Rutgers bitcoin study reveals false beliefs on ease of use and privacy

People who have used Bitcoin, and those who don't have any experience with it, have something in common: Both groups share misconceptions about how the controversial digital currency actually works.

People who have never used Bitcoin -- an internet-based form of money -- don't think they ever could. Even Bitcoin users are not well-versed in how it works and overestimate, for example, the privacy of transactions, according to a study by Janne Lindqvist, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and member of Rutgers' WINLAB (Wireless Information Network Laboratory), and two graduate students, Xianyi Gao and Gradeigh D. Clark. Still, study participants overall viewed Bitcoin as an ideal payment system.

The peer-reviewed study -- the first-of-its-kind - will be formally published in May at the annual Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, more commonly known as CHI 2016, in San Jose, California. CHI is the premier international conference on human-computer interaction.

Bitcoin is a new type of money that relies on a decentralized peer-to-peer network with a public ledger that tracks transactions. Two people can make transactions, with degrees of anonymity, across continents, at any denomination, and without any transaction fees going to a third party, according to the Rutgers study. The study's results illustrate Bitcoin's tradeoffs, uses and barriers to entry. According to coinmarketcap.com, the Bitcoin market totaled about $6 billion as of Jan. 22, 2016.

On Jan. 14, 2016 Mike Hearn, a high-profile Bitcoin developer who worked on it for more than five years, declared that Bitcoin had failed because it was controlled by a handful of people and was "on the brink of technical collapse." In an internet post headlined "The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment," Hearn wrote that he will no longer participate in its development and had sold all of his Bitcoin "coins."


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/ru-rbs012616.php

The dabbling about the Bitcoin block size debate has gone on for far too long, and the Chinese mining pool operators seem to agree with that sentiment.


As if the Bitcoin community was not sick and tired of the ongoing block size debate just yet, it looks like the Chinese miners have come to a consensus of their own. The plan is to reject any forking of Bitcoin that does not gain 90% consensus or more while still favoring a 2 MB block size increase. During a recent meeting between mining pool operators, various security concerns associated with Segregated Witness were raised. It looks like Bitcoin Classic is winning this “race”.


Chinese Mining Pool Operators Unite

The dabbling about the Bitcoin block size debate has gone on for far too long, and the Chinese mining pool operators seem to agree with that sentiment. As more time progresses without a clear decision and plan for the future of Bitcoin, the popular digital currency is looking some of its legitimacy that took years to build up.

January 23rd was the date on which representations from nearly all Chinese Bitcoin mining pools came together and exchanged their thoughts. In the end, it comes down to two simple requirements: the block size must be increased to 2 MB, and the solution – or fork – needs to gain support equal to at least 90% of Bitcoin’s mining capacity.

Both Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Classic have different proposals on the table to achieve the 2MB block size increase, and both options have their own merits. Getting to a consensus of 90% or more could be a struggle for either solution, though, as the mining camp seems to be divided on that front. However, it seems like the decision has already been made – albeit not officially – but more on that in a bit.

Regardless of how people want to look at the current Bitcoin block size debate, it has become clear this is more of a political issue, rather than a technical concern. The community cannot come to a consensus, as the camps are quite divided around the world. By enforcing a 90% of mining capacity consensus – or better – the Chinese mining pool operators have taken a step that will prevent the creation of a fractured Bitcoin ecosystem in the future.


More http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/01/26/chinese-mining-pools-worried-about-immature-bitcoin-core-block-size-proposal/

Are virtual currencies an opportunity to transfer money more cheaply or just a way for criminals to trade in illegal goods? The Parliament's economic committee held a hearing on Monday to discuss the issues involved with experts, who told them EU regulation should not go beyond preventing and fighting crime. Parliament is currently working on a report on virtual currencies, which the economic committee is expected to vote on in April.

What are virtual currencies?

A virtual currency, such as for example bitcoin, allows you to transfer money without having to use banks. It uses a cryptographic technology called blockchain that builds a shared and publicly verifiable database of transactions  to prevent fraud. This creates trust between sellers and buyers, thus eliminating the need for banks to get involved to verify the process.

