Laundering money with stolen credit cards has become a lot easier throughout the years. Converting a card into a gift card effectively launders money, as the gift card can be resold for cash or any other payment method. This type of criminal activity is often conducted by street gangs, as it is one of the easiest ways to get quick and clean cash.

http://bitcoinist.net/mounting-credit-card-fraud-forces-giant-food-policy-change/

Adding a Bitcoin exchange offering to their platform may turn out to be a very smart decision by the HaoBTC team, though. Whereas most other cryptocurrency exchange platforms focus on adding local markets, they have a hard time to integrate CNY payments. That story is quite different for companies originating from China, although finding willing partners might be a struggle.

http://themerkle.com/haobtc-announces-btc-cny-exchange-platform/

It has to be said, however, that data protection can come in many ways. Additional jobs is one way to tackle this issue, but there is another solution around the corner. Technology is often blamed for the current data threat, but new technological solutions have come across in recent years which can help tackle this problem

http://themerkle.com/stepping-up-data-protection-through-new-jobs-and-blockchain-technology/

This invalid search warrant results in most of the evidence in this case being thrown out. Considering how the FBI added malware to the Playpen site to infiltrate other computers, none of the information gathered during this attack can be used. For now, only one of the people arrested has pointed out this issue, but it is not unlikely others will follow suit.


http://bitcoinist.net/fbi-used-invalid-warrant-to-infect-tor-website-with-malware/

It would take a lot for Bitcoin to reach the target as envisioned by Tim Draper. A price of $10,000 per BTC would put the entire market cap at close to 180 billion, which is a significant increase compared to the current $6.63 billion. That being said, a lot can change between now and 2018, and something positive may come around the corner very soon.

https://news.bitcoin.com/2018-bitcoin-price-tim-draper-unlikely/

The sponsored article / PR for YoCoin has been published!

Bitcoinec has come up with a plan to raise awareness about their internet campaign. By combining the power of social media with the helping out of various Bitcoin media outlets, news will be spread among the global community. Help is needed direly, and the more people can be reached with this campaign, the better the chance to come up with the right type of aid for the earthquake victims.

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoinec-relief-fund-equador-earthquake/

Is there a particular item or service you hope to find on OpenBazaar?

What makes Duo Search so important is the way users can distinguish between item listings. For example, users might look for physical goods, digital items, or even services. In the case of physical products, the condition will matter, as well as where the item is shipped from. Plus, some sellers offer free shipping, which is another important filter across the OpenBazaar protocol.

http://bitcoinist.net/duo-search-is-a-search-engine-for-openbazaar/

Are you planning to give ZeroBazaar a try when the project is complete?

Once this integration is completed, the difference between ZeroBazaar and OpenBazaar could not be clearer. Network stability, anonymity through Tor hidden services, removing the single store of failure, and running offline will all be made possible in ZeroBazaar. At this time, OpenBazaar does not support any of these features natively, although they may be added in a future client release.

http://themerkle.com/zerobazaar-combines-zeronet-with-openbazaar/

Placing the Bitcoin ATM in the city of Santo Domingo is a smart decision, as capital cities attract a lot of foot traffic on a  daily basis. Considering how the machine is located at the WTS Travel offices in Santa Domingo, users will have plenty of opportunities to check out the Bitcoin ATM and make use of its services.

http://themerkle.com/dominican-republic-sees-first-bitcoin-atm-in-santa-domingo/

Your thoughts on the Teambrella concept?

Obtaining insurance through Teambrella requires creating a new team. All of the team’s existing members can decide who they want to add or remove from the team “roster.” With multiple people making up these groups, a voting process has to be established in a professional manner. Teambrella will address this issue by adding a certain weight to team members’ votes, which depends on the premium price paid by that member.

https://news.bitcoin.com/teambrella-p2p-insurance-bitcoin/

Would you "trust" a psychologist using Skype and Bitcoin?

This focus on new technology and disruptive payment methods go to show how financial hardship can create new business models. Although not everyone might be in a position to provide services over the Internet or accept bitcoin, Milagro Mendoza can serve as an inspiration for anyone who has ever wanted to become their own boss.

https://news.bitcoin.com/venezuelan-psychologist-skype-bitcoin/

Just wanted to let you guys know the [first?] sponsored article on New Money / Solcert has been published.

Let me know if anything needs elaborating

What will this do for Augur and the Ethereum ecosystem, in your opinion?

Earlier today, Augur announced they have been invited to return to the Exponential Finance Conference this year, as they will partake in the event’s Innovation Lab in June of 2016. This will bring additional attention to the prediction market startup, as their approach to blockchain technology has inspired other companies to do the same.

http://bitcoinist.net/augur-returns-to-exponential-finance-conference/

Thanks to this new alliance, Liberland citizens will enjoy all of the services provided by this sovereign nation regardless of where they are in the world at that time. BITNATION’s DIY Governance services – including a Public Notary, education program, and a refugee program – will be available to Liberlanders at any given time.

http://bitcoinist.net/bitnation-and-liberland-form-strategic-partnership/

Contrary to popular belief, blockchain technology might be more applicable to accounting systems rather than post-trade processing. Although the blockchain can be useful to various aspects of the financial sector, Mijin blockchain infrastructure has shown the world it is possible to use distributed ledgers in an accounting setting. After all, the majority of current mainframes have become a liability, which forces banks to come up with innovative solutions.

http://bitcoinist.net/japanese-bank-acknowledges-mijin-blockchain-infrastructure-test/

But there is more to this offer, as 34 Bytes will not charge any fees for Bitcoin payment processing during the first six weeks of using the POS terminal. Once those six weeks are over, regular fees will be applicable. Offering the terminal free of charge is a smart move, as the company is looking for valuable feedback from merchants to see how they can improve their offering.

http://themerkle.com/34-bytes-announces-free-bitcoin-payment-terminal-beta-testing/

Trials of this project took place during Q1 of 2016, and a blockchain-based trade processing network was established successfully. Credit default swap transactions were the primary focus, as they are subject to various events throughout their “existence”. Moreover, CDS lend themselves well towards determining whether or not the blockchain is efficient enough to handle all of the input and output of these swaps.

http://bitcoinist.net/axoni-achieves-100-success-rate-with-blockchain-based-cds/

What is more important to most enthusiasts is how things are moving along with the Bitcoin micropayment integration. The Datt team is still on track to offer genuine P2P micropayments on the date of launch, and there are plans on the table to implement the Lightning Network at some stage. For the time being, a trustless payment channel hub will be used, based on hash time lock contracts.

https://news.bitcoin.com/datt-roadmap-includes-rebranding-trustless-bitcoin-micropayments/

What are your thoughts on the attitude by Samson Mow?

There is no denying BTCC’s Samson Mow has never been a fan of the whole Bitcoin Classic ordeal. However, that does not mean he should try to ridicule that concept by any means, even though he did jab at Bitcoin Classic supporters in a very recent tweet. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there is no need for unnecessary blows below the belt.

http://themerkle.com/samson-mow-bitcoin-classic-supporters-are-pretty-much-irrelevant-now/