From the desk of "Everything I Say and do is Utter Bullshit Because I'm Related to Sonny Vleisides",http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/12/prweb11386465.htm (apologies for quoting the entire thing but I highlighted the important parts)
Bitcoin fuels new car sales at Overland Park Jeep
New car dealer in Kansas receives overwhelming interest from Bitcoiners around the world
OVERLAND PARK, KS (PRWEB) December 05, 2013
'Tis the season for car sales at Overland Park Jeep Dodge Ram Chrysler, the first business of it's kind to accept the increasingly popular internet currency Bitcoin. Since word got out that the dealership was selling new cars for Bitcoin, Bitcoin enthusiasts from across the nation and around the world have shown an overwhelming response.
In fact, with many vehicles already purchased and no end in sight, a question frequently posed by financial experts seems to have been answered. That is: What exactly can one buy with Bitcoin?
President and owner of the dealership, Norman Vialle, is not the least bit surprised by the response, saying “When you offer a form of payment that no one else is offering, you're going to attract more buyers.”
And more buyers there are. Blockchain.info, a Bitcoin wallet provider, recently announced the setup of 70,000 new users in one week alone. Bitcoin has even caught the attention of some big players, such as billionaire Sir Richard Branson and the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernake, who stated in a letter to the Senate Committee that the virtual currency "may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system."
But how is Vialle shouldering the financial risk posed by the volatile nature of Bitcoin? After all, the price is currently three times what it was a month ago on the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox (as recorded by BitcoinX), and could potentially drop as fast at it has risen. How can Vialle afford to take the chance that $40,000 worth of Bitcoin could become $30,000 overnight? “That's simple,” he says, "I don't.”
Vialle processes the Bitcoin payments through Bitpay, a Bitcoin payment processor based out of Atlanta, GA. Bitpay clears and settles the funds (in this case, into US dollars) directly to his bank account within 24 hours with no risk to the dealership, even if the Bitcoin price rises or falls within that time frame. Of course the later is less of an occurrence these days, with the price of a single Bitcoin now over $1000.
“The fact that I can use Bitpay to receive a settlement in dollars makes it possible for me to accept Bitcoin in the first place”, says Vialle. “If more dealers were aware of this, I'm sure they'd be accepting Bitcoin as well.”
Overland Park Jeep Dodge Ram Chrysler has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Kansas City Star for their unique position in the marketplace as a retailer who accepts Bitcoin. Bitcoin has become a frequent topic of conversation in the Kansas City area, as it is also home to well-known Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer Butterfly Labs.
Time for...Let's Play Juxtapose!
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324345804578426692340390104Bitcoin Investors Hang On for the Ride
By ROBIN SIDEL
April 16, 2013 8:13 p.m. ET
Norman Vialle, a 53-year-old car dealer in Kansas, invested in his share of winners and losers during the Internet bubble of the 1990s. Now he is clinging to a stash of Bitcoin, even though the fledgling virtual currency has lost about 70% of its value in the past week.
"It's volatile because it's new, but it's still a lot higher than it was a month ago," Mr. Vialle says.
In addition to investing in the currency, Mr. Vialle recently began accepting bitcoins for payment at Overland Park Jeep Dodge Ram Chrysler. One of his customers is planning to pay for a $40,000 Jeep with the currency next month.
It has been a volatile month for Bitcoin, the virtual currency that is based on a mathematic algorithm and can be used to buy everything from maple syrup to pornography.
A furious run-up in the value of Bitcoin earlier this month has been followed by an abrupt price drop that has rattled investors. The price of one Bitcoin unit continued its dive on Tuesday, falling 39% at one point to $50 before recovering somewhat to around $70.
The unpredictable trading has given fresh fuel to skeptics, who question the viability of a volatile currency that isn't backed by a central bank.
"I think there are some businesses that offer legitimate goods that like the concept and like the cachet of it," said Beth Robertson, a senior consultant with Javelin Strategy and Research, which focuses on the payments industry. "But I don't think that you're going to see any broad base of merchants accepting Bitcoin."
