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2014-02-24 19:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [944, 988, 1256, 1330, 2171, 2222, 2507, 2607], "BTC": [1135, 1413, 1559, 2468]}

{"Bitcoin": [15]}

CryptoCafe.com Bitcoin Marketplace Receives Over 21,000 Requests in First 3 Hours After Launch

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cryptocafe-com-bitcoin-marketplace-receives-193000332.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

TORONTO, ON and LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Feb 24, 2014) - Myriad Interactive Media Inc. ( OTCQB : MYRY ) ( BERLIN : XNG ), a global interactive media and development company, would like to provide a launch update on today's launch of CryptoCafe.com. We have received over 21,000 requests in the first couple of hours from launch. This has brought our server (a single ec2 instance hosted on Amazon AWS) down for a short period of time," said Myriad CEO Derek Ivany. He added, "To better handle future server load and serve our customers in the fastest way possible, we have already begun migrating CryptoCafe.com DNS and CDN to CloudFlare which is the most trusted and reliable brand in protecting scaling websites. We are in the process of scaling CryptoCafe.com on AWS' elastic load balancer to make system responsiveness much quicker." About CryptoCafe.com CryptoCafe.com offers an opportunity for just about anyone to get involved with Bitcoin without the need to get set up on a Bitcoin exchange and having to learn trading. Our system allows users to post items for sale, free of charge or featured items for a small fee, in BTC. We plan to add additional crypto currencies to the website in the near future. Myriad developed its own proprietary Bitcoin escrow system, in-house, which allows users the comfort of having Bitcoin funds secured before a transaction is complete. Myriad charges a 1% fee in BTC for using our CryptoCafe secure escrow system. When a user makes an offer for an item for sale on CryptoCafe.com the user must have available BTC in their CryptoCafe.com wallet in order to make the offer. Users can top-up wallets by completing third-party transfers from Exchanges or other wallets, as well as generate unique wallet ID's with the system. In addition, CryptoCafe users can login via mobile and track notifications and message dialogue to complete transactions in person to prevent the risk of fraud. After transactions are complete, there is a feedback rating system in place in order to build profile credibility within the community. The CryptoCafe.com platform is built with two-tier authentication as well as cold-storage for offline Bitcoin storage. The platform also has a real-time Bitcoin price correlation to popular currencies like EURO, GBP, USD and CAD where users can simply select the currency value they wish to receive for an item being sold and the CryptoCafe.com system will automatically convert the item price into BTC and auto-adjust the price based on Bitcoin price fluctuation. Story continues Upcoming announcement Myriad plans to make an additional Bitcoin related announcement in the next couple of days. About Myriad Interactive Media, Inc.: Myriad Interactive Media is an interactive marketing and development firm based in Toronto, Canada. Myriad designs and develops customized marketing plans, social media marketing campaigns, pay per click, and search engine marketing. Our company also develops in house web & mobile applications. Myriad Interactive Media Inc. is a public company quoted on the OTCQB under the symbol MYRY. For more information, please visit us in the USA at www.myriadim.com Forward-Looking Statements In addition to historical information, this press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations and projections about future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to be materially different from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Except as required by federal securities law, the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or to revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available, new events occur or circumstances change in the future.

2014-02-24 19:38:30+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1091, 1491, 1825, 3170]}

{}

'Pony' botnet steals bitcoins, digital currencies - Trustwave

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pony-botnet-steals-bitcoins-digital-193830316.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Cyber criminals have infected hundreds of thousands of computers with a virus called "Pony" to steal bitcoins and other digital currencies, in the most ambitious cyber attack on virtual money uncovered so far, according to security firm Trustwave. Trustwave said on Monday that it has found evidence that the operators of a cybercrime ring known as the Pony botnet have stolen some 85 virtual "wallets" that contained bitcoins and other types of digital currencies. The firm said it did not know how much digital currency was contained in the wallets. "It is the first time we saw such a widespread presence of this type of malware. It was on hundreds of thousands of machines," said Ziv Mador, security research director with Chicago-based Trustwave. Trustwave said it believes the crime ring is still operating, though it does not know who is running the group. The company said it has disrupted the servers that were controlling machines infected with Pony, but expects the group to launch more attacks on virtual currency users. A representative for the Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group that promotes adoption of the virtual currency, advised bitcoin users to store their currency offline in a secure location to prevent cyber criminals from stealing them. "Electronic wallet security continues to improve by leaps and bounds as hardware wallets become available and we start to see software wallets that support multi-signature transactions," said the Bitcoin Foundation's director of public affairs, Jinyoung Lee Englund. Trustwave's discovery comes after an unrelated cyber attack that spammed bitcoin exchanges earlier this month. That attack prompted at least three online virtual currency traders to halt withdrawals, causing bitcoin's value to plunge 33 percent over three weeks. Bitcoin is a digital currency sustained by software code written by an unknown programmer or group of programmers. It is not governed by any one company or person, and its value is determined by user demand. Story continues People who buy digital currency can store it in virtual wallets on their own machines or with companies that offer storage and security services. Mador said digital currency theft is still in its infancy, but that it is likely to grow. He said that digital currency buyers can protect themselves from hackers by using encrypted files. "Most websites don't encrypt them by default, but you can turn them on," he added. NEW OPPORTUNITY Botnets are collections of infected computers that take orders from central "command and control" servers. The botnets steal data from compromised PCs and can also deliver other types of malware that force them to perform tasks. This is at least the third type of fraud to surface involving digital currencies. Criminals have previously hacked into marketplaces where digital currencies are traded by exploiting security flaws in those sites, then stealing those currencies, according to Trustwave. ( http://bit.ly/1hphzRj ) Cyber criminals have also developed botnets that force enslaved computers to create, or "mine", digital currencies, which the fraudsters then claim as their own. Bitcoin mining is a time-consuming process in which computers perform complex math calculations. The operators of those botnets are stealing electricity and data center resources when they use compromised machines to mine digital currencies. Trustwave in December uncovered a trove of some 2 million stolen passwords to websites including Facebook Inc (FB.O), Google Inc (NSQ: GOOG - News ), Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) and Yahoo Inc (NSQ: YHOO - News ) while probing a command and control server using a less sophisticated version of the Pony malware. Trustwave said on Monday that the new version of Pony compromised another 600,000 website credentials. (Users can go to these Trustwave sites to check if their bitcoin wallets and credentials have been stolen: http://bit.ly/1epIUiH http://bit.ly/1fNAym5 ) (Addition reporting by Emily Flitter in New York)

2014-02-24 19:38:30+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1091, 1491, 1825, 3170]}

{}

'Pony' botnet steals bitcoins, digital currencies - Trustwave

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pony-botnet-steals-bitcoins-digital-193830503.html

Reuters

http://in.reuters.com/

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Cyber criminals have infected hundreds of thousands of computers with a virus called "Pony" to steal bitcoins and other digital currencies, in the most ambitious cyber attack on virtual money uncovered so far, according to security firm Trustwave. Trustwave said on Monday that it has found evidence that the operators of a cybercrime ring known as the Pony botnet have stolen some 85 virtual "wallets" that contained bitcoins and other types of digital currencies. The firm said it did not know how much digital currency was contained in the wallets. "It is the first time we saw such a widespread presence of this type of malware. It was on hundreds of thousands of machines," said Ziv Mador, security research director with Chicago-based Trustwave. Trustwave said it believes the crime ring is still operating, though it does not know who is running the group. The company said it has disrupted the servers that were controlling machines infected with Pony, but expects the group to launch more attacks on virtual currency users. A representative for the Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group that promotes adoption of the virtual currency, advised bitcoin users to store their currency offline in a secure location to prevent cyber criminals from stealing them. "Electronic wallet security continues to improve by leaps and bounds as hardware wallets become available and we start to see software wallets that support multi-signature transactions," said the Bitcoin Foundation's director of public affairs, Jinyoung Lee Englund. Trustwave's discovery comes after an unrelated cyber attack that spammed bitcoin exchanges earlier this month. That attack prompted at least three online virtual currency traders to halt withdrawals, causing bitcoin's value to plunge 33 percent over three weeks. Bitcoin is a digital currency sustained by software code written by an unknown programmer or group of programmers. It is not governed by any one company or person, and its value is determined by user demand. Story continues People who buy digital currency can store it in virtual wallets on their own machines or with companies that offer storage and security services. Mador said digital currency theft is still in its infancy, but that it is likely to grow. He said that digital currency buyers can protect themselves from hackers by using encrypted files. "Most websites don't encrypt them by default, but you can turn them on," he added. NEW OPPORTUNITY Botnets are collections of infected computers that take orders from central "command and control" servers. The botnets steal data from compromised PCs and can also deliver other types of malware that force them to perform tasks. This is at least the third type of fraud to surface involving digital currencies. Criminals have previously hacked into marketplaces where digital currencies are traded by exploiting security flaws in those sites, then stealing those currencies, according to Trustwave. ( http://bit.ly/1hphzRj ) Cyber criminals have also developed botnets that force enslaved computers to create, or "mine", digital currencies, which the fraudsters then claim as their own. Bitcoin mining is a time-consuming process in which computers perform complex math calculations. The operators of those botnets are stealing electricity and data center resources when they use compromised machines to mine digital currencies. Trustwave in December uncovered a trove of some 2 million stolen passwords to websites including Facebook Inc (FB.O), Google Inc (NSQ: GOOG - News ), Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) and Yahoo Inc (NSQ: YHOO - News ) while probing a command and control server using a less sophisticated version of the Pony malware. Trustwave said on Monday that the new version of Pony compromised another 600,000 website credentials. (Users can go to these Trustwave sites to check if their bitcoin wallets and credentials have been stolen: http://bit.ly/1epIUiH http://bit.ly/1fNAym5 ) (Addition reporting by Emily Flitter in New York)

2014-02-24 20:56:53+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [765]}

{}

MOVES-Bundesbank, Intesa, Ecobank, Emirates Investment Bank

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/moves-deutsche-bundesbank-brightside-group-113431253.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

Feb 24 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email [email protected]. DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK Claudia Buch, an economics professor with expertise in international banking and financial markets, will be vice president of the Bundesbank following the departure of Sabine Lautenschlaeger to the European Central Bank, government sources said. ECOBANK The pan-African lender will hold a hastily arranged board meeting on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the bank's executive leaders wrote to the chairman calling for Chief Executive Thierry Tanoh to step down. MT GOX Mark Karpeles, chief executive of the embattled Toyko-based bitcoin exchange, resigned from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation on Sunday in the latest blow to the digital currency. The resignation follows a number of technical issues, including a massive cyber attack from unknown sources that has been spamming bitcoin exchanges. BRIGHTSIDE GROUP PLC The UK-based specialist insurance broker said it appointed Paul Williams as its chief executive. Williams joins Brightside from Towergate Partnership Ltd. RENAISSANCE CAPITAL The Moscow-based investment bank said it appointed Rupert Preece as director, head of Sub-Saharan fixed income trading, and Marina Ryabokon as director, international fixed income sales. Preece, who will be based in London, returns to Renaissance from Nomura International and Visor Capital. Ryabokon will also be based in London. EMIRATES INVESTMENT BANK The Dubai-based investment bank said it appointed Gaurav Agarwal as chief finance officer and Biswajit Dasgupta as chief investment officer of treasury. Agarwal joins from the Dubai-based bank Tamweel PJSC, where he was chief executive. Dasgupta has previously held senior positions at Invest AD, Dubai Bank in the UAE and ABN Amro, among others. INTESA SANPAOLO The Italian banking group said it appointed Janos Strohmayer as deputy CEO and member of the management board of its unit, CIB Bank, effective from March. Strohmayer joins from McKinsey & Co. Story continues MENZIES BUSINESS RECOVERY The UK-based recovery and insolvency arm of accountancy firm Menzies said it appointed David Thurgood as director. Thurgood joins Menzies from Grant Thornton. SENECA INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD The financial services firm appointed David Warnock as its chairman. Warnock has over 30 years' experience in both public and private companies, in the UK and U.S.

2014-02-24 21:37:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [171, 235, 391, 463, 711, 945, 1264, 1530, 1740, 2136, 2292, 2375, 2444, 2468, 2606, 2628, 2771, 2799, 2836, 2980]}

{"Bitcoin": [40]}

This Guy Wants To Buy All The Silk Road Bitcoins Seized By The FBI

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-wants-buy-silk-road-213738086.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Headshot_Brett Falcon Global Capital Falcon Global Capital co-founder Brett Stapper Brett Stapper is co-founder of Falcon Global Capital and is offering to buy all of the Bitcoins the FBI seized from the Silk Road, an estimated 27,000 Bitcoins that would be worth ~$14.8 million today. Stapper has reached out to the US government on behalf of Falcon Global Capital with an offer to buy the Bitcoins. One estimate pegs the FBI as owning between 5% and 10% of all Bitcoins out there . Stapper told Business Insider that "[the FBI has] not given us a yes or no yet. However, our lawyers are making calls daily to follow up on this. We have secured backing from a group of private investors to purchase all 27,000 Bitcoins for 15% below the daily value." (The FBI might be tempted by a below-market-value offer in return for the convenience of offloading them all at once.) "We are young, hungry, and, eager to fill the gap between Wall Street and Bitcoin," said Stapper. "This is not your 'average' investment fund." Here's the letter that he sent to the FBI and the US District Attorney in January: To whom it may concern: My name is Brett Stapper and I am the co-founder of Falcon Global Capital. We are a newly launched US based hedge fund that secures and holds Bitcoin investments for accredited investors. I have followed the case of the Silk Road forfeiture since it occurred and recently read the update of the US government's intention to liquidate the investment. While it seems unknown which means you will liquidate the Bitcoins through, I wanted to contact you directly to find out more about the liquidation. Our company, Falcon Global Capital, is prepared to offer 15% below market value for the purchase of the roughly 27,000 Bitcoins you are currently holding. In order to progress with our offer, we would require a letter of intent and no more than 90 days to secure capital with our investors for the purchase. If you are interested in discussing more in depth, I will gladly come to your offices or you can reach me directly by email at [email protected]. If you were not interested or able to sell the Bitcoins directly, I would gladly consult [for] the US government, free of charge, on the best and most profitable ways to liquidate such a large amount of Bitcoins. Story continues Falcon Global Capital bills itself as "the world's first Bitcoin investment fund with insured protection," storing investors' Bitcoins in "an insured Bitcoin vault." Stapper says, "We have a contract with [UK-based digital currency company] Elliptic stating they will hold all the fund's Bitcoin assets. These Bitcoins are stored in their Cold Storage security which is insured against all thefts and hacks. The funds are insured for daily value of the Bitcoins." Let's be clear — Bitcoins are susceptible to theft . "Bitcoin insurance" that operates as described could be worthwhile depending on how you use the currency. More From Business Insider Israel Says Bitcoin Is Risky And Announces That It May Regulate It What King's IPO Says About The Future Of Payments For Digital Goods The Telecom That Developed M-Pesa Is Boxing Competitors Out Of The Mobile Money Market

2014-02-24 21:46:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5945]}

{}

Market Wrap For February 24: Markets Showing Strength To Start The Week

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/market-wrap-february-24-markets-214652945.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

U.S. stocks rose as investors as the S&P 500 traded at new historical highs and clearing its 2014 losses. Investors shrugged off disappointing earning reports and economic data and chose to focus on several prominent merger and acquisition activities. The S&P 500 hit a new intra-day all time high of 1,858.71 while the Dow recorded a triple digit point gain, inching higher to its intra-day all time high of 16,588.20. The Dow gained 0.66 percent, closing at 16,209.13. The S&P 500 gained 0.62 percent, closing at 1,847.71. The Nasdaq gained 0.69 percent, closing at 4,292.97. Gold gained 0.98 percent, trading at $1,336.60 an ounce. Oil gained 0.52 percent, trading at $102.73 a barrel. Silver gained 0.95 percent, trading at $21.99 an ounce. News of Note January Chicago Fed National Activity Index read -0.39 versus -0.20 expected. U.S. February PMI Manufacturing Flash read 52.7 in the month versus 56.7 in January. February Dallas Fed Manufacturing Outlook read 0.3 in the month versus expectation of 2.5 and a prior reading of 3.8. Eurozone CPI fell 1.1 percent on month in January after rising 0.3 percent in December. On year, inflation stands at +0.8 percent. The United States and European Union are working on a multi-billion dollar IMF aid package for Ukraine following the ousting of its President Viktor Yanukovych over the weekend. Ukraine says it needs $35 billion in foreign aid over the next two years. The average price of a new home in China rose nine percent on year in January. In December, housing prices rose 9.2 percent on year. Equities-Specific News of Note Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) has cut a deal with Comcast to ensure that Netflix subscribers receive a better stream quality. Calling it a “mutually beneficial” agreement, Netflix said that a deal will provide Comcast customers “a high-quality Netflix video experience for years to come.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a pre-market report, analysts at JPMorgan recommended buying Netflix shares on any dip as “1) a more direct connection should be positive for the Netflix user experience across Comcast's current footprint of nearly 54M homes passed and ~21M broadband subscribers—and managed subscriber total of ~30M with the Time Warner Cable merger; 2) Netflix and Comcast were in interconnect discussions for many months and we believe Netflix likely anticipated some degree of higher costs related to network agreements in its 2014 guidance and target for 400 basis points of Y/Y margin expansion in the Domestic Streaming business; and 3) Comcast's average prime time performance of Netflix streams declined by 27% from October 2013 to January 2014, but Netflix still delivered strong subscriber numbers in 4Q and in its 1Q outlook, suggesting no significant impact to subscriber growth.” Shares hit new 52 week highs of $449.53 before closing the day at $446.84, up 3.38 percent. Story continues Analysts at Bank of America downgraded 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD ) to Underperform from Buy with a price target lowered to $65 from a previous $90. The analysts noted the downgrade was due to “(1) Organic growth rate peaking in 2014 and incremental topline growth will come at the expense of margins, (2) We view the increased investments as a catchup in spend necessary to stay competitive rather than driving incremental growth, (3) A lot of the M&A while additive to near term growth, in our opinion, will result in diluting LT organic growth and adds integration and execution risk in the interim, (4) A lot of high profile partnerships sound exciting (Motorola Mobility, Hasbro, Hershey's etc.) but success will be predicated on widespread adoption and margin performance driven by such ventures will likely be challenged.” Shares lost 5.52 percent, closing at $76.28. Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded U.S. Steel (NYSE: X ) to Hold from Buy while removing a previous $37 price target. The analysts explained the downgraded is due to “stronger than expected flat rolled pricing headwinds, unexpected negative developments in Tubular; the latter has profit and valuation multiple consequences.” Shares lost 3.36 percent, closing at $24.16. Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) to Buy from Neutral while reiterating a $55 price target. The analysts noted the upgrade is due to “an attractive risk/reward profile, superior fundamental positioning, and potential for post-deal earnings upside. Our price objective of $55 and Verizon's 4.5% dividend yield imply a total return of +21%. VZ now trades at a 5 year low relative PE multiple of 0.86x vs.its 1.15x average over this period. Even referring back to pre-crisis trading '04 to '08, VZ trades at its average of 0.86x. VOD deal-related selling of VZ shares in our view is likely and could drive short-term downside, but looking at pre-crisis valuation lows, we see $43.50 as the downside limit, implying 5% downside net of dividends over a 1 year holding period in a worst case scenario. On balance, we view the risk/reward tradeoff as attractive.” Shares lost 1.57 percent, closing at $46.53. Analysts at Stifel noted that Sina (NASDAQ: SINA ) is “preparing to take its microblog business Weibo public in an IPO in 2Q14” and that “We believe Weibo is SINA's single most valuable business and comprises the bulk of SINA's valuation. Our valuation assumption for Weibo continues to be $4.5 billion, which equates to a per daily active user (DAU) valuation of $75 for each of Weibo's 60.2 million daily active users, less than one-third the per DAU valuation of Twitter, we estimate. Based on our valuation, a $500 million initial public offering would represent about 11% of the company. We note that SINA owns about 71% of Weibo. Alibaba owns 18% purchased from SINA at a total Weibo valuation of $3.2 billion. In addition, SINA executives own 11% of Weibo.” Shares gained 4.29 percent, closing at $76.08. Recommended: Mt. Gox Scandal Widens As Hong Kong And Cypress Open Bitcoin Shops Analysts at Morgan Stanley maintained an Equal-Weight rating on Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) but struck a cautious tone. The analysts noted “from a fundamental standpoint, higher marketing will likely take time to drive a volume payback, which we expect to be muted, as recent drivers of KO's topline slowdown are likely to linger (US health pressure, China competitive issues, muted EM macros, and now, Mexican taxes). Second, while we had been worried consensus was too high into Q4, even after weak Q4/2014 guidance, the $2.09 2014 consensus (ex stale estimates) is still too high in our minds by 2.5% (we are $2.04). One reason consensus is high is KO guided to 6-8% 2014 FX neutral profit growth, in-line with its LT forecast. We view this as unlikely given $400M of incremental marketing (-3.6% to profit), Mexican taxes (-1.0% to profit), and topline growth below LT forecasts. While bulls would counter KO will have productivity and easy topline comps to drive EPS, profit comps are not easy at +6% and KO's incremental 2014 y-o-y productivity will likely decelerate vs. 2013 (when KO only posted 6% local FX profit growth)." Shares gained 0.86 percent, closing at $37.50. Analysts at The Buckingham Research Group reiterated a Buy rating on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR ) with a $133 price target. The analysts also reiterated a Buy rating on Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX ) with a $95 price target. The analysts noted “GMCR's dollar sales expanded 13.4% in January period vs 17.4% in December, with company brands sales growth of 7.5% vs.11.5%, and licensed brands sales growth of 18.9% vs 23.1% in January and December, respectively. We estimated GMCR's market share declined slightly to 77.3% of the category in January from 78.4% in December. 3 month average growth remains encouraging in the double-digit range. GMCR's market share is expected to stabilize as the introduction of Kraft's unlicensed brands are lapped ahead. We expect double digit dollar growth in GMCR's company/licensed single serve brands given consistent sell-thru of its brewers, the increased household footprint as well as expanding SKUs and relationships. SBUX single cup dollar sales expanded 45.3% vs. 61.5% in January and December, respectively. SBUX's dollar sales grew 13.9% and 17.7% in January and December, faster than the F1Q14 reported high-single-digit CPG growth. Single-serve market share declined modestly to 14.6% in January vs. 16% in December. SBUX branded whole bean and ground coffee continued to contract.” Shares of Green Mountain lost 1.26 percent, closing at $121.49 while Starbucks finished the day unchanged at $72.56. Carl Icahn wrote a letter to eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) shareholders with a harsh tone that included calling the company's CEO John Donahoe “completely asleep or, even worse, either naïve or willfully blind.” In the letter, Icahn singles out board member Marc Andreesen who has made investments in at least five eBay competitors, four of which are PayPal rivals while sitting on eBay's board. Shares gained 3.17 percent, closing at $56.32. General Electric (NYSE: GE ) plans to spend an additional $10 billion on its “ecoimagination” project by 2020. The company has already invested $15 billion on the project since 2005 focuses on sustainability and other environment issues. According to Reuters , one investment will include studying “Norway's Statoil's use of carbon dioxide in hydraulic fracturing which mixes more than two million gallons of water per well with chemicals and sand to extract oil and natural gas.” Shares of General Electric gained 1.40 percent, closing at $25.29. Related: General Electric To Spend Billion On Green Technology Research According to Reuters , Target (NYSE: TGT ) is expected to be less aggressive with its proposed $4 billion share buyback program following an expensive data breach. Fitch Ratings said that the company would have to risk its credit rating to borrow funds to stay on track with its buyback plans. Shares lost 0.18 percent, closing at $56.14. Chesapeake Energy (NYSe: CHK ) announced that it is pursuing strategic alternatives for its oilfield services which could include selling the unit or spinning it off to shareholders. Shares gained 2.71 percent, closing at $27.29. Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE ) Prevanar 13 pneumonia vaccine has met its primary and secondary goals in a study of 85,000 patients over the age of 65. The drug has the intention of preventing several types of community-acquired pneumonia. Shares gained 1.68 percent, closing at $31.99 The FDA has granted a breakthrough designation to Bristol-Myers Squibs' (NYSE: BMY ) Daclatasvir and Asunaprevir combination oral treatment for Hepatitis C. Shares gained 0.31 percent, closing at $54.31. IBM (NYSE: IBM ) is acquiring Cloudant, a provider of cloud database platform for app developers. Terms were not disclosed. IBM has also pledged to invest $1 billion to improve its cloud software offering. Shares gained 0.37 percent, closing at $183.47. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL ) has purchased BlueKai, a developer of a cloud-based data management platform for online, offline and mobile marketing data for around $400 million. Shares gained 0.13 percent, closing at $38.13. According to Reuters, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS ) is prepared to invest $10 billion in the Japanese market. There is currently a bill in the Japanese government to legalize casinos, but has yet to be finalized and approved. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $85.32 before closing the day at $84.41, up 4.35 percent. Kellog (NYSE: K ) announced a share repurchase authorization of up to $1.5 billion and initiated a tender offer to purchase up to $700 million in senior notes. The company also declared a $0.46 per share quarterly dividend, in line with its prior dividend. Shares gained 1.27 percent, closing at $60.71. The Phoenix Business Journal reported that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) has been looking at several locations in Arizona for its much anticipated “gigafactory." The paper also stated that Tesla is expected to make an announcement sometime this week over the battery factory. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $218.36 before closing the day at $217.65, up 3.84 percent. CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL ) has implemented a new $1 billion buyback authorization expiring in 24 months. The company plans to begin buying back shares in the second quarter. Shares gained 0.32 percent, closing at $31.19. Nokia (NYSE: NOK ) will launch five new products at the Mobile World Congress, of which three of these devices are Android-based smartphones. The devices named Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL will target the low to mid end market in developing countries such as China. Shares gained 2.14 percent, closing at $7.62. Related: BlackBerry Partners With Ford, Could Signal A Turnaround Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM ) owned Taco Bell plans to begin selling breakfast items such as waffle tacos and bacon wrap in a national roll-out beginning on March 27. Shares gained 0.16 percent, closing at $72.97. Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW ) said that it has acquired social profile site TalentBin and social jobs aggregator Goziak in two separate transactions. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $7.93 before closing the day at $7.85, up 2.61 percent. Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO ) has filed a shelf registration for a debt offering to pay down $3.75 billion in debt maturing in 2014 and to finance its recently hiked dividend and buyback program. Shares lost 0.05 percent, closing at $22.12. The Indonesian government said that it will ease a controversial tax on mineral concentrate exports for firms that build smelters in the country. The government announcement benefits firms like Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM ) and Freeport McMoRan. (NYSE: FCX ) Shares of Newmont Mining gained 1.24 percent, closing at $23.67 while Freeport lost 0.45 percent, closing at $33.21. Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO ) said that it ended 2013 with a $3.67 billion profit, compared to a $3 billion loss in 012. The company's CEO Sam Walsh said that the company's improved results stem from a strong Chinese economy which is in better shape than recent economic data suggests. Shares lost 1.57 percent, closing at $58.75. Activist hedge fund Starboard Value wants shareholders to vote at a special meeting on Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI ) plans to spin off Red Lobster. Starboard Value holds a 5.5 percent stake in the restaurant operator and wants to see the company pin off more than just one chain. Shares closed the day unchanged at $51.01. VF Corp (NYSE: VFC ) said that it plans to expand its North Face brand to include spring and summer apparel given recent strong demand for the brand. Shares gained 0.60 percent, closing at $58.84. Winners of Note Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW ) increased its offer to acquire Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ: JOSB ) to $63.50 per share but will increase its offer to $65 pending a favorable finding in a confidential due diligence. Men's Wearhouse wants Jos. A. Bank shareholders to tender their shares before March 12. Finally, any deal is contingent on Jos. A. Bank negating its plans to acquire Eddie Bauer with Men's Wearhouse covering up to $48 million in any potential termination fee. Shares of Men's Wearhouse gained 7.54 percent, closing at $48.51 while Jos. A. Bank hit new 52 week highs of $60.14 before closing the day at $60.04, up 9.06 percent. Recommended: Large Diamond Unearthed In Sierra Leone RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD ) and TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT ) will merge in an all-stock deal. TriQuint shareholders will receive 1.675 shares of the newly formed company while RF Micro Devices shareholders will receive one share for each TriQuint or RF Micro share held. According to joint press release, “the merger will create new growth opportunities in three large global markets - mobile devices, network infrastructure and aerospace/defense - with scale advantages, innovative new products and a greatly improved operating model. RFMD and TriQuint together will offer the industry's broadest portfolio of critical enabling technologies to develop and commercialize tightly integrated solutions at record speeds. The combination will foster a new wave of exciting mobile devices that are broadly accessible and offer dramatically higher data throughput, to the benefit of carriers and consumers alike. The combination also creates a leader in infrastructure and defense (with approximately $500 million in annual revenue), with a broad portfolio of products and foundry services supporting applications including radar, next generation base stations, optical communications, and the Internet of Things.” Shares of RF Micro Devices surged to new 52 week highs of $7.08 before closing the day at $7.03, up 21.00 percent. TriQuint also surged to new 52 week highs of $11.84 before closing the day at $11.64, up 26.11 percent. BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY ) plans to make its BBM messaging platform available on Microsoft Windows phone and Nokia's recently unveiled X phones. Separately, Ford is set to drop Microsoft as partner for its Sync system and will use BlackBerry's QNX platform instead. Shares of BlackBerry gained 7.55 percent, closing at $9.83. This morning, GT Advanced Technologies (NASDAQ: GTAT ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of -$0.26, beating the consensus estimate of -$0.36. Revenue of $32.6 million fell short of the consensus estimate of $37.38 million. "Our arrangement to supply sapphire materials to Apple is progressing well and we started to build out the facility in Arizona and staff the operation during the quarter," said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. "We are pleased to have Apple as a sapphire customer and to be in a position to leverage our proprietary know-how to enable the supply of this versatile material. While our primary focus during the balance of the year is to continue to execute on our commitments in Arizona, our aim is to position GT not only as an exceptional sapphire supplier to Apple but also as an unparalleled world-class supplier of sapphire material and equipment to a variety of customers. Shares surged to new 52 week highs of $14.32 before closing the day at $14.14, up 16.76 percent. NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ ) announced an agreement with Samsung to become an authorized reseller. The agreement enables NQ Mobile to sell, distribute and promote the Samsung KNOX mobile security solution for Samsung devices. Shares of NQ gained 6.11 percent, closing at $19.63. Related: NQ Mobile - Almost All The Way Back Humana (NYSE: HUM ) said that proposed rate cuts to Medicare Advantage plans were not as bad as expected. Health insurers who run Medicare Advantage face a 3.5 percent base payment cut next year, better than the six to seven percent the company previously expected. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $114.76 before closing the day at $113.69, up 10.57 percent. Decliners of Note This morning, Dillard's (NYSE: DDS ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $2.69, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00. Revenue of $2.08 billion missed the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Comparable-store sales rose two percent during the quarter but came at the expense of margins as higher markdowns contributed to the company's gross margin rate falling 180 bps to 32.8 percent. Shares lost 6.41 percent, closing at $83.60. Shares of Sears Holding (NASDAQ: SHLD ) were under heavy selling pressure today as investors likely viewed Dillard's poor results as yet another indication of industry wide trends. Investors are likely assuming that Sears will follow suit with poor earnings when the company reports its fourth quarter earnings soon. Shares lost 7.04 percent, closing at $38.05. Earnings of Note This morning, HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HSBC ) reported that its 2013 pretax profit totaled $22.56 billion, short of the consensus estimate of $24.6 billion. Revenue of $63.3 billion rose from $61.6 billion in the previous year. The international bank warned of “choppy markets” and “changing economic circumstances and sentiment.” Shares lost 2.37 percent, closing at $53.04. After the market closed, Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.07, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06. Revenue of $1.18 billion was in-line with the consensus estimate. Quote of the Day "Real estate is the key cost of physical retailers. That's why there's the old saw: location, location, location." - Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com in comments made way back in March 2001. Related Links 3 Things That Could Extinguish The 'Reefer Rally' SAExploration Announces M of New Project Awards in Alaska and South America DiamondRock Announces Promotion Of Briony R. Quinn To Chief Accounting Officer (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-24 22:04:32+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1282]}

