NEW YORK: The world of virtual currencies was stunned Monday when Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright claimed to be the creator of the Bitcoin.

The shockwaves were clear as cypto-currency specialists gathered in New York for a conference on the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin and similar virtual forms of money.

"It's nicer if we keep the myth," said Dirk Avau, founder and chief executive of the financial tech firm Intellect Technologies, at the Consensus 2016 confer ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52085673.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Bitcoin was first birthed unto the internet by a mysterious programmer who went by the fake name Satoshi Nakamoto. Over the years, quite a few people have been fingered as the man behind the mysterious identity but none definitively, which is kind of amazing given that this person left all kinds of digital traces behind on internet forums and in the digital money itself. It was long assumed that the person behind Bitcoin didn’t want to be known and might, after eight years of concealment, never be known.

http://fusion.net/story/297757/skeptics-craig-wright-bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto/

In the early 1990s, long before he was suspected of being the elusive creator of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Brisbane-raised Craig Steven Wright worked as a saute chef, having trained in French cuisine.

He specialised in game meats and spent three years working with a catering company according to his lengthy and remarkable LinkedIn profile.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/craig-steven-wright-career-2016-5

“Satoshi Nakamoto” has offered up his cryptographic key as proof.

The creator of the bitcoin virtual currency, who has long been known by the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto”, has come out of the shadows. His name is Craig Wright.

Wright, an Australian entrepreneur, had previously been identified by Wired and Gizmodo, but their stories were met with some skepticism, as previous attempts at unmasking Nakamoto had not gone so well.

Now Wright has gone to the BBC, the Economist and GQ with proof that he says ties him to the identity of Nakamoto: He signed an encrypted message with the cryptographic key that was associated with the first bitcoin transaction.

http://fortune.com/2016/05/02/bitcoin-satoshi-wright/

Given half a chance, he’ll talk unceasingly about the virtues of the virtual currency. He’s so into Bitcoin that he takes his paycheck entirely in the virtual currency and has a special debit card that allows him to pay with Bitcoin — indirectly at least — when he goes to the mall.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/technology/20160420/coinbase-founder-believes-in-virtual-currency

According to latest report from Coin ATM Radar, a bitcoin ATM machine has been installed in Dominican Republic in the city of Santo Domingo.

This machine, perhaps the first in dominion Republic, is a two-way Lamassu bitcoin ATM. However, it currently operates only for purchasing bitcoins. It accepts Dominican Peso (DOP) and sends bitcoins to a user’s wallet.

Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, Lamassu is one of the first companies to create Bitcoin ATMs. The company, cofounded by brothers Josh and Zach Harvey, aims to harness the technological supremacy of cryptocurrencies and provide this same experience to those who’ve never had access to basic financial services in the past.

http://www.econotimes.com/Dominican-Republic-Gets-Its-First-Bitcoin-ATM-198073

The dollar has weakened against its counterparts for yet another day, as traders reacted to downbeat US building permits and housing starts data. US reports have been mostly weaker than expected so investors might be pricing in a dovish rhetoric from the FOMC next week.

Meanwhile, the rally in commodities has supported bitcoin price, with market participants flocking to higher yields. US oil supply has increased by 3.1 million barrels according to the API while the end of the oil strike in Kuwait means a return to production. Even so, crude oil has managed to hold on to its current levels, keeping risk appetite in play in the financial markets.
http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/04/20/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-04202016-upside-breakout-next/

One of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges is reportedly close to announcing a new deal with the Luxembourg government that would enable it to launch regulated and licensed services across Europe.

According to sources, Bitstamp may have secured a payment institution (PI) or electronic money institution (EMI) license from Luxembourg regulators, a move that the company has reportedly said would allow it to become "the first regulated and licensed bitcoin exchange for all 28 countries in the EU".
http://www.coindesk.com/bitstamp-europe-license-luxembourg/

Not long ago, a Beijing-based mining giant known by the name of Bitmain has reportedly invested a total of $1.6 million in BitKan, a company known for their data and trading services that works via Bitcoin.

At this moment in time, Bitmain represents the sole investor present in the Series A funding round, following the angel round investment that the company had received last year, in November.

It is important to point out the fact that initially, BitKan served as a Bitcoin news provider that also allowed traders to either buy or sell bitcoin via its partner exchanges. Later on, the company took things to the next level and therefore started to offer OTC Bitcoin trading services.

http://themerkle.com/chinese-mining-giant-bitmain-invests-1-6-million-into-bitkan/

Technology is revolutionising our lives every day. Sometimes, we forget how far we’ve come. Not just in effectiveness, but also in efficiency. It’s been said before; we’re entering a new age, the digital revolution.

And, just like the industrial revolution, the digital revolution will make our lives simpler and safer.

One way we have done this is through robotics and automation. Instead of running a business, entrepreneurs now have the option to fully automate operations.



http://www.moneymorning.com.au/20160419/why-blockchain-could-make-banking-transactions-obsolete.html

Cryptocurrency exchange platform ShapeShift.io has announced the conclusion of its investigations relating to the data breach that took place recently.

The ShapeShift team has provided the key findings of the investigations in a report posted on Reddit. According to the report, an employee who allegedly stole bitcoin from ShapeShift’s hot wallet in March, gave away sensitive information to a hacker, who was then able to steal substantial amount of bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum in subsequent thefts.
http://www.econotimes.com/Cryptocurrency-Exchange-ShapeShift-Lost-$230k-In-Data-Breach-196982

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still above the longer-term 200 SMA so the path of least resistance is to the upside. In addition, the gap between the moving averages seems to be widening, indicating stronger bullish momentum.