Benefits and risks

Virtual currencies offer both advantages and drawbacks. Transactions in virtual currencies can be cheaper, faster, more secure and more transparent. During the hearing organised by the economic committee,  Primavera De Filippi, a permanent researcher at the National Centre of Scientific Research in Paris, said that the blockchain technology can also be regarded as "some kind of regulatory technology, enabling laws to be enforced more transparently and more efficiently". She added: "It solves the problem of who watches the watcher."

However, there are also risks attached to the use of virtual currencies. Olivier Salles, from the European Commission, said: "They don't really protect the consumer and there are also some risks in terms of stability of the platforms, volatility of the price and also classic cyber-threats like theft, hacking and loss."

Bitcoin has often been associated with illegal activities such as money laundering and the trade in illegal goods, mainly because its transactions can be carried out anonymously. However, experts warned MEPs not to overestimate these risks.

"In fact cash is likely to be a much more anonymous means of transferring value," said Sean Ennis, a senior economist from the OECD. "The ownership string for virtual currency is public and that allows a tremendous amount of analysis of transactions."

This was echoed by Jeremy Millar, a partner with Magister Advisors, who said: "It's easier to detect crime on bitcoin than it is in cash." He added: "Bitcoin is no longer a hacker community. It's run by big companies which try to comply with existing regulation."

Is there a need for EU regulation?

Most of the experts were cautious about expanding EU legislation on virtual currencies. Commission representative Salles said: "One of the big challenges is not how fast and how far to regulate, but how to correctly monitor this fast evolving technology." He told MEPs that the Commission was now considering whether there was a need to regulate virtual currencies as part of the response to last November's terrorist attacks in Paris.

Millar, from Magister Advisors, said: "In my view there is no basis for a generic regulation of Bitcoin." However, he added that as a global network Bitcoin would benefit from some harmonisation of European policy by increasing its reach.

Dr Thaer Sabri, from the Electronic Money Association, said proportional regulation would be highly desirable: "I think industry is supportive of financial crime regulation."

Siân Jones, co-founder of the European Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology forum, told MEPs: "If you're minded to propose legislative action, [I recommend] to limit such action to anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing."

Parliament report
As virtual currencies are rapidly gaining in importance, the Parliament is keen to investigate if there are any issues attached to their use. This is why it is currently working on an own-initiative report. German S&D member Jakob von Weizsäcker, who will be writing the report,  said: "There are many investors out there who have very high hopes that a particular application of this technology will be what they call a killer application. The real question is if and when one of these breakthroughs comes, how well are we prepared as governments, as legislators for that kind of revolution."

The economic committee is expected to vote on his report in April. After this all MEPs will be asked to vote on the report during a plenary session, probably in May. The adopted report will then be sent to the European Commission for consideration.



http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20160126STO11514/Virtual-currencies-what-are-the-risks-and-benefits

Some time ago, eGenesis launched public beta with mixture of skill and luck-based mini-games for players to bet their Bitcoins. Interestingly enough, the game is a free download, and gives small amounts of free Bitcoins to get started for gamblers. Thus, there are plenty of opportunities for those who think they can make maximum from the offer by betting their Bitcoin.

Though there are various other players who offer similar services, some features make it exclusive Bitcoin casino. Reading several reviews of Dragon’s Tale, you come to know that the skill based games in offer typically pay out 95%+Dragon’s Treasures overall.

Not just that the offers but server periodically adjusts either the cost to pay, or the payout structure to maintain this. This feature has been receiving appreciation from the players well as they receive attractive returns on their bets.

Various Types of Games in Offer

Visiting the official website of Dragon’s Tale, you come across with various games that it brings along for players. For example the rack-based fishing games such as Rice Pond, Millet pond, Barley Pond, Popcorn Pond are extremely popular. Then there are games like the Berry farming games, the Jade/Emerald mining, the Duck Pond, etc.