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Alabama securities regulator to issue bitcoin warning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alabama-securities-regulator-issue-bitcoin-220432306.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Suzanne Barlyn Feb 24 (Reuters) - Alabama's securities regulator said he will issue an alert on Tuesday, cautioning consumers and investors to stop trading on bitcoin exchanges or adding to their accounts if they are having trouble redeeming the digital currency or cashing out. Joseph Borg, director of the Alabama Securities Commission, said he decided to issue the alert after reviewing dozens of complaints from around the United States from consumers who are unable to withdraw their money from bitcoin exchanges. The vast majority of the complaints were about Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that suspended withdrawals indefinitely on Feb. 7 after it detected "unusual activity." The company is having both "security and technical challenges," according to an update on its website dated Feb. 20. Some consumers, however, have been trying to get their money out for as long as four months, Borg said. Their initial deposits ranged from a few hundred dollars to $100,000, he said. The figures are a concern because they suggest that smaller, "Main Street" investors are among those taking chances on the digital currency, said Borg, former president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, a group composed mostly of U.S. securities regulators. Bitcoin exchanges allow their users to trade bitcoins for U.S. dollars and other currencies. Consumer interest in bitcoin grew when online retailer Overstock.com Inc announced in January that it would accept the currency for purchases. Borg, who became head of the Alabama Securities Commission in 1994, is known for organizing coalitions of regulators from other states in high-profile enforcement cases. While Borg's alert may help to promote consumer awareness about the risks of trading on bitcoin exchanges, regulating the marketplace is still far off, he said. Federal agencies will have to step in because the exchanges are international, Borg said. Some states such as Alabama, however, can regulate bitcoin exchanges as money transmitters, a type of business that transfers money between businesses and individuals, Borg said. Any approach would require new regulations, Borg said. "Because it's in the virtual world, it's not something you can put your hands on." Borg's upcoming alert was reported earlier on Monday by MarketWatch. View comments

2014-02-25 05:52:00+00:00

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Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes dark (update: site issues cryptic statement, could still relaunch as Gox)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2014-02-25-mt-gox-bitcoin-exchange-offline.html

Engadget

https://www.engadget.com/

Less than a year ago when we took a long look at Bitcoin , exchange Mt. Gox reportedly handled some 80 percent of global traffic in the digital currency. Tonight however, the exchange's website is offline, all tweets have been deleted from its account , and customers are unsure what will happen to fiat currency ( cash ) or Bitcoin that it holds. There were signs of trouble before this however, as Mt. Gox hasn't been the leading Bitcoin exchange since late last year, and it halted customer withdrawals on February 7th. The Bitcoin Foundation, which advocates for the digital currency, announced that Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles resigned on Sunday. A price index from digital currency tracker CoinDesk currently shows the value of Bitcoin has dropped $100 in 12 hours to $463, while Coinbase lists a buy price of $448. Prices for Bitcoin on Mt. Gox had fallen as low as $135, as the exchange issued a statement on the 17th that it had halted withdrawals while dealing with security issues. Rumors have flown about what's going on, and Reddit poster relliMmoT, who posted the screenshot above, reports trading halted at 8:59PM ET before the site went offline. Several other companies involved in digital currency including Coinbase, Blockchain.info, Circle, Kraken, Bitstamp.net and BTC China have issued a joint statement in response, decrying Mt. Gox's "tragic violation" of user trust. They're also promising to reassure customers and the public about their security, and to "lead the way" in consumer protection measures. Curiously, the statement originally referred to the exchange as insolvent (and still does on Circle ), but that reference has been removed. According to Re/code a spokesman for the group stated that the troubled exchange has informed others that it will file for bankruptcy, but that can't be confirmed at this time. Update : Several Twitter users have noticed a change in Mt. Gox's previously DOA website. Instead of simply failing to load, as of 4AM ET or so, it has switched to a blank page with HTML indicating "put announce for mtgox acq here." Is someone about to step in and clean up the mess? If and when we hear something definitive, we will let you know. Update 2 (9AM ET) : Coindesk says domain investor Andy Booth has confirmed the sale of the Gox.com domain to Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles. This is particularly notable, because it lends credibility to an alleged pitch document originally posted by " two bit idiot " with an appeal to potential investors for relaunching Mt. Gox. According to the document ( here and embedded after the break), the exchange has significantly more liabilities than assets while suffering from "massive robbery and poor Bitcoin accounting." Other than planning for a replacement CEO, it closes by pushing for a transition to "Gox," and offering limited withdrawals as it generates revenue to pay back stakeholders. Story continues Update 3 (11AM ET): Mt. Gox has released an official statement saying that it has closed all transactions as a precaution to protect the site and its users. Unfortunately, it's not entirely clear what the team is protecting users from. Perhaps its the volatility introduced by the domain changing hands or an impeding bankruptcy proceeding. Or, maybe, it's somehow related to the more advanced version of the Pony botnet that's been making the rounds -- but that seems unlikely. The entire statement is below. Dear MtGox Customers, In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly. Best regards, MtGox Team View comments

2014-02-25 11:00:00+00:00

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Bitcoin Alliance of Canada Launches First Global Bitcoin Expo in Toronto

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-alliance-canada-launches-first-110000878.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2014) - The Bitcoin Alliance of Canada will hold the first annual Bitcoin Expo in Toronto from April 11 through 13 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The conference is a three-day extravaganza event focused on Bitcoin community building, and featuring prominent speakers, guests and attendees from around the world. The expo will provide unique opportunities for businesses, consumers, entrepreneurs, developers, innovators, and the curious general public to connect. This conference is organized as a non-profit event, with proceeds going to fund the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada's programs and initiatives. "The expo will provide the most ideal networking opportunities for global leaders and stakeholders to gather and discuss strategies to build Bitcoin organizations at the local, national, and international levels," said Anthony Di Iorio, executive director of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada. "In addition, there will be a focus on how the community can work with charities and worthy causes around the world by taking advantage of the benefits and superiority of Bitcoin and other digital currencies." The Bitcoin Expo also will play host to an art exhibit and auction, and a hackathon on the next generation of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency applications, technologies and services. "We're excited to have Andreas Antonopoulos, one of the top Bitcoin thinkers in the world, as our master of ceremonies," said event manager Tracy Leparulo. "Andreas will be hosting the opening banquet dinner, and leading other special activities throughout the conference." More than 50 prominent members of the international Bitcoin community will be speaking, including: Aaron Koenig - Bitfilms Network, Global Bitcoin Alliance Adam B. Levine - Let's Talk Bitcoin Alan Safahi - ZipZap Amber Scott - Outlier Solutions Inc. Andreas Antonopoulos - Blockchain, RootEleven Anthony Di Iorio - Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, Global Bitcoin Alliance, Ethereum, KryptoKit, Bitcoin Decentral Brian Sovryn - Free Talk Live, Sovryn Tech Charles Hoskinson, Ethereum, Bitcoin Education Project Charlie Lee - Litecoin, Coinbase Chris Horlacher - Mises Canada Chris Odom - Open Transactions Cody Wilson - Dark Wallet, Defence Distributed Daniel Friedberg - Riddell Williams P.S. David Bailey - YBitcoin Elizabeth Ploshay - Bitcoin Magazine, The Bitcoin Foundation Eric Spano - Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, Bylls, The Bitcoin Embassy Jamie Robinson - QuickBT Jason King - Sean's Outpost, Bitcoin Across America Jeff Berwick - Dollar Vigilante Jeffrey Tucker - Liberty.me Jillian Friedman - The Bitcoin Embassy John Mardin - Coin Forest Jonathan Mohan - Bitcoin NYC Joseph David - CAVirtex Matthew Roszak - SilkRoad Equity Marco Santori - Attorney at Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP, The Bitcoin Foundation Mari Eagar - Deloitte Canada Mani Eagar - Idaeon Inc, UUX Ultimate User eXperience, GriffenVentures Michael Perklin - Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, Bitcoinsultants Michael Terpin - BitAngels, Social Radius Pamir Gelenbe - Hummingbird Ventures Peter Gray - Coinkite Peter Todd - Mastercoin Reed Holmes - Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, CA Virtex Redmond Weissenberger - The Dollar Vigilante, Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada Rik Willard - MintCombine Robert T. Fooks - McLeod Law LLP Rodolfo Novak - Coinkite Ron Gross - Mastercoin, Global Bitcoin Alliance Ryan Straus - Riddle Williams P.S. Stefan Molyneux - Freedomain Radio Stephanie Murphy - Let's Talk Bitcoin, Free Talk Live Stewart Hoegner - Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, Gaming Counsel Professional Corporation Trace Mayer - Premier Ark LLC Vitalik Buterin - Ethereum, Bitcoin Magazine, KryptoKit Wendell Davis - Hive Wallet Story continues There are multiple levels of registration options: Free - Bitcoin tutorial only, on Saturday morning (only 200 seats available) Standard - Access to Saturday and Sunday sessions Premium - Friday banquet dinner plus access to all standard sessions VIP - Access to private events, including fireside sessions, Friday banquet dinner, and standard sessions A limited number of discounted tickets for each level are available to attendees who register prior to March 15. The full program will be released in mid-March, and as of today, the sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities have been announced, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information and ticket pricing, please visit the Bitcoin Expo's website at http://www.bitcoinexpo.ca/ , where new speakers and program details are continuously being published. To get the fastest updates, please follow the expo's Twitter account at @bitcoinexpoca. About the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada The Bitcoin Alliance of Canada (BAC) is dedicated to raising awareness of Bitcoin among Canadian consumers, merchants, businesses, and policy makers; promoting Bitcoin adoption in Canada; advancing Canadian and global research in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies; and promote Canadian participation in international partnerships, associations, and efforts to promote, study, research, and discuss Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. For more info, please visit http://www.bitcoinalliance.ca/ . Official Media Partners: CalvinAyre.com , Free Talk Live , Bitcoin Magazine , Ed and Ethan , CoinTalk . For Exhibiting, Sponsorship and General Inquiries , please contact [email protected] .

2014-02-25 12:13:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [224, 264, 326, 398]}

{}

10 Tech Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-tech-things-know-morning-121115380.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Samsung Galaxy S5 gold backing up close Steve Kovach/Business Insider The Samsung Galaxy S5 comes in gold. Good morning! There's lots of big news in tech today so let's get to it: MTGox, which used to be the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, has gone offline. The Bitcoin Foundation says the exchange appears to be insolvent. Bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis found a document that suggests 6% of all Bitcoins are out of circulation and that the coins have been stolen over the past several years. Weibo, the Twitter of China, wants to raise $500 million in a U.S. IPO. It has about 61 million users. Samsung revealed a new phone yesterday, the Galaxy S5. It's slightly larger than the Galaxy S4 with a 5.1-inch screen. It's water resistant and it has a fingerprint scanner that lets you make payments and check your heart rate by merely pressing the screen. Samsung also launched the Gear Fit, which will compete with Fitbit Force, Jawbone UP and Nike Fuelband. The Samsung Gear Fit is a fitness-minded smart watch. It has a pedometer, sleep tracker, and heart rate monitor. The wrist band can also help you locate your phone, get email and SMS notifications, and it has a built-in alarm clock. The best thing about the next iPhone might be its display, not its size. Apple may use a technology called quantum dots to enhance its next-generation display. The man who runs popular Twitter account @GSElevator has been unmasked. His name is John Lefavre. He's 34, lives in Texas, and he's never worked for Goldman Sachs. The Twitter account has more than 600,000 followers. Blackberry is launching a phone that will cost less than $200. Mark Zuckerberg spoke at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday. He said why he paid $16 million for WhatsApp and said he wouldn't be making another bid for Snapchat. "[WhatsApp] is the most engaging app we've ever seen...It's on a path to connecting more than a billion people. Very few other companies are like that." Facebook is shutting down its struggling email service, @facebook.com. Dropbox has raised $350 million at a $10 billion valuation. More From Business Insider This Might Be The Best Thing Samsung Announced Today — The Gear Fit, A Sleek Little Fitness Tracking Gadget Mark Zuckerberg's Audacious Plan To Bring Free Internet To Billions Of People All Around The World Samsung Has A Gold Phone Now Too

2014-02-25 12:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [79, 146, 360, 601]}

{}

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-opening-bell-121324466.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

snow umbrella REUTERS/Andy Mettler Good morning! Here's what you need to know. Bitcoin exchange MtGox has gone offline after a string of issues . Bitcoin prices had cratered on the exchange , down as much as 14% to $465. Gox halted withdrawals for more than two weeks, citing software issues. " We are shocked to learn about Mt. Gox’s alleged insolvency," The Bitcoin Foundation told Business Insider's Rob Wile. "While we are unable to comment on whether or not Mt. Gox's business operations employed operational best practices and reasonable accounting procedures, we can assure the public that the Bitcoin protocol is functioning properly." Now there are also concerns that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of theft has hit the site through the years. Tension at PIMCO. The Wall Street Journal has a big story about the shakeup at the world's largest bond firm. Gregory Zuckerman and Kirsten Grind report that tensions between PIMCO's Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian mounted as the bond market struggled over the summer and clients yanked their money. "I have a 41-year track record of investing excellence," Gross reportedly told El-Erian "What do you have?" "I'm tired of cleaning up your s—," El-Erian responded, the Journal reports. Last month, El-Erian unexpectedly announced he will be leaving PIMCO in mid March. More job cuts at JP Morgan . The bank will slash "several thousand" more positions in its mortgage business on top of the 15,000 positions already due to be cut as demand for home loans further decreases, reports the FT's Tom Braithwaite. " Rising interest rates have stifled demand, causing the biggest banks to cut tens of thousands of positions over the past two years," the FT reports. "The additional cuts at JPMorgan are expected to number more than 2,000, evidence of the steep decline in demand even in the past 12 months." Italy's new PM calls for radical change. Italy's 39-year-old Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called for "radical and immediate change" in the country in an "energetic and impassioned" speech to Parliament, the AFP reports. "If we lose this challenge the fault will be mine alone. No-one has an alibi anymore," he said. The ex-mayor of Florence and leader of the Democratic Party took over from former PM Enrico Letta in a party vote last week. Story continues An update on U.S. home prices . It's a busy morning of economic data. At 9:00 a.m. ET, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index was released . The index was up 0.75% month-over-month in December and 13.42% year-over-year, right in line with expectations. FHFA home prices were also up 0.8% in December, beating consensus expectations for a 0.3% rise. A pulse check on the consumer. At 10:00 a.m., the Conference Board will release its Consumer Confidence Index. Economists are looking for the sentiment measure to drop from 80.0 from 80.7 in January. "In February, Washington should not have posed a major concern to consumer confidence," noted Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists . "The US House agreed to suspend the debt ceiling, and the FOMC emphasized the pursuit of status quo policy. The consumer, however, may pick up on the trend of weak data such as vehicle sales, payrolls, initial jobless claims, retail sales, and the NAHB index." How weather hit the east coast. Also at 10:00 a.m., we'll get the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index. Economists predict the regional activity index fell to 3 from 12 in January. The big story lately is whether this winter's bad weather is to blame for lousy economic data, particularly manufacturing data. Asian markets were mixed . The Shanghai Composite was the big loser, shedding 2.04% as the Renminbi fell . Japan's Nikkei closed 1.44% higher and Korea's KOSPI edged up 0.81%. U.S. futures were pointing south. European markets were also lower. Home Depot whiffs . Home Depot missed analyst expectations in earnings this morning . Comparable store sales climbed by just 4.4% during the quarter when analysts expected 4.6%. Earnings came in at $0.67 per share, falling shy of estimates for $0.71. Goldman Sachs Elevator revealed. The identity of the popular @GSElevator parody Twitter account has been exposed in a new report from Dealbook's Andrew Ross Sorkin . John Lefevre — a 34-year-old former bond executive behind the account — never worked at Goldman Sachs. His pithy tweeting has amassed a 600,000+ following and bugged the bank in the past. Lefevre recently got a book deal and told Sorkin that he knew he'd be outed eventually. More From Business Insider 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

2014-02-25 13:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2059, 5958]}

{}

IPO go-go days return: No tech bubble till 2016

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ipo-days-return-no-tech-130000349.html

CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/

Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Draper Wave seems to be coming on schedule. This emotional gauge of venture capital and private equity shows the shape and intensity of the optimism cycle. I created this chart in 2008, and it is remarkable how accurate it has been. Basically, it says that every 16 years we have a complete cycle-from recession to unemployment to creativity to start-ups to angels to venture capital to boom to bubble to disenchantment to frugality to leverage to massive leverage to financial disaster to recession. And it makes sense. When people are out of work, they start businesses. As those businesses grow, they require capital. The capital drives employment and a cycle of growth and optimism. Subsequently, people become "tulip" optimistic, and great wealth is created on the backs of that optimism. At some point faith is lost and irrational fear takes over, which leads to frugality and a focus on the numbers. Then the businesses start to generate cash flow, which attracts bankers and private equity. These financiers make the businesses more efficient and productive. They then begin overleveraging and pushing the businesses too hard, and eventually we have a financial collapse with a recession. And people are out of work. The cycle begins again. So when people ask me if this is another bubble, I think we are safe to say that this is another cycle. We are nowhere near the top of the cycle, but this is a very exciting time for entrepreneurs. Those entrepreneurs who have thrown their blood, sweat and tears into a business for as long as 15 years are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For venture capitalists and their investors, it has been a long wait, and they are about to see their patience pay off. I would argue that this is an even more exciting time than the late 1990s, when the Internet was starting to show its potential. So many new technologies have come to light that will allow so much creative energy to flow from entrepreneurs. Here are seven to keep in mind. Story continues 1. Bitcoin . Say what you will about bitcoin, but virtual currency is just another step in the "trust" continuum of trade. Trade begs constantly for easier liquidity. As we trust each other more, we are more and more willing to use currencies at higher and higher levels of abstraction. We started by trading shells and pretty stones. Then it was gold for goods and services. Then gold was too unwieldy and it was gold promises. Then silver certificates. Then Federal Reserve notes "backed by the standing and good faith of the government." Now as people are having less faith in their monopoly governments and are looking for something even more liquid than a Federal Reserve note, bitcoin emerges as a currency of faith, simplicity and enhanced liquidity. In some countries, people have more faith in bitcoin than they do in their monopoly government currencies. There is a huge opportunity here to recreate and compete with every aspect of our financial system-from banking to credit to venture capital. CoinLab, the first venture-funded bitcoin company, led the charge here. Vaurum , a cryptocurrency exchange for financial institutions, and Bitpagos , a payment gateway that supports bitcoins focused in Latin America, are companies to watch. ( Read more : How can you make money with bitcoin? ) 2. Crowds. Crowds are amazing. We humans have extraordinary knowledge and capacity as a group. From Uber and Lyft in the pick-up service to DoorDash and Favor for food delivery. From TaskRabbit and crowdfunding companies, like Indiegogo and AngelList , to FundersClub and Wikipedia, the crowds are making us more efficient and effective in our lives. These business models are extraordinary in that they allow us to serve ourselves and help each other with more perfect knowledge. 3. Wearables. Steve Jobs created something I still marvel at: the IPhone. It has more functions, features and applications than I'd ever dreamed would be at my fingertips. Well, now I believe that we can have those functions and features with even more convenience. New products, like Google Glass and Epiphany Eyewear, are giving us visual connection without the need for the iPhone. The Body Bug, the Fitbit, the Loopd bracelet, the various brain-wave readers and the other wearable technologies allow us to send information to the cloud. I believe the next wave in start-ups will be companies that use this information to anticipate our needs. The growth in mobility is firing up this trend. As mobile apps continue to be rolled out, they will increasingly become wearable. (R ead more : Wearable smartbands set for 35% growth in 2014 ) 4. Big data. Along those lines, companies can now tap into where their customers are, what they need, how much they can spend, what products and services they like, who their friends are, when they like to eat, what their calendar looks like, what their status is, when they have vacation time, what their favorite color or music is, what they are allergic to, their blood type, their weight, current health, etc. With this information, anything is possible. The obvious example is knowing when someone needs a coffee or a pizza, but the cloud can now anticipate when you need to exercise, when you are close enough to a former classmate to reconnect, when you need entertainment. Imaginations boggle at the possibilities. Theranos can now provide blood data for a fraction of what labs currently charge, and the data can be taken regularly so diseases like diabetes and cancer can be anticipated early and save lives (R ead more : Can wearable tech boost business productivity? ) 5. Space. SpaceX has reopened the cosmos, and the space race is back on, only this time it is in the private sector. From microsatellites from Planet Labs and Skybox to rides in space provided by Virgin, there is a wide opportunity to participate in what could be a many trillion-dollar (or billion Bitcoin)-sized market. ( Read more : Drones are invading the Arctic! ) 6. Education. While the education system wallows in its monopolistic dark ages, the cloud provides amazing opportunities in education. At Draper University of Heroes , we have identified the opportunities and possibilities that lie in having an online/offline school. For $850 we can now provide a similar experience to people who pay $9,500 for our immersive residential school. 7. Government . Monopolies are bad because people get bad service for high prices. Competition is good because people get good service for competitive prices. Start-ups thrive by using technology to compete with (even overthrow) monopolies. Hotmail stunned the post office. Skype turned the phone companies on their ears. Wikipedia became our encyclopedia. Google ( GOOG ) and Baidu challenged libraries, media and advertising. Solar City is taking on the utilities. And Napster challenged the music industry. There is another insidious monopoly to challenge. That is government. Government is the only industry in which we don't have a choice. If you live somewhere, you belong to that government. So we get bad service for high prices. This doesn't have to be. There are movements like SixCalifornias afoot to try to give you a choice, and there are technologies that are making it possible to have many forms of government be "virtual" and inexpensive. All in all, I think we have a beautiful future. Draper Waves will come and go, but the world progresses at an ever accelerating clip, investment opportunities abound, and anything is possible. Yes, anything is possible. -By Timothy C. Draper. Draper is the founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, Calif and founding headmaster, Draper University of Heroes. Follow him on Twitter @TimDraper .

2014-02-25 13:47:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [390, 545, 1138, 1333, 1426, 1719, 2106, 2796, 2876, 3318, 3500, 3826, 4292], "BTC": [640]}

{}

Major bitcoin exchange is insolvent, companies say

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-bitcoin-exchange-insolvent-companies-134525358.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) -- A major bitcoin exchange has gone bust after secretly racking up catastrophic losses, other virtual currency companies said Tuesday — a potentially fatal blow for the exotic new form of money. The website of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox was returning a blank page Tuesday. The disappearance of the site follows the resignation Sunday of Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking legitimacy for the currency, and a withdrawal ban imposed at the exchange earlier this month. Prominent members of the Bitcoin community — including San Francisco-based wallet service Coinbase and Chinese exchange BTC China — sought to shore up confidence in the currency by saying Mt. Gox's collapse was an isolated case of mismanagement. They said it had abused users' trust, but did not offer details on how. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today," the statement said. Documents purportedly leaked from the company lay out the scale of the problem. An 11-page "Crisis Strategy Draft" published on the blog of entrepreneur and Bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis says that 740,000 bitcoins are missing from Mt. Gox, which roughly translates to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of losses, although figures are fuzzy given Bitcoin's extreme volatility. "At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of Bitcoin, at least for most of the public," the draft said. In a post to his blog, Selkis said that the document was handed to him by a "reliable source" and that several people close to the company had confirmed the figures. Reached by phone, he declined further comment. The scandal may cost Bitcoin enthusiasts dear. At the Tokyo office tower housing Mt. Gox, bitcoin trader Kolin Burgess said he had picketed the building since Feb. 14 after flying in from London, hoping to get back $320,000 he has tied up in bitcoins with Mt. Gox. Story continues "I may have lost all of my money," said Burgess, next to placards asking if Mt. Gox is bankrupt. "It hasn't shaken my trust in Bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles did not immediately return several messages seeking comment. A security officer at the office tower said no one from Mt. Gox was in the building. Tibbane, an Internet company that Karpeles is CEO of, still has its name listed on the building's directory. "I have no idea" where they are, said Burgess, the trader. "I'm both annoyed and worried." On bitcoin exchanges, the currency's value has fallen to about $470 from $550 in the past few hours, a figure already down more than 50 percent on the price of $1,200 per bitcoin reached on Mt. Gox three months ago. The disappearance of Mt. Gox could be fatal for Bitcoin, which was started in 2009 as a currency free from government controls. Bitcoin's boosters say the currency's design make it impossible to counterfeit and difficult to manipulate, and the virtual money has won an eclectic mix of die-hard fans, including libertarians, tech enthusiasts and adventurous investors. But the currency has struggled to shake off its associations with criminality, particularly its role in powering the now-defunct online drug marketplace Silk Road. Only last month another member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem, was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport on charges of money laundering. Authorities have been taking an increasingly hard look at Bitcoin and related virtual currencies including Litecoin, Namecoin, Ripple, and countless others. Some countries, including Russia, have effectively banned the currency. In other jurisdictions, authorities are weighing whether to try to tame the marketplace through licenses or other mechanisms. Even if Mt. Gox doesn't drag Bitcoin down with it, there's fear that the exchange's demise will push officials to take an even more skeptical stance. "I think this is disastrous from a (regulatory) standpoint," Selkis, the enthusiast, said in a message posted to Twitter. "The hammer will now come down hard." ___ Satter reported from London. Associated Press writer Stephen Wright in Bangkok also contributed to this report. ___ Online: Mt. Gox: http://www.mtgox.com Joint statement from other Bitcoin companies: http://blog.blockchain.info/2014/02/25/joint-statement/

2014-02-25 14:20:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1065]}

{"Bitcoin": [49]}

Efftec Fully Completes Acquisition of BitBank, a Bitcoin Market and Valuation Application for iOS

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/efftec-fully-completes-acquisition-bitbank-142000383.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

TULSA, OK--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2014) - Efftec International, Inc. ( OTC : EFFI ): The Company is pleased to announce that it has fully completed the purchase of BitBank. Efftec now owns all the rights and privileges associated with the application, and is currently in the process of transferring all the associated source code to the Company's developer account. Upon full transfer of all coding and property, our immediate plan is to analyze the source code to gauge the feasibility of our intended additional development features. Upon completion of this analysis, we plan to immediately start the ground-up improvement of this valuable application property. As the app development market is highly competitive, revealing the most intimate details of our production & expansion plans for this app would leave them exposed to imitation, we will not disclose the most extreme particulars on a feature-by-feature basis. Our general intent is to expand on BitBank to position it as the go-to source for cryptocurrency information in general, speaking not just of Bitcoin, but Litecoin, Ripple, Namecoin, and so on. For all those who follow the cryptocurrency market as a whole, one may recognize the 'growing pains' associated with any new or novel technology or sector. Some can be quick to mainstream adoption, some can require more of a proving time until the public at large trusts and accepts them as viable. We believe that the crypto-sector is at this point very much well-established, and has in fact gained such widespread acceptance: in January of 2014, the State of California has changed their banking laws to fully legalize and allow for the functional use of cryptocurrencies in commerce. As California often leads the United States in terms of proactively adopting legislation to stay with the times, we believe this to be one small step in the progression of cryptocurrencies as a mainstream currency. Efftec intends to capitalize on the expansion of this market in the months and years to come. Story continues The Company will release further details on our developments in regards to BitBank, and on other acquisitions in related sectors which are currently under discussion and negotiation. Source: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_0101-0150/ab_129_cfa_20140128_174724_asm_floor.html Efftec International, Inc. ( OTC : EFFI ) is a holding company with four operating subsidiaries. Efftec's core focus is on the acquisition and development of proprietary technologies. The Company is actively expanding its footprint in the technology marketplace through acquisitions of profitable, revenue-producing companies with proven business models. Safe Harbor: This Press Release may contain, among other things, certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, (i) statements with respect to the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions; and (ii) other statements identified by words such as "may," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans" or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond the Company's control).

