Total number of Bitcoins hits 10.5 million, production halves to stop inflation
Can technology replace the Federal Reserve?


Adrianne Jeffries
2012-11-28

http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/28/3701434/total-number-of-bitcoins-hits-10-5-million-production-halves-to-stop


The total number of Bitcoins in circulation just hit 10.5 million, triggering a safeguard against inflation that was hardcoded into the digital currency.

...

Bitcoin has been hailed as a revolutionary populist movement, but it's also a grand economic experiment. The market's reaction in the coming weeks will be the first major test of whether technology can replace government's role in regulating money.

If burning a piece of your own fiat currency is too heavy for you because the government doesn't approve, then you might want to avoid Bitcoin entirely

I got a 404, sir!

Rewards set to halve for digital money miners
People trying to profit via the bitcoin electronic currency will soon have to work harder to mint the digital coins.

2012-11-28

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20510447


...
Safeguards built into the bitcoin software are about to be triggered as the number of bitcoins in circulation hits a key milestone.

This means bitcoin "miners" will have to work twice as hard to be rewarded with the same number of coins.
...

"The main reason to do this is to control inflation," said Vitalik Buterin, a journalist at Bitcoin Magazine.
...

Bitcoins, black market trading or just filling in market inefficiencies?

Christopher Koulouris
2012-11-27

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/11/bitcoins-black-market-trading-or-just-filling-in-market-inefficiencies/

...
Bitcoins are an online currency with no ties to a government or central bank. Since their inception in 2009, it has become a medium for all kinds of black market activities online.
...

fredwilson
that is an interesting thing but maybe not the most interesting thing. i think the re-imagining of what money is in the digital world may be more interesting

Bitcoin Halving Day Draws Nigh

Kyt Dotson
2012-11-27

http://siliconangle.com/blog/2012/11/27/bitcoin-halving-day-draws-nigh/


Prepare to fall to your knees and shake your fist to the heavens, a terrible milestone is upon us, one that will forever change the fabric of an entire community.
...

Bitcoin emerges from the shadows, but just how safe is it?

Ken Baylor
2012-11-27

https://www.nsslabs.com/blog/bitcoin-emerges-shadows-just-how-safe-it

http://kenbaylor.org/wordpress/?p=280

...
With the recent addition of respectable vendors accepting bitcoins, it will emerge from the shadows and grow in popularity. As it grows in use among non-criminal users, the latter will be targeted by malware seeking to steal bitcoins from their digital wallets. Already specialized malware has been created to do just that (infostealer.coinbit trojan), and more is likely in the works. Bitcoin is risky on multiple levels. But with great risk, comes great reward.

When Mt. Gox, an exchange trade for bitcoins was hacked in 2011, the price of bitcoins dropped from $17.50 USD to pennies within minutes.

Call for contributions: New report on mobile payments and the future of merchant transaction fees

Sarah Clark
2012-11-26

http://www.nfcworld.com/2012/11/26/321281/call-for-contributions-new-report-on-mobile-payments-and-the-future-of-merchant-transaction-fees/

...
The NFC World team has identified ten pressure points that suggest the arrival of mobile payments will result in a fundamental change in the overall cost of processing payments and the way in which merchants transaction fees are calculated — and we'd like to hear from anyone who is working on ways to use mobile technology to cut the cost of processing transactions at the point of sale.
...
If you are working in any of these ten areas, on other ways to use mobile technology to make merchant transaction processing more efficient or would like to share your expertise and opinion, please get in touch — we'd love to hear from you and, as a thank-you for your contribution, we'll send you a complimentary copy of the final report as soon as it is published.



...
10. New forms of money

Emerging electronic-only forms of money, like Bitcoin and Mintchip, as well as tokenized cash systems like Cardis hold the promise of replacing cash — and the lower cost of processing cash transactions — with equally low cost transaction fees for low value purchases made via mobile phones. What new forms of money are now emerging and how practical are they in reality for merchants to adopt?

We're also investigating how different "last inch" payments solutions, such as NFC, EMV and QR codes, impact the overall cost for merchants. Are there cost cutting options that only NFC can deliver? How practical is it in reality for merchants to accept payments via QR codes at the point of sale? And how many are equipped today with the hardware to process this kind of transaction?
...



Who we want to hear from

We'd like input from anyone involved in the move to mobile payments at the point of sale, from the world's largest companies to the smallest start-ups and from established financial services providers and merchants to inventors, disruptors, analysts and consultants.
...

It doesn't matter where you operate as this study is global and, of course, there is no cost involved in taking part.
The final report will form part of NFC World's business intelligence service, The Mobile Wallet Report, and will be sent to all subscribers as part of their subscription, as well as to everyone who contributes to the report. Our thanks in advance for your contribution!
...

Payments Startup Balanced Innovates In Wrong Direction

2012-11-26
Jon Matonis

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/11/26/payments-startup-balanced-innovates-in-wrong-direction/