Players also go for games like Tower of Lights, Scales of the Dragon, and others when they open an account with this brokerage firm. Several reviews from the players claim that PvP Games which are a special kind of skill-based game, usually with 100% payout but no Dragon’s Treasures are popular as well among the players.

Players also have choices like Tug, Reflection, Eight Treasures of Chinese Cuisine, and Feather Balance which is unique in that they can practice against “house bots” Least but not the last, parimutuel wagering games, currently consisting of just Beetle Derby, are another class of skill-based game, also with 100% payout.

Pay with Bitcoin and Other Methods

The people behind the online casino claim that though Bitcoin is a major method for payment for players, it also accepts credit cards. Thus, Bitcoins are not the only currency used for gambling in Dragon’s Tale. Though a major question is whether players are happy to stake their hard-earned Bitcoins on game, the experience shows that they are opening accounts in the large numbers.

For instance, the success of Bitcoin gambling services such as Bit777, Bitino, SatoshiDice and BitZino show that there is great prospect for Bitcoin casinos.


http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/01/26/dragons-tale-a-mmo-casino-brings-attractive-offers/

What To Expect From Cybersecurity In 2016, According To The Hacktivists Fighting ISIS

According to Ghost Security Group, 2016 will be an eventful year in cybersecurity. Ransomware, ISIS, Bitcoin, hacks and breaches will likely paint the headlines as they did in 2015.

As was seen recently with the Ransom32 software earlier this year, ransomware is only getting better,” Ghost Security Group activist Akenalus told Hacked. “At some point it may even begin scanning our computers, extracting credit card information and automatically paying its own ransom.” This isn’t likely to happen any time soon, but it will be coming in the next few years.

We can most definitely expect ransomware to be more commonly used, maybe even being used to take over things like the Playstation network and hold either Sony or individual users hostage, extracting ransom that way,” the hacktivist said.  No matter how it is used, ransomware won’t disappear in the upcoming year. That’s clear by recent innovations in ransomware.

And if Ransom32 was any kind of an example, we can expect it to get worse.” As has already been shown in the last year, cyber warfare plays a huge role in modern war. Ghost Security Group has gained a name for itself in the online battle against ISIS. They feel this is the most effective way to undermine ISIS influence.

Ghost Security Group, a team specializing in tracking ISIS members online and preventing their attacks, has already shown that cyber warfare is probably the best way to work against powers like ISIS,” he told me. They also claim there has been an increase in hacktivists battling ISIS.


https://hacked.com/expect-cybersecurity-2016-according-hacktivists-fighting-isis/

Bitcoin price is failing to make new highs, and the price slam-downs are similarly failing to generate sellers’ participation to new lows. Much like every day during the past week.

Bitcoin Price Analysis



Time of analysis: 15h00 UTC

BTCC 1-Hour Chart

From the analysis pages of xbt.social, earlier today:

Yesterday’s wave down was strongly supported by buyers at 2580 CNY (BTCC) and $388 (Bitstamp) – and this is exactly where price has returned to around 15h00 UTC today. The succession of lower highs and persistent return to an up-sloping supporting Fib line has created a contracting triangle price pattern in the chart (blue annotations).

The CNY exchanges – particularly BTCC – seem to be regularly reverting to selling behavior, even while the USD exchanges attempt to push higher.

Earlier in the day, the 1-hour 20MA crossed below the 200MA – ordinarily a bearish signal. This cross-over happened in many charts but each failed to decline on the signal. Ignoring this signal signifies consolidation, as confirmed by the corrective triangle price pattern, but unfortunately it does not give us a clue about which direction price will break to at the triangle’s conclusion. Although this analyst favors advance, such speculation is worthless without confirmation in the chart.

Prior to today’s small wave higher, the 1-hour MACD indicator had settled on its lower Bollinger Band while the stochastics were grouped flat at their lower extreme. RSI had reverse diverged on the day’s candle low. This combination of momentum indications heralded a move higher but the puny result – and a return to the Fib line where we started from – is disappointing.