2014-02-25 14:46:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [301, 853, 1062, 1140]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies compromised by Pony botnet

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2014-02-25-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-compromise-pony-botnet.html

Engadget

https://www.engadget.com/

It looks like the Pony botnet that stole two million passwords in December has an even more egregious sibling galloping around. According to security firm Trustwave , this more advanced botnet has compromised 700,000 various online accounts up to date (it's been active since September), including 85 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency wallets mostly from Europe. In the months since the equine-loving hackers got the wallets' private keys, a total of $220,000 have been transferred into and out of the accounts. Because anyone can take over a wallet with the appropriate private key (and cryptocurrencies' transactions go through anonymously), it's unclear whether that much money was actually stolen. Some of those transactions could very well be performed by the original owners themselves. Still, add this incident on top of the $1.2 million Input.io Bitcoin heist in 2013, and it's clear users need to start using (strong) transaction passwords and store their wallets offline. Those who've sadly been negligent in the security department can use Trustwave's Bitcoin tool to check if they own one of the 85 accounts. Considering popular Bitcoin exchange website Mt. Gox just went dark , as well, we hope nobody's retirement funds got wiped out.

2014-02-25 14:52:24+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [37], "BTC": [193]}

{"Bitcoin": [18]}

Chart of the Day: Bitcoin keeps sinking

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chart-day-bitcoin-keeps-sinking-145224138.html

CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Bitcoin investors could be forgiven for wanting to do 2014 all over again. The latest troubles with the online exchange Mt.Gox have only pushed the price (:BTC=) of the virtual currency lower and eroded confidence in the nascent platform. Source: Coinbase Since the beginning of the year the price of bitcoin has plunged. Transactions have slumped as well given all the bitcoins tied up in Mt.Gox. ( Watch : How to make money with bitcoin )

2014-02-25 15:22:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [72, 162, 334, 408, 912, 1371, 1552, 1648, 1698, 1954, 2007, 2049, 2178, 2417, 2467, 2492, 2588, 2629]}

{"Bitcoin": [25]}

The First Fully American Bitcoin Exchange Network Is Now In The Works

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-fully-american-bitcoin-exchange-152216544.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Igntion Conference 2011 Berry Silbert Michael Seto The first U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange network is now in the works, hours after MtGox, once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, vanished . SecondMarket, the alternative asset management firm currently overseeing the world's largest Bitcion investment vehicle, plans to spin off its Bitcoin desk into a brand new company that would become a fully regulated Bitcoin trading hub . Using London's Intercontinental Exchange commodities market as a model, SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert said he envisions as a hub and spoke arrangement, with his firm serving as a "meta-exchange" through which certified member exchanges and market-makers could trade with one another. The organization would serve three roles: p rice discovery, central clearing, and, most ambitiously, as a self-regulatory organization, like FINRA. SecondMarket would front $20 million in cash and Bitcoin assets. "We have half a dozen conversations ongoing with global banks, a high level of interest and early support from global banks to be part of this," he told BI by phone Tuesday. "We've spent a fair amount of time with regulators, they're very aware of what we're doing." SecondMarket is also hoping to expand its offering of products for investing in digital currencies. This is not the first time Silbert has stepped in to provide support to the Bitcoin industry as MtGox has teetered: Two weeks ago, as the exchange first announced it was suspending withdrawals, Silbert announced it would begin serving as a market-maker for Bitcoin holders. The final format for the exchange is still under reconsideration. Silbert said Bitcoin's current 24-hour trading has exacerbated Bitcoin's volatility, and that his network is potentially considering mimicking the gold market, where a single new baseline price would be set each day, off of which the marketplace would trade. The network could also help set the stage for the advent of Bitcoin derivatives products, the lack of which many Bitcoin users say has also contributed to Bitcoin's instability. Story continues As for the end of MtGox, Silbert said the end of MtGox may prove a boon in the longrun to Bitcoin. "The sooner that MtGox goes away, the better." Silbert said he hopes to put together the network's founding members by the end of next month. The decision must first be approved by SecondMarket's board. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Prices On MtGox Are Going Bananas Mt. Gox Bitcoins Get Obliterated Bitcoin Prices Fall Below $600 As MtGox Crash Continues The Winklevoss Twins Are Creating A New Bitcoin Price Index Called The 'Winkdex' Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Moves Offices As Angry Customers Protest Outside

2014-02-25 15:30:38+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [39, 195, 321, 497, 785, 1024, 1359, 1730, 1891]}

{"Bitcoin": [7]}

As One Bitcoin Exchange Dies, Throw the Baby out With the Bath Water

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/one-bitcoin-exchange-dies-throw-153038868.html

24/7 Wall St.

http://247wallst.com

So, how silly do the people who bought Bitcoin at $1,000 or higher feel now? That is the question that needs to be asked -- as well as how eager these people will be to chase bitcoins elsewhere. Bitcoin has proven to be vulnerable to a hack that has allowed bitcoins to mysteriously be taken from their owners. While the Bitcoin loyalists may hate Bank of America, Chase and other banking giants, who can they call now to see about getting their "money" back? The MtGox website used to be the top Bitcoin exchange, and now the website is simply gone. MtGox.com is now a white screen with nothing there. Reports were out that hundreds of thousands of bitcoins had been stolen over time and that MtGox was filing for bankruptcy. ALSO READ: America's Most (and Least) Literate Cities The Bitcoin Foundation said upon MtGox's resignation: Effective immediately, Mt. Gox has submitted their resignation from the board of directors. We are grateful for their early and valuable contributions as a founding member in launching the Bitcoin Foundation. MtGox Co. Ltd. (Japan) held one of the three elected industry member seats. Further details, including election procedures, will be forthcoming. ALSO READ: States With the Best (and Worst) Schools Bitstamp is picking up where MtGox left off. The exchange issued a statement trying to calm the fears. The group said Bitcoin was still working, with a bright future, and said that losses were limited to MtGox. Bitstamp said that its customers are safe and that its business is solvent, and also that Bitstamp is not subject to the transaction malleability vulnerability that MtGox was subject to. What is amazing is that bitcoins are still worth $505 or so, even after almost a $31 fall. Bitcoin looks like it is on the way to changing its name to $#itcoin. How many people who just got burned by MtGox will really go throw new money into the other Bitcoin exchanges and start over? It is too bad that a virtual currency has yet to evolve after this much time has passed. There is obviously a demand for a global virtual currency, so maybe the powers that be can make a universal currency. The argument that it can be used for crime or terrorism is just not really worth stating -- cash and gold can be used for that too, and these are hard to track as well. Story continues ALSO READ: The 10 Most Hated Companies in America Related Articles America’s Most Content (and Miserable) States The Net Worth Of The American Presidents: Washington To Obama Nine Stocks That Could Double in 2014

2014-02-25 19:11:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [465, 811, 982]}

{}

What's a bitcoin? A look at the digital currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whats-bitcoin-look-digital-currency-170000110.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

LONDON (AP) -- Early Tuesday, the world's most established exchange for bitcoin disappeared from the Internet, sending the price of the virtual currency tumbling and prompting fears that the world's biggest experiment in electronic cash could soon be strangled by fraud or regulation. Here's an explanation of what bitcoins are, how exchanges work, and why the demise of the Mt. Gox exchange, means many people may have lost a lot of money. Q: What's a bitcoin? A: Bitcoin is an online currency that allows people to make one-to-one transactions, buy goods and services and exchange money across borders without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. As a result, this exotic new form of money has become popular with libertarians as well as tech enthusiasts, speculators — and criminals. Bitcoins are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to the next. Q: Who's behind the currency? A: It's a mystery. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by a person or group of people operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and then adopted by a small clutch of enthusiasts. Nakamoto dropped off the map as bitcoin began to attract widespread attention, but proponents say that doesn't matter; the currency obeys its own, internal logic. Q: What's a bitcoin worth? A: Like any other currency, bitcoins are only worth as much as you and your counterpart want them to be. In its early days, boosters swapped bitcoins back and forth for minor favors or just as a game. One website even gave them away for free. As the market matured, the value of each bitcoin grew. At its height three months ago, a single bitcoin was valued at $1,200. On Tuesday, it was around $500. Q: Is the currency widely used? A: That's debatable. Businesses ranging from blogging platform Wordpress to retailer Overstock have jumped on the bitcoin bandwagon amid a flurry of media coverage, but it's not clear whether the currency has really taken off. On the one hand, leading bitcoin payment processor BitPay works with more than 20,000 businesses — roughly five times more than it did last year. On the other, the total number of bitcoin transactions has stayed roughly constant at between 60,000 and 70,000 per day over the same period, according to bitcoin wallet site blockchain.info. Story continues Q: Is bitcoin particularly vulnerable to counterfeiting? A: The bitcoin network works by harnessing individuals' greed for the collective good. A network of tech-savvy users called miners keep the system honest by pouring their computing power into a blockchain, a global running tally of every bitcoin transaction. The blockchain prevents rogues from spending the same bitcoin twice, and the miners are rewarded for their efforts by being gifted with the occasional bitcoin. As long as miners keep the blockchain secure, counterfeiting shouldn't be an issue. Q: If that's the case, what's all this talk about fraud? A: A lot of the mischief surrounding bitcoin occurs at the places where people store their digital cash or exchange it for traditional currencies, like dollars or euros. If an exchange has sloppy security, or if a person's electronic wallet is compromised, then the money can easily be stolen. Q: Is that what happened to Mt. Gox? A: It's not entirely clear what happened to the Tokyo-based exchange, which has sometimes been criticized for poor security. It suffered a crippling theft in 2011, and several experts have since accused the exchange of ignoring warnings about a software glitch which could enable hackers to silently drain the business of its bitcoins. The glitch was recently fixed, but not before Mt. Gox imposed a ban on bitcoin withdrawals, feeding speculation that the exchange was out of money. Those fears appear to have been confirmed late Monday when bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis posted an 11-page-long "Crisis Strategy Draft" allegedly leaked by a Mt. Gox insider. The draft appeared to show the exchange secretly trying to grapple with the loss of more than 740,000 bitcoins over several years — a titanic sum several times the value of its assets. Q: So does that means it's all over for bitcoin? A: Some fear that a sudden loss of confidence in online exchanges' ability to protect their stored bitcoins could kill off the currency's appeal. A coalition of bitcoin businesses sought to portray Mt. Gox, once the biggest and best known bitcoin exchange, as an isolated case of incompetence but the document published by Selkis speaks in apocalyptic terms about what would happen were the scale of its losses to become public. "The likely damage in public perception to this class of technology could put it back 5-10 years, and cause governments to react swiftly and harshly," it says. "At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of bitcoin, at least for most of the public." That may indeed be hyperbole. bitcoin's value fell sharply once the document started circulating but has stabilized around $500 per bitcoin, suggesting that many already assumed Mt. Gox was insolvent. And at $500, the cybercurrency's value is still 17 times what it was at this time last year, meaning some still see a bright future for bitcoin. Q: What about Mt. Gox's customers? A: If the draft strategy document is correct, Mt. Gox has lost some $370 million worth of bitcoins and has liabilities of $55 million against only $33 million in assets — more than $5 million of which has already been frozen by the U.S. government. That's a catastrophic balance sheet as far as Mt. Gox's customers are concerned. One of them, Kolin Burges, has been picketing the exchange's office building since Feb. 14 in the hope of getting back $320,000 worth of bitcoins he invested there. "I may have lost all of my money," said Burges. "It hasn't shaken my trust in bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges."

2014-02-25 20:40:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [69, 494, 582, 1059, 1085]}

{}

Mt. Gox Leaked Financials Show It Was Profitable (Before Being Robbed Of $300 Million)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-leaked-financials-show-204000871.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

An unredacted version of Mt. Gox's "crisis strategy draft" shows the Bitcoin exchange was projected to be financially healthy and profitable before it was robbed of $300 million . Through March of this year it was supposed to book more than $10 million in net sales, and show $3 million in operating profit. After taxes, it was projected to show a $2 million profit on the bottom line. By 2016, Mt. Gox was projected to be booking $72 million in revenues and earning $39 million in net income. Bitcoin exchanges get their revenues from service charges and through trading their own Bitcoin accounts. Mt. Gox's financials are separate from the deposits held in user accounts, which were the targets of the theft. As bank robber Willie Sutton once said when he was asked why he robbed banks, "That's where the money is": Mt. Gox Mt. Gox / Blake Commagere We saw this first on Techcrunch , which obtained an unredacted copy of the numbers from Twitter user Blake Commagere . More From Business Insider Why The Mt. Gox Disaster Will Mean The End Of Anonymity For Bitcoin Users Israel Says Bitcoin Is Risky And Announces That It May Regulate It What King's IPO Says About The Future Of Payments For Digital Goods

2014-02-25 21:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2641]}

{}

STOCKS FALL, TESLA SURGES: Here's What You Need To Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-fall-tesla-surges-heres-210000994.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

colorful macaroons REUTERS/Regis Duvignau A man holds up a pack of macaroons containing dehydrated insects at the Micronutris plant in Saint Orens de Gameville, southwestern France, February 24, 2014. Once again, the stock market wasn't able to break through its all-time closing high of 1,850. First, the scoreboard: Dow: 16,179.6 (-27.4, -0.1%) S&P 500: 1,845.1 (-2.4, -0.1%) Nasdaq: 4,287.5 (-5.3, -0.1%) And now the top stories: The S&P 500 got as high as 1,852.9 today, but it wasn't able to break yesterday's intraday record high of 1,858.7 . Electric automaker Tesla had a pretty great day. And so did its shareholders. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas gave the stock a huge upgrade in an extremely bullish research note to clients. "Tesla’s quest to disrupt a trillion $ car industry offers an adjacent opportunity to disrupt a trillion $ electric utility industry," he wrote. "If it can be a leader in commercializing battery packs, investors may never look at Tesla the same way again." Jonas raised his price target on the stock to $320 from $153. Later in the day, Consumer Reports named Tesla's Model S the best overall car of 2014 . From the report: "The Tesla is brimming with innovation. Its massive, easy-to-use 17-inch touch screen controls most functions. And with its totally keyless operation, full Internet access, and ultra-quiet, zero-emission driving experience, the Tesla is a glimpse into a future where cars and computers coexist in seamless harmony." Moving on to the bigger picture, the Conference Board said that their consumer confidence index fell to 78.1 in February from 79.4 in January. "Consumer confidence declined moderately in February, on concern over the short-term outlook for business conditions, jobs, and earnings,” said the Conference Board's Lynn Franco. “While expectations have fluctuated over recent months, current conditions have continued to trend upward and the Present Situation Index is now at its highest level in almost six years (April 2008, 81.9). This suggests that consumers believe the economy has improved, but they do not foresee it gaining considerable momentum in the months ahead." According to S&P/Case-Shiller, U.S. home prices climbed 0.75% month-over-month and 13.42% year-over-year in December. "However, gains are slowing from month-to-month and the strongest part of the recovery in home values may be over," noted S&P's David Blitzer. "Year-over-year values for the two monthly Composites weakened and the quarterly National Index barely improved. The seasonally adjusted data also exhibit some softness and loss of momentum." In the world of digital cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is shut down . Here's the brief statement Mt. Gox eventually posted on their stripped-down site: "In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly." Don't Miss: MORGAN STANLEY: Utopia Is Coming By 2026 » More From Business Insider STOCKS FALL: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS RISE: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS FALL: Here's What You Need To Know

2014-02-25 21:04:36+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [474, 3180, 4541, 4853], "BTC": [730]}

{}

Major bitcoin exchange said to be insolvent

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-bitcoin-exchange-said-insolvent-151829294.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) — One of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges has seemingly disappeared, delivering a severe blow to the virtual currency as it struggles to gain legitimacy. A coalition of virtual currency companies said Tuesday that Tokyo-based Mt. Gox went under after secretly racking up catastrophic losses. Mt. Gox's website was returning a blank page Tuesday. The disappearance of the site follows the resignation Sunday of Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking legitimacy for the exotic new form of money. The exchange had imposed a ban on withdrawals earlier this month. Prominent supporters of bitcoin — including San Francisco-based wallet service Coinbase and Chinese exchange BTC China — sought to shore up confidence in the currency by saying Mt. Gox's collapse was an isolated case of mismanagement. They said it had abused users' trust, but did not offer details. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today," the statement said. Since its creation in 2009, bitcoin has become popular among tech enthusiasts, libertarians and adventurous investors because it allows people to make one-to-one transactions, buy goods and services and exchange money across borders without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. Criminals like bitcoin for the same reasons. For various technical reasons, it's hard to know just how many people around the world own bitcoins, but the currency has attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com begin to accept it. Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. In the aftermath of the Mt. Gox collapse Tuesday, one bitcoin stood at around $470. Central banks across the globe have been hesitant to recognize bitcoin as a legitimate form of money, and Mt. Gox's virtual vanishing isn't helping. Mt. Gox "reminds us of the downside of decentralized, unregulated currencies. There is no Federal Reserve or IMF to come to the rescue. There is no deposit insurance," said Campbell Harvey, a professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business who specializes in financial markets and global risk management. Campbell believes, however, that Mt. Gox's disappearance "doesn't mean the end of the road" for bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Story continues The collapse "might represent the end of the 'wild west,' where anyone can set up shop and deal in crypto-currencies," he said. But "increasingly sophisticated investors" are funding serious ventures that will "raise both quality and confidence." Documents purportedly leaked from Mt. Gox lay out the scale of the problem. An 11-page "Crisis Strategy Draft" published on the blog of entrepreneur and bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis said that 740,000 bitcoins are missing from Mt. Gox, which roughly translates to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of losses, although figures are fuzzy given Bitcoin's extreme volatility. "At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of bitcoin, at least for most of the public," the draft said. In a post to his blog, Selkis said that the document was handed to him by a "reliable source" and that several people close to the company had confirmed the figures. Reached by phone, he declined further comment. The Japanese government has not announced any formal investigation. The scandal may cost customers dearly. At the Tokyo office tower housing Mt. Gox, bitcoin trader Kolin Burges said he had picketed the building since Feb. 14 after flying in from London, hoping to get back $320,000 he has tied up in bitcoins with Mt. Gox. "I may have lost all of my money," said Burgess, next to placards asking if Mt. Gox is bankrupt. "It hasn't shaken my trust in bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles did not immediately return several messages seeking comment. A security officer at the office tower said no one from Mt. Gox was in the building. Tibbane, an Internet company that Karpeles is CEO of, still has its name listed on the building's directory. "I have no idea" where they are, said Burges, the trader. "I'm both annoyed and worried." The disappearance of Mt. Gox could be fatal for bitcoin, which was started as a currency free from government controls. Bitcoin's boosters say the currency's design makes it impossible to counterfeit and difficult to manipulate. But the currency has struggled to shake off its associations with criminality, particularly its role in powering the now-defunct online drug marketplace Silk Road. Only last month, another member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem, was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport on charges of money laundering. Authorities have been taking an increasingly hard look at bitcoin and related virtual currencies including Litecoin, Namecoin, Ripple and countless others. Some countries, including Russia, have effectively banned the currency. In other jurisdictions, authorities are weighing whether to try to tame the marketplace through licenses or other mechanisms. Even if Mt. Gox doesn't drag bitcoin down with it, there's fear that the exchange's demise will push officials to take an even more skeptical stance. "I think this is disastrous from a (regulatory) standpoint," Selkis, the enthusiast, said in a message posted to Twitter. "The hammer will now come down hard." ___ Satter reported from London. Associated Press Writer Stephen Wright in Bangkok also contributed to this report. View comments

2014-02-25 21:04:36+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [475, 3181, 4542, 4854], "BTC": [731]}

{}

Major bitcoin exchange said to be insolvent

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-bitcoin-exchange-said-insolvent-151743409.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) -- One of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges has seemingly disappeared, delivering a severe blow to the virtual currency as it struggles to gain legitimacy. A coalition of virtual currency companies said Tuesday that Tokyo-based Mt. Gox went under after secretly racking up catastrophic losses. Mt. Gox's website was returning a blank page Tuesday. The disappearance of the site follows the resignation Sunday of Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking legitimacy for the exotic new form of money. The exchange had imposed a ban on withdrawals earlier this month. Prominent supporters of bitcoin — including San Francisco-based wallet service Coinbase and Chinese exchange BTC China — sought to shore up confidence in the currency by saying Mt. Gox's collapse was an isolated case of mismanagement. They said it had abused users' trust, but did not offer details. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today," the statement said. Since its creation in 2009, bitcoin has become popular among tech enthusiasts, libertarians and adventurous investors because it allows people to make one-to-one transactions, buy goods and services and exchange money across borders without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. Criminals like bitcoin for the same reasons. For various technical reasons, it's hard to know just how many people around the world own bitcoins, but the currency has attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com begin to accept it. Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. In the aftermath of the Mt. Gox collapse Tuesday, one bitcoin stood at around $470. Story continues Central banks across the globe have been hesitant to recognize bitcoin as a legitimate form of money, and Mt. Gox's virtual vanishing isn't helping. Mt. Gox "reminds us of the downside of decentralized, unregulated currencies. There is no Federal Reserve or IMF to come to the rescue. There is no deposit insurance," said Campbell Harvey, a professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business who specializes in financial markets and global risk management. Campbell believes, however, that Mt. Gox's disappearance "doesn't mean the end of the road" for bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The collapse "might represent the end of the 'wild west,' where anyone can set up shop and deal in crypto-currencies," he said. But "increasingly sophisticated investors" are funding serious ventures that will "raise both quality and confidence." Documents purportedly leaked from Mt. Gox lay out the scale of the problem. An 11-page "Crisis Strategy Draft" published on the blog of entrepreneur and bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis said that 740,000 bitcoins are missing from Mt. Gox, which roughly translates to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of losses, although figures are fuzzy given Bitcoin's extreme volatility. "At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of bitcoin, at least for most of the public," the draft said. In a post to his blog, Selkis said that the document was handed to him by a "reliable source" and that several people close to the company had confirmed the figures. Reached by phone, he declined further comment. The Japanese government has not announced any formal investigation. The scandal may cost customers dearly. At the Tokyo office tower housing Mt. Gox, bitcoin trader Kolin Burges said he had picketed the building since Feb. 14 after flying in from London, hoping to get back $320,000 he has tied up in bitcoins with Mt. Gox. "I may have lost all of my money," said Burgess, next to placards asking if Mt. Gox is bankrupt. "It hasn't shaken my trust in bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles did not immediately return several messages seeking comment. A security officer at the office tower said no one from Mt. Gox was in the building. Tibbane, an Internet company that Karpeles is CEO of, still has its name listed on the building's directory. "I have no idea" where they are, said Burges, the trader. "I'm both annoyed and worried." The disappearance of Mt. Gox could be fatal for bitcoin, which was started as a currency free from government controls. Bitcoin's boosters say the currency's design makes it impossible to counterfeit and difficult to manipulate. But the currency has struggled to shake off its associations with criminality, particularly its role in powering the now-defunct online drug marketplace Silk Road. Only last month, another member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem, was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport on charges of money laundering. Authorities have been taking an increasingly hard look at bitcoin and related virtual currencies including Litecoin, Namecoin, Ripple and countless others. Some countries, including Russia, have effectively banned the currency. In other jurisdictions, authorities are weighing whether to try to tame the marketplace through licenses or other mechanisms. Even if Mt. Gox doesn't drag bitcoin down with it, there's fear that the exchange's demise will push officials to take an even more skeptical stance. "I think this is disastrous from a (regulatory) standpoint," Selkis, the enthusiast, said in a message posted to Twitter. "The hammer will now come down hard." ___ Satter reported from London. Associated Press Writer Stephen Wright in Bangkok also contributed to this report.

2014-02-25 21:48:17+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1074, 1947, 3393, 3880, 4474, 5082, 5270], "BTC": [4357, 6084]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes dark in blow to virtual currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-mt-goxs-website-055922774.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Ruairidh Villar, Sophie Knight and Brett Wolf TOKYO/ST LOUIS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading on Tuesday and its chief executive said the business was at "a turning point," sparking concerns about the future of the unregulated virtual currency. Several other digital currency exchanges and prominent early-stage investors in bitcoin responded with forceful statements in an attempt to reassure investors of both bitcoin's viability and their own security protocols. The website of Mt. Gox suddenly went dark on Tuesday with no explanation, and the company's Tokyo office was empty - the only activity was outside, where a handful of protesters said they had lost money investing in the virtual currency. Hours later, Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles told Reuters in an email: "We should have an official announcement ready soon-ish. We are currently at a turning point for the business. I can't tell much more for now as this also involves other parties." He did not elaborate on the details or give his location. Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of large venture capital investors. At a current price of about $517, the total bitcoins in circulation are worth approximately $6.4 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft", and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document or the exchange's financial situation. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. A statement on Bitcoin's website said, "In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly." Story continues The digital currency has caught the eye of regulators concerned with consumer protections and bitcoin's use in money laundering. Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services for the State of New York, said in a statement, that while all of the facts surrounding Mt. Gox are "not yet clear, these developments underscore that smart, tailored regulation could play an important role in protecting consumers and the security of the money that they entrust to virtual currency firms." Lawsky said last month that he planned to issue rules for businesses handling virtual currencies. SECURITY QUESTIONS Mt. Gox halted withdrawals earlier this month after it said it detected "unusual activity on its bitcoin wallets and performed investigations during the past weeks." The move pushed bitcoin prices down to their lowest level in nearly two months. Even with the halt on Feb. 7, Mt. Gox still handled more transactions than any other in the past month. Over the last 30 days, Mt. Gox has handled more than one million bitcoin transactions denominated in dollars, or about 34 percent of activity, according to Bitcoincharts, which provides data and charts for the bitcoin network. Critics of the exchange, from rivals to burned investors, said the digital marketplace operator had long been lax over its security. Investors in bitcoin, who have endured a volatile ride in the value of the unregulated cyber-tender, said they still had faith in the currency despite the problems at Mt. Gox. "Mt. Gox is one of several exchanges, and their exit, while unfortunate, opens a door of opportunity," The Bitcoin Foundation, the digital currency's trade group, said in a statement. "This incident demonstrates the need for responsible individuals and members of the bitcoin community to lead in providing reliable services." United Kingdom-based Bitstamp, the second-largest bitcoin exchange by volume, said on its website that it had done an audit of its systems and that it was not subject to the same kind of "malleability" that "was apparently exploited at Mt. Gox." Similarly, BTC-E, another exchange, assured investors that it has "no vulnerabilities during client transactions." "VERY ANGRY" Bitcoin has been a roller-coaster of late, rising and falling dramatically, sometimes on an intraday basis, and its price varies greatly depending on the exchange. The program that runs the currency has been the target of hackers disrupting transactions recently. The Mt. Gox bitcoin, which traded at $828.99 before Feb. 7, when the exchange halted withdrawals, since plunged 83.7 percent to $135. At Bitstamp, the price hit a low of $400 on Tuesday, down 40 percent since Feb. 7. It had recovered lately to $517. Bitstamp has had more than 800,000 U.S. dollar transactions in the last 30 days, according to Bitcoincharts. In the last two days, Bitstamp has handled more volume than Mt. Gox. Mt. Gox was a founding member and one of the three elected industry representatives on the board of the Bitcoin Foundation. A bitcoin exchange since 2010, Mt. Gox is a relatively old player, having grown quickly when there were few alternatives. On Sunday Karpeles resigned from the Foundation's board. "I'm very angry," said Kolin Burges, a self-styled "crypto-currency trader" and former software engineer who came from London for answers after Mt. Gox did not tell him what happened to his bitcoins, which at one point were worth $300,000. Six leading bitcoin exchanges - which allow users to trade bitcoins for U.S. dollars and other currencies - distanced themselves from Mt. Gox. "This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt. Gox was the result of one company's actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry," the companies - Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, BTC China, Blockchain and Circle - said in the statement. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we're seeing today." Venture capitalists, many of whom have invested in bitcoin and related services, jumped to bitcoin's defense. Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures and a backer of Coinbase, which allows consumers to easily buy and sell bitcoins with wallets directly connected to their bank accounts, wrote in a blog post that part of the maturation of a sector "will inevitably be failures, crashes, and other messes." "The wonderful thing about a globally distributed financial network is that if one of the nodes goes down, it doesn't take the system down," he wrote, adding that he had bought some bitcoin on Tuesday. "I always feel good buying when there is blood in the streets in any market." Marc Andreessen, whose venture capital firm has invested millions in bitcoin ventures, told CNBC that other exchanges are doing fine. In Boston, Kyle Powers and Chris Yim, co-founders of Liberty Teller, a company that operates a bitcoin automated teller machine, answered customers' questions at their kiosk in South Station Tuesday. Yim said he expects a price dip in bitcoin, but no long-term problems with the currency. TEETHING PROBLEMS Virtual currency exchanges "stand to benefit from the Mt. Gox fallout," but there will be "increased expectations on the transparency and disclosures they need to make to customers," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, co-founder and chief executive of Coinsetter, a New York-based bitcoin exchange. Steve Hudak, spokesman for Treasury's anti-money laundering unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said it is "aware of the reports regarding Mt. Gox" but had no additional comment. To date it is the only U.S. regulatory agency to have any oversight of Mt. Gox. Democratic Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that Mt. Gox "is a reminder of the damage potentially ill equipped and unregulated financial actors can wreak on unsuspecting consumers. U.S. policymakers and regulators can and should learn from this incident to protect consumers." Karpeles himself, while insisting on his own exchange's reliability, has made no secret that bitcoin is, as he told Reuters last April, a "high-risk investment." "If you buy bitcoins, you should buy keeping in mind that the value could be zero the day after." The concierge at his home - an upscale apartment in the Shibuya district - said he was not answering his intercom. His mailbox was so stuffed with mail that the flap would not close.

