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Bitcoin: Does it have a future ?
Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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Bitcoin-friendly Internet Credit Union suddenly dumps accounts, citing 'regulatory issues'The Internet Archive Federal Credit Union, an experimental financial institution run by the eponymous nonprofit that archives web history, has established itself as a Bitcoin haven. In contrast to traditional banks, which snubbed businesses built around the virtual currency, the IAFCU basically put up a Bitcoin welcome sign. "These are not drug dealers, money launderers, or whatever. These are average folks," IAFCU CEO Jordan Modell told Wired. That all changed yesterday, however, when the credit union announced it will be dumping its Bitcoin clients. "Certain operational and regulatory issues came up including some that apply to new credit unions like ours," IAFCU CEO Jordan Modell wrote in a blog post. "Until we have further clarity, we are unable to service some of our corporate members." Bitcoin, the semi-anonymous virtual currency that approximates cash on the internet, has seen an increase in regulatory scrutiny in the US over the past few months. It started in March when FinCEN, a division of the Treasury Department, announced that certain Bitcoin businesses must register with the federal government. The largest Bitcoin business in the world, Mt. Gox, is currently beset by legal troubles that may lead to its demise. IAFCU's decision to cut off Bitcoin will make it even harder for those businesses to operate in the US. Bitcoin exchange Tradehill had recently registered with FinCEN and shifted its accounts to the IAFCU, an attempt to comply with US law while affording its clients security for their deposits. But just six days later, the credit union cut Tradehill off. The loss seemed to be too much for Tradehill, which has halted trading indefinitely "due to banking and regulatory issues." Bitcoin advocates went to Capitol Hill earlier this week to talk to regulators and legislators, who are concerned that the currency facilitates crime including the drug trade, tax evasion, and money laundering. Bitcoiners hope to clear up the currency's ambiguous legal status and set precedent for a peaceful coexistence with the US dollar. The fact that regulators were willing to meet with them is encouraging, but it's likely the start of a long, complex negotiation with an uncertain outcome. LinkRocky Road is still one of my favorite flavorsBy Jordan on August 29th, 2013 Starting three months ago we have enjoyed serving some individuals and companies involved in bitcoin that are within our field of membership. While exciting, this has also been during a period of increased interest from the press, regulators, and other financial services entities that make up the financial community. In doing this, certain operational and regulatory issues came up including some that apply to new credit unions like ours. Our credit union has worked within the evolving regulatory environment, which has not always been easy. This is a long not a short road and sometimes with detours. Until we have further clarity, we are unable to service some of our corporate members. On a positive note, we are finding all involved are interested in a stable environment for bitcoin and other innovative technologies. Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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Follow The Bitcoins: How We Got Busted Buying Drugs On Silk Road's Black Market Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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U.S. Agencies to say Bitcoins Offer Legitimate Benefitsbloomberg wrote:The Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are telling a U.S. Senate committee that Bitcoins are legitimate financial instruments, boosting prospects for wider acceptance of the virtual currency.
Representatives from the agencies told the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ahead of a hearing today that the digital money offers benefits and carries risks, like any other online-payment system, according to letters they released before the meeting. ......
US has Already Ceded Dominance in Bitcoin Tradingcoindesk wrote:Expertise and dominance in a particular industry sector doesn’t come about by decree. It is achieved over years through repeated practice and creative experimentation.
During the first three-and-a-half years of bitcoin’s development from 2009 to 2012, a large portion of that technological experimentation had been occurring in the US with multiple bitcoin trading exchanges and bitcoin-related businesses.
Now, there exists only one functioning exchange in the US with diminishing volume compared to its competitors. The Atlanta-based exchange, Camp BX, had reached such a low point of average daily trading volume that it was removed from the CoinDesk BPI earlier this month..... Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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Ben Bernanke’s letter to Congress: Bitcoin and other virtual currencies “may hold long-term promise”quartz wrote:America’s top central banker has given his cautious blessing to bitcoin, the virtual currency that famously requires no central bank.
