http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-box-can-process-payments-web-connection/A prototype cryptocurrency point-of-sales (POS) terminal called Bitcoin Box can process transactions without the need for an Internet connection. Instead it relies on Near Field Communications (NFC) and Bluetooth to enable payments. The device has been developed by Hive developer Jan Vornberger, who said the customer simply needs to touch their smartphone on the device and it completes the transaction via Bluetooth.
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http://www.coindesk.com/changetip-now-allows-facebook-friends-tip-bitcoin/Bitcoin microtransactions startup ChangeTip, which allows people to send bitcoin tips over social media, has now added Facebook to its list of supported platforms. With the move, ChangeTip adds to its existing list of popular social media services, which include Twitter and Reddit. However, the team framed the integration of Facebook as a notable step forward. By leveraging the world’s largest social network, the San Francisco-based company hopes to encourage more consumers to use bitcoin.
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http://www.technologyreview.com/news/534301/price-slump-tests-bitcoins-self-correcting-economics/Several Bitcoin companies ceased operations last week, saying that they couldn’t operate profitably. Small-time miners talked in online forums about having to shut off their equipment. It is hard to know how many miners experienced similar problems, given the variations in electricity prices and the cost structures of different companies. Mining companies contacted by MIT Technology Review on Friday did not respond. However, data from the Bitcoin network indicates that the revenue generated by all miners each day has roughly halved since the start of the year.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/valleyvoices/2015/01/15/how-prosecutors-might-nail-ross-ulbricht-using-the-supposedly-anonymous-bitcoin/When the FBI seized the Silk Road server and the associated bitcoin wallets, they didn’t just gain the ability to move the bitcoins, they also gained an index into history. The private keys contained in this file can generate a near infinite universe of distinct public addresses, but capturing the private key enables computing all these addresses. This acts as an index into the blockchain, the public ledger which records every bitcoin transaction. By seizing the wallet, the FBI now knows every bitcoin transaction involving the Silk Road wallets: payments sent, payments received, and even internal transactions designed to confuse outside analysis.
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http://time.com/3666651/bitcoins-prices-plummet-to-2013-levels/The price of Bitcoin dropped again this week, sliding to its lowest level since early 2013, suggesting that confidence in the contentious cryptocurrency may be shrinking. On Tuesday, the price of Bitcoin dropped from $267 to about $224, sinking below its April 2013 value, which was before its popularity skyrocketed, according to the New York Times.
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http://www.coindesk.com/cex-io-halts-cloud-mining-service-due-low-bitcoin-price/Bitcoin mining service CEX.io has announced it will suspend its cloud mining activities. The company stated in a 12th January blog post that it is no longer profitable, blaming declining revenues amid a dropping bitcoin price. CEX chief information officer Jeffrey Smith told CoinDesk that operations would resume if the price of bitcoin climbs above $320, calling the move “temporary”. The suspension comes after CEX customers experienced disruptions to their cloud mining service, which the company at the time attributed to third-party complications. Smith said that the two issues are unrelated; that the economic impact of a drop in bitcoin prices cut into its ability to offer its clients profitable mining services.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2015/01/11/dont-forget-bitcoin-at-tax-time/For taxpayers, this means that Bitcoin and other similar virtual currency will be subject to capital gains rules for any applicable gains or losses. That treatment does have an upside for taxpayers since capital gains rates are generally pretty favorable to taxpayers. For 2014, capital gains rates for long term gains (those held more than a year) is no higher than 15% for most taxpayers (20% for those with taxable income at or above $406,750 for individual taxpayers; $457,600 for married taxpayers filing jointly or qualifying widow(er); $432,200 for head of household, and $228,800 for married taxpayers filing separately). And losses are really losses: capital losses can be netted against capital gains and excess losses can be deducted from ordinary income (up to $3,000 each year).
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http://time.com/money/3658361/dell-microsoft-expedia-bitcoin/Bitcoin had a rough 2014, but there was one silver lining: Over the past year, a steady trickle of large companies have begun taking bitcoin as payment. Ever since Overstock.com announced it would start accepting bitcoin roughly one year ago, a number of major brands, including Microsoft, Dell, and MONEY’s own publisher, Time Inc., have done the same. More Hackers Steal $5 Million From Bitcoin ExchangeBitcoin Trader Sentenced for Silk Road Money Laundering SchemeWatch Final Moments of Raid on Paris Terror Suspect NBC NewsParis Terror Toll: 17 Killed in Three-Day Spree NBC NewsU.S. Issues Travel Warning After Paris Terror Attacks NBC News This has been a ray of light in an otherwise dismal period for bitcoin supporters, and few have missed the chance to trumpet such adoption as an indicator of bitcoin’s success. One WIRED article even used the currency’s recent adoption by a section of the Fortune 500 as the core piece of evidence for bitcoin’s importance.