2014-02-25 21:52:19+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1066, 1939, 3495, 3982, 4576, 5192, 5380], "BTC": [4459, 6194]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes dark in blow to virtual currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-mt-goxs-website-062314988.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Ruairidh Villar, Sophie Knight and Brett Wolf TOKYO/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading on Tuesday and its chief executive said the business was at "a turning point," sparking concerns about the future of the unregulated virtual currency. Several other digital currency exchanges and prominent early-stage investors in bitcoin responded with forceful statements in an attempt to reassure investors of both bitcoin's viability and their own security protocols. The website of Mt. Gox suddenly went dark on Tuesday with no explanation, and the company's Tokyo office was empty - the only activity was outside, where a handful of protesters said they had lost money investing in the virtual currency. Hours later, Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles told Reuters in an email: "We should have an official announcement ready soon-ish. We are currently at a turning point for the business. I can't tell much more for now as this also involves other parties." He did not elaborate on the details or give his location. Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of large venture capital investors. At a current price of about $517, the total bitcoins in circulation are worth approximately $6.4 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft", and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document or the exchange's financial situation. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. A statement on Bitcoin's website said, "In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly." The digital currency has caught the eye of regulators concerned with consumer protections and bitcoin's use in money laundering. Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services for the State of New York, said in a statement, that while all of the facts surrounding Mt. Gox are "not yet clear, these developments underscore that smart, tailored regulation could play an important role in protecting consumers and the security of the money that they entrust to virtual currency firms." Story continues Lawsky said last month that he planned to issue rules for businesses handling virtual currencies. GRAPHICS: How bitcoin works http://r.reuters.com/kuf86v Top bitcoin exchanges http://r.reuters.com/zem27v SECURITY QUESTIONS Mt. Gox halted withdrawals earlier this month after it said it detected "unusual activity on its bitcoin wallets and performed investigations during the past weeks." The move pushed bitcoin prices down to their lowest level in nearly two months. Even with the halt on February 7, Mt. Gox still handled more transactions than any other in the past month. Over the last 30 days, Mt. Gox has handled more than one million bitcoin transactions denominated in dollars, or about 34 percent of activity, according to Bitcoincharts, which provides data and charts for the bitcoin network. Critics of the exchange, from rivals to burned investors, said the digital marketplace operator had long been lax over its security. Investors in bitcoin, who have endured a volatile ride in the value of the unregulated cyber-tender, said they still had faith in the currency despite the problems at Mt. Gox. "Mt. Gox is one of several exchanges, and their exit, while unfortunate, opens a door of opportunity," The Bitcoin Foundation, the digital currency's trade group, said in a statement. "This incident demonstrates the need for responsible individuals and members of the bitcoin community to lead in providing reliable services." United Kingdom-based Bitstamp, the second-largest bitcoin exchange by volume, said on its website that it had done an audit of its systems and that it was not subject to the same kind of "malleability" that "was apparently exploited at Mt. Gox." Similarly, BTC-E, another exchange, assured investors that it has "no vulnerabilities during client transactions." "VERY ANGRY" Bitcoin has been a roller-coaster of late, rising and falling dramatically, sometimes on an intraday basis, and its price varies greatly depending on the exchange. The program that runs the currency has been the target of hackers disrupting transactions recently. The Mt. Gox bitcoin, which traded at $828.99 before February 7, when the exchange halted withdrawals, since plunged 83.7 percent to $135. At Bitstamp, the price hit a low of $400 on Tuesday, down 40 percent since February 7. It had recovered lately to $517. Bitstamp has had more than 800,000 U.S. dollar transactions in the last 30 days, according to Bitcoincharts. In the last two days, Bitstamp has handled more volume than Mt. Gox. Mt. Gox was a founding member and one of the three elected industry representatives on the board of the Bitcoin Foundation. A bitcoin exchange since 2010, Mt. Gox is a relatively old player, having grown quickly when there were few alternatives. On Sunday Karpeles resigned from the Foundation's board. "I'm very angry," said Kolin Burges, a self-styled "crypto-currency trader" and former software engineer who came from London for answers after Mt. Gox did not tell him what happened to his bitcoins, which at one point were worth $300,000. Six leading bitcoin exchanges - which allow users to trade bitcoins for U.S. dollars and other currencies - distanced themselves from Mt. Gox. "This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt. Gox was the result of one company's actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry," the companies - Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, BTC China, Blockchain and Circle - said in the statement. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we're seeing today." Venture capitalists, many of whom have invested in bitcoin and related services, jumped to bitcoin's defense. Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures and a backer of Coinbase, which allows consumers to easily buy and sell bitcoins with wallets directly connected to their bank accounts, wrote in a blog post that part of the maturation of a sector "will inevitably be failures, crashes, and other messes." "The wonderful thing about a globally distributed financial network is that if one of the nodes goes down, it doesn't take the system down," he wrote, adding that he had bought some bitcoin on Tuesday. "I always feel good buying when there is blood in the streets in any market." Marc Andreessen, whose venture capital firm has invested millions in bitcoin ventures, told CNBC that other exchanges are doing fine. In Boston, Kyle Powers and Chris Yim, co-founders of Liberty Teller, a company that operates a bitcoin automated teller machine, answered customers' questions at their kiosk in South Station Tuesday. Yim said he expects a price dip in bitcoin, but no long-term problems with the currency. TEETHING PROBLEMS Virtual currency exchanges "stand to benefit from the Mt. Gox fallout," but there will be "increased expectations on the transparency and disclosures they need to make to customers," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, co-founder and chief executive of Coinsetter, a New York-based bitcoin exchange. Steve Hudak, spokesman for Treasury's anti-money laundering unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said it is "aware of the reports regarding Mt. Gox" but had no additional comment. To date it is the only U.S. regulatory agency to have any oversight of Mt. Gox. Democratic Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that Mt. Gox "is a reminder of the damage potentially ill equipped and unregulated financial actors can wreak on unsuspecting consumers. U.S. policymakers and regulators can and should learn from this incident to protect consumers." Karpeles himself, while insisting on his own exchange's reliability, has made no secret that bitcoin is, as he told Reuters last April, a "high-risk investment." "If you buy bitcoins, you should buy keeping in mind that the value could be zero the day after." The concierge at his home - an upscale apartment in the Shibuya district - said he was not answering his intercom. His mailbox was so stuffed with mail that the flap would not close. (Reporting by Ruairidh Villar and Sophie Knight in Tokyo, and Brett Wolf of the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus in St. Louis; Additional reporting by Cheng Herng Shinn, Stanley White and Noriyuki Hirata in Tokyo, Dominic Reuter in Boston, Sarah McBride in San Francisco, Karen Freifeld in New York, and Chris Peters in Bangalore; Writing by William Mallard and David Gaffen; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Tiffany Wu) View comments

2014-02-25 21:55:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1066, 1939, 3389, 3876, 4470, 5086, 5274], "BTC": [4353, 6088]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes dark in blow to virtual currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-mt-goxs-website-053727859.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Ruairidh Villar, Sophie Knight and Brett Wolf TOKYO/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading on Tuesday and its chief executive said the business was at "a turning point," sparking concerns about the future of the unregulated virtual currency. Several other digital currency exchanges and prominent early-stage investors in bitcoin responded with forceful statements in an attempt to reassure investors of both bitcoin's viability and their own security protocols. The website of Mt. Gox suddenly went dark on Tuesday with no explanation, and the company's Tokyo office was empty - the only activity was outside, where a handful of protesters said they had lost money investing in the virtual currency. Hours later, Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles told Reuters in an email: "We should have an official announcement ready soon-ish. We are currently at a turning point for the business. I can't tell much more for now as this also involves other parties." He did not elaborate on the details or give his location. Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of large venture capital investors. At a current price of about $517, the total bitcoins in circulation are worth approximately $6.4 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft", and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document or the exchange's financial situation. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. A statement on Bitcoin's website said, "In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly." Story continues The digital currency has caught the eye of regulators concerned with consumer protections and bitcoin's use in money laundering. Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services for the State of New York, said in a statement, that while all of the facts surrounding Mt. Gox are "not yet clear, these developments underscore that smart, tailored regulation could play an important role in protecting consumers and the security of the money that they entrust to virtual currency firms." Lawsky said last month that he planned to issue rules for businesses handling virtual currencies. SECURITY QUESTIONS Mt. Gox halted withdrawals earlier this month after it said it detected "unusual activity on its bitcoin wallets and performed investigations during the past weeks." The move pushed bitcoin prices down to their lowest level in nearly two months. Even with the halt on February 7, Mt. Gox still handled more transactions than any other in the past month. Over the last 30 days, Mt. Gox has handled more than one million bitcoin transactions denominated in dollars, or about 34 percent of activity, according to Bitcoincharts, which provides data and charts for the bitcoin network. Critics of the exchange, from rivals to burned investors, said the digital marketplace operator had long been lax over its security. Investors in bitcoin, who have endured a volatile ride in the value of the unregulated cyber-tender, said they still had faith in the currency despite the problems at Mt. Gox. "Mt. Gox is one of several exchanges, and their exit, while unfortunate, opens a door of opportunity," The Bitcoin Foundation, the digital currency's trade group, said in a statement. "This incident demonstrates the need for responsible individuals and members of the bitcoin community to lead in providing reliable services." United Kingdom-based Bitstamp, the second-largest bitcoin exchange by volume, said on its website that it had done an audit of its systems and that it was not subject to the same kind of "malleability" that "was apparently exploited at Mt. Gox." Similarly, BTC-E, another exchange, assured investors that it has "no vulnerabilities during client transactions." "VERY ANGRY" Bitcoin has been a roller-coaster of late, rising and falling dramatically, sometimes on an intraday basis, and its price varies greatly depending on the exchange. The program that runs the currency has been the target of hackers disrupting transactions recently. The Mt. Gox bitcoin, which traded at $828.99 before February 7, when the exchange halted withdrawals, since plunged 83.7 percent to $135. At Bitstamp, the price hit a low of $400 on Tuesday, down 40 percent since February 7. It had recovered lately to $517. Bitstamp has had more than 800,000 U.S. dollar transactions in the last 30 days, according to Bitcoincharts. In the last two days, Bitstamp has handled more volume than Mt. Gox. Mt. Gox was a founding member and one of the three elected industry representatives on the board of the Bitcoin Foundation. A bitcoin exchange since 2010, Mt. Gox is a relatively old player, having grown quickly when there were few alternatives. On Sunday Karpeles resigned from the Foundation's board. "I'm very angry," said Kolin Burges, a self-styled "crypto-currency trader" and former software engineer who came from London for answers after Mt. Gox did not tell him what happened to his bitcoins, which at one point were worth $300,000. Six leading bitcoin exchanges - which allow users to trade bitcoins for U.S. dollars and other currencies - distanced themselves from Mt. Gox. "This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt. Gox was the result of one company's actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry," the companies - Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, BTC China, Blockchain and Circle - said in the statement. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we're seeing today." Venture capitalists, many of whom have invested in bitcoin and related services, jumped to bitcoin's defense. Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures and a backer of Coinbase, which allows consumers to easily buy and sell bitcoins with wallets directly connected to their bank accounts, wrote in a blog post that part of the maturation of a sector "will inevitably be failures, crashes, and other messes." "The wonderful thing about a globally distributed financial network is that if one of the nodes goes down, it doesn't take the system down," he wrote, adding that he had bought some bitcoin on Tuesday. "I always feel good buying when there is blood in the streets in any market." Marc Andreessen, whose venture capital firm has invested millions in bitcoin ventures, told CNBC that other exchanges are doing fine. In Boston, Kyle Powers and Chris Yim, co-founders of Liberty Teller, a company that operates a bitcoin automated teller machine, answered customers' questions at their kiosk in South Station Tuesday. Yim said he expects a price dip in bitcoin, but no long-term problems with the currency. TEETHING PROBLEMS Virtual currency exchanges "stand to benefit from the Mt. Gox fallout," but there will be "increased expectations on the transparency and disclosures they need to make to customers," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, co-founder and chief executive of Coinsetter, a New York-based bitcoin exchange. Steve Hudak, spokesman for Treasury's anti-money laundering unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said it is "aware of the reports regarding Mt. Gox" but had no additional comment. To date it is the only U.S. regulatory agency to have any oversight of Mt. Gox. Democratic Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that Mt. Gox "is a reminder of the damage potentially ill equipped and unregulated financial actors can wreak on unsuspecting consumers. U.S. policymakers and regulators can and should learn from this incident to protect consumers." Karpeles himself, while insisting on his own exchange's reliability, has made no secret that bitcoin is, as he told Reuters last April, a "high-risk investment." "If you buy bitcoins, you should buy keeping in mind that the value could be zero the day after." The concierge at his home - an upscale apartment in the Shibuya district - said he was not answering his intercom. His mailbox was so stuffed with mail that the flap would not close. (Reporting by Ruairidh Villar and Sophie Knight in Tokyo, and Brett Wolf of the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus in St. Louis; Additional reporting by Cheng Herng Shinn, Stanley White and Noriyuki Hirata in Tokyo, Dominic Reuter in Boston, Sarah McBride in San Francisco, Karen Freifeld in New York, and Chris Peters in Bangalore; Writing by William Mallard and David Gaffen; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-25 21:55:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1066, 1939, 3389, 3876, 4470, 5086, 5274], "BTC": [4353, 6088]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes dark in blow to virtual currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-mt-goxs-website-053727859.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Ruairidh Villar, Sophie Knight and Brett Wolf TOKYO/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading on Tuesday and its chief executive said the business was at "a turning point," sparking concerns about the future of the unregulated virtual currency. Several other digital currency exchanges and prominent early-stage investors in bitcoin responded with forceful statements in an attempt to reassure investors of both bitcoin's viability and their own security protocols. The website of Mt. Gox suddenly went dark on Tuesday with no explanation, and the company's Tokyo office was empty - the only activity was outside, where a handful of protesters said they had lost money investing in the virtual currency. Hours later, Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles told Reuters in an email: "We should have an official announcement ready soon-ish. We are currently at a turning point for the business. I can't tell much more for now as this also involves other parties." He did not elaborate on the details or give his location. Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of large venture capital investors. At a current price of about $517, the total bitcoins in circulation are worth approximately $6.4 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft", and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document or the exchange's financial situation. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. A statement on Bitcoin's website said, "In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly." Story continues The digital currency has caught the eye of regulators concerned with consumer protections and bitcoin's use in money laundering. Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services for the State of New York, said in a statement, that while all of the facts surrounding Mt. Gox are "not yet clear, these developments underscore that smart, tailored regulation could play an important role in protecting consumers and the security of the money that they entrust to virtual currency firms." Lawsky said last month that he planned to issue rules for businesses handling virtual currencies. SECURITY QUESTIONS Mt. Gox halted withdrawals earlier this month after it said it detected "unusual activity on its bitcoin wallets and performed investigations during the past weeks." The move pushed bitcoin prices down to their lowest level in nearly two months. Even with the halt on February 7, Mt. Gox still handled more transactions than any other in the past month. Over the last 30 days, Mt. Gox has handled more than one million bitcoin transactions denominated in dollars, or about 34 percent of activity, according to Bitcoincharts, which provides data and charts for the bitcoin network. Critics of the exchange, from rivals to burned investors, said the digital marketplace operator had long been lax over its security. Investors in bitcoin, who have endured a volatile ride in the value of the unregulated cyber-tender, said they still had faith in the currency despite the problems at Mt. Gox. "Mt. Gox is one of several exchanges, and their exit, while unfortunate, opens a door of opportunity," The Bitcoin Foundation, the digital currency's trade group, said in a statement. "This incident demonstrates the need for responsible individuals and members of the bitcoin community to lead in providing reliable services." United Kingdom-based Bitstamp, the second-largest bitcoin exchange by volume, said on its website that it had done an audit of its systems and that it was not subject to the same kind of "malleability" that "was apparently exploited at Mt. Gox." Similarly, BTC-E, another exchange, assured investors that it has "no vulnerabilities during client transactions." "VERY ANGRY" Bitcoin has been a roller-coaster of late, rising and falling dramatically, sometimes on an intraday basis, and its price varies greatly depending on the exchange. The program that runs the currency has been the target of hackers disrupting transactions recently. The Mt. Gox bitcoin, which traded at $828.99 before February 7, when the exchange halted withdrawals, since plunged 83.7 percent to $135. At Bitstamp, the price hit a low of $400 on Tuesday, down 40 percent since February 7. It had recovered lately to $517. Bitstamp has had more than 800,000 U.S. dollar transactions in the last 30 days, according to Bitcoincharts. In the last two days, Bitstamp has handled more volume than Mt. Gox. Mt. Gox was a founding member and one of the three elected industry representatives on the board of the Bitcoin Foundation. A bitcoin exchange since 2010, Mt. Gox is a relatively old player, having grown quickly when there were few alternatives. On Sunday Karpeles resigned from the Foundation's board. "I'm very angry," said Kolin Burges, a self-styled "crypto-currency trader" and former software engineer who came from London for answers after Mt. Gox did not tell him what happened to his bitcoins, which at one point were worth $300,000. Six leading bitcoin exchanges - which allow users to trade bitcoins for U.S. dollars and other currencies - distanced themselves from Mt. Gox. "This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt. Gox was the result of one company's actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry," the companies - Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, BTC China, Blockchain and Circle - said in the statement. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we're seeing today." Venture capitalists, many of whom have invested in bitcoin and related services, jumped to bitcoin's defense. Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures and a backer of Coinbase, which allows consumers to easily buy and sell bitcoins with wallets directly connected to their bank accounts, wrote in a blog post that part of the maturation of a sector "will inevitably be failures, crashes, and other messes." "The wonderful thing about a globally distributed financial network is that if one of the nodes goes down, it doesn't take the system down," he wrote, adding that he had bought some bitcoin on Tuesday. "I always feel good buying when there is blood in the streets in any market." Marc Andreessen, whose venture capital firm has invested millions in bitcoin ventures, told CNBC that other exchanges are doing fine. In Boston, Kyle Powers and Chris Yim, co-founders of Liberty Teller, a company that operates a bitcoin automated teller machine, answered customers' questions at their kiosk in South Station Tuesday. Yim said he expects a price dip in bitcoin, but no long-term problems with the currency. TEETHING PROBLEMS Virtual currency exchanges "stand to benefit from the Mt. Gox fallout," but there will be "increased expectations on the transparency and disclosures they need to make to customers," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, co-founder and chief executive of Coinsetter, a New York-based bitcoin exchange. Steve Hudak, spokesman for Treasury's anti-money laundering unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said it is "aware of the reports regarding Mt. Gox" but had no additional comment. To date it is the only U.S. regulatory agency to have any oversight of Mt. Gox. Democratic Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that Mt. Gox "is a reminder of the damage potentially ill equipped and unregulated financial actors can wreak on unsuspecting consumers. U.S. policymakers and regulators can and should learn from this incident to protect consumers." Karpeles himself, while insisting on his own exchange's reliability, has made no secret that bitcoin is, as he told Reuters last April, a "high-risk investment." "If you buy bitcoins, you should buy keeping in mind that the value could be zero the day after." The concierge at his home - an upscale apartment in the Shibuya district - said he was not answering his intercom. His mailbox was so stuffed with mail that the flap would not close. (Reporting by Ruairidh Villar and Sophie Knight in Tokyo, and Brett Wolf of the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus in St. Louis; Additional reporting by Cheng Herng Shinn, Stanley White and Noriyuki Hirata in Tokyo, Dominic Reuter in Boston, Sarah McBride in San Francisco, Karen Freifeld in New York, and Chris Peters in Bangalore; Writing by William Mallard and David Gaffen; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-26 01:04:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1919, 2180, 3245], "BTC": [2259]}

{}

What is bitcoin and how does it work?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-does-010452461.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading on Tuesday, shaking investor confidence in the digital currency that is struggling for legitimacy. WHAT IS BITCOIN? A form of electronic money independent of traditional banking, bitcoins started circulating in 2009 and have become the most prominent of several fledgling digital currencies. The virtual currency relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. Unlike traditional currencies, where a central bank decides how much money to print based on goals like controlling inflation, no central authority governs the supply of bitcoins. Like other commodities and currencies, its value depends on people's confidence in it. HOW VOLATILE IS IT? The dollar price of bitcoins quoted on online exchange Bitstamp spiked from around $30 a year ago to more than $1,100 in December as more people became aware of the currency and speculators jumped into the highly volatile market. But growing attention from regulators and concerns that bitcoins could be more susceptible to fraud than previously thought have sparked a steady decline in prices, to around $530 on Tuesday. Compounding the issue, its price can vary greatly depending on the exchange. WHERE CAN I USE MY BITCOINS? Proponents say bitcoins could one day become widely used by consumers for online shopping and other electronic transactions. Certain online retailers such as Overstock.com and physical stores, mostly smaller operations, already accept the digital currency, but its adoption is not widespread. Critics say bitcoin is too volatile to be widely adopted and warn of its lack of regulation and its use to pay for illegal drugs and other nefarious transactions. HOW DO YOU STORE, TRADE AND SPEND BITCOINS? Bitcoins are held in virtual wallets with unique keys. Transactions are made by sending bitcoins from one wallet to a unique key associated with another wallet in a cryptographic process that is verified by computers across the bitcoin network. Story continues Bitcoin wallets can be stored offline or online at exchanges like Bitstamp and BTC-E. HOW ARE BITCOINS CREATED? The system was designed to reward computers that do the crucial work of verifying transactions with the occasional payoff of new bitcoins in a process known as bitcoin mining. The growth in the virtual currency's value has created a market for souped-up computers and chips especially designed for the cryptographic calculations used in bitcoin. About 12.4 million bitcoins, worth $6.2 billion at recent prices, have been minted since the currency began circulating, according to Blockchain.info. WHAT HAPPENED TO MT. GOX? The Tokyo-based bourse halted withdrawals earlier this month after detecting "unusual activity", and on Tuesday it abruptly stopped trading. An unverified document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft." Mt. Gox began as a website for exchanging trading cards before turning to bitcoin. WHAT'S THE FUTURE OF BITCOIN? Bitcoin critics say Mt. Gox's apparent failure proves the unregulated currency is far from ready for widespread use. They also point to hacking attacks at other exchanges. But proponents say it's early days for virtual currencies and note that newer bitcoin exchanges and other startups aiming to make bitcoin mainstream are supervised by seasoned venture capitalists and financial experts. Many bitcoin advocates still hold out the hope of creating a digital currency system free of government intervention or control. (Reporting by Noel Randewich, editing by Ross Colvin)

2014-02-26 03:37:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1098, 5961, 6263], "BTC": [1479]}

{}

Collapse of exchange spells trouble for bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/collapse-exchange-spells-trouble-bitcoin-221052149.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) — The sudden disappearance of one of the largest bitcoin exchanges only adds to the mystery and mistrust surrounding the virtual currency, which was just beginning to gain legitimacy beyond the technology enthusiasts and adventurous investors who created it. Prominent bitcoin supporters said the apparent collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange was an isolated case of mismanagement that will weed out "bad actors." But the setback raised serious questions about bitcoin's tenuous status and even more tenuous future. At least one supporter said the blow could be fatal to bitcoin's quest for acceptance by the public. A coalition of virtual currency companies said Mt. Gox went under after secretly racking up catastrophic losses. The exchange had imposed a ban on withdrawals earlier this month. By Tuesday, its website returned only a blank page. On Wednesday it displayed a notice to customers that said all transactions were closed "for the time being" to protect the site and customers. The collapse followed the resignation Sunday of CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking wider use of the exotic currency. Mt. Gox's origins are rooted in fantasy instead of finance. The service originally specialized in trading colorful cards featuring mythical wizards and derives its name from a game. The initials stand for, "Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange." San Francisco-based wallet service Coinbase and Chinese exchange BTC China sought to shore up confidence in the currency by saying the Mt. Gox's situation was isolated and the result of abusing users' trust. They offered no details. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today," the statement said. Since its creation in 2009, bitcoin has become popular among tech enthusiasts, libertarians and risk-seeking investors because it allows people to make one-to-one transactions, buy goods and services and exchange money across borders without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. Criminals like bitcoin for the same reasons. Story continues For various technical reasons, it's hard to know just how many people worldwide own bitcoins, but the currency attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com began to accept it. Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. In the aftermath of the Mt. Gox collapse Tuesday, one bitcoin stood at around $470. Central banks across the globe have been hesitant to recognize bitcoin as a form of money, and Tuesday's vanishing act isn't helping. Japanese officials appeared reluctant to react, with the Finance Ministry and Financial Services Agency both saying Wednesday a virtual currency like bitcoin was not under their jurisdiction. Tokyo police declined comment. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said the financial regulators are gathering information and "if necessary, I believe they will act on this." Mt. Gox "reminds us of the downside of decentralized, unregulated currencies," said Campbell Harvey, a professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business who specializes in financial markets and global risk management. "There is no Federal Reserve or IMF to come to the rescue. There is no deposit insurance." However, Campbell said, Mt. Gox's disappearance "doesn't mean the end of the road" for bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The collapse "might represent the end of the 'wild west,' where anyone can set up shop and deal in crypto-currencies," he said. But "increasingly sophisticated investors" are funding serious ventures that will "raise both quality and confidence." Peter Leeds, a publisher of newsletter focused on risky investments, doubts bitcoin will recover from the Mt. Gox collapse. He expects the currency to plunge below $300. "It's more likely that someone getting involved in bitcoin at this point of the game is going to lose," Leed said. "There are all sorts of problems inherent with bitcoin that are just now coming to light." Documents purportedly leaked from Mt. Gox lay out the scale of the problem. An 11-page "crisis strategy draft" published on the blog of entrepreneur and bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis said that 740,000 bitcoins were missing from Mt. Gox. That represents roughly 6 percent of the estimated 12 million bitcoins that have been created so far, translating into hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of losses, although figures are fuzzy given the currency's extreme volatility. "At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of bitcoin, at least for most of the public," the draft said. In a post to his blog, Selkis said that the document was handed to him by a "reliable source" and that several people close to the company had confirmed the figures. Reached by phone, he declined to comment further. The Japanese government has not announced any formal investigation. The scandal may cost customers dearly. At the Tokyo office building housing Mt. Gox, bitcoin trader Kolin Burges said he had picketed outside since Feb. 14 after traveling from London in an effort to get back $320,000 he has tied up in bitcoins with Mt. Gox. "I may have lost all of my money," said Burgess, next to placards asking if Mt. Gox is bankrupt. "It hasn't shaken my trust in bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles did not immediately return several messages seeking comment. A security officer at the office building said no one from Mt. Gox was inside. Tibbane, an Internet company that Karpeles is CEO of, still has its name listed on the building's directory. "I have no idea" where they are, said Burges, the trader. "I'm both annoyed and worried." Bitcoin's boosters say the currency's design makes it impossible to counterfeit and difficult to manipulate. But it has struggled to shake off its associations with criminality, particularly its role in powering the now-defunct online drug marketplace Silk Road. Only last month, another member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem, was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport on charges of money laundering. Authorities have been taking an increasingly hard look at bitcoin and related virtual currencies, including Litecoin, Namecoin, Ripple and countless others. Some countries, including Russia, have effectively banned the currency. In other jurisdictions, authorities are weighing whether to try to tame the marketplace through licenses or other mechanisms. Even if Mt. Gox doesn't drag bitcoin down with it, there's fear that the exchange's demise will push financial regulators to take an even more skeptical stance. "I think this is disastrous from a (regulatory) standpoint," Selkis said in a message posted to Twitter. "The hammer will now come down hard." ___ Satter reported from London. ___ Associated Press Writers Stephen Wright in Bangkok and Michael Liedtke in San Francisco also contributed to this report.