In a letter ahead of today’s congressional hearings, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke mostly distanced himself from virtual currencies, saying the Fed “does not necessarily have authority to directly supervise or regulate these innovations or the entities that provide them to the market.” But he also said that bitcoin and its ilk “may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.” Bitcoin surges to all-time high of $900, then drops below $650 in 30 minutesgeekwire wrote:On the same day the U.S. government began discussions about Bitcoin, the value of the digital currency is skyrocketing.
Bitcoin’s value hit $900 on Mt. Gox exchange around 5 p.m. PST Monday, up more than 70 percent from Sunday’s close and setting an all-time high in the process. But, it also just dropped to $650 within the past 30 minutes, highlighting the current volatility of Bitcoin. The value of Bitcoin only hit $400 for the first time last week, and $500 for the first time on Sunday.
Today’s spike is likely due to The Department of Justice noting that Bitcoins can be “legal means of exchange,” and U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke writing that Bitcoin “may hold long-term promise,” even though he said the Federal Reserve has no plans to regulate Bitcoin. Meet The 'Assassination Market' Creator Who's Crowdfunding Murder With Bitcoinsforbes wrote:....For now, the site’s rewards are small but not insignificant. In the four months that Assassination Market has been online, six targets have been submitted by users, and bounties have been collected ranging from ten bitcoins for the murder of NSA director Keith Alexander and 40 bitcoins for the assassination of President Barack Obama to 124.14 bitcoins–the largest current bounty on the site–targeting Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve and public enemy number one for many of Bitcoin’s anti-banking-system users. At Bitcoin’s current rapidly rising exchanges rate, that’s nearly $75,000 for Bernanke’s would-be killer...... China is quietly positioning itself to dominate the brave new world of Bitcoin.cnn wrote:Until recently the digital cyrptocurrency was considered a joke by the financial mainstream, but the view is starting to shift now that prices have surged above their April peak and are now hovering around $600.
Bitcoins are still being viewed cautiously by lawmakers and regulators in the United States. In fact, there are two Senate hearings this week about the risks Bitcoin poses. But that is decidedly not the case in China. There has been a steady drumbeat of positive news in the Chinese press this year, including a landmark report on CCTV, China's national television network.
China's fascination with the currency upstart resulted in an estimated 40,000 client downloads a day and a burgeoning acceptance rate from online retailers down to physical traders standing in Tiananmen Square. Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/29/2010 Posts: 679 Location: nairobi
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now
for the fed and other state agencies to nuthug digital currencies raises eyebrows
the whole idea behind these currencies goes against what the fed and any other CB stand for
i dont like this...i think a good idea has been ambushed here
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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kizee1 wrote:now
for the fed and other state agencies to nuthug digital currencies raises eyebrows
the whole idea behind these currencies goes against what the fed and any other CB stand for
i dont like this...i think a good idea has been ambushed here It is not an ambush rather a normal mass acceptance process that must go on. Did you miss that spike & 30 min slide ?  Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/29/2010 Posts: 679 Location: nairobi
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Museveni wrote:kizee1 wrote:now
for the fed and other state agencies to nuthug digital currencies raises eyebrows
the whole idea behind these currencies goes against what the fed and any other CB stand for
i dont like this...i think a good idea has been ambushed here It is not an ambush rather a normal mass acceptance process that must go on. Did you miss that spike & 30 min slide ? i dont follow the price as keenly as you do, im just a fan of the concept of debt free money that cant be manipulated by govts/ central banks
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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kizee1 wrote:Museveni wrote:kizee1 wrote:now
for the fed and other state agencies to nuthug digital currencies raises eyebrows
the whole idea behind these currencies goes against what the fed and any other CB stand for
i dont like this...i think a good idea has been ambushed here It is not an ambush rather a normal mass acceptance process that must go on. Did you miss that spike & 30 min slide ? i dont follow the price as keenly as you do, im just a fan of the concept of debt free money that cant be manipulated by govts/ central banks not that I follow the price movement that keenly but that has been widely reported with the ongoing senate hearings in the USA Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Hello Joined: 5/3/2013 Posts: 4
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Bitcoins currently at 600+ dollars. In no time expect it at 1000+. almost reaching gold yet its intangible. I just hope its not a bubble. Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.-Warren Buffett
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Rank: Chief Joined: 8/4/2010 Posts: 8,977
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I like this bitcoin fight. Back to the days of roman empire collapse or the british empire collapse. Since Cyprus bail in (day light robbery of depositors' funds) this thing has melted up like a rocket yet the masses are not involved. When fools rush in it'll be interesting to behold... $15/barrel oil... The commodities lehman moment arrives as well as Sovereign debt volcano!