Meanwhile, stochastic has turned higher even without reaching the oversold region. This could be indicative of a return in buying pressure, possibly allowing bitcoin price to make another attempt at breaking past the wedge resistance around $435.

Also, RSI appears to be moving back up but is currently on middle ground. This could be a sign that the consolidation might simply carry on, keeping bitcoin price safely inside the wedge formation.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/04/19/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-04192016-still-stuck-wedge/

Prominent Indian bitcoin trading platform Coinsecure has announced a total of $1.2 million raised as part of its ongoing ‘Series A’ investment round. The company opened the fund-raising round earlier in January this year and expects to close the round soon. Coinsecure joined the Bitcoin Foundation as an Industry Member and also became a Silver Founding Donor for the BitGive Foundation. Upon completion of the ‘Series A’ round, the company has plans to enter the blockchain based enterprise solutions domain.

http://allcoinsnews.com/2016/04/19/coinsecure-raises-over-1-2-million-in-funding/

[Supporters of 2 MB Bitcoin Blocks Unable to Convince Miners to Hard Fork in Beijing Meeting]

Supporters of 2 MB Bitcoin Blocks Unable to Convince Miners to Hard Fork in Beijing Meeting

Updated at 6:51pm EST: Bitcoin angel investor Roger Ver contacted Bitcoin Magazine about the Beijing meeting but declined to go into any detail about what took place. However, he told Bitcoin Magazine, "I think everyone who actually attended the meeting would disagree with what was stated in the article [posted below]."
Bitcoin Classic is the latest attempt to increase Bitcoin’s block size limit via a hard fork initiated by miners running an alternative to Bitcoin Core, but it appears that the relatively new software client may already be on its last legs. According to various sources familiar with a meeting in Beijing on March 30, supporters of an increase to the Bitcoin block size limit were unable to convince the Chinese mining community to implement BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) 109 without support from Bitcoin Core contributors.


https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/supporters-of-mb-bitcoin-blocks-unable-to-convince-miners-to-hard-fork-in-beijing-meeting-1461004264

San Francisco-based bitcoin payroll service company Bitwage announced today the launch of its Bitwage Payroll service for Individuals (BPI) in Europe. The service allows users to accept Euro wages through European bank accounts regardless of where in the world they live.

The service launch follows Bitwage’s success in the United States. BPI allows users to receive their wages in various digital currencies, fiat currencies and commodities including bitcoin, Euros, gold and silver. The system is compatible with existing payroll systems, including ADP and Intuit and delivers payments at same or next day payout speeds.

https://coinreport.net/bitwage-releases-bitwage-payroll-europe/

Bitcoin and other digital currencies promised to bring a new transparency to trading and do away with some of the risks which have plagued more traditional asset classes.

However, the Australian digital currency industry is now in the rather ‘old school’ position of having to rush through tougher guidelines as customers of the Australian bitcoin exchange Igot seek refunds for money they say they are owed.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday night that Igot appeared to be on the verge of collapse, with dozens of clients and customers claiming to be owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. The company buys and sells bitcoins for its customers and stands accused of being unable to completely deliver on trades or refund money received. Its owner Rick Day has reportedly admitted that he was struggling to pay customers,but denied that their money was lost.

https://news.markets/bitcoin/bitcoins-australian-exchanges-speed-new-guidleines-14937/

According to Brave, “The Brave Ledger makes a transfer of the user revenue share to your Brave wallet! You have two choices: you can “donate” the funds to your favorite sites (this is the automated default); or you can transfer the funds to another Bitcoin wallet and spend them yourself.”

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2016/04/brave-browser-pays-in-bitcoin/

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays has become the first big British bank to form a partnership with a digital currency firm, social payments app Circle, which runs partly on bitcoin's blockchain network and launched in the UK on Wednesday.

In what Britain's Treasury called a "major milestone" in its push to make the UK the world's capital for financial technology, or fintech, Circle was granted an e-money license by the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK watchdog - another first for a digital currency company.

http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2016/04/06/barclays-backs-social-payments-app-circle-as-it-launches-in-uk-n2144227

[$25k in Prize Money at Distributed: Trade Conference Blockchain Hackathon]

$25k in Prize Money at Distributed: Trade Conference Blockchain Hackathon


SixThirty and BTC Media have announced a 24-hour blockchain Hackathon to be held in St. Louis, Missouri on June 12-13, 2016, the day before the Distributed:Trade conference, a forum to address how blockchain technology will disrupt and optimize trade networks and financial services, which they have organized. A total of $25,000 in prize money will be awarded at the competition, which will focus on blockchain applications for financial services and supply chain operations.

http://allcoinsnews.com/2016/04/06/25k-in-prize-money-at-distributed-trade-conference-blockchain-hackathon/

You just need to have an account. New users can also participate by opening a new account.  To start, users need to place the first F4 competition trades logs into their account and select Competition from the ‘Account Type’ Dropdown menu.

Each competitor will get 100 ‘Competition’ Bitcoins to trade. All traders can use the same leverage and trading rules in effect on the live site, meaning that bitcoins can be split between stock and futures trading with the entire margin available to trade against fiat currency, Stocks, futures and FX trading, all at the same time. Participants will receive interest and be charged trading fees just as if this was a live account. The competition will go one until the 29th of April and everyday users will be able to see if they’ve made it to the Top 10 on the company’s Twitter feed.


http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/04/05/first-global-credit-opens-new-monthly-trading-competition/