2014-02-26 03:37:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1099, 5962, 6264], "BTC": [1480]}

{}

Collapse of exchange spells trouble for bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/collapse-exchange-spells-trouble-bitcoin-221045109.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) -- The sudden disappearance of one of the largest bitcoin exchanges only adds to the mystery and mistrust surrounding the virtual currency, which was just beginning to gain legitimacy beyond the technology enthusiasts and adventurous investors who created it. Prominent bitcoin supporters said the apparent collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange was an isolated case of mismanagement that will weed out "bad actors." But the setback raised serious questions about bitcoin's tenuous status and even more tenuous future. At least one supporter said the blow could be fatal to bitcoin's quest for acceptance by the public. A coalition of virtual currency companies said Mt. Gox went under after secretly racking up catastrophic losses. The exchange had imposed a ban on withdrawals earlier this month. By Tuesday, its website returned only a blank page. On Wednesday it displayed a notice to customers that said all transactions were closed "for the time being" to protect the site and customers. The collapse followed the resignation Sunday of CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking wider use of the exotic currency. Mt. Gox's origins are rooted in fantasy instead of finance. The service originally specialized in trading colorful cards featuring mythical wizards and derives its name from a game. The initials stand for, "Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange." San Francisco-based wallet service Coinbase and Chinese exchange BTC China sought to shore up confidence in the currency by saying the Mt. Gox's situation was isolated and the result of abusing users' trust. They offered no details. "As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today," the statement said. Since its creation in 2009, bitcoin has become popular among tech enthusiasts, libertarians and risk-seeking investors because it allows people to make one-to-one transactions, buy goods and services and exchange money across borders without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. Criminals like bitcoin for the same reasons. Story continues For various technical reasons, it's hard to know just how many people worldwide own bitcoins, but the currency attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com began to accept it. Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. In the aftermath of the Mt. Gox collapse Tuesday, one bitcoin stood at around $470. Central banks across the globe have been hesitant to recognize bitcoin as a form of money, and Tuesday's vanishing act isn't helping. Japanese officials appeared reluctant to react, with the Finance Ministry and Financial Services Agency both saying Wednesday a virtual currency like bitcoin was not under their jurisdiction. Tokyo police declined comment. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said the financial regulators are gathering information and "if necessary, I believe they will act on this." Mt. Gox "reminds us of the downside of decentralized, unregulated currencies," said Campbell Harvey, a professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business who specializes in financial markets and global risk management. "There is no Federal Reserve or IMF to come to the rescue. There is no deposit insurance." However, Campbell said, Mt. Gox's disappearance "doesn't mean the end of the road" for bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The collapse "might represent the end of the 'wild west,' where anyone can set up shop and deal in crypto-currencies," he said. But "increasingly sophisticated investors" are funding serious ventures that will "raise both quality and confidence." Peter Leeds, a publisher of newsletter focused on risky investments, doubts bitcoin will recover from the Mt. Gox collapse. He expects the currency to plunge below $300. "It's more likely that someone getting involved in bitcoin at this point of the game is going to lose," Leed said. "There are all sorts of problems inherent with bitcoin that are just now coming to light." Documents purportedly leaked from Mt. Gox lay out the scale of the problem. An 11-page "crisis strategy draft" published on the blog of entrepreneur and bitcoin enthusiast Ryan Selkis said that 740,000 bitcoins were missing from Mt. Gox. That represents roughly 6 percent of the estimated 12 million bitcoins that have been created so far, translating into hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of losses, although figures are fuzzy given the currency's extreme volatility. "At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of bitcoin, at least for most of the public," the draft said. In a post to his blog, Selkis said that the document was handed to him by a "reliable source" and that several people close to the company had confirmed the figures. Reached by phone, he declined to comment further. The Japanese government has not announced any formal investigation. The scandal may cost customers dearly. At the Tokyo office building housing Mt. Gox, bitcoin trader Kolin Burges said he had picketed outside since Feb. 14 after traveling from London in an effort to get back $320,000 he has tied up in bitcoins with Mt. Gox. "I may have lost all of my money," said Burgess, next to placards asking if Mt. Gox is bankrupt. "It hasn't shaken my trust in bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in bitcoin exchanges." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles did not immediately return several messages seeking comment. A security officer at the office building said no one from Mt. Gox was inside. Tibbane, an Internet company that Karpeles is CEO of, still has its name listed on the building's directory. "I have no idea" where they are, said Burges, the trader. "I'm both annoyed and worried." Bitcoin's boosters say the currency's design makes it impossible to counterfeit and difficult to manipulate. But it has struggled to shake off its associations with criminality, particularly its role in powering the now-defunct online drug marketplace Silk Road. Only last month, another member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem, was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport on charges of money laundering. Authorities have been taking an increasingly hard look at bitcoin and related virtual currencies, including Litecoin, Namecoin, Ripple and countless others. Some countries, including Russia, have effectively banned the currency. In other jurisdictions, authorities are weighing whether to try to tame the marketplace through licenses or other mechanisms. Even if Mt. Gox doesn't drag bitcoin down with it, there's fear that the exchange's demise will push financial regulators to take an even more skeptical stance. "I think this is disastrous from a (regulatory) standpoint," Selkis said in a message posted to Twitter. "The hammer will now come down hard." ___ Satter reported from London. ___ Associated Press Writers Stephen Wright in Bangkok and Michael Liedtke in San Francisco also contributed to this report.

2014-02-26 07:04:02+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [741]}

{}

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Feb 26

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/press-digest-wall-street-journal-070402349.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

Feb 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. * Administration lawyers have presented the White House with four options for restructuring the National Security Agency's phone-surveillance program, from ditching the controversial collection altogether to running it through the telephone companies, according to officials familiar with the discussions.() * The virtual currency bitcoin suffered the biggest setback in its five-year history after a major exchange shut down on Tuesday, stoking concern about the future of a digital form of money traded by professional investors and ordinary people, but regulated by no one. () * Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in New York, according to a person familiar with the matter, dealing another blow to the embattled marketplace for buyers and sellers of the virtual currency. () * Two big banks, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp, on Tuesday disclosed details of the continuing regulatory and legal challenges they face for their actions during the financial crisis. () * Credit Suisse Group AG went to great lengths to assist U.S. customers trying to open Swiss bank accounts and evade federal taxes, courting clients at a Swiss-themed ball in New York and golf tournaments in Florida and setting up a branch in the Zurich airport to assist Americans en route to ski vacations, a Senate report alleged Tuesday. () * Tesla Motors Inc shares hit a record high on Tuesday ahead of an expected announcement of a battery-production partnership in which the company would carve out a business making advanced batteries for itself and others. Panasonic Corp, now the primary battery supplier for Tesla's $71,000-and-up electric cars, is in talks about investing in a nearly $1 billion battery factory in the United States, according to Japanese business newspaper the Nikkei. () * When word got out that Procter & Gamble Co had allowed Amazon.com Inc to set up shop inside its warehouses, Amazon's bitter rival Target Corp reacted by retaliating against P&G, according to people familiar with the matter. Several months ago, the discount chain started to give some P&G products less-prominent placement in stores people in the industry said. () * The Pentagon has responded to concerns that defense cuts could harm the U.S. military-industrial base by proposing support that could aid two unlikely beneficiaries: General Electric Co and United Technologies Corp. ()

2014-02-26 11:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1269, 1484]}

{}

Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp (PINKSHEETS: BITCF) (Pending Name Change to First BITCoin Capital Corp.) Announces Removal of Caveat Emptor Symbol

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grand-pacaraima-gold-corp-pinksheets-110000616.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - Feb 26, 2014) - Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp ( PINKSHEETS : BITCF ) (pending name change to First BITCoin Capital Corp.) is pleased to announce that Pink OTC Markets, Inc., has removed the caveat emptor warning label on the webpage showing the company's common stock. The company is now showing "OTC PINK Current Information" on the OTC Markets website. The company received an email communication from OTC Markets stating the following: "We have finished processing your disclosure and attorney letter for the period ending December 31, 2013. Your Company will be moved to the OTC Pink Current Information tier before the next market open." The company published its year end corporate financial statements covering periods up to 12-31-2013, which has brought the company into compliance with OTC Markets. "We have always intended to be fully compliant with OTC Markets rules and regulations," the company said. "Now that we are fully up to date with our corporate information, we can focus on moving forward with new and exciting projects that we have planned for the future. We look forward to updating our shareholders shortly on our progress." The company seeks to become the first publicly traded, vertically-integrated consolidator of Bitcoin and other crypto-currency industries. About the company: Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. is a developing Canadian-based mining company currently holding concessions of Gold in Venezuela and is preparing to enter Bitcoin related and crypto-currency industry. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over the Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof.

2014-02-26 11:50:53+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2376]}

{}

Beyond Mt. Gox, bitcoin believers keep the faith, see more robust system

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/beyond-mt-gox-bitcoin-believers-113322624.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Jeremy Wagstaff SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The apparent collapse of Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox isn't bothering Anthony Hope and others who have ditched steady careers in government and finance to build bitcoin companies - and who stand to lose money they have in Mt. Gox. Hope, a former British Treasury official and now head of compliance at Hong Kong-based MatrixVision, says that while Mt. Gox's fate is unclear, its troubles form part of a wider shift as more professional players move into the bitcoin mainstream. "It's good for us as a business, not so good for us as consumers," he said. "Over the longer term it will be good for bitcoin because over time the entire ecosystem will be made more robust." Steve Beauregard, CEO and founder of Singapore-based GoCoin, is more blunt about Mt. Gox's woes: "It's important in the sense of sweeping away a lot of the early unsophisticated folk who got into this and made a name for themselves, but didn't have the management horsepower to manage a company." Mt. Gox, at one time the biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading this week amid reports on the internet that more than 744,000 bitcoins - worth around $380 million at prevailing rates - had been stolen. If accurate, that would mean around 6 percent of the world's 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be missing. The exchange's CEO Mark Karpeles told Reuters in an email that his company was "at a turning point" and would issue a statement "soon-ish." His LinkedIn profile reads: "I have a long experience in company creation, and experienced almost any imaginable kind of trouble." On Wednesday, Japan said its authorities were looking into the Mt. Gox closure, and The Wall Street Journal reported that the virtual currency's exchange had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in New York. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan did not respond to requests for comment. Also, the European Banking Authority warned bitcoin users they were on their own when it comes to losses from using unregulated online currencies, noting there is no safety net as with mainstream bank deposits. "Currently, no specific regulatory protections exist in the EU that would protect consumers from financial losses if a platform that exchanges or holds virtual currencies fails or goes out of business," it said in a statement. Story continues Bitcoins rallied more than 10 percent on Wednesday, trading at close to $580, according to coinorama.net, which tracks the rate on various exchanges. "FINANCE HAS GOT BORING" While bitcoin's public image remains one of a network of subversive, libertarian geeks, the past year or so has seen a change in the kind of people launching start-ups, say Hope, Beauregard and others in the fledgling industry. Hope's colleagues, for example, include a serial entrepreneur, a former Morgan Stanley mergers and acquisitions specialist and a respected figure from the bitcoin community. Hope handled banking policy, taxation rules and freezing suspected terrorists' assets for the UK government before he moved to Hong Kong. Antony Lewis, meanwhile, joined Singapore-based bitcoin exchange itBit from Credit Suisse last November. His colleagues include a former hedge fund analyst, a venture capitalist who invested in IT start-ups on behalf of the Singapore government and a former forex spot trader. "Finance has got boring in the past five years," Lewis said. "It's not fun, it's very backward looking and all the innovation is in virtual currencies." Such companies are examples of a maturing - not just of the kinds of people attracted to bitcoin, but of the specialist roles companies play in the nascent bitcoin ecosystem. MatrixVision, for example, helps bitcoin exchanges integrate with the traditional banking system by complying with local laws and regulations, while GoCoin acts as a "PayPal for bitcoin users", allowing merchants and others to accept bitcoins without the problems of currency volatility and security risk. MORE DISCERNING USERS For sure, the crisis surrounding Mt. Gox is the worst the young crypto-currency has faced, damaging trust and challenging all bitcoin-related companies to respond. "Other major players need to show they avoid the mistakes Mt. Gox made, which they are trying hard to do," said Tomas Forgac, who founded Singapore-based Coin Of Sale, a service for merchants to accept bitcoins as payment. That, adds Masa Nakatsu, a Japanese entrepreneur who this month founded his own bitcoin start-up, means bringing in more professional technology companies which are able to work with governments and central banks - a skill he says some of the early bitcoin players have not shown. "Players will change," he says, "as the characteristics of the market change." This shake-out is already underway as users learn to be more discerning about where to put or exchange their money. ItBiT's Lewis says his exchange has seen a steady flow of funds and new accounts, with trading jumping to 10 times normal levels in just the past few days. "ItBit represents the next wave of exchanges where we care about customers and want to have a go at this," he says. Lewis points to key questions that users need to ask of exchanges before entrusting money to them: how easy are they to hack? How well capitalised is the company? Are the deposits insured? ItBit, he says, ticks most of those boxes. Clients' bitcoin funds are held on a computer that's not connected to the internet, and doesn't even have a hard drive or network card. Only itBit's funds are used for transactions. It has reached out to auditing firms to inspect its procedures and holds regular meetings with global regulators. Such things aren't cheap, says Lewis, noting ItBit has raised $5.5 million "and we'll need more as regulation gets tighter." "The next generation of bitcoin companies will be run by people with previous experience of financial service companies and they will need to be capitalised like financial service companies," he says. "VIBRANT ECOSYSTEM" Beauregard, who divides his time between his Singapore start-up and his California home, says financing this won't be a problem. His GoCoin has raised $500,000 and is about to close out another round of funding. While the number of bitcoin companies raising six figure sums is limited, that will change, he said. "Every venture capital firm will have to have their bitcoin plays in 2014," he said. "Otherwise they'll be missing the single greatest asset class that's emerging at the moment." Hakim Mamoni, Hong Kong-based chief technology officer at bitcoin incubator Seedcoin, says a new raft of exchanges are set to appear in the months ahead. He declined to identify them, since most are operating in what the start-up world calls 'stealth mode.' "That's why the Mt. Gox event is not troubling me," he said. "I know we'll have a vibrant ecosystem in a few months." (Additional reporting by Chris Peters in BANGALORE, Kazuhiko Tamaki in TOKYO, Huw Jones in BRUSSELS and Lionel Laurent in PARIS; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-26 12:18:00+00:00

{}

{"Bitcoin": [43]}

#PreMarket Primer: Wednesday, February 26: Bitcoin Faces Another Major Setback

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/premarket-primer-wednesday-february-26-121800242.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

The risks of trading with the virtual currency bitcoin were underscored after one of its major exchanges was shut down. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox stopped all transactions on Tuesday leaving people with money tied up in the exchange unsure about their rights. Since bitcoin transactions are largely unregulated, people using the site will likely suffer huge losses. Top News In other news around the markets: Ukrainian interim President Oleksandr Turchynov announced that a new government arrangement will be in place two days later than initially expected, on Thursday. Many see the delay in forming a new government as reason to reignite protestors' anger as they accuse lawmakers of making under the table deals. The divided nation's currency has been on a downward spiral as angry protestors relentlessly fill the nation's capital. US President Barack Obama and his administration will be forced to choose from the lesser of three evils in an attempt to restructure the NSA's phone-surveillance program. The president has asked for alternative ways run the program which would omit the NSA's involvement, but still allow the collection of phone records to continue with fewer privacy concern issues. So far, none of the options have been widely popular. On Wednesday, a Bank of Japan board member announced that the Japanese recovery will likely remain on track even if the nation's GDP falters following the planned second quarter sales tax increase. The comments confirm the bank's reluctance to ease any further despite what is expected to be a volatile first half of 2014. A study released on Wednesday showed that the US housing sector's recovery will be uneven over the next five years. The Demand Institute released a report which speculated that some local housing markets will recover as much as 32 percent, while others will see just an 11 percent increase. Asian Markets Asian markets were mixed as the region had little economic data out to drive prices. The Japanese NIKKEI lost 0.54 percent, the Shanghai composite gained 0.14 percent and the Shenzhen composite rose 0.74 percent. The South Korean KOSPI gained 0.30 percent and the Hang Seng index was up 0.49 percent. Story continues European Markets European markets were also mixed on Wednesday morning, the eurozone's STOXX 600 was flat but the UK's FTSE lost 0.52 percent. France's CAC 40 and the German DAX were both down 0.10 percent and the Spanish IBEX rose 0.48 percent. Commodities Energy futures were lower on Wednesday; Brent futures lost 0.21 percent and WTI futures were down 0.16 percent. Gold and silver gained modestly, up 0.06 percent and 0.02 percent respectively. Industrial metals were mostly higher with tin posting the largest gains, up 1.41 percent. Currencies Currency markets were quiet; the euro remained at $1.3745 and the pound gained 0.03 percent against the greenback. The dollar was up 0.10 percent against the yen and 0.03 percent against the Australian dollar. Pre-Market Movers Stocks moving in the Premarket included: First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR ) lost 13.85 percent in premarket trade after rising 3.68 percent over the past week. Teradata Corp (NYSE: TDC ) gained 0.92 percent in premarket trade after rising 2.87 percent over the past five days. Perrigo Company PLC (NYSE: PRGO ) was up 0.64 percent in premarket trade after gaining 4.09 percent over the past five days. Earnings Notable earnings released on Tuesday included: Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ ) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.78. Macy's (NYSE: M ) reported fourth quarter EPS of $2.31. The Home Depot (NYSE: HD ) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.73. Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL ) reported first quarter EPS of $0.25. Office Depot (NYSE: ODP ) reported fourth quarter loss of $0.03 per share. Notable earnings releases expected on Wednesday include: J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP ) is expected to report a fourth quarter loss of $0.76 per share on revenue of $3.94 billion, compared to last year’s loss of $1.95 per share on revenue of $3.88 billion. Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (NYSE: BUD ) is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $1.31 on revenue of $11.70 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.12 on revenue of $10.29 billion. Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC ) is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.08 on revenue of $1.57 billion, compared to last year’s loss of $0.32 per share on revenue of $1.66 billion. Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS ) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $2.03 billion, compared to last year’s loss of $0.18 per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR ) is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $1.06 on revenue of $2.29 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.01 on revenue of $2.25 billion. Economics Wednesday's economic calendar will include US oil inventory data, US new home sales, British GDP and German consumer climate data. For a recap of Tuesday’s market action, click here. Tune into Benzinga’s pre-market info show with Dennis Dick and Joel Elconin here. Related Links US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of New-Home Sales Data UPDATE: Lowe's Posts Rise In Q4 Profit Royal Bank of Canada Posts Rise In Q1 Profit, Lifts Dividend (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-26 12:21:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1489, 1548, 1694, 1854, 1997, 2026]}

{}

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-opening-bell-122101726.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

ukraine protestor salute REUTERS/ Yannis Behrakis A man salutes during a memorial ceremony for those killed in recent violence in Kiev Good morning! Here's what you need to know. A Senate report blasts Credit Suisse for helping to assist tax evasion. The new report details how, in 2006, Credit Suisse maintained 22,000 accounts for U.S. customers worth $13.5 billion . More than 1,800 bankers " advised wealthy clients to travel to Switzerland to avoid creating a paper trail that would undermine their accounts' secrecy," the Wall Street Journal reports. In one of the more unconventional banking tactics, a Credit Suisse banker handed a client statements concealed in an issue of Sports Illustrated, the report said. Natural gas collapses. Nat gas is down 18.5% in two sessions. "As the more medium-to-long term picture of an oversupplied market is still intact, it shouldn't be entirely surprising that a sharp and volatile giveback has manifested out of a near doubling of prices since early November 2013," TD Securities' Mark Dragosits wrote in a note . More trouble for MtGox. The Wall Street Journal's Christopher M. Matthews reports that prosecutors in the U.S. sent the subpoena this month . After weeks of issues, MtGox shut trading operations over " recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, the company said. Reuters reported that Japanese investigators are also looking into the Tokyo-based exchange. But MtGox had to die for Bitcoin to live. There's actually a sense of relief in the Bitcoin community about the fall of MtGox, our Rob Wile reports: " MtGox has been regarded for nearly a year as something of a basket case in the Bitcoin community, with complaints from customers about lengthy delays in taking money and bitcoin out of their wallets, and a general lack of responsiveness." Bitcoin supporter and investor Marc Andreessen compared MtGox's troubles to MF Global's collapse — bad for customers but not a systemic to the Bitcoin system at large. And Bitcoin is actually back on the rise after the MtGox dust-up. Story continues The Chinese yuan gets crushed. The currency continued its losing streak yesterday , hitting 6.1259 yuan for a dollar. UBS' Tao Wang said that "the era of steady CNY appreciation may be drawing to a close," and that this "is likely government-guided and may signal a change in China's exchange rate policy ." New home sales data out at 10:00 a.m. Economists estimate that new home sales dropped 3.4% to an annualized rate of 400,000 in January. "Mortgage applications for purchase have declined in four of the past five weeks and builder sentiment plunged to its lowest level since mid-2013," Wells Fargo's John Silvia wrote clients . "Although the weakness was broad-based, current sales saw the steepest decline, plummeting 11 points to 51. Builders noted the drop was due to unusually severe weather conditions, but also cited a shortage in skilled labor and lots. Although weather conditions are expected to be a temporary drag on construction activity, rising construction costs, including a dearth of skilled workers could slow the pace of the housing market recovery." First Solar plummets after earnings. Shares were down 14% after the company reported a Q4 earnings and revenue miss and warned of lower profits in Q1. Earnings came in at $0.89 per share, lower than the $1.03 expected, while revenue was $ 768 million versus the $969.4 million consensus estimate. Markets were quiet in overnight trading. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.54% while Shanghai gained 0.35%. European markets were lower and U.S. futures pointed to a positive open. J.Crew eyes an IPO. The retailer is interviewing banks as it considers an IPO for later this year , Bloomberg's Jodi Xu, Leslie Picker and David Welch report. The chain has 451 stores and $2.4 billion in annual sales, which may land it a value of as much as $5 billion, a source told Bloomberg. The U.S. Treasury warns about ousted Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich. U.S. financial institutions "should be aware of the possible impact that public reports of high-level corruption by senior members of the Yanukovich administration and other illicit activity by members of the administration may have on patterns of financial activity," an advisory from the Treasury said . Yanukovich is on the run. His reign was toppled by violent demonstrations in Kiev, where police snipers killed protestors. More From Business Insider 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

2014-02-26 12:32:30+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [598, 1996]}

{}

European Commission Forecasts Difficult Road Ahead For The Eurozone

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/european-commission-forecasts-difficult-road-123230898.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

The euro gained some ground against the dollar on Tuesday after soft consumer confidence data took some of the shine off the greenback. The common currency traded at $1.3739 at 4:18 GMT as investors weighed positive and negative data from the bloc. On Monday, the closely watched German Ifo survey showed that German business sentiment improved more than expected in January. The data helped boost morale as German companies seem to be cautiously optimistic about the year ahead. The index rose to 111.3 in January, its highest reading since July 2011. See also: #PreMarket Primer for February 26: Bitcoin Faces Another Major Setback However on the other hand, the European Union released disappointing forecasts for the years ahead and confirmed fears that inflation within the bloc could become a problem. The Wall Street Journal reported that eurozone growth is expected to be 1.2 percent in 2014 and 1.8 percent the following year. After two years of contraction, many see that kind of tepid growth as being too slight to help bring down the region's sky high unemployment rates. Marco Buti, the European Commission's director general, admitted that inflation remains a big concern in the region, since much of the bloc's recovery will depend on the stability of inflation. The commission expects to see inflation hover around 1 percent this year and rise to 1.3 in 2015. The forecasts fall far below the European Central Bank's 2 percent goal. The ECB is set to meet on March 6, with investors divided on whether or not they think the bank will step in in an effort to combat falling inflation. In the past, bank President Mario Draghi has said the ECB is ready to act and will do what it takes to keep the eurozone on the road to recovery, but he also claimed the bank would need further economic data to make an informed decision. Related Links Gay Warren Gaddis Joins Monotype Board of Directors Weatherford International Rises After Q4 Results #PreMarket Primer: Wednesday, February 26: Bitcoin Faces Another Major Setback (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-26 14:57:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 389, 627, 1301, 1557, 1900, 2913, 3895, 4321]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Learns to Love the Very Thing It Was Built to Destroy—Rules

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-learns-love-very-thing-145700616.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Bitcoin was designed to be unregulated by any government or central authority. But according to some of the cryptocurrency’s biggest supporters, the crash of the prominent bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is the latest sign that bitcoin needs to adopt some sort of oversight if it is going to survive and thrive. “I think regulation is a must at this point,” said Todd Williams, a stockbroker and Bitcoin investor since 2010. “Maybe not for all businesses working in bitcoin, but for any company or organization that is holding a large amount of other people’s money.” The Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which may have lost some $340 million in Bitcoins to hackers, received a subpoena overnight from New York prosecutors, a sign that a US federal investigation is underway. Japanese authorities are also investigating . A growing number of participants believe the nascent bitcoin industry needs to accept the fact that expanding beyond the fringe comes with some some trappings of accountability. Compliance, Transparency, and Insurance “Nowadays, all bitcoin exchanges are very seriously considering and implementing compliance requirements based on their local jurisdiction’s rules,” said Eddy Travia, chief start-up officer of Seedcoin, a bitcoin company incubator. His firm’s investments include MexBT, a Mexican Bitcoin exchange, where “a large part of the resources…are invested into compliance-related activities,” he said, mostly based on self-imposed rules that are “a kind of self-regulation in anticipation of any potential concerns from the local authorities.” Bitcoin mining firm DigiMex has showed investors “where funds were invested and spent, at what rate we did the exchange from bitcoin to USD to pay our expenses, all our bank accounts, an inventory of all our mining equipment,” said founder David Shin. Falcon Global Capital, a bitcoin investment fund launching in March, has promised to store Bitcoins in a digital vault that is “ fully-insured by one of the top insurance providers in the world ,” though it doesn’t name the firm. It also says it will comply with Securities and Exchange Regulation rules—not for bitcoin, because there aren’t any, but for investment funds. Story continues Mt. Gox was “incompetent, perhaps criminally so,” said Jiten Melwani, CEO of Bitgame Labs, which is developing a payment platform. But just as bitcoin’s underlying algorithms guarantee its security, he said, ”exchanges will be required to mathematically prove their assets and protocols.” Travia and others say exchanges and companies that exchange bitcoin and traditional money should be required to adhere to publicly-posted rules to protect their users.”There will be a consolidation of efforts to standardize security practices and earn back trust in the industry,” Melwani predicted. The industry needs “a lot more transparency from the bigger, more liquid exchanges,” added Shin. Many of these exchanges hold Bitcoin and traditional currency floats to manage settlement of buyers and sellers, he said, and “these floats need to be regularly audited and reported.” Arthur Hayes, a former Citigroup banker who is building BitMex, a bitcoin derivatives exchange, argued that bitcoin first needs to be recognized as a currency, and then transactions can be enforced under existing laws. “Clear and equitable contract law is one of the bedrocks of any financial system,” he said. “Knowing that malicious actions toward your customers could result in criminal and civil charges would change some of the outlaw behavior that currently exists.” The Slow March of Regulation and Legalization A bill has been submitted to the California State Senate that would make bitcoin a legal currency. New York state’s financial watchdog has promised to introduce a plan to regulate bitcoin by the end of the year. And Singapore, alone among major economies, has already figured out a way to tax it . The Irish Bitcoin Association said in January it was asking the local Central Bank to recognize and oversee the currency, to make it safer for consumers. But that’s not to say that there is a unanimous cry from bitcoin advocates to invite in the world’s governments—far from it. “When has a regulatory agency ever declined the opportunity to put the screws to a new business venture?,” decried Jeffry Tucker , a columnist on Let’s Talk Bitcoin . But that’s just what happened in Canada, he wrote, when the anti-money laundering authority turned down a request for oversight from Quickbit, which allows users to use a debit card to pay for goods in bitcoin. In the US, though, a patchwork of Congressional warnings, financial crimes enforcement threats and interested state regulators is even worse: It’s so bad that bitcoin advocates themselves are reduced to Stockholm-like begging: “ please, regulate us as soon as possible.” They figure that even draconian regulators are better than the current fear-and-loathing environment that has so vexed the crypto-currency community. This shift towards regulation and accountability is somewhat ironic, given bitcoin’s libertarian origins and fan base—a point not lost on its most vocal critics: Industry participants say that remaining exchanges and companies will become stronger after Mt. Gox’s failure. “As the saying goes, a ‘smooth sea never made a skillful sailor,’” Travia said. More From The Atlantic Be Careful! Workplace Injuries Spike Following the Switch to Daylight Saving Time The Agony of Perfectionism We Can't Escape Our 'Groundhog Day' Recovery

2014-02-26 14:57:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 389, 627, 1301, 1557, 1900, 2913, 3895, 4321]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Learns to Love With the Very Thing It Was Built to Destroy—Rules

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-learns-love-very-thing-145700930.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Bitcoin was designed to be unregulated by any government or central authority. But according to some of the cryptocurrency’s biggest supporters, the crash of the prominent bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is the latest sign that bitcoin needs to adopt some sort of oversight if it is going to survive and thrive. “I think regulation is a must at this point,” said Todd Williams, a stockbroker and Bitcoin investor since 2010. “Maybe not for all businesses working in bitcoin, but for any company or organization that is holding a large amount of other people’s money.” The Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which may have lost some $340 million in Bitcoins to hackers, received a subpoena overnight from New York prosecutors, a sign that a US federal investigation is underway. Japanese authorities are also investigating . A growing number of participants believe the nascent bitcoin industry needs to accept the fact that expanding beyond the fringe comes with some some trappings of accountability. Compliance, Transparency, and Insurance “Nowadays, all bitcoin exchanges are very seriously considering and implementing compliance requirements based on their local jurisdiction’s rules,” said Eddy Travia, chief start-up officer of Seedcoin, a bitcoin company incubator. His firm’s investments include MexBT, a Mexican Bitcoin exchange, where “a large part of the resources…are invested into compliance-related activities,” he said, mostly based on self-imposed rules that are “a kind of self-regulation in anticipation of any potential concerns from the local authorities.” Bitcoin mining firm DigiMex has showed investors “where funds were invested and spent, at what rate we did the exchange from bitcoin to USD to pay our expenses, all our bank accounts, an inventory of all our mining equipment,” said founder David Shin. Falcon Global Capital, a bitcoin investment fund launching in March, has promised to store Bitcoins in a digital vault that is “ fully-insured by one of the top insurance providers in the world ,” though it doesn’t name the firm. It also says it will comply with Securities and Exchange Regulation rules—not for bitcoin, because there aren’t any, but for investment funds. Story continues Mt. Gox was “incompetent, perhaps criminally so,” said Jiten Melwani, CEO of Bitgame Labs, which is developing a payment platform. But just as bitcoin’s underlying algorithms guarantee its security, he said, ”exchanges will be required to mathematically prove their assets and protocols.” Travia and others say exchanges and companies that exchange bitcoin and traditional money should be required to adhere to publicly-posted rules to protect their users.”There will be a consolidation of efforts to standardize security practices and earn back trust in the industry,” Melwani predicted. The industry needs “a lot more transparency from the bigger, more liquid exchanges,” added Shin. Many of these exchanges hold Bitcoin and traditional currency floats to manage settlement of buyers and sellers, he said, and “these floats need to be regularly audited and reported.” Arthur Hayes, a former Citigroup banker who is building BitMex, a bitcoin derivatives exchange, argued that bitcoin first needs to be recognized as a currency, and then transactions can be enforced under existing laws. “Clear and equitable contract law is one of the bedrocks of any financial system,” he said. “Knowing that malicious actions toward your customers could result in criminal and civil charges would change some of the outlaw behavior that currently exists.” The Slow March of Regulation and Legalization A bill has been submitted to the California State Senate that would make bitcoin a legal currency. New York state’s financial watchdog has promised to introduce a plan to regulate bitcoin by the end of the year. And Singapore, alone among major economies, has already figured out a way to tax it . The Irish Bitcoin Association said in January it was asking the local Central Bank to recognize and oversee the currency, to make it safer for consumers. But that’s not to say that there is a unanimous cry from bitcoin advocates to invite in the world’s governments—far from it. “When has a regulatory agency ever declined the opportunity to put the screws to a new business venture?,” decried Jeffry Tucker , a columnist on Let’s Talk Bitcoin . But that’s just what happened in Canada, he wrote, when the anti-money laundering authority turned down a request for oversight from Quickbit, which allows users to use a debit card to pay for goods in bitcoin. In the US, though, a patchwork of Congressional warnings, financial crimes enforcement threats and interested state regulators is even worse: It’s so bad that bitcoin advocates themselves are reduced to Stockholm-like begging: “ please, regulate us as soon as possible.” They figure that even draconian regulators are better than the current fear-and-loathing environment that has so vexed the crypto-currency community. This shift towards regulation and accountability is somewhat ironic, given bitcoin’s libertarian origins and fan base—a point not lost on its most vocal critics: Industry participants say that remaining exchanges and companies will become stronger after Mt. Gox’s failure. “As the saying goes, a ‘smooth sea never made a skillful sailor,’” Travia said. More From The Atlantic An Ethicist onWolf of Wall Street: The Most Anti-Greed Movie Ever? The Challenge of Leaning Out America's Weird, Enduring Love Affair With Cars and Houses

