Bitcoin press hits, notable sources

[SgtSpike]

Could Bitcoin Become the Currency of System D?

Bitcoin is barely three years young. Any bootstrapped currency initially will have a chicken-and-egg problem due to the fact that a currency’s overall success is determined by its network effect and pervasive spread. Critics of bitcoin as a currency are quick to point out that not many merchants accept it as a payment type yet. That will change. And, they also point out that the total available market is severely limited. Oh, how wrong!  Bitcoin’s first potential mega-market just so happens to be the second largest economy in the world and its sole competitor in that sphere is depreciating government paper cash. Game on.

Game on indeed.

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[cbeast]

No mention of bitcoin but GAME ON!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57399610/sweden-moving-towards-cashless-economy/

Discussion thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=69545.0;topicseen

[julz]

What gives money value, and is fractional-reserve banking fraud?

Detlev Schlichter
2012-03-19


http://papermoneycollapse.com/2012/03/what-gives-money-value-and-is-fractional-reserve-banking-fraud/

http://www.cobdencentre.org/tag/bitcoin/

[julz]

Just a brief mention in this article - quoted paragraph is the only mention of Bitcoin.

Nickeled and Dimed
Would the United States save money by switching to a cashless economy?

Jeremy Stahl
2012-03-19

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/cashless_society/2012/03/cashless_society_how_much_would_the_united_states_save_by_ditching_paper_money_.html


Of course, not everybody who wants to buy products anonymously is a tax cheat or a pirate. Any digital currency alternative will have to balance the government’s desire to enforce its laws with the citizen’s desire for privacy. Cashless boosters acknowledge this fact, while insisting there are anonymous technological solutions available even if none have gone mainstream. Free University of Brussels economics professor Leo Van Hove, who has been studying electronic currency for more than a decade, points to the rarely used Belgian stored-value Proton card, the defunct, digitally encrypted Dutch payment scheme Digicash, and Digicash’s successor electronic currency Bitcoin. These models all have flaws—Bitcoin lacks the stability and ubiquity of the dollar and the small merchants who were targeted to use Proton didn’t like the electronic trail it left for tax officials. But they’re at least a proof of concept that secure, anonymous (for consumers) digital currency systems are technology feasible.

[cypherdoc]

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/technology/mobile-banking-apps-lack-what-customers-actually-want

attention all Android developers.

[D.H.]

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/technology/mobile-banking-apps-lack-what-customers-actually-want

attention all Android developers.

This thread is really starting to stray from its original purpose, Bitcoin press hits.

[julz]

Glenn McMahon - an independent UK journalist interviews Peter Sunde at the London Web Summit

Pirate Bay founder warns of cashless consequences

Glenn McMahon
2012-03-21

http://glennmcmahon470.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/pirate-bay-founder-warns-of-cashless-consequences/


Alternative payment systems such as Bitcoin – where virtual cash stored on a personal device can be sent directly to recipients without being easily monitored – could help solve the problem was it not for the mountain of expensive legislation between those wanting to enter the banking sector and operating legally, Sunde said.

[bitcoinBull]

The digital detective: Mikko Hypponen's war on malware is escalating

Supposedly in the April 2012 issue "This article was taken from the April 2012 issue of Wired magazine." 

On page 2:

"This guy is selling UK and European dumps [the personal information contained on the magnetic strip of a credit card]," Hypponen says, scrolling down the page and reading the small ads. "Here are 'Bank accounts from Asia, EU... high valid rate', and 'Bank accounts from the UK, Germany, Russia all obtained with SpyEye'." He reaches an advertisement for a botnet: "Here we are: 'Denial of service: standard host or domain taken down one hundred bucks per day. Payment: Western Union, MoneyGram, Bitcoin."

According to Hypponen, the cost of a ­botnet depends on the territory -- North American and European computers are most valuable; at the other end of the spectrum are the Russian and ­Chinese. He continues reading the list, pausing at an advert for an available hired assassin. "Former French Foreign Legion. No fish too big no job too small". Potential clients are advised that the cost of the service is $20,000 (£12,779), to be paid in Bitcoin, and that they will be billed for travel expenses.

[julz]

Bitcoin Seeks New Life In Africa
A digital currency without a central bank could be ideal for economies where the mobile phone is king but the banking systems are weak.

Tom Simonite
2012-03-21

http://www.technologyreview.com/business/39829/?p1=BI

...
But Omwansa says that although he is familiar with Bitcoin, most in Africa are not. "Hardly anyone I know has heard about it," he says.

[kiko]

This is an almost press hit.
Seems to go out of its way not to mention bitcoin. 

Eric Schmidt's recent comments are raised. Both David Birch and Jon Matonis are also quoted.

Sorry if anyone gets hit by the paywall on this.

FT.com: Finance - more flash than cash.
Byline: New payment systems are raising concerns about privacy and security

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/63a21dcc-6f68-11e1-9c57-00144feab49a.html

[friedcat]

http://www.mittrchinese.com/single.php?p=182636

Translated from English. The original article is claimed to be found in Technology Review.

[herzmeister]

How to decentralise money - Flattr Founder Peter Sunde at #LWS

Short interview with Peter Sunde. Surprise surprise, he talks largely about Bitcoin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np-EKzP_Xtk

At the London Web Summit, just before participating to the "The Future of Money" panel, Peter Sunde (@brokep) from Flattr describes how money and value work and SHOULD work on Internet.