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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hisah wrote:I like this bitcoin fight. Back to the days of roman empire collapse or the british empire collapse. Since Cyprus bail in (day light robbery of depositors' funds) this thing has melted up like a rocket yet the masses are not involved.
When fools rush in it'll be interesting to behold... And some will get very very wealthy See those volumes here.. [ 30-day Volume (Currency)333,268,311.31 USD ] http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/mtgoxUSD.htmlLive and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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In Bitcoin’s Orbit: Rival Virtual Currencies Vie for Acceptancenytimes wrote:..With mounting interest from prominent investors and growing acceptance from regulators, bitcoin — either the new gold or the next Dutch tulip craze, depending on who is being asked — is at the center of the virtual money universe. Yet there are dozens of digital alternatives, like PeerCoin, Litecoin and anoncoin, whose backers point to advantages they say their currency has over bitcoin... Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 2/17/2010 Posts: 47 Location: Nairobi
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Now bring the story to Kenya.... apparently one bitcoin can be divided up into smaller units called millibits. A company launched in Kenya called Kipochi to enable trade in bitcoins using the the Safaricom platform but it has not gone ‘live‘ yet in terms of actual trading. Watching how the price of one millibit has sky rocketed from the price quotation on their website in the past 4 months is unbelievable to say the least. When the company came to the limelight it was ranging at 14 - 19, and now this past month it has been 60 - 80... the bad news is that you cannot buy yet People who look for easy money invariably pay for the privilege of proving conclusively that it cannot be found on this sordid earth
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/10/2008 Posts: 9,131 Location: Kanjo
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the bitcoin hits thr $1000 mark http://www.cnbc.com/id/101230884
i.am.back!!!!
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/10/2008 Posts: 9,131 Location: Kanjo
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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Bitcoin Woos Washington to Ensure Lawmakers Don’t Kill It
bloomberg wrote:Bitcoin advocates entered Washington a year ago with the shadow of a federal criminal investigation cast over the virtual currency industry.
Their first mission: Win over, or at least not alarm, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, called Fincen.
“Our first reaction, particularly when I was on the law enforcement side, when we had something new was ‘Huge risk! Huge risk for money laundering. It’s bad!’” Fincen Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said in an interview this week. “But we’re the Department of the Treasury, we can’t have that knee-jerk of a response.”
In March, Fincen issued rules stating that Bitcoin businesses may be considered money transmitters, which must abide by anti-money-laundering laws. The industry welcomed the move because it provided a road map for complying with regulations, and helped erode Bitcoin’s reputation as an enabler of illicit transactions.
