Europol has said in a new report that it believes bitcoin could become the go-to currency for digital criminals in the region.

The European Union's top law enforcement agency released its Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment for 2015 on 30th September, outlining its view of the top cybercrime threats facing the European Union.

Happy reading : http://www.coindesk.com/europol-bitcoin-european-cybercriminals/

3,000 tweets, 600 attendees and 50 speakers later, CoinDesk's inaugural conference Consensus 2015 wrapped on 10th September.

The one-day event drew together top minds in the fields of finance, charity, investment and law enforcement to discuss how blockchain technology might impact very real problems faced around the world today.

It featured a diverse line up of speakers from Digital Asset Holdings CEO Blythe Masters to Internet security pioneer Christopher Allen and Assistant US Attorney Kathryn Haun.

For those who missed out on the jam-packed day, you can watch the event in full below. Keep an eye out for the session videos, which will be coming soon.

Catch all the highlights from the event below. Read our roundups of the event here and here.


Livestream here : http://livestream.com/accounts/686369/events/4371225
Article here : http://www.coindesk.com/consensus-2015-livestream-now-available/

It's a fresh account , I redemeed the gift and I'am not using it anymore , It's not ranked  (have one wins ) so I suppose you could play with your Global elite friends and get it boosted easily .

anyway I'am selling this account  , let me know how much is your offer in BTC

Ethereum has released new details about the state of its finances, ending speculation about the project's financial health that has persisted among the technology's enthusiasts.

One of the most successful token crowdsales in history by some metrics, the ambitious blockchain-based decentralized application platform raised 31,529 BTC, or roughly $18.4m at then market prices, through the sale of Ether, its native blockchain tokens last July.

Of issue since has been the lack of clarity regarding how much real-world funding Ethereum and its related entities have had in reserve due to the subsequent decline in the price of bitcoin relative to the US dollar.

However, Ethereum inventor Vitalik Buterin today revealed new details about the subject today in a blog post dedicated to providing an update on the state of the open-source project, launched to the public on 30th July with its Frontier release.

Buterin wrote that the Ethereum Foundation, the Switzerland-based nonprofit that handles Ether's financials and manages development funding, is facing budget constraints due to the declining value of bitcoin against the US dollar.

Happy reading : http://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-bitcoin-decline-9-million-funding-shortfall/

[“I wasn't taking him serious in the beginning, and even once I realized he was who he said, and he was amassing millions of dollars in ill gotten gains, it wasn't until he started obsessing on the kidnappings, that I realized I had a lunatic on my hands. A lunatic highly placed in the FBI, with a massive off the books private budget, who thought that kidnapping and torture were the solution to his problems, and he starting to get a few other screws loose, as well. I do know how to pick my enemies.”]

What the actual fuck .. 



Diamond, which is believed to be an online alias of an unknown corrupt FBI agent, has been threatening to kill Silk Road Architect Variety Jones and torture Ross Ulbricht’s mother and sister to obtain the password to an encrypted bitcoin wallet containing over 300,000 BTC or US$70 million which previously belonged to Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road.

Diamond believed that Variety Jones, with his involvement in creating the Silk Road could help him gain access to the funds. “He wants me to move to Singapore, where he can set up a safe house and know that I'm clear of the clutches of the DOJ,” claimed Jones on the MyPlantGanja forum.

Furthermore, Jones claims that Diamond provided classified information about the Silk Road investigation ahead of time, specifically about former special agents Carl Mark Force IV and Shaun Bridges, to U.S. law enforcement officials charged for moving the seized funds during the Silk Road investigation to their private bitcoin and bank accounts. Since only high ranking members of the FBI have the power and authority over this type of information, the information on the two agents convinced Jones to believe that Diamond is an FBI official.

He continued:

“I wasn't taking him serious in the beginning, and even once I realized he was who he said, and he was amassing millions of dollars in ill gotten gains, it wasn't until he started obsessing on the kidnappings, that I realized I had a lunatic on my hands. A lunatic highly placed in the FBI, with a massive off the books private budget, who thought that kidnapping and torture were the solution to his problems, and he starting to get a few other screws loose, as well. I do know how to pick my enemies.”

Continue reading at : http://cointelegraph.com/news/115346/fbi-agent-threatens-to-kill-silk-road-architect-ulbrichts-family-for-bitcoin

https://openledger.info/

Once again , Just another service that I can't really find anything about .. only on CoinTelegraph http://cointelegraph.com/news/115342/worlds-first-decentralized-fintech-exchange-openledger-launches which makes me think it's another scam just like SearchTrade , BitPlutos.com & CloudThink.io and others .

If anyone have useful informations about this service please let us know .