Summary

Price is clearly in a transitional phase – and first needs to show us the larger picture before we can commit to a confident trade. We want to see the outcome of the contracting triangle. If the triangle breaks to the downside, we could be in for a long decline. Hopefully, this consolidative price pattern ends up being a transformation into advance – either because sellers grow tired of hitting the support floor, or because the uncertainties associated with tomorrow’s Fed rate hike and month-end Classic(TM)/Unlimited failure pass as expected.


Read https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-analysis-groundhog-day/

Bitmari, a bitcoin-based money remittance service for the African market based in Zimbabwe, has entered its beta phase, according to techzim.co.zw, a Zimbabwe technology news site. A meeting is planned for Thursday in Harare to answer questions.

The service has been signing up users for the past few months and is working to meet Zimbabwe regulatory requirements for financial services. The company’s name, according to its website, is a combination of the words “bitcoin” and “mari,” meaning money or currency.

Thursday’s meeting at the Rainbow Towers in Harare is open to the public and begins at 5:30 p.m. Company co-founder Sinclair Skinner will explain how Bitmari will complement local financial services.

Remittance Service Progresses



Skinner noted in a September interview that the remittance service will have a 5% fee. He said negotiations were under way for a wallet provider.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has welcomed Bitmari, he said:

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/zimbabwe-remittance-service-bitmari-enters-beta-phase/

Since its inception, Bitcoin’s main selling point has been its decentralization. Bitcoin claims to solve an age-old problem: how do you transfer value between strangers without a trusted, centralized, third-party? Early adopters have embraced Bitcoin as a superior alternative to centralized systems, which have shown themselves often to be unworthy of the trust given to them. However, Bitcoin is now facing an existential crisis that tests its decentralized nature.

The ongoing blocksize debate – which is about so much more than the block size – reveals fundamental rifts between major players in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Who decides Bitcoin’s future? Core developers, miners, merchants, node owners, and regular users all have a legitimate stake in Bitcoin, and all in some way are involved in charting the future of the cryptocurrency. That is the essence of decentralization – no one person or entity decides Bitcoin’s direction. But what happens when these parties fall into opposing factions? The temptation arises to create a central authority who can make a final decision.


This temptation can be very strong for those who only give lip service to decentralization without truly understanding it. One thing that needs to be remembered when it comes to decentralization: Decentralizationit can be very messy. One of the great appeals of dictators – the ultimate central authorities – is that they bring order. With one person in charge, so the argument goes, there is no need for ugly debates and fights over policy. Just let the dictator decide. A decentralized process has no such “luxury” (thankfully). But this means that disagreements that touch fundamental issues – like whether Bitcoin is primarily for settlement or payment – can cause the fight to get downright nasty. At this point, the opponents of decentralization become emboldened and argue that decentralized systems are inherently doomed for failure.


But what people often forget in these messy debates is that this is when decentralization is most important. If everyone is in agreement, there is no desire or need for a centralized authority. It is only when there are fundamental disagreements that a decentralized system is put to the test.


https://news.bitcoin.com/decentralization-death-salvation-bitcoin/

One might be a sore point with the Asian mentality: the willingness to embrace failure



Silicon Valley’s enormous impact on global tech trends has long served as a model of aspiring startups worldwide. Many eager to replicate such success stories back at home.

In a panel discussion at the Kauffman Fellows’s Southeast Asia Venture Capital Summit in Singapore on Monday, five venture capitalists — drawing from their own experiences — candidly talked about how startup founders and investors in Asia can contribute to the growth of the tech ecosystem.

The panel, moderated by IDA Executive Deputy Chairman Steve Leonard, consisted of five VCs:

1. Jason Green, Founding Partner, Emergence Capital
2. Justin Kan, Partner, Y Combinator
3. Jeff Clavier, Founding Partner, SoftTech VC
4. Rob Coneybeer, Founding Partner, Shasta Ventures
5. Alexander Lloyd, Managing Director, Accelerator Ventures

Here are seven bite-sized takeaways from the discussion:

1. Passion and experience matter more than qualifications

Attaining degrees and PhDs are important and useful, but paper qualifications do not produce tangible results, experience does.

