Do You Trust Bitcoin or Bernanke?

  For those following Bitcoin, this interview with Gavin Andresen, the 46-year-old lead software developer for the Bitcoin project in today’sWall Street Journal should be of interest. The chief scientist for the digital currency talks about its appeal - and pitfalls - in a world of fiat money. Politicians and their appointees are entirely cut out of Bitcoin’s monetary loop, Andresen explains, adding that "Bitcoin or a similar technology could threaten the power of not just central banks, but banks, period." It is perhaps the coder's parting words that are most insightful, "I tell people it’s still an experiment and only invest time or money you could afford to lose. If only investors could as easily follow that advice with fiat currencies."

- Source, Zero Hedge:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-04/guest-post-whom-do-you-trust-bitcoin-or-bernanke

Bitcoin Dealers Are Running Into Problems In Canada

Two Canadian businessmen recently got some bad news from their banks.

James Grant, owner of Canadian Bitcoins, got a letter.

Melvin Ng, proprietor of CADBitcoin, got a phone call.

Both men run online exchanges where you can purchase Bitcoins for Canadian dollars.

And both were informed their businesses' accounts frozen by Canada's largest banks.

"It's a weird situation," Ng told us by phone recently. "We're a normal Canadian business, we're registered with the government, and a Canadian bank can just block it off."

Grant was more blunt: "They just don't like Bitcoins."

- Excerpt from a recent Business Insider article, read the full article here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-banks-closing-bitcoin-businesses-2013-4

Bitcoin Facing Bank Backlash in Canada

"Joseph David has overcome a lot of challenges since starting up Canada’s first Bitcoin exchange two years ago but his latest hurdle is proving tougher that all the others.

Virtex, based in Calgary, is an online market that matches Bitcoin buyers with sellers, with about $13-million of trades under its belt.

But earlier this month Royal Bank of Canada quietly informed Mr. David that it would no longer do business with his company.

“They shut down our account without any reason,” said Mr. David, an ebullient entrepreneur with a background in technology companies. “They just said we have the right to refuse service to whomever we wish.”

For whatever reason, many in Canada’s small but fast growing Bitcoin community are suddenly dealing with the same problem: The banks have decided they don't like the cryptocurrency and they’re shutting down some of the accounts of businesses that deal in it."

- Source, Financial Post, Read the full article here:

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/27/bitcoin-canada-banks/

Canada to Tax Bitcoin Transactions

"Canadians using bitcoins, the decentralized crypto-currency that recently went mainstream, must report their incomes and pay taxes as with other earnings, Canada's Revenue Agency (CRA) confirmed following a media request.

The issue was clarified in response to a letter by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) ahead of the country's tax season.

Two separate tax rules are applicable to the electronic currency, CRA spokesperson Philippe Brideau told CBC in an email.

When bitcoins are used as money to buy goods and services, the transaction is treated as barter and is taxable as such. When they are traded at a market for profit, they may be taxed as capital gains.

"When bitcoins are bought or sold like a commodity, any resulting gains or losses could be income or capital for the taxpayer depending on the specific facts," the CRA ruled."

- Source, Russia Today:

http://rt.com/business/bitcoins-currency-taxable-canada-496/

Berlin Has the Highest Concentration of Bitcoins

The Kreuzberg area of Berlin has the highest density of businesses accepting Bitcoin in the world. The clip below is fascinating as it becomes readily apparent how excited both the merchants and the customers are about using this free market currency. As the owner of a bar called Room 77, Joerg Platzer, quite interestingly commented: “Every day we do not start using a free currency like Bitcoin, we actually actively vote for the current system to continue.”

- Excerpt from a recent Zero Hedge article, read the full article here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-27/highest-concentration-bitcoins-world-berlin

Bitcoin As Cryptographic Gold?

"The crypto-currency Bitcoin is still merely a speck on the global monetary landscape. It is young, experimental, and for all we know, it may ultimately fail to break into the monetary mainstream. However, on a conceptual level some are willing to call it a work of genius andarguably the most exciting development in the field of money for more than 130 years. The outcome is probably binary: Either Bitcoin ultimately fails and the individual Bitcoins end up worthless. Or Bitcoin takes off and Bitcoins are worth hundreds of thousands of paper dollars, paper yen, paper euros, or paper pounds. Maybe more. Those who buy Bitcoin as a speculative investment should consider it an option on the future success of the crypto-currency. We still consider gold to be the essential self-defense asset in the ongoing paper money crisis. The brand-new crypto-currency Bitcoin has to first earn its stripes as a monetary asset by proving itself as a ‘common’ medium of exchange. That is why we view Bitcoin very differently from gold, although the attraction of both has its origin in the demise of entirely elastic, politicized state fiat money. In the meantime, the debasement of paper money continues."

- Excerpt from a recent Zero Hedge article, read the full article here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-25/guest-post-bitcoin-cryptographic-gold

Adam Kokesh - Litecoin is MAGNITUDES More Secure Than Bitcoin

Adam Kokesh of "Adam Vs the Man" compares Litecoin to Bitcoin. He discusses how Litcoin is faster and technically more secure.