I deposited few days ago using Paypal , I suppose .. because I used PayPal and it asks me to deposit using the Visa card linked to that Paypal account , anyone on the Order history it says I deposited with PayPal .

I know I need to wait months so my level rise , however I didn't deposit much $ , so does it matter ?or any amount is acceptable so my limits get rised after months ?

Naughty America's CEO says the firm has seen a surge in demand for bitcoin following the launch of its virtual reality (VR) products.

The adult empire – which operates a network of 45 sites – had ditched the currency in 2014 following underwhelming sales. When it reappeared as a payment option this week, users were stumped as to why.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Andreas Hronopoulos revealed bitcoin's reappearance was a result of Naughty America's 'virtual porn' launch, which triggered a wave of online support for the currency.

He added:

"We found VR is geared towards a Millenial audience, they seem to have an interest in bitcoin – it aligns more with how they think, how they spend their money."

More to read : http://www.coindesk.com/naughty-america-ceo-millenials-want-to-pay-in-bitcoin/

Now & After 6 years from the creation of Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto , what's the worst case scenario that could happen to Bitcoin and make it dissapear once for all in your opinion , personally I guess it will be little bit hard to get 3 billion USD market-cap business  destroyed just like that .

Following months of silence, one of bitcoin's best-funded startups sparked a frenzy of reporting after it revealed its first consumer product, to debut in November.

21 Inc, which has raised $121m to date across multiple, undisclosed funding rounds, revealed in an exclusive with The Wall Street Journal on Monday that it would be launching its bitcoin computer for developers.

Elsewhere, the topic of regulation weaved itself into coverage again this week after Circle Internet Financial said it had been granted the industry's first BitLicense.

Less positive news came from Australia, where bitcoin companies and traders complained of the bank's perceived crackdown on firms or individuals involved in activities with the digital currency.


A lot more to read here : http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-headlines-21-inc-bitcoin-computer/

KeepKey's new USB bitcoin wallet has gone on sale, enabling consumers to store their bitcoins offline.

The wallet, which is on sale for $239, allows users to overcome the security problems that come with storing bitcoin on a computer or using third-party custodians.

Speaking about the new product, Ken Heutmaker, a software engineer at KeepKey, said:

“The KeepKey security model was designed to ensure that the user always has complete control over their private keys. We feel that relying on trusted third parties degrades the security and privacy that the bitcoin ecosystem offers."

Continue reading the full thing at coindesk : http://www.coindesk.com/keepkey-launches-new-bitcoin-hardware-wallet/

Honestly I think it's totally overpriced , I prefer to get Case Hardware wallet then this one .

Hackers have broken into football star Alexander Kerzhakov’s e-mail account and are looking to sell 904 letters from the player’s correspondence for at least 40 bitcoins (about US$9,000) during a “private auction” today.

Alexander Kerzhakov won the UEFA Cup champion with Spanish Seville in 2006/2007. He is the leading scorer in Russian football (224 goals) and currently plays for FC Zenit St. Petersburg.

It appears that the hackers have stolen 5 years worth of correspondence (from Sept 2010 - Sept 2015) that includes 904 emails. They sent out a letter to certain people informing them of the auction on behalf of the organizer, the "Exchange of Information" administration. Moreover, they promised to sell the emails separately on their official website to anyone if no buyers appear at the auction, though the cost will be much higher.

However, the cyber criminals’ didn’t seem to faze one of the recipients and Footballers Media Director, Elena Bolotova, who commented:

"The e-mail belonging to Alexander was actually hacked but I want to note that this is not a personal mailbox. This is a corporate email,” she said


Continue reading at : http://cointelegraph.com/news/115320/uefa-cup-champions-email-hacked-selling-for-40-btc

[Using an Escrow]

I just wrote this so you guys take precautions before trading , so you don't cry after getting scammed so here are few things that you should take in consideration [Feel free to give me more so I add them]

Using an Escrow




Using an escrow is definitly the most important thing we should take in consideration on this section , if you ignore this step then you shouldn't go to the Scam accusation when you get scammed .

An escrow is basically a middleman and here is how it works :








Escrow list : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=855778.0 (Top five are recommended but others are trusted aswell)



Social Engineering :


You may find some people offering services like refunding Google play in-game purchases or Amazon items that you bought saying that this service is legit .
What does this even means ? It means that you will for example Buy PS4 from Amazon , this refunder guy will call Amazon using some SE techniques something like (Box is empty and that kind of thing) and they will refund you which will leave you with two PS4 .

Well , this kind of services is totally illegal and you should take it seriously (Note that you may get in trouble because of it)

Carding  :

Carding is term describing the trafficking of credit card, bank account and other personal information online as well as related fraud services. Carding activities also encompass procurement of details, and money laundering techniques.

