the qualities of being “money”.
The same goes for Bitcoin. You can see in this video that bitcoin can even outperform gold in todays digital age. Continue reading
Video: Basics of bitcoin – How Bitcoin Works
This bitcoin animation tells you the basics of bitcoin and why we think it’s such an important innovation!
A fresh “How Bitcoin Works” video has just been released and definitely a good video to share with those wanting to know more about bitcoins and the bitcoin protocol.
It’s Back; Clearly Canadian Fan-Sourced and Taking Bitcoin!
The ubiquitous soda of the 1980’s and 1990’s is giving it another shot and asks for fan support, even from the Bitcoin community.
(Richmond Hill, ON) Dec. 20, 2013, – Clearly Canadian, in keeping with the ever evolving digital age, is opening up its coming online pre-sales campaign to the global bitcoin community. “Online virtual currencies are clearly here to stay – no pun intended”, according to Mitch Callahan, Clearly Canadian’s Bitcoin Campaign Manager. “Just as Clearly Canadian pioneered the new age beverage industry in the ‘80s and ‘90s…bitcoin, in a much more profound way, is poised to change how we all transact business on a global scale. Clearly Canadian finds that truly exciting and we are proud to be a new emerging member of the bitcoin community.” Continue reading
Singapore Regulators Will Not Interfere With Bitcoin
As reported on CoinDesk, Singapore has taken a hands off approach when considering regulations on the Digital Currency, Bitcoin. This adds them to the short list of open and unregulated countries supporting bitcoin like Japan and Germany.
At a time when many central banks and regulators are issuing bitcoin warnings and taking steps to limit bitcoin-related trades, Singapore’s central bank has decided to steer clear of bitcoin, for now at least.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore(MAS) told Singapore-based trading platform Coin Republic that it will not interfere with bitcoin adoption. The authority said: “Whether or not businesses accept bitcoins in exchange for their goods and services is a commercial decision in which MAS does not intervene.”
Full Article Here.
Two new global exchanges; welcome Indonesia and India
India’s adoption of bitcoin has been largely anticipated by the bitcoin community after seeing China’s recent push for the most popular digital currency. With over a billion citizens, India has just launched their own exchange Unocoin.com, which now services the 2nd most populated nation in the world.
Meanwhile Bitcoin Indonesia, which can be found at bitcoin.co.id, is now exchanging their fiat currency, Rupee, for bitcoins. This article has more:
“The advantage of bitcoin compared to conventional currency is that bitcoins do not experience inflation,” [Oscar said, co-founder of Indonesian bitcoin trading website] . “The condition of a country sometimes makes its central bank print more currency, but it bitcoin, inflation is unlikely because the amount is fixed.” Continue reading