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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/08/5434179/bitcoins-development-plagued-by.html#.VK90gcmqCi8The Marshals Service received $18 million in its bitcoin auction from the Silk Road bust. For unknown reasons, the government kept 144,342 bitcoins, then worth $87 million but now down to $43 million. Ulbricht’s trial starts Jan. 13. In another spectacular case, Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based exchange that was handling 70 percent of all bitcoin transactions worldwide by 2013, abruptly suspended trading, shut down its website and filed for bankruptcy last February. About 850,000 bitcoins, worth $450 million at the time, went missing and were feared stolen.
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http://www.coindesk.com/apple-approves-ios-game-tips-players-bitcoin/After the user has played the game for a certain amount of time, the game will reward the user by sending them a bitcoin tip. Players can view how much bitcoin is currently in the pot and also donate to keep it topped up. The more bitcoin there is, the more players will be tipped.
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http://www.coindesk.com/gold-dealer-amagi-metals-now-pays-staff-bitcoin/Precious metals dealer Amagi Metals announced it is now paying its entire staff in bitcoin via payroll service provider Bitwage. The move forms part of the company's plan to 'divorce' the US dollar by 2017, where it will stop accepting the fiat currency as payment method. Amagi Metals has worked with bitcoin for two years and, according to company data, 30-40% of its costumers currently pay with the digital currency.
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http://www.coindesk.com/roger-ver-denied-us-visa-attend-miami-bitcoin-conference/Famous for his libertarian/anarchist political views, Ver became a citizen of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small Caribbean nation, in February 2014 and handed in his US passport a month later. A frequent attendee and guest speaker at bitcoin conferences worldwide, he makes a point of wearing a 'borders are imaginary lines' T-shirt when going through immigration at airports.
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http://www.coindesk.com/us-treasury-consider-bitcoin-industry-concerns-banking-access/The CDC aims to bring digital currency companies up to speed regarding their obligations for compliance, federal money laundering and criminal statutes, and teach them what anti-money laundering (AML) compliance is and how to manage it correctly. The initiative, Van Cleef said, is underscored by the recent sentencing of Charlie Shrem for aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.
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http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-payments-prove-success-green-man-gaming/Green Man Gaming currently sells games in 186 territories around the world, offering over 5,000 titles from 350 publishers. The company also operates Playfire, a global social gaming network that it acquired in 2012. The Playfire platform is also used to reward gamers through a number of loyalty programmes.When asked whether Green Man Gaming could start using bitcoin or blockchain technology as part of its Playfire loyalty schemes, he said: “It’s certainly something we might consider in the future. Playfire already offers a range of ways to earn special rewards and credit that reduces the cost of gaming.
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/668a1b0a-957d-11e4-b3a6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3O6wEKpZnHigh quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/668a1b0a-957d-11e4-b3a6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3O6wJXHUyurope’s leading bitcoin exchange has been forced to suspend operations after losing millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency due to a breach of its systems. Bitstamp, which moved its headquarters from Slovenia to the UK in 2013, has halted withdrawals and advised customers not to make deposits following the apparent hack. The latest development will fuel concerns about security issues surrounding the nascent bitcoin industry, coming almost a year after problems at the leading Mt Gox exchange led to its bankruptcy and a crisis in confidence in the cryptocurrency.
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http://www.coindesk.com/crypto-2-0-2015-turning-bitcoin-theory-big-business/All eyes on Ethereum Perhaps the most ambitious project in the wider bitcoin space, Ethereum raised more than $15m through a pre-sale of its native token, ether, in 2014. Helmed by former co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum seeks to provide a platform that will inspire developers developers to build decentralized applications that seek to do for a wide range of products and services what bitcoin did for payments processing.
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http://www.coindesk.com/markets-weekly-bitcoins-new-year-starts-crash/Bitcoin's price crashed over the New Year weekend, losing $51 over two days. According to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, the currency opened on Saturday at $314.59 and closed the following day at $263.63. The plunging price got market watchers chattering as Sunday drew to a close. Unsurprisingly, a contingent of bitcoin watchers put a positive spin on the price crash, viewing it as a buying opportunity, albeit with a note of alarm.
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http://www.zdnet.com/article/bitstamp-bitcoin-exchange-suspended-amid-hack-concerns-heres-what-we-know/The price of a single bitcoin on the Mt. Gox exchange at its peak was about $1,240. But, after its alleged breach, the bitcoin market crashed to half its value, and continued for months to slowly decline. Despite its volatility, many companies are lining up to support bitcoin -- once seen as an unstable virtual currency used by criminals, now becoming increasingly mainstream. Many took to news-sharing and social media sites to express concern about the handling of the situation, a little over a year after the largest bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox folded, following its claims that hackers had stolen millions of dollars worth of bitcoins.
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