Clavier said that expertise is gained through the result of experiencing both successes and failures. For him, when determining whether a founder is a good founder/market fit, he sees whether the Founder is passionate and understands the workflow of the startup culture.

2. Don’t be afraid to pivot

Your original idea may not be the best idea; iteration may be necessary.

Kan said that all founders must work on the product themselves first. Many big companies started off with crazy ideas, but succeeded because they eventually narrowed their ideas and pivoted, he said. He cited Airbnb, which started out as a service renting out air mattresses in houses, before pivoting to listing whole homes for rent.

More http://e27.co/7-key-tips-asia-based-startups-silicon-valleys-vcs-20160126/

Shanghai-based bitcoin exchange LakeBTC announced last week it has launched an over-the-counter (OTC) trading feature. The exchange created multiple accounts on its test server for CoinReport and invited us to experience the new feature.

In its email, LakeBTC said that the OTC feature, unlike the exchange trading they have been running for the past three years, allows users to trade with each other directly using any currency and payment method convenient to both the buyer and the seller.

“It is especially appealing to users who trade in large volumes and/or use less popular currencies,” said LakeBTC’s email. “Our goal is to make bitcoins more accessible to all users around the globe, regardless of where they live, what currencies they use, and how much money they have.”

The exchange said its product and development teams spend an enormous amount of time to streamline the OTC trading processes. Users, therefore, are able to save time on negotiating the deal details such as payment methods and payment instructions. All they have to do is just register all available External Accounts once and begin OTC buy and OTC sell trades, said LakeBTC, adding that both average users and professional coin dealers are going to find it a lot easier to conduct OTC trade at the exchange.

Using the accounts the exchange created for us to experience the OTC feature, we found that the OTC trading is indeed pretty neat and effortless.

First, we logged in on LakeBTC’s homepage using the CoinReport account the exchange created for us. The first screen that we saw after logging in was of our Wallet with LakeBTC (all screenshots in the following can be further enlarged by clicking on them)

Read https://coinreport.net/lakebtc-launches-otc-feature-coinreport-tests-it/

San Diego based Airbitz Bitcoin mobile and security edge platform inspired by blockchain has begun 2016 with more expansion announcements today from its home office. The integration of Airbitz into Europe comes with a presence in Zug, Switzerland, dubbed the Silicon Valley of Finance in Europe.

Airbitz services expanded in 2015 with the wallet provider raising $450,000 from blockchain venture firm, Block26 and partnering with companies to add a buy/sell option within the USA, Canada and Fold integration, allowing Airbitz mobile app users to easily buy discounted gift cards from within their wallet. Expansion into the UK has recently been achieved.

The New Year has quickly brought announcement of a European based core developer, Lucas Betschart. The Airbitz office will find Betschart in Zug where he will work as Meetup group coordinator in Switzerland. It has been AirBitz's goal to have a global presence, and the addition of Betschart is the start for Airbitz into assisting more people with features that serve them best depending on location.

Betschart has worked for Monetas and is an experienced Meetup group coordinator in Switzerland. He brings his well-versed expertise of C++, Build/CI Systems, and blockchain technology to the Airbitz team.

“Lucas is an excellent addition to the Airbitz family and has already been instrumental in suggesting improvements to our app that enhance user experience and privacy. I have no doubt with his assistance we can take Airbitz to the next level.” stated Airbitz’s community manager M.K. Lords.


Read more : http://www.examiner.com/article/airbitz-bitcoin-wallet-provider-expands-to-europe

There is a thread on the top of the subreddit /r/btc that is asking the Bitcoin-core group to denounce the censorship that the moderator Theymos has been accused of. In fact, a pull request on Github is also asking for these same measures. The discussion about the moderator has continuously heated up this year because it seems — Theymos still removes conversation he doesn’t like and bans people who disagree with his point of view.