If you see cheap Steam wallets , Starbucks gift cards then don't be dumb and you should right away that something phishy is going on unless it's BiPolarBob   or another trusted member on the community




Steam refunds


We can't deny the fact that there is shitload of transactions going on Digital goods section and most of them is for Steam (Dosen't matter if they are gifts , CSGO Keys , Dota 2 or any other game) , so before trading you should consider the following things aswell  (seller could do this) :

Steam Refunds
You can request a refund for nearly any purchase on Steam—for any reason. Maybe your PC doesn't meet the hardware requirements; maybe you bought a game by mistake; maybe you played the title for an hour and just didn't like it.

It doesn't matter. Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any reason, if the request is made within fourteen days of purchase, and the title has been played for less than two hours. There are more details below, but even if you fall outside of the refund rules we’ve described, you can ask for a refund anyway and we’ll take a look.

You will be issued a full refund of your purchase within a week of approval. You will receive the refund in Steam Wallet funds or through the same payment method you used to make the purchase. If, for any reason, Steam is unable to issue a refund via your initial payment method, your Steam Wallet will be credited the full amount. (Some payment methods available through Steam in your country may not support refunding a purchase back to the original payment method. Click here for a full list.)

Where Refunds Apply
The Steam refund offer, within two weeks of purchase and with less than two hours of playtime, applies to games and software applications on the Steam store. Here is an overview of how refunds work with other types of purchases.

Refunds on Downloadable Content
(Steam store content usable within another game or software application, "DLC")
DLC purchased from the Steam store is refundable within fourteen days of purchase, and if the underlying title has been played for less than two hours since the DLC was purchased, so long as the DLC has not been consumed, modified or transferred. Please note that in some cases, Steam will be unable to give refunds for some third party DLC (for example, if the DLC irreversibly levels up a game character). These exceptions will be clearly marked as nonrefundable on the Store page prior to purchase.

Refunds on In-game Purchases
Steam will offer refund for in-game purchases within any Valve-developed games within forty-eight hours of purchase, so long as the in-game item has not been consumed, modified or transferred. Third-party developers will have the option to enable refunds for in-game items on these terms. Steam will tell you at the time of purchase if the game developer has opted to offer refunds on the in-game item you are buying. Otherwise, in-game purchases in non-Valve games are not refundable through Steam.

Refunds on Pre-Purchased Titles
When you pre-purchase a title on Steam (and have paid for the title in advance), you can request a refund at any time prior to release of that title. The standard 14-day/two-hour refund period also applies, starting on the game’s release date.

Steam Wallet Refunds
You may request a refund for Steam Wallet funds within fourteen days of purchase if they were purchased on Steam and if you have not used any of those funds.

Refunds on Bundles
You can receive a full refund for any bundle purchased on the Steam Store, so long as none of the items in the bundle have been transferred, and if the combined usage time for all items in the bundle is less than two hours. If a bundle includes an in-game item or DLC that is not refundable, Steam will tell you if the whole bundle is refundable during check-out.

Purchases Made Outside of Steam
Valve cannot provide refunds for purchases made outside of Steam (for example, CD keys or Steam wallet cards purchased from third parties).

VAC Bans
If you have been banned by VAC (the Valve Anti-Cheat system) on a game, you lose the right to refund that game.

Movies
We are unable to offer refunds for movies on Steam.

Refunds on Gifts
We are unable to offer refunds for gifts after they have been redeemed by the recipient.

Abuse
Refunds are designed to remove the risk from purchasing titles on Steam—not as a way to get free games. If it appears to us that you are abusing refunds, we may stop offering them to you. We do not consider it abuse to request a refund on a title that was purchased just before a sale and then immediately rebuying that title for the sale price.

How to Request a Refund
You can request a refund or get other assistance with your Steam purchases at help.steampowered.com.


Last updated June 2, 2015

Others

• Do not use Escrow services websites , you may get scammed .
• Scammer is probably going to try convince you by showing you his trust on LocalBitcoins or other forums/website , don't fall on his trap.
• Even if the user have positive trust , make sure to see how much the value (in USD) of the trade and compare it with your trade with him .         

I'am not sure if you guys find this useful but I guess it is , at least just a little bit . So if you think I should add something to this let me know and I will do it .

The story of Bitcoin is a cloudy but mostly American fairy tale about a global currency that doesn’t even really exist to many since it lives only on one’s computer. While no one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto is, it is believed that Satoshi primarily spoke and worked on Bitcoin in English, resided on the West coast, and refined his protocol with the late Hal Finney over six years ago.

Yet just 2 years ago, China began to get a taste of the wonders of Bitcoin, and it blew the roof off of the small, but growing market, driving prices to over US$1,100 within a season.


