Weekly Bitcoin News Report – Oct. 18th, 2014
Posted by: DeepDotWeb
October 18, 2014
Providing the top Bitcoin news stories from around the web
Regulation
Changes to the BitLicense regulations have been outlined by the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky. As Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey of The Wall Street Journal report, the changes included a BitLicense exemption for software developers, bitcoin miners, and other individuals who do not provide financial services in the state of New York. That being said, all financial entities, including banks, that are looking to offer digital currencies and services related to Bitcoin will have to apply for a license. The revisions indicate that the organization is far more interested in protecting those interested in purchasing and selling bitcoins than in controlling the entire bitcoin business itself.
Bitstamp, a Bitcoin exchange, will be handing unverified accounts over to regulatory authorities. As Caleb Chen of CryptoCoins News writes, the European organization has stated that allowing unverified, anonymous accounts to deal bitcoins would violate AML and KYC policies. Unverified Bitstamp accounts have twenty-eight days to abide by the new rules before having their accounts and balances seized and sent to a government authority. Bitstamp notably does not “fall under the jurisdiction of Slovenia’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financial tracking obligations,” as Chen writes. The exchange is acting of their own volition to make these changes.
Newsweek’s Error
Dorian Nakamoto will be suingNewsweek for falsely identifying him as the inventor of Bitcoin in a March cover story. According to James O’Toole of CNNMoney, Nakamoto will be accepting donations via credit card, money order, and bitcoin to address this issue, which has harmed his family, thoroughly. The pseudonym of the cryptocurrency’s creator is “Satoshi Nakomoto,” which lead Newsweek to interview Nakamoto’s family members. However, he attests that they were misquoted and that his association with the creation of the cryptocurrency is false.
Australia
In an anti-drug trafficking raid in the southeast Queensland of Australia, police offers made eight arrests of gang members that were trafficking crystal methylamphetamine and methylamphetamine oil. As 9News points out, however, the police also seized a Bitcoin ATM that was property of one of the arrested individuals, who had installed the device at a coffee shop. The police plan to forensically examine the device. 9News points out the connection between bitcoin and drug trafficking, as the cryptocurrency allows for individuals to exchange funds anonymously.
A Bitcoin company will now be pursuing an initial public offering. According to ForexMinute, Bitcoin Group will be aiming to sell 100 million shares of its company to the public at a rate of $0.20 per Australian share. If successful, the company would trade on the Australian Securities Exchange, or ASX. The company’s chief executive, Sam Lee, stated that he believes Bitcoin companies ought to be transparent if they wish to be taken seriously as a company. He also stated that he believes the Australian tax authority’s stance on Bitcoin will be largely positive for companies in the country.
The Bitcoin Lifestyle
What would it be like to survive on bitcoin alone in a major city? David Harris of the Boston Business Journal attempted to answer that question this week. Harris detailed the two ATMs where he could withdraw bitcoins and three restaurants that accept the cryptocurrency in the greater Boston area. Additionally, he discovered that he could purchase alpaca socks at a store in the nearby Northampton area. While the story is certainly entertaining, it does highlight the lack of bitcoin usage opportunities in one of the major metropolitan areas of the United States.
College football fans who wish to purchase pre-sale tickets to the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl will have to make payments with the cryptocurrency. Additionally, as Eric Calouro of NewsBTC writes, the event sponsors are aiming to feature 100 merchants that will exclusively accept bitcoin for payments. The event, which will take place in December, will feature two teams from a selection of three conferences: the American Athletic Conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference, or Conference USA. BitPay, a global bitcoin payment service provider, is the sponsor of the event. Additionally, the company will be working in conjunction with Traveling Coin to offer ticket, hotel, and transport bundles at BitcoinBowlPackages.com.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, best known for their acquaintanceship with, and eventual lawsuit against, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and their time on the USRowing team, have launched the WinkDex. The application, as Keith Wagstaff of NBCNews writes, tracks bitcoin price changes in real time, taking several different exchanges into account. Additionally, users can convert bitcoins to United States dollars and display informative charts that detail the currency’s price fluctuations. Wagstaff notes that the Winklevoss twins have a vested interest in the cryptocurrency, as their bitcoin holdings surpass $11 million.
Updated: 2014-10-18