That was the “starting-gun shot” of Bitcoin’s activities in Washington, said Marco Santori, chairman of the Seattle-based Bitcoin Foundation’s regulatory affairs committee, who said he met with Shasky Calvery. Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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The Bitcoin-Mining Arms Race Heats Upbusinessweek wrote:Joel Flickinger’s two-bedroom home in the hills above Oakland, Calif., hums with custom-built computing gear. Just inside the front door, in a room anyone else might use as a den, he’s placed a desk next to a fireplace that supports a massive monitor, with cables snaking right and left toward two computers, each about the size of a case of beer. Flickinger has spent more than $20,000 on these rigs and on a slower model that runs from the basement. They operate continuously, cranking out enough heat to warm the house and racking up $400 a month in electric bills. There isn’t much by way of décor, other than handwritten inspirational Post-it notes: “I make money easily,” one reads. “Money flows to me.” “I am a money magnet.” Flickinger, 37, a software engineer and IT consultant by trade, doesn’t leave the house much these days. He’s a full-time Bitcoin miner .... Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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Singapore Tax Authorities (IRAS) Recognize Bitcoin and Gives GuidanceQuote:Here’s a summary of what the IRAS,(The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore), has said:
Income Tax Treatment
"Companies which are in the business of buying and selling bitcoins will be taxed based on the gains from their sales of the bitcoins. On the other hand, if the bitcoins are part of the company’s investment portfolio acquired for long term investment purposes, the gains from the sales will be capital in nature and thus not taxable for the company."
GST Treatment
"The sale (including the exchange) of bitcoins in return for a consideration in money or in kind is a taxable supply of services subject to GST. If the seller is a GST-registered person, he would have to account for output tax on the sale of bitcoins made in the course or furtherance of his business. "
"Where bitcoins are accepted as payment for real goods or services (e.g. digitized items like online music), such transactions are treated as a barter exchange. GST should be accounted for on the individual supplies made (i.e. the supply of bitcoins and the supply of real goods or services) if the parties involved are GST-registered persons. However if the bitcoins are used to exchange for virtual goods or services within the virtual gaming world, as a concession, the supply of bitcoins will not be taxed until the bitcoins are exchanged for real monies, goods or services."
"As bitcoin does not fall within the definition of ‘money’ or ‘currency’ under the GST Act, a supply of bitcoins is not a supply of money and would not be disregarded for GST purposes. The supply of bitcoins would be treated as a supply of services as it involves the granting of the interest in or right over the bitcoins."
"The GST treatment of the supply of bitcoins will depend on whether the company is acting as an agent or principal in the transaction. If the company merely facilitates and is acting as an agent in the bitcoin trade (e.g. bitcoin exchange transfer bitcoins directly to the customer’s wallet), GST is chargeable only on the commission fees received. However if the company is acting as a principal in the bitcoin trade (e.g. buys and onward sells bitcoins to the customer), GST is chargeable on the full amount received, i.e. the sale of bitcoins and commission fees. "
"Under section 13(4) of the GST Act, a supply of services shall be treated as made in another country if the supplier belongs in that other country. In this case, if the company belongs outside Singapore (i.e. there is no business or fixed establishment in Singapore), the supply of bitcoins shall be treated as made outside Singapore. Accordingly, GST is not chargeable on the supply of services (i.e. bitcoins) made outside Singapore. "
"Overall, the GST treatment of bitcoins will depend on the business arrangement and contractual terms between the parties involved. " Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/16/2012 Posts: 660
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Why Bitcoin Matters By MARC ANDREESSENnytimes wrote:Bitcoin is the first practical solution to a longstanding problem in computer science called the Byzantine Generals Problem. To quote from the original paper defining the B.G.P.: “[Imagine] a group of generals of the Byzantine army camped with their troops around an enemy city. Communicating only by messenger, the generals must agree upon a common battle plan. However, one or more of them may be traitors who will try to confuse the others. The problem is to find an algorithm to ensure that the loyal generals will reach agreement.”
More generally, the B.G.P. poses the question of how to establish trust between otherwise unrelated parties over an untrusted network like the Internet.
The practical consequence of solving this problem is that Bitcoin gives us, for the first time, a way for one Internet user to transfer a unique piece of digital property to another Internet user, such that the transfer is guaranteed to be safe and secure, everyone knows that the transfer has taken place, and nobody can challenge the legitimacy of the transfer. The consequences of this breakthrough are hard to overstate. Live and learn; and don’t forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 12/16/2013 Posts: 49 Location: Nairobi
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http://themarkettrends.w...curity-a-payment-system/"'Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.' - Oscar Wilde.
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