Theymos has been the moderator of /r/bitcoin for quite some time and also helps maintain  Bitcoin Wiki, Bitcointalk.org, Bitcoin.org, and Bitcoin.it. People have felt for a long time that the moderator has become somewhat of a dictator and has tried to control certain topics taking place on these forums. For instance, if a discussion about BitcoinXT took place on /r/bitcoin it would then be censored or removed entirely nearly every time.   

Just recently a person named Cobra another leader of Bitcoin.org had removed Coinbase from the organizations wallet recommendation list because the company chose to test BitcoinXT. Theymos had backed Cobras decision on this maneuver but changed his mind after some time. Users everywhere are sore at the fact this person has so much control over the conversation. Threads can be found dating back to the early days of Bitcoin of the significant power wielded by one individual moderator. With the latest attempt by community members to have core address the Theymos matter and attacks, a person on Github writes:


https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-core-team-asked-to-denounce-censorship/

The long-lasting block-size dispute has catapulted into the center of attention again. One of the most talked about developments right now is Segregated Witness, of which a public testnet iteration waslaunched last week. The innovation as recently proposed by Blockstream co-founder and Bitcoin Core developer Dr. Pieter Wuille is a centerpiece of a scalability “roadmap” set out by Bitcoin Core.

But relying on Segregated Witness as the next step of Bitcoin’s scalability process is contended by recently launched Bitcoin Core fork Bitcoin Classic. Rather than a Segregated Witness soft fork, Bitcoin Classic prefers to deploy a “cleaner” hard fork in order to increase the block-size limit to 2 megabytes.
To find out where the development community stands on this issue, Bitcoin Magazine reached out to library and wallet developers, those who will need to do the heavy lifting needed to utilize Segregated Witness once rolled out.

In part 1: Blocktrail CTO and BitcoinJS co-maintainer Ruben de Vries.

Segregated Witness

Wuille’s Segregated Witness proposal offers several improvements to the Bitcoin network. The benefit that probably received most attention is its potential to effectively increase the block size to some 1.75 megabytes to 2 megabytes. Interestingly, however, many developers are more excited about the other improvements Segregated Witness has to offer, which they believe makes it well worth the effort.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/blocktrail-cto-and-bitcoinjs-co-maintainer-ruben-de-vries-segregated-witness-not-very-complicated-1453757293

An unknown hacker has breached the computer systems of three banks and a pharmaceutical company and infected most of their computers with crypto-ransomware.

The incident took place at the start of January, all companies were located in India, and the hacker(s) used the LeChiffre ransomware family to encrypt files on the infected computers.

LeChiffre is a hand-cranked ransomware

LeChiffre is not your typical ransomware and works only if launched into execution manually. The hacker managed to infiltrate the networks of all companies, and then escalated his access to other computers via unprotected Remote Desktop ports.

Once he gained access to a computer, the hacker would download the ransomware from his server and then double-click it to start the encryption process.

According to Malwarebytes, a cyber-security vendor who took a closer look at how the ransomware works, LeChiffre's encryption operates by encrypting the first and last 8192 bytes of each file and then appending the encryption key to the file as a 32-byte blob. The encryption is AES.

Malwarebytes also says the ransomware is written in Delphi, and that its interface is in Russian.

"LeChiffre looks very unprofessional [...] practically, no countermeasures against analysis has been taken," says Hasherezade, security analyst for Malwarebytes.

"It can be justified by the fact, that this ransomware was not intended to be distributed in [a] campaign, only used by attackers after they entered the system," the analyst also added. "However, poorly implemented encryption and model of communication with victims (via e-mail), shows that this malware has been prepared lazily, probably by beginners."

http://news.softpedia.com/news/lechiffre-ransomware-hits-three-indian-banks-causes-millions-in-damages-499350.shtml

Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., the organization that processes all trades in the $22 trillion U.S. stock market, said the financial industry should collaborate to modernize its systems with the blockchain software that powers bitcoin.

It’s another significant endorsement for the technology, which promises to radically speed up and simplify trade clearing and settlement -- the process of swapping assets between buyers and sellers. Last week, DTCC was among a group of investors that bought stakes in Digital Asset Holdings, which is developing financial applications for blockchain, at the same time the startup won a contract to handle stock settlement in the Australian stock market.