More info:
http://flattr.com

All London Web Summit videos:
http://visionon.tv/plugandplay/

[julz]

Another mention in a Slashdot summary.

Surviving the Cashless Cataclysm

2012-03-21

http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/03/21/2148243/surviving-the-cashless-cataclysm


MrSeb writes
"There's been a lot of noise about Sweden becoming a cashless economy, and the potential repercussions that it might cause, most notably the (apparent) annihilation of privacy. Really, though, I think this is a load of hot air. Physical money might be on the way out, but that doesn't mean the end of anonymous, untraceable cash — it'll just become digital. If Bitcoin has taught us anything, it's possible to create an irreversible, cryptographic currency — but so far it has failed because it doesn't have sovereign backing. What if the US or UK (or any other country for that matter) issued digital cash? We would suddenly have an anonymous currency that can be kept on credit chips (or smartphones) and traded, just like paper money. No longer would handling money require expensive cash registers, safes, and secure collections; your smartphone could be your point of sale. It won't be easy to get governments to pass digital cash into law, though, not with big banks and megacorps lobbying for centralized, electronic, traceable currency. Here's hoping Sweden makes the right choice when the referendum to retire physical money finally rolls around."

[Stephen Gornick]

"tremendous following" 

In the United States, despite the high-profile prosecution of Liberty Dollar founder Bernard Von NotHaus, more than a few alternative currencies are already in circulation as well. Examples include Detroit “Cheers,” “BerkShares” in Massachusetts, and “Ithaca Hours” in New York. So-called digital gold currencies are also attracting more and more users. And an online currency system known as "BitCoin" has gained a tremendous following in a relatively short period of time.

And at the state level, even governments are taking action. Utah, for example, officially made gold and silver into legal tender last year. And several states are considering similar legislation as the Federal Reserve and the U.S. dollar come under increasing pressure.

 - http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11265-greeks-adopt-alternative-currencies-as-economy-implodes

[julz]

Should Africa Adopt a Shared Currency? And Should It Be Bitcoin?

Megan Garber
2012-03-22

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/03/should-africa-adopt-a-shared-currency-and-should-it-be-bitcoin/254881/

[julz]

Bitcoin May Find a Fulfilling Market in Africa

Kit Dotson
2012-03-22

http://siliconangle.com/blog/2012/03/22/bitcoin-may-find-a-fulfilling-market-in-africa/

[julz]

Looks like Jon Matonis's articles are a regular thing now in Forbes

Bitcoin Doesn't Need a Dongle

Jon Matonis
2012-03-24

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/03/24/bitcoin-doesnt-need-a-dongle/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter



...dongles equip your mobile phone to accept and process credit cards securely by inserting the device into the smartphone’s 3.5mm audio input jack. Apparently, this passes for financial innovation in mobile payments but I file it under the ‘not-disruptive-enough’ category. Truly-disruptive financial innovation is already here with decentralized bitcoin. And, bitcoin doesn’t need a dongle!

...

The easiest way to circumvent the high-fee transaction networks is to utilize a different currency unit since it does not come with the same handicaps and legacy restrictions of a political currency unit. Erik Voorhees states that we need to advocate “the separation of money and state.”
..

[cypherdoc]

Looks like Jon Matonis's articles are a regular thing now in Forbes

Bitcoin Doesn't Need a Dongle

Jon Matonis
2012-03-24

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/03/24/bitcoin-doesnt-need-a-dongle/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter



...dongles equip your mobile phone to accept and process credit cards securely by inserting the device into the smartphone’s 3.5mm audio input jack. Apparently, this passes for financial innovation in mobile payments but I file it under the ‘not-disruptive-enough’ category. Truly-disruptive financial innovation is already here with decentralized bitcoin. And, bitcoin doesn’t need a dongle!

...

The easiest way to circumvent the high-fee transaction networks is to utilize a different currency unit since it does not come with the same handicaps and legacy restrictions of a political currency unit. Erik Voorhees states that we need to advocate “the separation of money and state.”
..

THIS is huge.  Matonis a regular?  Man oh man.

[hazek]

Looks like Jon Matonis's articles are a regular thing now in Forbes

Bitcoin Doesn't Need a Dongle

Jon Matonis
2012-03-24

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/03/24/bitcoin-doesnt-need-a-dongle/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter



...dongles equip your mobile phone to accept and process credit cards securely by inserting the device into the smartphone’s 3.5mm audio input jack. Apparently, this passes for financial innovation in mobile payments but I file it under the ‘not-disruptive-enough’ category. Truly-disruptive financial innovation is already here with decentralized bitcoin. And, bitcoin doesn’t need a dongle!

...

The easiest way to circumvent the high-fee transaction networks is to utilize a different currency unit since it does not come with the same handicaps and legacy restrictions of a political currency unit. Erik Voorhees states that we need to advocate “the separation of money and state.”
..

Yep, and this is his blog page http://themonetaryfuture.blogspot.com/ where on the right side he has a Bitcoin address if you guys would like to show him some appreciation for his work.

[julz]

The National is an 'Abu Dhabi Media company' English-language publication

Murder now comes as an online option

Tony Glover
2012-03-25

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/technology/murder-now-comes-as-an-online-option

...
Crucially, the would-be assassin also requests payment in an experimental new internet-based currency called Bitcoin, which uses the same sort of peer-to-peer software employed by digital video pirates to manage transactions and issue payments away from the watchful eye of any central fiscal authority.
...