Regulators, meanwhile, recently weighed in on virtual currencies for the first time, encouraging entities that exchange or sell them to follow the same money-laundering rules that apply to companies like Western Union Co.
Despite the lack of wide acceptance and looming prospect for regulation, a cadre of Silicon Valley venture capitalists, Web programmers and anti-Establishment thinkers are still revved up about Bitcoin's prospects.
Unlike currencies that are backed by a central bank, Bitcoin users can essentially create the units themselves in a process called "mining" that involves solving a complicated mathematical problem with sophisticated computer servers.
The currency, which is stored in an online account, also can be traded on an exchange and swapped privately.
Bitcoin payments are becoming increasingly popular among Internet merchants, who want to reduce costs associated with accepting credit cards.
The virtual currency also is starting to make inroads in the brick-and-mortar world, where customers can pay with bitcoins using their mobile phones.
But because the transactions are essentially anonymous, critics worry that the currency could be used for drug trafficking and money laundering.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCen, last month issued a three-page memo that effectively lays the groundwork to regulate firms that issue or exchange virtual currencies. Among other things, money transmitters must alert authorities if they believe a transaction might be tied to suspicious activity.
Despite the looming regulation, investors were encouraged by the memo. They believe increased oversight will ease money-laundering concerns that have kept some investors and merchants out of the market.
"The industry is happy about this guidance even if it imposes a regulatory burden because it is an indicator of respectability," says Behnam Dayanim, a lawyer at Paul Hastings LLP in Washington.
The memo helped spark a rally earlier this month on the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange, which says that it handles 80% of Bitcoin trading. The currency nearly quintupled in less than a month, leaping from roughly $50 in mid-March to a high of $230 on April 9.
But since then, Bitcoin has plunged almost as quickly as it rose. Mt. Gox suspended trading for 12 hours last week after a surge in trading volume overloaded its system. The exchange also has been hit with cyberattacks. Such wild swings could make it difficult for the virtual currency to gain traction—among investors and businesses alike, experts said.
But Jennifer Longson, who began accepting bitcoins at her San Francisco cupcake bakery in October, considers the volatility to be no different from the fluctuations she sees in the price of her baking ingredients. Customers use Bitcoin for payment three or four times a week at her store, she said. "They're all excited to talk about it," said the owner of Cups and Cakes Bakery, whose concoctions include cupcakes made with ingredients such as bacon and tequila.
Ms. Longson's husband, Tom, has been buying and selling the currency for the past year. He cashed out his original investment when the price hit $100 in early April, but bought some for $241 last week.
"I lost some money, but not enough to jump off a building. Unfortunately, I sold some to a friend at that price as well and I felt guilty about that," he said.
The price gyrations are more worrisome to John Reitano, co-founder of three-month-old CoinFlash, a San Diego company that aims to launch a bitcoin-trading network that is similar to airport currency kiosks this summer. "Our hope is that the volatility settles down over time," said Mr. Reitano, who already is preparing to answer investor questions about the issue.
Entrepreneurs hope the new FinCen guidelines will help Bitcoin evolve into a more developed currency. A number of companies are expected to register with FinCen as money transmitters in the coming months. A few already have done so, anticipating that the industry would be capturing the attention of regulators.
But Mr. Vialle, the car dealer, still views Bitcoin more as an investing opportunity than a payment mechanism. He says he plans to hang onto his bitcoins, which he mined about a year ago, for the foreseeable future. "Maybe I will use them someday, but I probably will hold them for five or 10 years," he says.
Timeline:April 16, 2013: Look at me! I mined bitcoins about a year ago and am goin' hang on to them for 5-10 years. You, too, can mine your own bitcoins via pre-ordering miners from BFL.
December 05, 2013: Only a crazy fuck would sell a car via bitcoins and hang onto them. I use BitPay and have them bitcoins converted to fiat and deposited into my bank within 24 hours after each and every sale.
Testimony:Anonaba: I purchased two cars from Norm via bitcoins. They sit in the garage of my home that I also purchased with bitcoins. Norm's the bestest!