Blockchain could help DTCC leapfrog the industry’s current best-case scenario for speeding up U.S. stock and bond trades. The present target is shifting to two days from three. Reducing settlement times frees up capital at brokerages and ensures investors get their money faster after a sale. DTCC said Monday that while the technology has its limitations, Wall Street should its explore its application to markets



More http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-25/wall-street-urged-by-key-utility-to-mull-upgrade-to-blockchain

The people of Chelan County are asked to accept the risk. Their power rates may rise, perhaps substantially. The electricity their dams generate will not be sold to provide rate-reducing revenue or visible economic growth, but to power unseen ephemeral businesses with banks of computers, producing wealth for someone they do not know, in forms they do not understand. The financial plans and projections of their public utility will be shredded. The future will be clouded, uncertain, filled with unknown consequences.

The commissioners of the Chelan County PUD have done the right thing — step back, call a pause, and consider policies in the best interest of their ratepayers and the county economy. The businesses in focus are so-called Bitcoin miners, who set up power-hungry data centers in leased space and set their servers to work automatically digging for cyber wealth. Bitcoin is an arbitrary, unbacked, independent, and questionable digital currency, and the miners somehow compete with other miners around the world for Bitcoin transactions. We do not understand how this works, or how long it will work. We need not make a value judgment on these new businesses. The point is that the sudden arrival of Bitcoin miners, lured by our cheap and plentiful electricity, could consume a very large share of the surplus power now sold to keep Chelan County’s rates low. In a matter of months the PUD had inquiries for 220 megawatts of power, when the entire county now uses only 180 megawatts. A Bitcoin miner can use as much power as 1,500 homes.

More http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2016/jan/25/pud-rates-and-the-bitcoin-effect/

The European Union will monitor rather than regulate "hyped" virtual currencies for now, because too little is known to justify new rules beyond reining in specific risks like money-laundering, the body's executive said on Monday.

The world's 600 virtual currencies are tiny, with bitcoin alone accounting for 90 percent of the $7 billion sector, compared with daily turnover of about $5 trillion on global foreign exchange markets.

Virtual currencies are traded online and not backed by a central bank. The collapse of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox two years ago raised concerns about consumer protection in a largely self-regulated, experimental sector.

After the attacks in Paris last November, policymakers also want to ensure that virtual currencies are not used to finance terrorism.

The EU's European Commission has powers to propose bloc-wide rules, but one of its senior financial services officials, Olivier Salles, said his focus was on monitoring rather than proposing new rules.

"It's easy to fail when you regulate, you can be too early and too late. From the European Commission's perspective, we are more on the monitoring side," Salles told a hearing on virtual currencies in the European Parliament.

"We want to understand better what is happening," Salles said.

The EU executive is examining options to prevent activities like money laundering, but "we are not in a hurry" to regulate financial products linked to virtual currencies, he added.

Sean Ennis, an economist at the OECD club of rich nations, said the EU could learn lessons from how Britain has maintained lower regulatory requirements for peer-to-peer lending, enabling the fledgling sector to innovate and grow much faster than in the rest of Europe.


More http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-bitcoin-regulations-idUSKCN0V32A3?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

ow much do you reckon a Simpsons-themed bowling ball (with no finger holes) is worth?

What about a doll of 1990s cult sit-com character Steve Urkel, or a 1987 Toyota 4 Runner (that doesn’t start)? Well, depending on your tipple, respectively it’s a carton of apple cider, a six-pack of cider and about 12 cartons of Heineken.

It has long been the unofficial economy of “the favour”. Help a mate move house? Just buy us a carton. Do some pruning for your next door neighbour? Just buy us a carton. But now, thanks to the internet — and largely Facebook — it has become a genuine economy.

The Perth Beer Economy is no joke. It has 55,000 members who offer up all sorts of goods and services in exchange for alcohol.

As the administrator of the site points out: “This group is intended to reflect Australian values of mateship, respect, equality and helping each other out.” And, generally, its members abide by that ethos.