- Source, Adam vs the Man:

http://www.adamvstheman.com/

BitCoin Or BetaCoin? What The Venture Capitalists Are Thinking

"After a disastrous few days in early April, bitcoin is back over $100 and up on the month, the year and its short lifetime. ConvergEx's Nick Colas is intrigued and continues to believe that this phenomenon is the most provocative economic experiment since the invention of the euro and well worth watching. The next chapter of the story, he believes, will be the entry of a host of "Smart money" venture capitalists looking to build the currency's infrastructure. Money and currency are exactly the kind of large, scalable and complex opportunity that gets VCs very, very excited. Yes, it could all still end in tears, either by regulation or mismanagement. But bitcoin isn’t dead just yet, and it remains one of the most potentially disruptive forces in modern finance. In summary, bitcoin is what he calls a "Beta currency." How it all shakes out, however, will be both instructive to watch and potentially profitable for those on the right side of this very novel trade."

- Source, Zero Hedge, read the full article here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-22/bitcoin-or-betacoin-what-venture-capitalists-are-thinking

Keiser Report - Magic of Bitcoin Gathering

"In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the role of market making in the orderly functioning of markets which explains the disorderly functioning of Mt.Gox, an exchange missing the vital market making function. They also discuss the virtual specialist technology, payments systems and DDoS attacks. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Tony Gallippi of Bitpay.com about money in the cloud and bitcoin in transactions."

- Source: Max Keiser.com:

http://maxkeiser.com/

Libertarian Party Is Now Accepting Bitcoins

"America's biggest third party is accepting donations of the electronic currency through bitpay.com, which converts the donations into U.S. dollars. Given that Bitcoin is sometimes called a "libertarian fantasy," it's not so surprising the Libertarian Party would make room for the currency in its fundraising efforts."

- Source, The Atlantic, read the full article here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/the-libertarian-party-is-now-accepting-bitcoin-donations/274935/

Bitcoin is On The Rise

"Virtual currency Bitcoin has risen in usage, notoriety and value in the past few months. A Bitcoin’s worth fluctuates with demand, and just like cash, it is free to use and very hard to trace. About $130 million of Bitcoins now exist, and the value has risen more than 6,000 percent this year."

- Source, Bloomberg Businessweek:

http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2011-06-20/virtual-currency-bitcoin-rises-in-usage-value

Rick Rule Discusses the Value of Bitcoin

Rick Rule, who is known as a legend in the gold and silver industry gives his opinion on what he thinks of bitcoin and where he sees it going.

The Encryption Standard

"What currency is feared by the European Central Bank as a threat to fiat monetary institutions? What currency is cash like but digitally transmittable allowing for ultimate anonymity and global mobility? What digital currency is up over 2,200% over the last year? The answer? Bitcoin. From mining, supply, demand, and security, Visual Capitalist's infographic covers it all."

- Source, Zero Hedge:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-04/visualizing-bitcoin-encryption-standard#comment-3408444

The Worlds Largest Online Currency

"Maybe Bitcoin’s devotees are right, and it’s the currency of the future. Or perhaps it’s a ridiculous joke—a speculative, hilarious enterprise taken to its most insane conclusion. Given that the founder is nowhere to be found, it feels like a hoax, a parody of the global economy. That the technology used to implement it has, so far, shown itself to be impeccable and completely functional, and that it’s actually being exchanged, just makes it a better joke. The truth is, it doesn't much matter if it’s a joke or not. It works."

- Source, Bloomberg:

http://www.businessweek.com/

Bitcoin May Be the Global Economy's Last Safe Haven

"One of the oddest bits of news to emerge from the economic collapse of Cyprus is a corresponding rise in the value of Bitcoin, the Internet’s favorite, media-friendly, anarchist crypto-currency. In Spain, Google (GOOG) searches for “Bitcoin” and downloads of Bitcoin apps soared. The value of a Bitcoin went up to $78. Someone put out a press release promising a Bitcoin ATM in Cyprus. Far away, in Canada, a man said he’d sell his house for BTC5,362.

Bitcoin was created in 2009 by a pseudonymous hacker who calls him or herself Satoshi Nakamoto (and who might be several people). It’s a form of virtual cash used to buy goods and services online. Even by Web standards, it’s a strange and supergeeky phenomenon. This is what happens when software and networks meet the concept of currency, when you take peer-to-peer networks and advanced cryptography and ask, How can I make a new economy?"

- Source, BloomBerg News, read the full article here:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-28/bitcoin-may-be-the-global-economys-last-safe-haven

Cyprus Goes Cashless The Hard Way

"The era of free capital movement is behind us. Capital controls are about government keeping your money within easy reach should they ever want it. A decentralized and nonpolitical currency like Bitcoin starts to look attractive by providing a safer destination for wary depositors, allowing them to store their money securely in a digital account on their own computers, away from the big governments and politicians’ reach. It is possible to purchase bitcoins in Cyprus at LocalBitcoins.com.