2014-02-26 15:51:29+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1264, 2904, 3114]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin's Shocking Resilience and Achilles' Heel

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoins-shocking-resilience-achilles-heel-155129867.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

Some journalists at the Detroit Free Press are asking if bitcoin will survive the Mt. Gox collapse. Journalists have posed this question a few times before. For anyone paying attention, the Mt. Gox collapse was not news, the only news was the extraordinary amount of gross incompetence being reported. This is bitcoin’s sixth or seventh crash. Each time bitcoin not only bounced back, but blew past previous high water marks. Will bitcoin rebound again? Why does bitcoin keep bouncing back? Let’s start with reasons why doesn’t bitcoin bounce back. It doesn’t bounce back because the currency is inflated, businesses are bailed out or new rules (think regulations) are added to the system. That provides stability to the system similar to the way gold works. No matter what happens in the financial market gold doesn’t change. That gives predictability which generates trust in the system. See also: The Real Gox News - Do Financial Regulations Harm Americans? The reasons for bitcoin crashes like the Silk Road bust, the Chinese regulatory crackdown, the Mt Gox scalability issue, the Mt. Gox denial of service issue, the Mt. Gox DHS fund seizure, or the most current Mt. Gox solvency issue have been caused by actors in the system, not by a bitcoin shortcoming. Bitcoin rebounds because seasoned bitcoin investors recognize nothing has fundamentally changed so they load up on cheap bitcoins or hold tight. While newer investors and swing traders panic sell. Lastly there are new buyers, people who have been on the fence about buying bitcoin and see the dips as their chance figuring it is now or never. Will bitcoin rebound again? Everyday there are tens of thousands of people working to make bitcoin and digital cash better because they know it is better than all other payment networks and currencies. Their work increases the value of bitcoin in real terms. Anyone who thinks bitcoin is less valuable now than when it was trading at $1,300 / coin in November doesn’t understand the system. Was it fairly valued at $1,300? That is debatable, but bitcoin unquestionably has more utility and less risk today than it did in November. Story continues Back then Mt. Gox was a big question, Overstock, the Sacramento Kings, Zynga, Tiger Direct and Playboy didn’t take bitcoin, Bitpay didn’t have protocol support, the Chicago Sun Times hadn’t tested a bitcoin paywall, a police chief hadn’t started collecting his salary in bitcoin and the list goes on and on. There has been and will be no bailout or damage to the overall economy like when the US financial system collapsed. In fact the other exchanges are now being pressured by customers to provide radical transparency and entrepreneurs are working on systems that eliminate the need to trust third parties for trading assets. Once implemented those innovations will more effectively prevent large scale losses of customer funds than any laws can. Bitcoin’s Achilles' heel What killed MySpace, Blackberry and Internet Explorer? Better technologies. The same will be true for bitcoin. Digital cash is such a technological breakthrough there is no going back. Bitcoin’s value comes from groundbreaking technology, trust in future purchasing power, and the number of bitcoin users in the system. The big threat to bitcoin is bitcoin 2.0. A digital cash that provides much better features than bitcoin, one that people trust more, or one that has a greater network effect. Right now bitcoin has huge advantages in the second two areas, but there are already hundreds of digital currencies providing different features and trying to unseat the king. Some believe regulation can crush bitcoin. If bitcoin is banned in the US it will go offshore, the same way online gambling companies and large multinational corporations locate abroad for preferential regulation bitcoin companies will locate abroad and already some teams are in Panama, Hong Kong, and Singapore to avoid US regulatory oversight. Regulatory bans will definitely decrease the utility of bitcoin by decreasing the participants in the system, but it will negatively impact those countries banning bitcoin and will not kill bitcoin. Related Links UnitedHealthcare vs. Aetna - Which Would You Rather Invest In? Benzinga's Volume Movers Stocks Hitting 52-Week Lows (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-26 16:14:59+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2811]}

{}

Samsung's Latest Anti-Apple Weapon: The Galaxy S5

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsungs-latest-anti-apple-weapon-161459020.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

It features a heart rate monitor, fingerprint reader and is water-resistant. It’s Samsung's (OTC: SSNLF ) latest entry in the Samsung versus Apple wars, the Galaxy S5. Introduced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, the device relies on Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Android OS and has a download booster that combines 4G networks and Wi-Fi simultaneously. At 5.1 inches, the S5’s screen is only slightly bigger than its predecessor (the S4), but big enough that Samsung hopes to keep high-end consumers from switching to the smaller Apple iPhone. Samsung lost sales of its S4 when the iPhone 5S came out last September and the launch of the S5 is designed to recover some of that revenue. Despite the new features, Leading Investment & Securities Co. analyst, Oh Sang Woo told Bloomberg , “I don’t think the new S5 smartphone itself will be a major game changer.” Game changer or not, Oh said the device was still expected to sell 50 to 60 million units a year. Related: Samsung Wants To Take Over Your Car Among the improvements over the S4 are the S5’s camera and battery. The S5's camera will have a resolution of 16 megapixels versus the S4's 13, and the battery will last 20 percent longer, according to Samsung . Samsung, which is the top smartphone vendor in China with 19 percent of the market, is not only feeling pressure from Apple’s recent deal to sell devices through China Mobile Ltd. The company also sees domestic Chinese makers, including Lenovo and Xiaomi with 12 percent and 7 percent market share respectively, starting to close the gap. Time magazine thinks the S5 could be the phone to own this coming spring following its April 11 launch. In particular, Time said, the new Galaxy could outsell the iPhone by a significant margin. With many people, especially in developing markets, using their smartphone as their only computing device, the Galaxy S5’s 5.1-inch screen, which beats the iPhone by more than an inch, could be a big selling point, according to Time. Story continues In addition, Samsung has turned the Galaxy line into a brand to be reckoned with. In the past, all Android phones were lumped together with little distinction between them. Now the Galaxy is a well-known and respected brand all by itself. The heart rate monitor that will be integrated into the S5 is a unique feature and, thanks to Samsung’s new Gear-Fit smartwatch, a clear move on the company’s part to appeal to the growing fitness market. Finally, the very fact that Samsung is launching a new product at a time when Apple’s latest offering has become an almost distant memory, coupled with the company’s deep pockets when it comes to marketing, should provide plenty of buzz and interest. At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco had no position in any mentioned securities. Related Links Bitcoin's Shocking Resilience and Achilles' Heel Benzinga's Volume Movers Three Apple Stories Making Headlines Wednesday (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-26 20:04:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3232, 3278, 3545, 3965]}

{"Bitcoin": [37]}

Pre-Market Global Review - 2/26/14 - Bitcoin Turmoil + Lower Markets

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pre-market-global-review-2-200408533.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

Good Morning Traders, As of this writing 5:50 AM EST, here’s what we see: US Dollar –Up at 80.180, the US Dollar is up 15 ticks and is trading at 80.180. Energies – April Oil is up at 102.09. Financials – The March 30 year bond is down 3 ticks and trading at 133.17. Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is up 15 ticks and trading at 1850.00. Gold – The April gold contract is trading down at 1340.10 and is down 27 ticks from its close. Initial Conclusion: This is not a correlated market. The dollar is up+ and oil is up+ which is not normal but the 30 year bond is trading lower. The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa. The indices are higher and the US dollar is trading up which is not correlated. Gold is trading lower which is correlated with the US dollar trading up. I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down. I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is wrong. As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open. Asia traded mixed with about half the exchanges trading higher and the other half lower. As of this writing Europe is mainly trading lower with the exception of the Spanish IBEX and Italian Milan exchanges. Possible challenges to traders today is the following: 1. New Home Sales is out at 10 AM EST. This is major. 2. Crude Oil Inventories is out at 10:30 AM EST . This could move the crude market. Currencies On Friday the Swiss Franc made it's move at around 10 AM EST after the Consumer Confidence numbers came out. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. The USD rose at around that time and the Swiss Franc fell. This was a shorting opportunity on the Swiss Franc. The key to capitalizing on these trades is to watch the USD movement. The USD rise only lent confirmation to the move. As a trader you could have netted 20 ticks on this trade. To expand the chart, right click and open in a new window. Kindly view our special video to determine how to capitalize on these trades. http://youtu.be/lOxBMe09X3Q Charts Courtesy of Trend Following Trades Story continues Swiss Franc - 03/14 - 2/25/14 USD - 03/14 - 2/25/14 Bias Yesterday we said our bias was to the downside as crude was lower, the Bonds were higher and Gold was trading down. This is not indicative of a market that's looking to go higher. As such the Dow dropped 27 points and the other indices lost ground as well. Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market but our bias is to the upside. Why? Crude is higher and the Bonds are lower. Could this change? Of Course. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market. Yesterday we woke up and learned that the Mt Gox exchange virtually disappeared overnight. Each day we provide commentary and guidance on currencies, specifically the Swiss Franc versus the US Dollar. In the past we've also commented on the Canadian Dollar and Japanese Yen. We've resisted the temptation of commenting on the Bitcoin as it never made any sense to us. The Bitcoin was never a real currency to begin with as it was a "cyber-currency" only to used in cyberspace. There was never any regulation or governance with bitcoins. It was never weighed against the USD as does every other currency and as such in or mind wasn't real. Bitcoins became popular after the Cyprus crisis from last year; I guess as a way and means of augmenting losses that people endured when the crisis came to the forefront. Obviously it didn't work. This scenario reminds me of the famous tulip situation that started in Holland in the 1600's. The Dutch viewed tulips as a "currency" and an asset and sold property to buy tulips. Clearly this didn't work too well. We view Bitcoins in the same vein and never bought into the notion that it would one day become a real currency. The bottom line is if it isn't regulated and traded on a formal exchange and isn't weighed against another major currency (USD or Euro, etc.); it isn't real and don't buy the hype.... Each day in this newsletter we provide viewers a snapshot of the Swiss Franc versus the US dollar as a way and means of capitalizing on the inverse relationship between these two assets. Futures Magazine recognized this correlation as well. So much so that they printed a story on it in their December issue. That story can be viewed at: http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/11/25/correlated-opportunities-in-the-swiss-franc?ref=hp Many of my readers have been asking me to spell out the rules of Market Correlation. Recently Futures Magazine has elected to print a story on the subject matter and I must say I'm proud of the fact that they did as I'm Author of that article. I encourage all viewers to read that piece as it spells out the rules of market correlation and provides charts that show how it works in action. The article is entitled "How to Exploit and Profit from Market Correlation" and can be viewed at: http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/01/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation As a follow up to the first article on Market Correlation, I've produced a second segment on this subject matter and Futures Magazine has elected to publish it. It can be viewed at: http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/16/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation?ref=hp As readers are probably aware I don't trade equities. While we're on this discussion, let's define what is meant by a good earnings report. A company must exceed their prior quarter's earnings per share and must provide excellent forward guidance. Any falloff between earning per share or forward guidance will not bode well for the company's shares. This is one of the reasons I don't trade equities but prefer futures. There is no earnings reports with futures and we don't have to be concerned about lawsuits, scandals, malfeasance, etc. Anytime the market isn't correlated it's giving you a clue that something isn't right and you should proceed with caution. Today our bias is to the upside. Could this change? Of course. In a volatile market anything can happen. We'll have to monitor and see. As I write this the crude markets are trading higher and the US Dollar is advancing. This is not normal. Think of it this way. If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice-versa. Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding. The barometer of which is the equities or stock market. If you view both the crude and index futures side by side you will notice this. Yesterday April crude dropped to a low of 101.02 a barrel but maintained the $100 a barrel mark. We'll have to monitor and see if crude either goes lower or holds at the present level. It would appear at the present time that crude has support at $101.61 a barrel and resistance at $102.55. This could change. All we need do is look at what happened last fall when crude was trading over $100.00 a barrel. We'll have to monitor and see. Remember that crude is the only commodity that is reflected immediately at the gas pump. Future Challenges: - Budget - I've been asking why the Executive Branch of government hasn't endorsed any of the Budgets passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. On Friday I think I got my answer as the White House announced that it is proposing their version of a budget. This was supposed to be released on March 4th but in order to garner Congressional support, it was released this past week. This version of a budget will clearly attack high net worth individuals as it will cap the amount of retirement income they can squirrel away but a cap on deductions. It will also attempt to bolster retirement income for the Middle Class. It will not touch Social Security as the notion of "Chained CPI" won't pass muster. Why? The GOP hasn't offered any alternative. In all likelihood this budget has virtually no chance of passing as Congress controls the purse strings and with a GOP controlled House, virtually none of these ideas will pass. From a political perspective it does make sense as the mid-term elections are held this year and I suspect the White House wants to bring these issues to the table sooner as opposed to later. If the American people give the White House a Democratic controlled House of Representatives, then it has a chance to get passage on key bills for passage such as the Myra plan. Time will tell how it all plays out... Crude oil is trading higher and the US Dollar is advancing. This is not normal. Crude typically makes 3 major moves (long or short) during the course of any trading day: around 9 AM EST, 11 AM EST and 2 PM EST when the crude market closes. If crude makes major moves around those time frames, then this would suggest normal trending, if not it would suggest that something is not quite right. As always watch and monitor your order flow as anything can happen in this market. This is why monitoring order flow in today's market is crucial. We as traders are faced with numerous challenges that we didn't have a few short years ago. High Frequency Trading is one of them. I'm not an advocate of scalping however in a market as volatile as this scalping is an alternative to trend trading. Remember that without knowledge of order flow we as traders are risking our hard earned capital and the Smart Money will have no issue taking it from us. Regardless of whatever platform you use for trading purposes you need to make sure it's monitoring order flow. Sceeto does an excellent job at this. To fully capitalize on this newsletter it is important that the reader understand how the various market correlate. More on this in subsequent editions. Nick Mastrandrea is the author of Market Tea Leaves. Market Tea Leaves is a free, daily newsletter that discuses and teaches market correlation. Market Tea Leaves is published daily, pre-market in the United States and can be viewed at www.markettealeaves.com Interested in Market Correlation? Want to learn more? Signup and receive Market Tea Leaves each day prior to market open. As a subscriber, you’ll also receive our daily Market Bias video that is only available to subscribers. (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-26 20:30:26+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3473]}

{}

Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Dip as SunEdison Continues to Rally

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mid-afternoon-market-markets-dip-203026313.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded flat at 16,180.21 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.06 percent to 4,285.27. The S&P also fell, losing 0.12 percent to 1,842.83. Leading and Lagging Sectors Cyclical consumer goods & services stocks gained 1.05 percent Wednesday, with JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK ) leading advancers after the company reported Q4 results. Meanwhile, top gainers in energy sector included Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF ), with shares up 9.4 percent, and Carter's (NYSE: CRI ), with shares up 9.3 percent. In trading on Wednesday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.35 percent. Among the sector stocks, DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI ) was down more than 26.2 percent, while United States Cellular (NYSE: USM ) tumbled around 8.6 percent. Top Headline Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW ) reported a 6.3% gain in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit and announced an additional $5 billion stock buyback program. For the new fiscal year, the company projects earnings of $2.60 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $2.64 per share. It also projects total sales to rise 5% for the same period. Lowe's posted a quarterly profit of $306 million, or $0.29 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $288 million, or $0.26 per share. Excluding special items, it earned $0.31 per share. Its net sales climbed 5.6% to $11.66 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.31 per share on sales of $11.67 billion. Equities Trading UP SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE ) gained 8.92 percent to $18.50 after the company's analyst day impressed the street. Shares of ExamWorks Group (NYSE: EXAM ) got a boost, shooting up 17.06 percent to $35.81 after the company reported upbeat Q4 results and issued a strong revenue outlook. Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF ) was also up, gaining 11.34 percent to $40.00 after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q4 earnings. Equities Trading DOWN Shares of UTi Worldwide (NASDAQ: UTIW ) were down 26.61 percent to $11.21 as the company issued a preliminary loss of $0.33 to $0.38 per share on sales of $1.05 to $1.1 billion for the fourth quarter. Story continues First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) shares tumbled 9.56 percent to $52.49 after the company reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH ) was also down, falling 14.72 percent to $46.00 after the company missed on the top and bottom lines while lowering its guidance for the fiscal year 2013. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 0.73 percent to $102.57, while gold traded down 1.04 percent to $1,328.80. Silver traded down 2.87 percent Wednesday to $ 21.23, while copper fell 1.04 percent to $3.19. Eurozone European shares were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.18 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.39 percent and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.40 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.46 percent. Economics The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity declined 8.5% in the week ended February 21. Sales of new homes climbed 9.6% in January to an annual rate of 468,000 in January. However, economists were projecting a sales rate of 400,000 in the month. Crude stockpiles climbed 100,000 barrels for the week ended February 21, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 1.5 million barrels. Related Links Pre-Market Global Review - 2/26/14 - Bitcoin Turmoil + Lower Markets What's Happening in This Stock Market Reminds Me of 1999… Retail Sales Decreasing? Not in These Retail Sector Stocks (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-26 21:09:51+00:00

{"BTC": [80, 301, 687, 812, 1151, 1340, 1533]}

{"Bitcoin": [0], "BTC": [27]}

Bitcoin derivatives market BTC suspends trade after Mt. Gox goes dark

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-derivatives-market-btc-suspends-210951001.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - The bitcoin derivatives market BTC.sx has suspended trading after its key bitcoin exchange partner, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, went dark this week following weeks of turmoil, the company's chief operating officer George Samman said. Prior to the suspension, BTC offered derivatives on Mt. Gox prices. "We are in the process of integrating other exchanges at the moment and will be back up and running as soon as possible," Samman, based in Sydney, Australia, told Reuters late Tuesday. Samman said he hoped to resume trading bitcoin derivatives, a sector that has shown tremendous promise, by the end of next week. He said customer deposits on BTC were safe and clients could withdraw at any time. If Mt. Gox's troubles do any damage, it would be short-lived, he said. BTC has some exposure in Mt. Gox because the company trades on the site. "But we are well able to take a hit if that is in case the fact." "Mt. Gox ceased being an efficient exchange a while ago and has lacked trust from the community. The best-case scenario is that MT Gox reopens under new management and of course is able to return all BTC and fiat to its rightful owners," he said. "While we, like most other people, aren't sure of the details, we hope for the sake of the bitcoin community Mt. Gox sorts its problems out." BTC, which started operating in May 2013, has monthly volume of about $5 million in a business that has seen interest in United States, Europe, Australia, and Russia. The U.S., Samman said, is BTC's biggest customer base. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

2014-02-26 21:59:48+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1173, 2056, 2824, 5078, 5527]}

{}

Attorney subpoenaed Mt. Gox, other bitcoin businesses: source

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-prosecutors-investigating-bitcoin-businesses-source-151635729--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges, and businesses that deal in bitcoin to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said on Wednesday. In the attacks - known as distributed denial of service attacks - hackers overwhelmed bitcoin exchanges by sending thousands of phantom transactions. At least three exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals of bitcoins on February 7, including Mt. Gox, which was the largest at the time. Mt. Gox never resumed service before going dormant on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. The Tokyo-based company's chief executive, Mark Karpeles, said earlier on Wednesday that he is working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," Karpeles said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Bitcoin, a form of electronic money independent of traditional banking, relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its usage by criminal elements and its volatile nature. It has been a rough month for bitcoin investors, with cyber attacks on several exchanges, a sharp fall in bitcoin's value, and rising pressure from regulators. Bitcoin's price varies by exchange, but the losses were most dramatic on Mt. Gox, where it fell to about $135 from $828.99 before February 7. "Mt Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on there," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Zurich, Switzerland. A second source familiar with the case said U.S. federal law enforcement is investigating Mt. Gox. A third source said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. Japan's Finance Ministry and police are also looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, according to the Japanese government's top spokesman. "MALLEABILITY" Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of prominent venture capital investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The digital currency has also caught the eye of hackers. The recent cyber attacks exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft," and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. Developers are working on fixes to bitcoin's software to guard against cyber attacks, though many larger service providers have already implemented such changes, according to Gregory Maxwell, one of the bitcoin software's core developers. He said some malleability in the software protocol was necessary - for example, in transactions where multiple people can put in money, but the transaction is not valid until enough funds are contributed. "None of these fixes are especially complicated, but because the correctness of the software is important we use a conservative release process that avoids rushing anything out," Maxwell said, adding that the bulk of the recent work on the software is being done by four people. BITSTAMP Jacob Dienelt, who trades bitcoins and sells paper bitcoin wallets, said people he knows in the bitcoin community in New York stopped using Mt. Gox when the exchange halted dollar withdrawals several months ago and said all withdrawals had to be in bitcoin. Dienelt said has not been subpoenaed. With Mt. Gox's shutdown, Bitstamp has handled the most volume in the last two days, with more than 165,000 U.S. dollar transactions, according to Bitcoincharts. Bitstamp had temporarily halted customer withdrawals earlier this month, citing "inconsistent results" and blaming a denial-of-service attack. The price of bitcoin was lately at $588 on Bitstamp, up about 7 percent on the day. "Right now is a sweet buying opportunity. I don't think you're going to see bitcoin go this low for awhile - if ever again," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, which launched the world's first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada, in the fall. "The more that bitcoin is on the front pages, the more that people are discussing it and educating one another, the better for the currency." Kelley said Robocoin has not been subpoenaed in the U.S. regulatory probe; nor has New York-based exchange Coinsetter, according to a spokesperson. Bitstamp did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston; Additional reporting by Chris Francescani in New York and Julie Gordon in Toronto; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-26 21:59:48+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1173, 2056, 2840, 5094, 5543]}

{}

Attorney subpoenaed Mt. Gox, other bitcoin businesses: source

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-prosecutors-investigating-bitcoin-businesses-151635667.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges, and businesses that deal in bitcoin to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said on Wednesday. In the attacks - known as distributed denial of service attacks - hackers overwhelmed bitcoin exchanges by sending thousands of phantom transactions. At least three exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals of bitcoins on February 7, including Mt. Gox, which was the largest at the time. Mt. Gox never resumed service before going dormant on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. The Tokyo-based company's chief executive, Mark Karpeles, said earlier on Wednesday that he is working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," Karpeles said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Bitcoin, a form of electronic money independent of traditional banking, relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its usage by criminal elements and its volatile nature. It has been a rough month for bitcoin investors, with cyber attacks on several exchanges, a sharp fall in bitcoin's value, and rising pressure from regulators. Bitcoin's price varies by exchange, but the losses were most dramatic on Mt. Gox, where it fell to about $135 from $828.99 before February 7. Story continues "Mt Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on there," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Zurich, Switzerland. A second source familiar with the case said U.S. federal law enforcement is investigating Mt. Gox. A third source said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. Japan's Finance Ministry and police are also looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, according to the Japanese government's top spokesman. "MALLEABILITY" Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of prominent venture capital investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The digital currency has also caught the eye of hackers. The recent cyber attacks exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft," and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. Developers are working on fixes to bitcoin's software to guard against cyber attacks, though many larger service providers have already implemented such changes, according to Gregory Maxwell, one of the bitcoin software's core developers. He said some malleability in the software protocol was necessary - for example, in transactions where multiple people can put in money, but the transaction is not valid until enough funds are contributed. "None of these fixes are especially complicated, but because the correctness of the software is important we use a conservative release process that avoids rushing anything out," Maxwell said, adding that the bulk of the recent work on the software is being done by four people. BITSTAMP Jacob Dienelt, who trades bitcoins and sells paper bitcoin wallets, said people he knows in the bitcoin community in New York stopped using Mt. Gox when the exchange halted dollar withdrawals several months ago and said all withdrawals had to be in bitcoin. Dienelt said has not been subpoenaed. With Mt. Gox's shutdown, Bitstamp has handled the most volume in the last two days, with more than 165,000 U.S. dollar transactions, according to Bitcoincharts. Bitstamp had temporarily halted customer withdrawals earlier this month, citing "inconsistent results" and blaming a denial-of-service attack. The price of bitcoin was lately at $588 on Bitstamp, up about 7 percent on the day. "Right now is a sweet buying opportunity. I don't think you're going to see bitcoin go this low for awhile - if ever again," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, which launched the world's first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada, in the fall. "The more that bitcoin is on the front pages, the more that people are discussing it and educating one another, the better for the currency." Kelley said Robocoin has not been subpoenaed in the U.S. regulatory probe; nor has New York-based exchange Coinsetter, according to a spokesperson. Bitstamp did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston; Additional reporting by Chris Francescani in New York and Julie Gordon in Toronto; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-26 22:56:50+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1194, 2077, 3042, 5296, 5745]}

{}

U.S. attorney subpoenaed Mt Gox, other bitcoin businesses - source

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-prosecutors-investigating-bitcoin-businesses-153814519.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges, and businesses that deal in bitcoin to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said on Wednesday. In the attacks - known as distributed denial of service attacks - hackers overwhelmed bitcoin exchanges by sending thousands of phantom transactions. At least three exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals of bitcoins on February 7, including Mt. Gox, which was the largest at the time. Mt. Gox never resumed service before going dormant on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. [ID:nL3N0LU1OX] The Tokyo-based company's chief executive, Mark Karpeles, said earlier on Wednesday that he is working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," Karpeles said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Bitcoin, a form of electronic money independent of traditional banking, relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its usage by criminal elements and its volatile nature. It has been a rough month for bitcoin investors, with cyber attacks on several exchanges, a sharp fall in bitcoin's value, and rising pressure from regulators. Bitcoin's price varies by exchange, but the losses were most dramatic on Mt. Gox, where it fell to about $135 from $828.99 before February 7. Story continues "Mt Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on there," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Zurich, Switzerland. A second source familiar with the case said U.S. federal law enforcement is investigating Mt. Gox. A third source said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. Japan's Finance Ministry and police are also looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, according to the Japanese government's top spokesman. RELATED: Reuters Insider: bitcoin's future: http://reut.rs/1ckDhT9 Graphic: how bitcoin works http://r.reuters.com/kuf86v Graphic: top bitcoin exchanges http://r.reuters.com/zem27v "MALLEABILITY" Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of prominent venture capital investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The digital currency has also caught the eye of hackers. The recent cyber attacks exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft," and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. Developers are working on fixes to bitcoin's software to guard against cyber attacks, though many larger service providers have already implemented such changes, according to Gregory Maxwell, one of the bitcoin software's core developers. He said some malleability in the software protocol was necessary - for example, in transactions where multiple people can put in money, but the transaction is not valid until enough funds are contributed. "None of these fixes are especially complicated, but because the correctness of the software is important we use a conservative release process that avoids rushing anything out," Maxwell said, adding that the bulk of the recent work on the software is being done by four people. BITSTAMP Jacob Dienelt, who trades bitcoins and sells paper bitcoin wallets, said people he knows in the bitcoin community in New York stopped using Mt. Gox when the exchange halted dollar withdrawals several months ago and said all withdrawals had to be in bitcoin. Dienelt said has not been subpoenaed. With Mt. Gox's shutdown, Bitstamp has handled the most volume in the last two days, with more than 165,000 U.S. dollar transactions, according to Bitcoincharts. Bitstamp had temporarily halted customer withdrawals earlier this month, citing "inconsistent results" and blaming a denial-of-service attack. The price of bitcoin was lately at $588 on Bitstamp, up about 7 percent on the day. "Right now is a sweet buying opportunity. I don't think you're going to see bitcoin go this low for awhile - if ever again," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, which launched the world's first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada, in the fall. "The more that bitcoin is on the front pages, the more that people are discussing it and educating one another, the better for the currency." Kelley said Robocoin has not been subpoenaed in the U.S. regulatory probe; nor has New York-based exchange Coinsetter, according to a spokesperson. Bitstamp did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston; Additional reporting by Chris Francescani in New York and Julie Gordon in Toronto; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-27 01:15:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [28, 205, 312, 639, 1121, 1357, 1517, 1630, 1803, 1944, 2074, 2271, 2458]}

{"Bitcoin": [15]}

A Bad Week for Bitcoin Fans Gets Even Worse

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bad-week-bitcoin-fans-gets-011900283.html

The Fiscal Times

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/

It’s been a brutal week for Bitcoin. First, Mt. Gox, the world’s largest exchange for trading the virtual currency shut down late Monday after possibly losing hundreds of millions of dollars in customers’ Bitcoins. Now a U.S. senator is pressing for a complete ban on the cryptocurrency. Related: Why Regulating Bitcoin is Like Herding Cats “This virtual currency is currently unregulated and has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly unstable and disruptive to our economy,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, among others. Bitcoin, which is not backed by a central bank and can be traded privately or on a handful of exchanges, had catapulted into the mainstream in recent months, with Overstock.com, restaurants and hotel chains agreeing to accept it as payment. The currency is best known, though, as the Internet black market’s currency of choice. Just last fall, federal law enforcement officers shut down Silk Road – a hidden online marketplace known as the “eBay of illicit goods” where people used Bitcoin to purchase drugs, guns, prostitutes and other illicit goods and services. With its popularity growing, federal and state officials have considered new regulations on the currency. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have proposed making Bitcoin subject to the same anti-money laundering law as traditional currency. Manchin’s letter is the first proposal to ban it all together. Related: What Are Bitcoins and Why Should You Care? The senator listed Thailand and China among countries that have already banned Bitcoin as well as others that have issued warnings to users of the digital currency. “Our foreign counterparts have already understood the wide range of problems even with Bitcoin’s legitimate uses - from its significant price fluctuations to its deflationary nature,” Manchin wrote. “I am most concerned that as Bitcoin is inevitably banned in other countries, Americans will be left holding the bag on a valueless currency.” Story continues Bitcoin’s latest troubles come on the heels of a rough month for the multi-billion market, which suffered cyberattacks on several exchanges, including Mt. Gox, as well as a sharp decline in value. Bitcoin's price on Mt. Gox fell to about $135 from $828.99 before February 7, according to Reuters . With the exchange closed, Mt. Gox users may have lost more than $300 million worth of Bitcoins, according to the Los Angeles Times . Top Stories from The Fiscal Times: House of Cards: The New Media Crack for Netflix Addicts CBO Shoots an Arrow in the Heart of Obamanomics Americans Are Racking Up Debt Again. Should We Be Scared?