Though it is in a legal “grey area”, the concept is about as Australian as John Williamson singing Waltzing Matilda while manning a barbecue, sipping a VB and watching the cricket. And it seems kind of apt to write about a beer economy on a day Australians are generally known to indulge in the amber liquid.

But besides being hilarious and slightly worrying at the same time — no doubt members of the anti-drinking public health school find this whole economy abhorrent — the Perth Beer Economy is actually part of a wider trend — the online economy.

One example is crowd funding. This is where, through sites such as Kickstarter, everyday punters can become “shareholders” in a company by pledging money to a fledgling business or idea in exchange for an equity stake. That stake is generally in the form of the product itself or some sort of specialised service, as crowd-funded products don’t generally exist until they are actually funded.

Another is the sharing economy, which corporations such as Uber and Air BnB claim to be a part of. This is where users effectively bypass the “middle man” and negotiate the use of a service directly with the owner.

And then there’s cryptocurrency, more commonly known as Bitcoin. For those unaware, Bitcoin is the world’s biggest decentralised online peer-to-peer payment system.

No single governing body oversees its transactions, and though its intentions were admirable, it has become the currency of choice for the black market. For example, Federal authorities say cryptocurrency is used by Perth recreational drug users to buy their product over the dark web (websites that hide their IP addresses to escape the authorities).

But ignoring its darker elements for the moment, Bitcoin itself pretty much embodies the whole online or digital currency movement.

For those who use it, it is great. For those who don’t, it is weird, scary and unnecessary. And last week Mike Hearn, one of the original members of the Bitcoin movement, declared the end of the “Bitcoin experiment” — a prediction later brushed aside by its avid users.

“Bitcoin has failed because the community has failed,” he said. “What was meant to be a new, decentralised form of money that lacked ‘systemically important institutions’ and was ‘too big to fail’ has become something even worse: a system completely controlled by just a handful of people.”

So what does it all mean? Well, as more and more of the world comes online, there are bound to be more online currencies, in all sorts of formats. And if you have a spare bowling ball lying about the house (with no holes), you might be able to supply drinks for your next barbecue.


https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/30656360/how-beer-is-buying-entry-to-a-new-online-economy/

I wouldn't say it changed my life but certainly gave me allot to think about. One is "What The Bleep Do We Know" and another is "Waking LIfe"... I recommend both if you have not seen them

As the Bitcoin community struggles to reach an agreement on the block size, the shortfalls in the current consensus mechanism are becoming apparent with politics, community infighting and “whiny rage-quitting.” So how can the Bitcoin community know that the information available in the wild is accurate? Could prediction markets, i.e. Bitcoin futures, aid the decision-making process for the world’s first decentralized currency and help fix its “troll problem”?



Online forums, social media, the press currently all serve as loudspeakers for the most opinionated and outspoken Bitcoiners. But this hardly paints the entire picture and results in some information being relegated if not censored, while other viewpoints get pushed to the forefront.

“All the controversy does is generate a huge amount of uncertainty, scaring away new entrants, as well as causing existing investors to reconsider the wisdom of their investment,” opines BitGo CTO Ben Davenport.

This, of course, is a valid point as the biggest aversions for any investor – or holder in Bitcoin’s case – is uncertainty and doubt. Users are understandably fearful of the risk that their coins will depreciate as holders sell in panic following a loss of confidence in their perceived value.

“[Miners] want to mine the coin which will provide them with the greatest return on their investment,” he writes. “The problem is, miners don’t have a price with which to make a decision.”


Davenport argues that a possible solution to the block size issue could be the introduction of a price discovery mechanism for miners so that they could choose to secure or “vote” for the most lucrative chain. This method would involve two different versions of a coin that will exist following a fork, where the holders can decide which to buy and sell. It would also grant voting abilities to the holders of bitcoin, albeit indirectly. However, the problem is that this could only work if the miners get a price signal before a fork actually occurs and these “futures” do not yet exist in the Bitcoin space.

Davenport writes:


Read more :

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-futures-better-solution-block-size-troll-problem/