“Money flows to where confidence exists” says Alan Safahi, CEO of ZipZap, Inc., a global cash network with over 700,000 locations in the world. “As bitcoin gains more acceptance, consumer confidence increases and more money will flow to bitcoins, causing a continuous rise in price due to limited supply which then increases consumer confidence even more,” adds Safahi.

As this trend continues, ZipZap, which processes more purchases of bitcoin than any other cash network stands to benefit tremendously from this trend. “The growth opportunity is not limited to Europe. We are seeing a significant increase in volume in the past few days from consumers in the U.S.,” says Safahi.

The emerging trend towards bitcoin as a flight to safety seems to be accelerating despite the recent regulatory guidance from FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). As part of the Treasury Department, FinCEN’s guidance on enforcement would extend traditional money laundering rules to most types of virtual currencies, including bitcoin. Although bitcoin proponents emphasize that a test case has not emerged yet."

- Source, Forbes via Jon Matonis, read the full article here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2013/03/24/cyprus-goes-cashless-the-hard-way/

Max Keiser - "Bitcoin to Kill The Fed"

"Alex Jones talks with former stock trader and television host Max Keiser about the roller coaster stock market casino and the slowly disintegrating global economy as the global elite continue their move to consolidate wealth and power."

- Source, Infowars:

http://www.infowars.com

Bitcoin is the Fastest Growing Currency in the World

(Video not embeddable, please click image to watch)

"Bitcoin is an unregulated, uncontrolled online currency – worth more than £500m, it's the world's fastest growing. It can be used to buy drugs, move money across the world, or get rich quick. The people behind Bitcoin speak to the Guardian's James Ball at their home in a squat in central London."

- Source, The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/video/2013/mar/22/bitcoin-currency-video

The Eye of Sauron Has Spotted Bitcoin

"Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “ Web Money Gets Laundering Rule” an article framed in typical central bank newspeak warning of money laundering and growing “concerns” that new forms of cash bought on the Internet might be used to fund illicit activities.

This concern for possible laundering and illicit activities is banker newspeak indicating banksters are really concerned about the possibility people might be able to escape the global web of banking activity spying and find a way out of debt slavery caused by central bank controlled currencies.

Furthermore the bankers worry bitcoin, the virtual currency in question, might actually provide a way to independently and objectively value banker currencies in terms of purchasing power - not just relative values between managed banker currencies, which have no tight correlation with purchasing power. And, a derivative of providing an objective measure of cartel controlled currency purchasing power, is wealth can be transferred into bitcoin, where its purchasing power can remain reasonably stable, in fact, if bitcoin survives - the purchasing power of bitcoins will rise over time..."

- Source, Jack Mullen via Gold Seek, read the full article here:

http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1364140800.php

Alberta Man to Sell Home for Bitcoin

"It's not often that Canadian real estate listings make international headlines, but a mid-sized Alberta bungalow has people around the world buzzing today after its owner declared that he would like to sell it -- for Bitcoins.

If successful, 22-year-old entrepreneur Taylor More would be the first person ever to accept the fast-rising virtual currency in exchange for property.

"My home is being traded for Bitcoins!" reads the listing for More's "quaint" two bedroom home in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. "Properties like this rarely come on the market and this one's priced to sell in one of the most sought after recreation areas of the Rockies."

The property is listed for $405,000 CDN, but More writes that "the price can be reduced" if a buyer has some Bitcoins to spare."

- Source CBC, read the full article here:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/03/alberta-man-accepting-bitcoins-in-exchange-for-home.html

Leading Bitcoin Exchange Overwhelmed by Unprecedented Influx of New Accounts

MtGox, the leading Bitcoin exchange, has been overwhelmed by a large volume of new account requests recently which must go through a process of identity verification (in order for the account to trade higher volumes), leading to unprecedented delays. According to an MtGox spokesperson, there were “around 1000 new requests on Friday” [March 22, 2013] alone. A senior member of bitcointalk.org, who has apparently applied to have his MtGox account verified, stated “There are 4000+ accounts in front of me waiting to be verified…”.

After an account is finally verified it then can take a day, or several days depending on how funds are transferred, to have funds arrive in your exchange account as bank wires, direct deposits or online banking bill payments are the usual ways of doing so (credit cards are not generally accepted or costly fees apply if so). With thousands of new accounts in the queue, at just one exchange that we know of, this suggests that a significant amount of fiat currency will flow into Bitcoin in the coming weeks. With a market capitalization of only around$700M USD it does not take much to move Bitcoin prices significantly.

At the time of this writing Bitcoin are trading at around $68 USD up from $28 thirty days ago.

- Source, Max Keiser.com:

http://maxkeiser.com/2013/03/24/leading-bitcoin-exchange-overwhelmed-by-unprecedented-influx-of-new-accounts/