2014-02-27 10:46:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [682, 3783]}

{}

Mt. Gox bitcoin customers could be out of luck, experts warn

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-bitcoin-customers-could-050219174.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Joseph Ax and Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - What can you do if you deposited bitcoins at Mt. Gox, which shuttered on Tuesday with little explanation? Probably not much. Customers of the bitcoin exchange may have little chance of recovering their funds if they prove to be missing, legal and regulatory experts said. Clients could file lawsuits, claiming negligence or breach of contract, but the virtual currency is subject to very little regulatory oversight and no government guarantees. Japan-based Mt. Gox went dark on Tuesday, weeks after a spate of cyber attacks, leaving customers unable to access their accounts and underscoring the risks associated with bitcoins. Bitcoins, which exist in electronic form, depend on a network of computers to solve complex mathematical problems in order to verify and record every transaction. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital "wallets" at various exchanges; Mt. Gox had been the largest as recently as February 7, when it and other exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals following several cyber attacks. Unlike bank accounts in the United States, bitcoin deposits have no government-backed insurance. Instead, customers would have the same avenues of legal redress as anyone who entrusted property to an institution that failed to keep it protected, such as negligence, breach of contract or even fraud, said James Grimmelmann, a professor at the University of Maryland who focuses on Internet law. "To me, the first really important conceptual hurdle to get over is that these things really are property," he said. "When you take money from the public and store it somewhere you claim is secure, you put property law in play." If Mt. Gox has no assets, however, individual claims would fail to recover any funds, said Daniel Friedberg, a lawyer with Riddell Williams in Seattle who specializes in financial regulatory matters. "The practical reality is, even if you do get a judgment against Mt. Gox, do they have the ability to pay?" Friedberg said. Story continues A document circulating online that purports to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox indicated that the exchange had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets, though its veracity could not be confirmed. The Tokyo-based Mt. Gox could also file for bankruptcy in Japan, leaving it up to a court to distribute any remaining assets to its creditors. REGULATION COMING? Several regulatory and legal experts said they expected the Mt. Gox shutdown could spur regulators to take more immediate steps to protect future customers. Jeffrey Matsuura, a lawyer at Alliance Law Group in Virginia who specializes in online commerce issues, said he wouldn't be surprised if state or federal consumer protection agencies eventually take some kind of action regarding Mt. Gox and other exchanges. But Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said people who deposited bitcoins with Mt. Gox knew that the exchange had experienced problems in recent months. "At this point, bitcoin is speculative," he said. "People are going in with eyes wide open." Thus far, the only U.S. regulatory agency with specific oversight of Mt. Gox is the U.S. Treasury Department's anti-money laundering unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, after the exchange agreed to register as a money services business last summer. New York State's top banking regulator is exploring licensing requirements for bitcoin exchanges, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has considered whether to set rules for the virtual currency. And federal prosecutors in New York have issued subpoenas to Mt. Gox and other exchanges seeking information on how they had handled recent cyber attacks, a source told Reuters. "Bitcoin in many ways is terra incognita for the regulatory system," said Joseph Grundfest, a law professor at Stanford University and a former SEC commissioner. But, he added, that would not stop federal prosecutors in Manhattan from investigating criminal activity involving bitcoins if any of the transactions had a connection to New York. "The lack of clarity about formal regulatory status provides no safe harbor for liability for criminal fraud," he said. (Reporting by Joseph Ax and Karen Freifeld; Additional reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by Ken Wills)

2014-02-27 11:25:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2081, 2647, 5572]}

{}

Japan says any bitcoin regulation should be international

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-vice-finance-minister-respond-bitcoin-needed-091442611--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Any regulation of the bitcoin crypto-currency should involve international cooperation to avoid loopholes, Japanese vice finance minister Jiro Aichi said on Thursday. Commenting on the closure this week of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest exchange for the bitcoin virtual currency, Aichi said the ministry would respond to the problems "if necessary", after finding out exactly what happened. "It's not just the Ministry of Finance; many other agencies are related," Aichi told a news conference. "As for its legal position, a currency (under Japan's jurisdiction) would be coins or notes issued by the Bank of Japan. At the very least, we can say bitcoin is not a currency." The Mt. Gox website and Twitter feed went blank on Tuesday after weeks of turmoil. It suspended withdrawals on February 7 following a series of cyber attacks, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. A document circulating on the internet saying that more than 744,000 bitcoins - worth around $423 million at current rates - were missing from Mt. Gox was created by a Tokyo-based consulting firm, said Ryan Selkis, a blogger who initially leaked scans of the document. Selkis, who uses the handle "twobitidiot", said in an email that the "Crisis Strategy Draft" had been written by consulting firm Mandalah in meetings with Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles. Mandalah said it could not immediately comment. On Wednesday, Karpeles had sought to assure investors that he was working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt. Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," he said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. MT. GOX REBRANDING? While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its volatility and usage by criminal elements. Bitcoins are created, or "mined", in a process using a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. The document leaked this week by Selkis - who says he sold all his bitcoins - said 744,408 bitcoins, or about 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins in circulation, were "missing" due to thefts that exploited "malleability" in the code governing transactions, which the Bitcoin Foundation and others have blamed on Mt. Gox's customized software. "Mt. Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Switzerland. The leaked crisis plan proposed that Mt. Gox reduce its liabilities, switch off the exchange for a month while bringing in transition advisers, and reset all social network channels while rebranding under a different CEO. Karpeles told Reuters in April 2013 that Mt. Gox was seeing daily inflows of $5-$20 million. He told Forbes his company hadn't been able to keep up with all the changes as it became the largest exchange in the world. The crisis plan said Mt. Gox had liabilities of $174 million, based on an assumed exchange rate of $160 per bitcoin - well below the $550 or so offered for bitcoins at other exchanges on Thursday - against assets of $32 million. A financial statement included in that document said Mt. Gox was expected to make $2 million in net income in the year to end-March, a sevenfold increase on the previous year. It also said Mt. Gox turned a profit in its second year of existence, banking $286,000 in net income. Those figures match a 2013 report by credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research, which was reviewed by Reuters. It said Mt. Gox "had a strong start". Mt. Gox had 600,000 customers at the time, the research report said - 30 percent from the United States, 10 percent from Britain and just 300 in Japan. Given that most users are overseas, any court case to retrieve missing funds would be more likely in the United States than Japan, said Ken Kiyohara, a lawyer at Jones Day. "It probably comes under the (Japanese) Financial Services Agency's (FSA) remit, but giving a reason for that in one sentence is impossible," he said. Officials at the FSA and Finance Ministry each told Reuters bitcoin does not fall within their purview, while the Bank of Japan says only that it is studying the bitcoin phenomenon, which Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has called "interesting." People who had bitcoins at Mt. Gox are more definitive. "It was the only place you could buy bitcoin directly with yen, so it hurts that it's gone," said Ryoichi Taga, a fellow at the Japan Digital Money Association. NOBODY HOME Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges and businesses that deal in bitcoins to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Mt. Gox is under investigation by the U.S. federal law enforcement, according to a second source familiar with the case, while a third said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. The federal probe was spurred by information provided by the Bitcoin Foundation, an advocacy group for the digital currency, Bloomberg reported. The foundation could not be reached immediately for comment. Karpeles, a founding member of the foundation, resigned from its board on Monday. In Singapore on Thursday, Tembusu Terminals set up what it said was the city-state's first automated tele-exchange machine (ATM) for buying bitcoins - at the downtown Spiffy Dapper bar - a week after the finance minister said bitcoins weren't regulated by the ministry or the central bank. Karpeles' whereabouts in Japan were still unclear. The main Mt. Gox office remained deserted on Thursday, with bubble wrap inside the windows. The company said last week it was moving back to a previous office for "security reasons". The company's cubicle in the other office in Tokyo's Shibuya area was inaccessible. A concierge at Karpeles' home - an upscale apartment near Shibuya - appeared to speak to someone on the intercom before saying there was nobody home. (Additional reporting by Emily Flitter and Chris Francescani in New York; Jim Finkle in Boston; Chris Peters in Bangalore and Nathan Layne and Takaya Yamaughi in Tokyo; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-27 11:25:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1194, 2077, 2861, 4035, 4103, 5466, 5915]}

{}

U.S. attorney subpoenaed Mt Gox, other bitcoin businesses: source

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-attorney-subpoenaed-mt-gox-040023380.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges, and businesses that deal in bitcoin to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said on Wednesday. In the attacks - known as distributed denial of service attacks - hackers overwhelmed bitcoin exchanges by sending thousands of phantom transactions. At least three exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals of bitcoins on February 7, including Mt. Gox, which was the largest at the time. Mt. Gox never resumed service before going dormant on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. [ID:nL3N0LU1OX] The Tokyo-based company's chief executive, Mark Karpeles, said earlier on Wednesday that he is working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," Karpeles said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Bitcoin, a form of electronic money independent of traditional banking, relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its usage by criminal elements and its volatile nature. It has been a rough month for bitcoin investors, with cyber attacks on several exchanges, a sharp fall in bitcoin's value, and rising pressure from regulators. Bitcoin's price varies by exchange, but the losses were most dramatic on Mt. Gox, where it fell to about $135 from $828.99 before February 7. Story continues "Mt Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on there," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Zurich, Switzerland. A second source familiar with the case said U.S. federal law enforcement is investigating Mt. Gox. A third source said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. Japan's Finance Ministry and police are also looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, according to the Japanese government's top spokesman. "MALLEABILITY" Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of prominent venture capital investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The digital currency has also caught the eye of hackers. The recent cyber attacks exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft," and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. According to a Bloomberg report, the federal probe was spurred by information provided by the Bitcoin Foundation, an advocacy group for the digital currency. The Bitcoin Foundation could not be reached immediately for comment. Mt. Gox's CEO Karpeles, one of the founding members of the foundation, resigned from the foundation's board on February 24. Developers are working on fixes to bitcoin's software to guard against cyber attacks, though many larger service providers have already implemented such changes, according to Gregory Maxwell, one of the bitcoin software's core developers. He said some malleability in the software protocol was necessary - for example, in transactions where multiple people can put in money, but the transaction is not valid until enough funds are contributed. "None of these fixes are especially complicated, but because the correctness of the software is important we use a conservative release process that avoids rushing anything out," Maxwell said, adding that the bulk of the recent work on the software is being done by four people. BITSTAMP Jacob Dienelt, who trades bitcoins and sells paper bitcoin wallets, said people he knows in the bitcoin community in New York stopped using Mt. Gox when the exchange halted dollar withdrawals several months ago and said all withdrawals had to be in bitcoin. Dienelt said has not been subpoenaed. With Mt. Gox's shutdown, Bitstamp has handled the most volume in the last two days, with more than 165,000 U.S. dollar transactions, according to Bitcoincharts. Bitstamp had temporarily halted customer withdrawals earlier this month, citing "inconsistent results" and blaming a denial-of-service attack. The price of bitcoin was lately at $588 on Bitstamp, up about 7 percent on the day. "Right now is a sweet buying opportunity. I don't think you're going to see bitcoin go this low for awhile - if ever again," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, which launched the world's first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada, in the fall. "The more that bitcoin is on the front pages, the more that people are discussing it and educating one another, the better for the currency." Kelley said Robocoin has not been subpoenaed in the U.S. regulatory probe; nor has New York-based exchange Coinsetter, according to a spokesperson. Bitstamp did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston; Additional reporting by Chris Francescani in New York, Julie Gordon in Toronto, and Chris Peters in Bangalore; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-27 11:25:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1194, 2077, 2861, 4035, 4103, 5466, 5915]}

{}

U.S. attorney subpoenaed Mt Gox, other bitcoin businesses: source

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-attorney-subpoenaed-mt-gox-040023494.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges, and businesses that deal in bitcoin to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said on Wednesday. In the attacks - known as distributed denial of service attacks - hackers overwhelmed bitcoin exchanges by sending thousands of phantom transactions. At least three exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals of bitcoins on February 7, including Mt. Gox, which was the largest at the time. Mt. Gox never resumed service before going dormant on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. [ID:nL3N0LU1OX] The Tokyo-based company's chief executive, Mark Karpeles, said earlier on Wednesday that he is working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," Karpeles said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Bitcoin, a form of electronic money independent of traditional banking, relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. Investors deposit their bitcoins in digital wallets at specific exchanges, so the Mt. Gox shutdown is similar to a bank closing its doors - people cannot retrieve their funds. While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its usage by criminal elements and its volatile nature. It has been a rough month for bitcoin investors, with cyber attacks on several exchanges, a sharp fall in bitcoin's value, and rising pressure from regulators. Bitcoin's price varies by exchange, but the losses were most dramatic on Mt. Gox, where it fell to about $135 from $828.99 before February 7. Story continues "Mt Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on there," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Zurich, Switzerland. A second source familiar with the case said U.S. federal law enforcement is investigating Mt. Gox. A third source said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. Japan's Finance Ministry and police are also looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, according to the Japanese government's top spokesman. "MALLEABILITY" Bitcoin has gained increasing acceptance as a method of payment and has attracted a number of prominent venture capital investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The digital currency has also caught the eye of hackers. The recent cyber attacks exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. A document circulating on the Internet purporting to be a crisis plan for Mt. Gox, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft," and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document. If accurate, that would mean approximately 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins minted would be considered missing. According to a Bloomberg report, the federal probe was spurred by information provided by the Bitcoin Foundation, an advocacy group for the digital currency. The Bitcoin Foundation could not be reached immediately for comment. Mt. Gox's CEO Karpeles, one of the founding members of the foundation, resigned from the foundation's board on February 24. Developers are working on fixes to bitcoin's software to guard against cyber attacks, though many larger service providers have already implemented such changes, according to Gregory Maxwell, one of the bitcoin software's core developers. He said some malleability in the software protocol was necessary - for example, in transactions where multiple people can put in money, but the transaction is not valid until enough funds are contributed. "None of these fixes are especially complicated, but because the correctness of the software is important we use a conservative release process that avoids rushing anything out," Maxwell said, adding that the bulk of the recent work on the software is being done by four people. BITSTAMP Jacob Dienelt, who trades bitcoins and sells paper bitcoin wallets, said people he knows in the bitcoin community in New York stopped using Mt. Gox when the exchange halted dollar withdrawals several months ago and said all withdrawals had to be in bitcoin. Dienelt said has not been subpoenaed. With Mt. Gox's shutdown, Bitstamp has handled the most volume in the last two days, with more than 165,000 U.S. dollar transactions, according to Bitcoincharts. Bitstamp had temporarily halted customer withdrawals earlier this month, citing "inconsistent results" and blaming a denial-of-service attack. The price of bitcoin was lately at $588 on Bitstamp, up about 7 percent on the day. "Right now is a sweet buying opportunity. I don't think you're going to see bitcoin go this low for awhile - if ever again," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, which launched the world's first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada, in the fall. "The more that bitcoin is on the front pages, the more that people are discussing it and educating one another, the better for the currency." Kelley said Robocoin has not been subpoenaed in the U.S. regulatory probe; nor has New York-based exchange Coinsetter, according to a spokesperson. Bitstamp did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston; Additional reporting by Chris Francescani in New York, Julie Gordon in Toronto, and Chris Peters in Bangalore; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-27 17:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5533]}

{}

Is This Iconic Brand The Next Starbucks?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/iconic-brand-next-starbucks-173000764.html

StreetAuthority Network

http://www.streetauthority.com

Some of the most successful companies have taken iconic American brands and rolled them out internationally to generate incredible growth. Take Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX ) , for example. Starbucks first built its powerful brand in the United States, then famously rolled it out everywhere in the world. Investors who jumped on the Starbucks wagon in 1992 and held on for the long term have made 70 times their original investment. When Starbucks went public in June 1992, the company had 140 outlets and revenue of $73 million. All of those 140 locations were in North America. The first Starbucks location outside of North America didn't even open until 1996, when the company opened a store in Tokyo. Today Starbucks covers much of the globe, operating in 63 countries with over 5,500 international stores. Since going international, shares of Starbucks have returned more than 2,500%. And even with thousands of international locations, Starbucks still has significant long-term expansion plans. There clearly is huge potential for companies that own highly recognizable American brands to compound their profits by going international. And I've found a company that I think is just about to start what could be a similarly long and lucrative growth trajectory. Right now, the company has a significant base in the U.S., but it could soon expand operations -- in much the same way Starbucks has. This firm, Chanticleer Holdings (Nasdaq: HOTR ) , is about to roll out a very popular American brand to international markets -- Hooters. [More from StreetAuthority.com: A Modern-Day Buffett Is Jumping On This 'Hated' Company ] Chanticleer's involvement in Hooters began in 2005, when Chanticleer lent then-owner Robert Brooks $5 million to start Hooters Air (which eventually went bankrupt). As part of that loan, Chanticleer received the right of first refusal should Hooters of America ever be sold. As fate would have it, Brookes died the next year -- and obtaining that right of first refusal proved to be a stroke of genius for Chanticleer. Story continues In short, Brooks' surviving family members could not agree on what to do with the 425 Hooters locations Brooks had built in the U.S., and in 2010, the company was put up for sale. With its right of first refusal, Chanticleer arranged for a group of noteworthy private equity investors to join in and purchase Hooters of America. Subsequently, Chanticleer walked away with an ownership interest in Hooters of America (now 3%), a seat on the board of directors, and international expansion rights for a number of countries. Hooters Today, Chanticleer has seven international locations, and the company has already identified 75 more locations where it plans to open restaurants. The whole process was a giant win for Chanticleer, which was also repaid in full for its original $5 million loan. [More from StreetAuthority.com: Collect A 7% Yield While You Wait For This Beaten-Down Stock To Triple ] Here's where things get interesting. Chanticleer owns the rights to the Hooters franchise in South Africa, Brazil, Hungary and England, and has a joint venture with an existing franchise owner in Australia. Today Chanticleer has seven international locations, and the company has already identified 75 more locations where it plans to open restaurants. Going from seven locations to 75 is the kind of exponential growth that can compound wealth in a hurry. And the game plan that Chanticleer has established for expanding is both simple and intelligent. In each international restaurant opening, Chanticleer partners only with highly experienced and well capitalized local operators. These local operators know their markets, and joining with them greatly increases the odds of each new location being successful. What I think sets this aggressive growth plan apart is that Chanticleer isn't rolling out a new restaurant concept every time it opens a location. It is opening restaurants with an iconic American brand name that I think international consumers are going to be very interested in. In addition to the long growth window Chanticleer has with Hooters internationally, the company has been building a portfolio of other restaurant concepts. In addition to Hooters, Chanticleer has interests in American Roadside Burgers, Just Fresh and Beacher's Madhouse. [More from StreetAuthority.com: Buy Gold For 60 Cents On The Dollar? Here's How ] But make no mistake, it is Hooters that is going to drive the growth for Chanticleer. To appreciate how much potential Chanticleer has with Hooters internationally, consider the opportunity in England. England is a country that has 1.5 times the GDP of Texas but only one Hooters. Texas meanwhile, has 41. England alone could get Chanticleer close to 75 locations over time. As I said, this company has a huge window of growth potential ahead. I believe the time to jump on it is now, while the company is still small and off most investors' radar. Risks to Consider: The restaurant business is a very difficult one with narrow profit margins. Having a top brand like Hooters is a great advantage, but success is certainly not guaranteed. Action to Take --> Buy shares in Chanticleer Holdings for the opportunity to share in the huge growth potential of taking this iconic American brand international. This article was originally published at InvestingAnswers.com: Shocking Prediction: Is This Iconic American Brand The Next Starbucks? Related Articles Is This Iconic Brand The Next Starbucks? Is This Stock The 'Amazon.com of Bitcoin'? A Value Guru Is Going Against The Short Sellers On This Stock -- Should You?

2014-02-27 18:35:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [654, 911, 990, 1495]}

{}

3D Eye Solutions Inc., Shareholders Update

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3d-eye-solutions-inc-shareholders-183500073.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

CHEYENNE, WY--(Marketwired - Feb 27, 2014) - 3D Entertainment Holdings, Inc. a Wyoming Corporation dba 3D Eye Solutions, Inc. (OTC Pink: TDEY) 3D Eye Solutions Inc., would like to announce the following updates. The company has been diligently working interviewing various candidates for CEO and Board appointments. The company believes that these positions will be filled within a few weeks. The company is also exploring alternate opportunities in the software app market, content development and RF wireless apps in new and exciting areas which included all 3D and non 3D content and environments. We are currently developing an untouched area of the Bitcoin marketplace. We will be updating our shareholders on the complete concept within a week. We are also in final negotiations with our finalist CEO, who has more than 20 years senior level management experience in the software industry and ties to the Bitcoin arena. "There is huge revenue potential in this unexplored area of the Bitcoin marketplace. As we explore more areas and industries that can allow our companies to become early developers and adapters, and achieve early to market launch, we feel that we can achieve tremendous success and increase shareholders' value. Also, we want to explore all available merchant/currency options that can increase our company's abilities to trade and sell products using various creative currencies and sale channels. We are developing a proprietary system to purchase, wallet, and spend Bitcoins all thru the use of prepaid phones to ensure that the consumer can remain completely anonymous. We are also building in an RFID payment system with the ability to pay for merchandise and services at the point of sale. Once achieved, we will offer this app and abilities to several of our 'strategic companies' and Joint Ventures, such as Luxuriant Holdings Inc., and PBS Holding Inc., to process their sales and merchandise," stated Edward Vakser, Chairman (TDEY). Story continues About 3D Entertainment Holdings, Inc. TDEY (OTC Pink: TDEY) is fully focused on a 2D and 3D content media creation business with distribution of content through application and smart devices. Owner and developer of App3DTV found on smart devices which provide media content and entertainment. More information can be found on www.App3DTV.com App3DTV is a 2D and 3D app available on Smart Mobile devices for $7.99 per month. The application features 3D movies, music videos, and other media all at your finger tips. It is currently on schedule to be on Roku and Apple shortly. To download the app go to: www.App3dTV.com or directly from Android Play market: http://goo.gl/Gy3hLG Safe Harbor: Statements regarding financial matters in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, technology efficacy and all other forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The Company is a development stage company who continues to be dependent upon outside capital to sustain its existence. Since these statements (future operational results and sales) involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results.

2014-02-27 21:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1402]}

{}

STOCKS RISE: Here's What You Need To Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-rise-heres-know-210005393.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

vienna ceremony REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader Members of the opening committee perform during a rehearsal for the Opera Ball in Vienna February 23, 2014. The 18 to 24-year-olds spend weeks rehearsing for a performance that lasts just three or four minutes but has a huge audience at home and abroad. The traditional Opera Ball takes place on February 27, with tickets starting at 250 euros ($340) and a box as much as 18,500 euros ($25,000). Picture taken February 23, 2014. Stocks rose. The S&P 500 hit a new all-time high, its 47th record over the past 12 months. Scoreboard: S&P 500 : 1,854.34, +9.18, +0.50% Dow : 16,272.26 +73.85, +0.46% Nasdaq : 4,318.93 +26.87, +0.63% And now the top stories: Initial jobless claims unexpectedly climbed. The figure hit 348,000 for the week, up from 336K. Analysts had expected just 335K. But capital goods orders also unexpectedly jumped. Nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft — an important measure of corporate spending — unexpectedly climbed 1.7%. Economists were looking for a 0.2% decline. Janet Yellen told a Senate committee that weather may not be driving all the recent weak economic data. She deviated from her prepared remarks to say that the Fed is "attending to signals" of whether economy is progressing "in line with our expectations." She said the economy was "beginning to recover." And she noted the Fed has no authority to regulate Bitcoin because the digital currency does not flow through Fed network banks. JC Penney shares surged 25% on strong earnings. T he department store chain delivered its first quarterly net profit since July 2011. Sears said it lost $358 million during the holiday quarter, but shares spiked. The retailer also said it was cutting costs, and expected stronger sales this month, the AP said . $SHLD climbed 7%. Shares in Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored mortgage giant, have been ripping higher of late. Investors seem to be banking on a resolution to the firm's mortgage woes that unlocks the underlying value of the assets left on its books. Story continues Economic data keeps sliding in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics report, capital expenditures in the country fell 5.2% quarter-over-quarter in Q4. Manufacturing was in the worst shape followed by mining. DON'T MISS: Everyone Is Talking About The Recent Disconnect Between Stocks And Bonds » More From Business Insider Everyone Calm Down: New York Bottomless Brunches Are Perfectly Legal STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS FALL, TESLA SURGES: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS CLOSE JUST BELOW ALL-TIME HIGHS: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS FALL: Here's What You Need To Know

2014-02-27 22:11:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2408, 2974, 5899]}

{}

Japan says any bitcoin regulation should be international

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-says-bitcoin-regulation-international-113028297--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Sophie Knight and Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO (Reuters) - Any regulation of the bitcoin crypto-currency should involve international cooperation to avoid loopholes, Japanese vice finance minister Jiro Aichi said on Thursday. Commenting on the closure this week of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest exchange for the bitcoin virtual currency, Aichi said the ministry would respond to the problems "if necessary", after finding out exactly what happened. "It's not just the Ministry of Finance; many other agencies are related," Aichi told a news conference. "As for its legal position, a currency (under Japan's jurisdiction) would be coins or notes issued by the Bank of Japan. At the very least, we can say bitcoin is not a currency." U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, appearing on Thursday before a Senate committee, said the Fed has no jurisdiction over bitcoin but that Congress should consider ways to regulate such virtual currencies. The Mt. Gox website and Twitter feed went blank on Tuesday after weeks of turmoil. It suspended withdrawals on February 7 following a series of cyber attacks, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. A document circulating on the internet saying that more than 744,000 bitcoins - worth around $423 million at current rates - were missing from Mt. Gox was created by a Tokyo-based consulting firm, said Ryan Selkis, a blogger who initially leaked scans of the document. Selkis, who uses the handle "twobitidiot", said in an email that the "Crisis Strategy Draft" had been written by consulting firm Mandalah in meetings with Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles. A director at Mandalah told Reuters the firm had never been contracted by Mt. Gox to do "strategic planning" but declined to comment further. On Wednesday, Karpeles had sought to assure investors that he was working with others to solve the problems. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt. Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," he said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. MT. GOX REBRANDING? While proponents of bitcoin hail its anonymity and lack of ties to traditional banking, regulators have become increasingly interested in the digital currency due to its volatility and usage by criminal elements. Bitcoins are created, or "mined", in a process using a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. At current prices, the bitcoin market is worth about $7 billion. The document leaked this week by Selkis - who says he sold all his bitcoins - said 744,408 bitcoins, or about 6 percent of the 12.4 million bitcoins in circulation, were "missing" due to thefts that exploited "malleability" in the code governing transactions, which the Bitcoin Foundation and others have blamed on Mt. Gox's customised software. "Mt. Gox has been broken and it was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer in Switzerland. The leaked crisis plan proposed that Mt. Gox reduce its liabilities, switch off the exchange for a month while bringing in transition advisers, and reset all social network channels while rebranding under a different CEO. Karpeles told Reuters in April 2013 that Mt. Gox was seeing daily inflows of $5-$20 million. He told Forbes his company hadn't been able to keep up with all the changes as it became the largest exchange in the world. The crisis plan said Mt. Gox had liabilities of $174 million, based on an assumed exchange rate of $160 per bitcoin - well below the $550 or so offered for bitcoins at other exchanges on Thursday - against assets of $32 million. A financial statement included in that document said Mt. Gox was expected to make $2 million in net income in the year to end-March, a sevenfold increase on the previous year. It also said Mt. Gox turned a profit in its second year of existence, banking $286,000 in net income. Those figures match a 2013 report by credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research, which was reviewed by Reuters. It said Mt. Gox "had a strong start". Mt. Gox had 600,000 customers at the time, the research report said - 30 percent from the United States, 10 percent from Britain and just 300 in Japan. Given that most users are overseas, any court case to retrieve missing funds would be more likely in the United States than Japan, said Ken Kiyohara, a lawyer at Jones Day. "It probably comes under the (Japanese) Financial Services Agency's (FSA) remit, but giving a reason for that in one sentence is impossible," he said. Officials at the FSA and Finance Ministry each told Reuters bitcoin does not fall within their purview, while the Bank of Japan says only that it is studying the bitcoin phenomenon, which Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has called "interesting." People who had bitcoins at Mt. Gox are more definitive. "It was the only place you could buy bitcoin directly with yen, so it hurts that it's gone," said Ryoichi Taga, a fellow at the Japan Digital Money Association. NOBODY HOME Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges and businesses that deal in bitcoins to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Mt. Gox is under investigation by the U.S. federal law enforcement, according to a second source familiar with the case, while a third said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was monitoring the situation. The federal probe was spurred by information provided by the Bitcoin Foundation, an advocacy group for the digital currency, Bloomberg reported. The foundation could not be reached immediately for comment. Karpeles, a founding member of the foundation, resigned from its board on Monday. In Singapore on Thursday, Tembusu Terminals set up what it said was the city-state's first automated tele-exchange machine (ATM) for buying bitcoins - at the downtown Spiffy Dapper bar - a week after the finance minister said bitcoins weren't regulated by the ministry or the central bank. Karpeles' whereabouts in Japan were still unclear. The main Mt. Gox office remained deserted on Thursday, with bubble wrap inside the windows. The company said last week it was moving back to a previous office for "security reasons". The company's cubicle in the other office in Tokyo's Shibuya area was inaccessible. A concierge at Karpeles' home - an upscale apartment near Shibuya - appeared to speak to someone on the intercom before saying there was nobody home. (Additional reporting by Emily Flitter and Chris Francescani in New York, Jim Finkle in Boston,; Chris Peters in Bangalore, Bill Trott in Washington and Nathan Layne and Takaya Yamaguchi in Tokyo; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-28 00:19:36+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1801]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin owners find safe place for digital currency: on paper