CoinTelegraph full article : http://cointelegraph.com/news/115321/how-china-captured-the-global-bitcoin-market-op-ed

["Beyond that, I object to barter transactions involving the State that have no intrinsic value. Commodities such as gold bars, corn, wheat, chickens or cows have some intrinsic value in [New Hampshire] and can be auctioned off to an identified market when all else fails. Should the market for bitcoin collapse, like the market for our former toll road tokens, the State is likely stuck with worthless inventory."]

A New Hampshire legislative subcommittee has recommended that the state's House of Representatives kill a bill that, if enacted, would allow citizens to pay their taxes with bitcoin.  

The bill, filed by state representative Eric Schleien earlier this year, calls for the state treasury to select a third-party service through which it could accept bitcoin, with New Hampshire receiving US dollars in return.

A subcommittee formed to debate the issue recommended that the bill be voted "ineligible to legislate", a move that, if confirmed by the House, would shelve the bill. However, the measure could be taken up during the new legislative session next year.

Rep. Bill Ohm, who sits on the state's Ways and Means Committee, told CoinDesk in an email that the subcommittee voted against the measure in part because of what he called "liquidation risk".

"The treasurer, Bill Dwyer, testified that he needs to pay the state's bills in currency (federal funds, etc), and bitcoin is a commodity that needs to be liquidated for the state to use to pay it's bills," he said.

Ohm added that he shared Dwyer's position on the risk of the state's handling of bitcoin, explaining:

"Beyond that, I object to barter transactions involving the State that have no intrinsic value. Commodities such as gold bars, corn, wheat, chickens or cows have some intrinsic value in [New Hampshire] and can be auctioned off to an identified market when all else fails. Should the market for bitcoin collapse, like the market for our former toll road tokens, the State is likely stuck with worthless inventory."

Full article on coindesk : http://www.coindesk.com/new-hampshire-bitcoin-tax-bill-facing-defeat/

I'am not good at trading honestly , I basically only sell goods or buy them , mostly sell them and just hold my BTC so I'am not sure how all this trading story works ...  but as I start I'd like to know how much the minimum amount needed to start trading with so it's possible to make a decent profit from it ? (Don't recommend me of gambling because I won't)

I may also take a look at this : https://www.udemy.com/bitcoin-trading/ but I'am not sure how good is it .

As more and more people begin to use Bitcoin, the adoption of digital wallets continues to be on an uptick around the world. And just when we become familiar with the notion of storing value in a virtual wallet that can live on various devices, enter a new type of virtual wallet - the time wallet. Able to store units of time as currency, the time wallet is a new idea looking to find its place in society.


Continue reading at : http://cointelegraph.com/news/115318/from-bitcoin-wallets-to-time-wallets-a-community-focused-currency

So what was the impact of Silk road both first and second version , I assume I wasen't here on the opening of Silk road 1.0 or when it closed aswell ... I don't remember what happened to the price when the 2.0 closed honestly wasen't much interested in knowing this kind of stuff , was just checking preev.com , whatever the price is .. I trade/sell/buy and GG

Question is not for only silk road , but Darknet in general basically .

[“We're out of operating capital and have been for quite a while, so no one has really been working on Hive for over a year. By that measure, Hive certainly failed as a company, though there is a glimmer of hope."]

The Bitcoin wallet Hive is no longer being actively developed. In fact, the creator says that the wallet hasn't had much development in "over a year." Users are told by the wallet’s founder to move their active seeds over to a compatible wallet provider such as Bread Wallet or Mycelium.

Hive Wallet Founder, Wendell Davis:

“We're out of operating capital and have been for quite a while, so no one has really been working on Hive for over a year. By that measure, Hive certainly failed as a company, though there is a glimmer of hope."

check article here :http://cointelegraph.com/news/115305/hive-wallet-is-officially-unsupported


And they also twitted :



Just wanted to let you know about this , so you switch in case you didn't yet .

Many people believe the success of bitcoin and blockchain technology is "inevitable", and banks are now starting to come round to this point of view, according to TechStars managing director Jenny Fielding.

Speaking inside the firm's FinTech accelerator in New York, which is run in partnership with Barclays, Fielding told CoinDesk banks are "ramping up" their engagement with the blockchain ecosystem.

"I can't speak for them ... but it seems like there is more of a willingness to embrace what a lot of the rest of us feel is inevitable," she said.

Barclays, recently named as one of nine banks working to develop a set of common blockchain standards, is increasingly vocal in its support of the nascent technology.

Having launched the accelerator scheme with TechStars in London at the end of 2013, this summer it signed a proof-of-concept with bitcoin exchange Safello and announced it would explore opportunities with another blockchain company, diamond tracker Everledger.

You can read the full article on coindesk http://www.coindesk.com/techstars-md-banks-are-embracing-the-inevitability-of-bitcoin/