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-owners-safe-place-digital-currency-paper-001936701--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Noel Randewich and Julie Gordon SAN FRANCISCO/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Some savvy bitcoin investors have a solution to cyber-thieves and instability shaking online exchanges: they print out their virtual savings and hide them in the real world. The shuttering this week of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox and fears that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency have been lost or stolen are pushing investors to tighten their security. Touted by advocates as a new, digital type of money that could one day replace real-world cash, bitcoins can also be stored like traditional currencies, locked up in a safe, or hidden in a shoe box. Enthusiasts around the world use online exchanges to conveniently buy and sell bitcoins but bitcoin savings can also be kept closer to home. Every virtual wallets used to hold bitcoins has a unique, private number. Recording that number on a piece of paper or a thumb drive, for instance, keeps a wallet's contents out of reach of anyone online, criminal or not. Canadian mortgage broker and bitcoin enthusiast Chung Cheong writes out his secret number by hand and puts it in a safety deposit box. "The only way to ever access that address and those bitcoins is that piece of paper," said Cheong. "I pray that there isn't a big fire and the bank burns down. Because if that happens, I'm out of luck." Jacob Dienelt helps run Lazzerbee, a company that lets people create novelty paper wallets containing small amounts of bitcoins as birthday gifts or for other special occasions. He said he keeps about three quarters of his own bitcoins locked away far from the Internet, with the rest on devices ready to trade. Locking away all bitcoins offline won't help the currency go mainstream, though, he said. "You have to be able to spend bitcoins," he said. Bitcoin relies on a network of computers that solve complex mathematical problems as part of a process that verifies and permanently records the details of every bitcoin transaction that is made. Mt. Gox was once the largest bitcoin exchange, making its collapse particularly notable, but online robbery has been a persistent problem for the virtual currency, which began circulating in 2009. Cyber criminals have infected hundreds of thousands of computers with a virus called "Pony" to steal bitcoins and other digital currencies, security firm Trustwave said this week. The apparent demise of Mt. Gox, along with a massive cyber attack against online exchanges earlier this month, is undoubtedly making people take a second look at where they store their virtual currencies, said Vinny Lingham, cofounder of Gyft, which sells retail gift cards and does much of its trade in bitcoins. While storing bitcoins offline keeps them safe from the clutches of cyber-criminals, it creates the very real risk of break-ins and potentially violent robbery. Some people tear the pages containing their wallet numbers in half and store each part in a separate location, Lingham said. Unsurprisingly, Lingham declined to say where Gyft keeps its bitcoins: "You can store them on paper, with your attorneys, on an SD card. But whatever your strategy is, it's irrelevant if you tell people what it is." (Editing by Peter Henderson)

2014-02-28 12:09:05+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3099]}

{}

Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy, blames hackers for losses

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-protection-094811743.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Yoshifumi Takemoto and Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The collapse caps a tumultuous few weeks in which the company has remained virtually silent after halting trades of the crypto-currency, shaking the nascent but burgeoning bitcoin community. Wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles bowed in contrition and apologised in Japanese at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, blaming his firm's collapse on a "weakness in our system", but predicting that bitcoin would continue to grow. "First of all, I'm very sorry," he said. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." Angry investors have been seeking answers for what happened to their holdings of cash and bitcoins on the unregulated Tokyo-based exchange. Mt. Gox said the exchange, used overwhelmingly by foreigners, had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. It also said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. Junko Suetomi, a lawyer with Baker & MacKenzie, said she could not comment on the balances of foreign bank accounts held by the company. PROBLEM WITH EXCHANGE, NOT BITCOIN Many bitcoin market participants have said Mt. Gox's problems were specific to the company and were caused by what they said was a lax attitude by Karpeles, while bitcoin itself - free of any central bank control - was still a noble venture. "If we could agree on legal regulation, we should let (bitcoin and regulators) co-exist," said Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association. He lost about 100,000 yen worth of bitcoins, but seemed unconcerned as he became interested in the virtual currency as a form of "study". Story continues "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. Mt. Gox deleted its website on Tuesday after freezing withdrawals earlier this month in the wake of a series of technical difficulties. The exchange had liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($63.67 million), dwarfing its total assets of 3.84 billion yen, the company said. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. The company and Karpeles have said little in the days before Friday's court filing, which is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, except that they were working with others to resolve their problems. Another lawyer, Akio Shinomiya at Yodoyabashi and Yamagami, said Mt. Gox wanted to file a criminal complaint against what he said was a hacking attack, but had no specific means of doing so. "Bitcoin has always been volatile and speculative, said bitcoin user Ken Shishido, who had about a tenth of his bitcoin holdings at Mt. Gox, but has seen the rest of his bitcoins soar tenfold since he began trading 18 months ago. "It's too bad that this happened, but we have to let it go. And then we'll buy more." ($1 = 102.0850 Japanese yen) (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Emi Emoto; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-28 12:09:05+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3099]}

{}

Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy, blames hackers for losses

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-protection-094811743.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Yoshifumi Takemoto and Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The collapse caps a tumultuous few weeks in which the company has remained virtually silent after halting trades of the crypto-currency, shaking the nascent but burgeoning bitcoin community. Wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles bowed in contrition and apologised in Japanese at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, blaming his firm's collapse on a "weakness in our system", but predicting that bitcoin would continue to grow. "First of all, I'm very sorry," he said. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." Angry investors have been seeking answers for what happened to their holdings of cash and bitcoins on the unregulated Tokyo-based exchange. Mt. Gox said the exchange, used overwhelmingly by foreigners, had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. It also said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. Junko Suetomi, a lawyer with Baker & MacKenzie, said she could not comment on the balances of foreign bank accounts held by the company. PROBLEM WITH EXCHANGE, NOT BITCOIN Many bitcoin market participants have said Mt. Gox's problems were specific to the company and were caused by what they said was a lax attitude by Karpeles, while bitcoin itself - free of any central bank control - was still a noble venture. "If we could agree on legal regulation, we should let (bitcoin and regulators) co-exist," said Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association. He lost about 100,000 yen worth of bitcoins, but seemed unconcerned as he became interested in the virtual currency as a form of "study". Story continues "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. Mt. Gox deleted its website on Tuesday after freezing withdrawals earlier this month in the wake of a series of technical difficulties. The exchange had liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($63.67 million), dwarfing its total assets of 3.84 billion yen, the company said. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. The company and Karpeles have said little in the days before Friday's court filing, which is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, except that they were working with others to resolve their problems. Another lawyer, Akio Shinomiya at Yodoyabashi and Yamagami, said Mt. Gox wanted to file a criminal complaint against what he said was a hacking attack, but had no specific means of doing so. "Bitcoin has always been volatile and speculative, said bitcoin user Ken Shishido, who had about a tenth of his bitcoin holdings at Mt. Gox, but has seen the rest of his bitcoins soar tenfold since he began trading 18 months ago. "It's too bad that this happened, but we have to let it go. And then we'll buy more." ($1 = 102.0850 Japanese yen) (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Emi Emoto; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-28 12:11:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [762, 1009, 1097]}

{}

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-opening-bell-121126410.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

chinese soldier snow REUTERS/CDIC A Chinese soldier takes part in a drill during a heavy snow in Heihe, Heilongjiang province Good morning! Here's what you need to know. The Chinese yuan takes its largest drop since 2005 . The yuan fell 0.9% to a 10-month low of 6.1808 per dollar in Shanghai. "FX sales data released this week point to continued strong capital inflows in January, and there are no signs of large capital outflows or sharp deterioration in fundamentals in recent weeks," Jian Chang at Barclays wrote in a note to clients. "This supports the view that the recent CNY devaluation was mostly guided by the PBoC to deter speculative capital inflows, rather than due to capital outflows on concerns of China risks" Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy . The Bitcoin exchange's chief executive Mark Karpeles blamed " a weakness in our system " at a press conference in Japan, where the company was based. Mt. Gox froze withdrawals earlier this month after weeks of glitches and issues, and now many in the Bitcoin world are worried they lost their holdings in what was once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange. It's a packed day of economic data, starting with U.S. GDP at 8:30 a.m. ET . Economists expect Q4 GDP was revised down from 2.5% to 3.2%. "Substantial downward adjustments to core ex auto retail sales in November and December, which recast the holiday shopping season as slow instead of strong, pointed to a downward revision to consumption to +2.8% from +3.3%," wrote Morgan Stanley's Ted Wieseman . "Lower results than BEA assumed for December international trade and wholesale inventories should lower the initially estimated +1.3pp net exports and +0.4pp inventories contributions by 0.2pp each." Then at 9:45 a.m., Chicago PMI will be released . Economist expect the regional indicator fell to 56.4 in February from 59.6 the month prior. "We anticipate a substantial drop-off in the Chicago business barometer in February," wrote Citi's Peter D'Antonio . "The Chicago area is accustomed to nasty winter conditions, so we normally wouldn’t look for weather effects in a manufacturing index from that region. However, the region’s activity would be affected by a pullback in demand for its products due to weather. In this case, the relative importance of autos means that the dramatic weather-related reduction in vehicle sales in recent months (and the corresponding overstocked lots and reduced orders) could impact this measure of activity." Story continues Consumer confidence comes out at 9:55 a.m . Economists believe the final reading of the Michigan consumer confidence measure will come in at 81.2. "On one hand, higher utilities bills during the winter season could cut into discretionary income and weigh on the index," wrote Nomura economists . "On the other hand, households have been more optimistic about the labor market and their finances." At 10:00 a.m., we'll get pending home sales . Economists are looking for sales to increase 1.5% in January. Though, some are forecasting a drop. "We look for pending home sales, which track signed contracts on single-family homes, condos, and co-ops, to fall 5% m/m in January," wrote Barclays economists . "One factor in our forecast is MBA applications for purchase, which rose 4.4% on the month after declining 6.1% in December. Buyer traffic in the NAHB home index, however, fell to 40 in January, perhaps driven by adverse weather, and is suggestive of less momentum." Ukraine's interior minister says Russian forces have begun an "armed invasion" in Crimea by blocking an air base and entering another airport in the Black Sea peninsula , the AFP reports. " The incidents come a day after dozens of pro-Moscow gunmen seized government buildings in the Crimean capital of Simferopol including the regional parliament, which subsequently voted to hold a referendum on May 25 to expand the region's autonomy from Kiev," according to the report. Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading . Japan's Nikkei fell 0.55% while Shanghai climbed 0.44%. Markets across Europe were lower and U.S. futures were pointing to a negative open. India's slow growth . Economists believe India's economic growth will remain below the 5% mark for the fifth straight quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. " India’s pace of economic expansion has halved to a decade-low of 4.5% in the last fiscal year from about 9% till two years before that. Overburdened infrastructure, rising borrowing costs, bureaucratic red-tape and uncertainty over tax policies have spooked consumers and corporations in Asia’s third largest economy," according to the Journal. European unemployment stays flat while Japan looks healthier . According to new data from Eurostat, the unemployment rate in the euro area held at 12% . Meanwhile, data on Japanese consumer prices , industrial production, and labor market all looked solid. More From Business Insider 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

2014-02-28 13:25:47+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2348, 2832, 3520]}

{}

The first lawsuit against Mt.Gox just filed

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-protection-132547417.html

CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/

Yoshikazu Txuno | AFP | Getty Images A bitcoin user is suing Mt. Gox over its million-dollar losses after cyberattacks bankrupted what once was the world's largest bitcoin exchange, according to Reuters. Plaintiff Gregory Greene filed a complaint on behalf of bitcoin users in a U.S. District Court in Chicago on Thursday, accusing Mt. Gox and its CEO Mark Karpeles of negligence and fraud for not protecting the exchange from theft. Greene, who claimed his own bitcoin holdings were about $25,000, said "Mt. Gox intentionally and knowingly failed to provide its users with the level of security protection for which they paid", Reuters reported. The suit could be the first of many filed against Mt. Gox, which has lost an estimated $480 million dollars worth of bitcoins, a virtual currency , due to what it called a weakness in its system. A lawyer for the embattled Japan-based company announced at a news conference on Friday that the exchange was filing for Chapter 11-style protection and stated that Mt.Gox had outstanding debts of about 6.5 billion Japanese yen ($63.6 million), the Dow Jones news agency reported. Its customers have been unable to withdraw their bitcoins and convert them into U.S. dollars since the beginning of February. The exchange blamed the problem on a critical loophole - known as "transaction malleability" - in the cryptocurrency that it said leaves all exchanges open to hacking. Mark Karpeles, the CEO of Mt.Gox, reiterated this belief on Friday at the news conference, blaming weaknesses in the system for the loss of its bitcoins. The company's lawyers added that Mt.Gox may have lost nearly all of its virtual currency, leading to a black hole of 2.8 billion Japanese yen, local media reported. ( Read More : Mt.Gox CEO: 'I'm still in Japan ') The company said there were 127,000 creditors in the bankruptcy and only 0.8 percent were Japanese. Representatives added that it opted for a transparent procedure due to public outcry and will aid authorities in finding out what happened. Its liquid liabilities totaled 6.501 billion Japanese yen with its total assets being 3.842 billion Japanese yen, according to Reuters. Dow Jones added that Mt.Gox believed 750,000 of customers' coins may have been lost and 100,000 of its own, meaning a loss of around $500 million at current market prices. ( Read More : Bitcoin's Mt.Gox disappears, insolvency feared ) Mt.Gox - which once claimed it handled around 80 percent of all global dollar trades for bitcoin - is an online marketplace where people can buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. Its website was abruptly taken offline on Tuesday with Karpeles saying the business was at "a turning point."This comes after the exchange deleted all of its tweets from its Twitter account on Monday and Karpeles resigning from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation on Sunday. The company also announced last week that it had moved offices due to "security problems." Story continues On Wednesday, Reuters reported that the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was seeking information from businesses dealing in bitcoin to discover how they were dealing with the cyberattacks. Subpoenas have been sent by Bharara to Mt.Gox, as well as other firms that did business with the Tokyo-based company, a source told Reuters. Meanwhile, Japanese authorities are looking into the abrupt closure of the exchange, a government spokesman said on Wednesday in Tokyo's first official reaction to the turmoil at the company. ( Read More : Bitcoin investor fury at Mt Gox delays ) The issues at Mt.Gox have caused anger in the bitcoin community with some customers taking to social media to express their dissatisfaction. An unverified document circulating online earlier this week claimed that Mt.Gox had lost 744,408 bitcoins (worth around $350 million) due to theft related to the trading fault. On Friday morning the price of the virtual currency stood stable at $550, according to CoinDesk which tracks the price at various major exchanges. Mt.Gox are expected to update customers via its website which has published two updates since being taken offline. ( Track the price of bitcoin here ) Angus McFadyen, an associate at international law firm Pinsent Masons told CNBC via telephone that he expected the company will now disappear. Bankruptcy protection aims to give a company time to reorganize its affairs while treating it as an ongoing concern. McFadyen explained that if formal bankruptcy is filed, then a long list of creditors will be drawn up, with each lodging their claims before being placed in a queue. Tax authorities will be at the top of the list, he said, with unsecured creditors - which he believes to be the bitcoin investors - being at the bottom. If the money available to the company, if any, stretches to the unsecured creditors then they may be reimbursed. He didn't expect this to happen in the case of Mt.Gox however. In other jurisdictions, like the U.K., the directors at a company could be made to help with reimbursement if they are complicit, but McFadyen didn't expect this to happen with this particular incident, with the loss blamed instead on computer thieves. ( Read More : Mt.Gox customers could be out of luck, experts warn ) "As it stands bitcoin doesn't benefit from any laws," McFadyen told CNBC, explaining that because it was a decentralized currency with no regulation it is not given the same protection as fiat currency. "A currency needs to be secure and customers need to have confidence with it," he added. Another global law firm told CNBC that the chances of customers getting their investments back were very slim. "As I understand it these bitcoins have been stolen - due to anonymity of bitcoin it is difficult to see how customers could get them back," Richard Smith, a partner at Mayer Brown said. "They may theoretically have some sort of a claim against Mt.Gox but it doesn't look like that would count for much if Mt.Gox is insolvent with outstanding debts of about 6.5 billion (Japanese) yen." - By CNBC.com's Matt Clinch; Follow him on Twitter @mattclinch81 More From CNBC Watch out Wall Street, here comes Robinhood Boeing develops self-destruct phone US says credit scores should be free to all View comments

2014-02-28 15:39:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1453, 3967, 4862]}

{}

Mt. Gox: The brief reign of bitcoin's top exchange

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-quick-rise-even-050115650.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Brett Wolf and Emily Flitter (Reuters) - The collapse of Mt. Gox might appear sudden, but bitcoin insiders say its downfall began nearly a year ago as the virtual currency exchange tangled with regulators, split from former business partners and grappled with cyber attacks. Mt. Gox's fall lays bare the difficulties the bitcoin community faces as it tries to square its freewheeling, libertarian ideals with the rigorous regulation required in financial services and customers' needs for reliable service. Once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox on Friday filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. How it managed to lose so much so quickly is still unclear. U.S. federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Tokyo-based Mt. Gox - and other bitcoin businesses - to seek information on a recent spate of disruptive cyber attacks that overwhelmed some exchanges and forced them to suspend withdrawals. Mt. Gox never recovered, whereas rivals such as Slovenia-based Bitstamp have since resumed operations. "The first wave of entrepreneurs were evangelists for the technology, but low on quality," said Nick Shalek, an investor at Ribbit Capital, which has backed bitcoin companies including digital-wallet Coinbase. Now, he said, a more serious group of entrepreneurs is trying to build more serious infrastructure around bitcoin. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value has soared in the last year, and the total worth of bit coins minted is now about $7 billion (4 billion pounds). Mt. Gox's decline, ironically, started just as bitcoin was hitting a new level of notoriety in the broader public. Proponents include prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists who talked up a virtual currency system free of government intervention or control. Story continues THE FACE OF BITCOIN Founded in 2009 by American software hacker Jed McCaleb, Mt. Gox was originally a site for people to trade cards for a game called "Magic: The Gathering." (Mt. Gox is short for "Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange") McCaleb turned the site into a bitcoin exchange and sold the fledgling business in 2011 to Mark Karpeles. Under the Frenchman, Mt. Gox became the face of bitcoin - where investors regularly checked the price of the digital currency and where the largest volume of trades occurred. As regulators started to take notice of the bitcoin market, Karpeles became a vocal champion. He described Mt. Gox as "the main exchange" and argued for bitcoin's legitimacy while trying to distance it from criminals using the digital currency for money laundering or drug-related activities. Karpeles said Mt. Gox had no interest in helping criminals launder funds, and pushed back against claims that bitcoin transactions were completely anonymous, noting that while the system was designed for privacy, it was easy to track bitcoin across the network. If authorities found a way to shut down Mt. Gox, "the likely result will be more exchanges popping up all over, with methods much harder to track, and who will be much less likely to agree to help with any investigation," Karpeles said in a 2011 email to a reporter for the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus. "We want (authorities) to understand that the problem is not bitcoin itself, but what some people do with those," he said in the message, one of numerous emailed exchanges over the years. In 2011, bitcoin was barely trading at $1, but volumes were picking up at Mt. Gox, which routinely saw more than 20,000 transactions daily, more than double those in late 2010. Karpeles said Mt. Gox had servers in the United States but little in the way of money. It used Iowa-based online payment processor Dwolla Inc to make U.S. customer transactions easier. RISE IN POPULARITY Bitcoin's popularity increased incrementally, similar to its price. On April 1, 2013, it topped $100 for the first time, and trading volumes were increasing. Around this time, a regulatory push intensified. The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) declared bitcoin exchanges to be money transmitters, requiring them to register, enact formal anti-money laundering programs, and report suspicious activity. Shortly after that, a bitcoin exchange known as bitfloor was shuttered after its U.S. bank account was closed because it had not properly registered with regulators. Concerns that regulatory action would cause customer funds to be trapped resulted in a sharp plunge in bitcoin, falling from $230 on April 10 to a low of $68.49 on April 17 - a period of time that turned out to be the peak in terms of dollar-denominated trading on Mt. Gox, according to Bitcoincharts. As volumes jumped that month - on two separate days, there were more than 500,000 dollar-denominated transactions on Mt. Gox - the exchange said it was overwhelmed by the volumes, and it was working to upgrade its systems. Karpeles said in an April 13 email that bitfloor's closure was a fate that would not befall Mt. Gox. "We apply very strict AML (anti-money laundering) procedures to avoid exactly this kind of issue. We have very good relationships with our banking partners and making sure everything is run as good as possible." On April 18, Karpeles clarified that Dwolla was the company's only transaction provider. "We do not use any U.S. bank," he said via email. Mt. Gox did not immediately register with FinCEN - a misstep that would in part lead to its demise. In May 2013, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security froze an account that Dwolla held at Veridian Credit Union in the name of Mutum Sigillum LLC, a Mt. Gox subsidiary incorporated in Delaware. A related court document said another account at Wells Fargo had been seized earlier that month. The Department of Homeland Security justified the seizures by accusing Mt. Gox of failing to register with Treasury as demanded by FinCEN. (It eventually registered in June.) Karpeles has declined to comment on the seizures, but this complicated the ability of Mt. Gox to allow U.S. customers to liquidate existing investments. Dwolla eventually ended its relationship with Mt. Gox, in a blow to the exchange. "Most professional users moved away from Mt. Gox months ago, leaving April 2013 or thereabouts. By June 2013, the final nail was in the coffin for U.S. users," said one of bitcoin's core developers, who requested anonymity. This in turn caused bitcoin's prices on Mt. Gox to surge. "What happened then is because you couldn't withdraw dollars, there became a major premium for bitcoin on Mt. Gox," said Jacob Dienelt, a maker of bitcoin paper wallets in New York. CYBER ATTACKS The rise in bitcoin's value gave it more cachet with the general public, even though most people were still uninformed about exactly what bitcoin was. Dollar trading volumes started to diminish on Mt. Gox then - from about 66,770 transactions daily in May to a little over 14,000 in September. Volumes surged for a few months, but dropped to about 9,000 daily by January, according to bitcoincharts. Those in the industry said Mt. Gox ceased to be the exchange of choice about nine months ago as competitors such as Bitstamp gained prominence. By the start of this year, Mt. Gox was considered a diminished player due to concerns about its technology and safety. "It was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer based in Switzerland. Mt. Gox's problems earlier this month stemmed from "distributed denial of service" attacks, where hackers sent thousands of phantom transactions to the exchange to slow its operations. Other exchanges experienced this problem as well, but were able to restore service more quickly. The hackers exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. "It was a well-known issue that every major exchange in the bitcoin community knew about and had solutions for. Mt. Gox did not," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, the world's first bitcoin ATM maker. Mt. Gox said on Friday that it had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. "There could be issues with security, with theft and so on, and there could be issues with the way things were implemented, where there's just some negligence and just some accidents and poor management of the exchange," said Moshe Cohen, assistant professor at Columbia Business School in New York. Mt. Gox said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. "First of all, I'm very sorry," Karpeles, wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, told a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." (Reporting by Brett Wolf of the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus in St. Louis and Emily Flitter in New York; Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston and Sarah McBride in San Francisco; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-28 16:14:04+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1453, 3948, 4843]}

{}

Mt Gox: The brief reign of bitcoin's top exchange

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-quick-rise-even-050331518.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Brett Wolf and Emily Flitter (Reuters) - The collapse of Mt. Gox might appear sudden, but bitcoin insiders say its downfall began nearly a year ago as the virtual currency exchange tangled with regulators, split from former business partners and grappled with cyber attacks. Mt. Gox's fall lays bare the difficulties the bitcoin community faces as it tries to square its freewheeling, libertarian ideals with the rigorous regulation required in financial services and customers' needs for reliable service. Once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox on Friday filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. How it managed to lose so much so quickly is still unclear. U.S. federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Tokyo-based Mt. Gox - and other bitcoin businesses - to seek information on a recent spate of disruptive cyber attacks that overwhelmed some exchanges and forced them to suspend withdrawals. Mt. Gox never recovered, whereas rivals such as Slovenia-based Bitstamp have since resumed operations. "The first wave of entrepreneurs were evangelists for the technology, but low on quality," said Nick Shalek, an investor at Ribbit Capital, which has backed bitcoin companies including digital-wallet Coinbase. Now, he said, a more serious group of entrepreneurs is trying to build more serious infrastructure around bitcoin. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value has soared in the last year, and the total worth of bit coins minted is now about $7 billion. Mt. Gox's decline, ironically, started just as bitcoin was hitting a new level of notoriety in the broader public. Proponents include prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists who talked up a virtual currency system free of government intervention or control. Story continues THE FACE OF BITCOIN Founded in 2009 by American software hacker Jed McCaleb, Mt. Gox was originally a site for people to trade cards for a game called "Magic: The Gathering." (Mt. Gox is short for "Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange") McCaleb turned the site into a bitcoin exchange and sold the fledgling business in 2011 to Mark Karpeles. Under the Frenchman, Mt. Gox became the face of bitcoin - where investors regularly checked the price of the digital currency and where the largest volume of trades occurred. As regulators started to take notice of the bitcoin market, Karpeles became a vocal champion. He described Mt. Gox as "the main exchange" and argued for bitcoin's legitimacy while trying to distance it from criminals using the digital currency for money laundering or drug-related activities. Karpeles said Mt. Gox had no interest in helping criminals launder funds, and pushed back against claims that bitcoin transactions were completely anonymous, noting that while the system was designed for privacy, it was easy to track bitcoin across the network. If authorities found a way to shut down Mt. Gox, "the likely result will be more exchanges popping up all over, with methods much harder to track, and who will be much less likely to agree to help with any investigation," Karpeles said in a 2011 email to a reporter for the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus. "We want (authorities) to understand that the problem is not bitcoin itself, but what some people do with those," he said in the message, one of numerous emailed exchanges over the years. In 2011, bitcoin was barely trading at $1, but volumes were picking up at Mt. Gox, which routinely saw more than 20,000 transactions daily, more than double those in late 2010. Karpeles said Mt. Gox had servers in the United States but little in the way of money. It used Iowa-based online payment processor Dwolla Inc to make U.S. customer transactions easier. RISE IN POPULARITY Bitcoin's popularity increased incrementally, similar to its price. On April 1, 2013, it topped $100 for the first time, and trading volumes were increasing. Around this time, a regulatory push intensified. The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) declared bitcoin exchanges to be money transmitters, requiring them to register, enact formal anti-money laundering programs, and report suspicious activity. Shortly after that, a bitcoin exchange known as bitfloor was shuttered after its U.S. bank account was closed because it had not properly registered with regulators. Concerns that regulatory action would cause customer funds to be trapped resulted in a sharp plunge in bitcoin, falling from $230 on April 10 to a low of $68.49 on April 17 - a period of time that turned out to be the peak in terms of dollar-denominated trading on Mt. Gox, according to Bitcoincharts. As volumes jumped that month - on two separate days, there were more than 500,000 dollar-denominated transactions on Mt. Gox - the exchange said it was overwhelmed by the volumes, and it was working to upgrade its systems. Karpeles said in an April 13 email that bitfloor's closure was a fate that would not befall Mt. Gox. "We apply very strict AML (anti-money laundering) procedures to avoid exactly this kind of issue. We have very good relationships with our banking partners and making sure everything is run as good as possible." On April 18, Karpeles clarified that Dwolla was the company's only transaction provider. "We do not use any U.S. bank," he said via email. Mt. Gox did not immediately register with FinCEN - a misstep that would in part lead to its demise. In May 2013, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security froze an account that Dwolla held at Veridian Credit Union in the name of Mutum Sigillum LLC, a Mt. Gox subsidiary incorporated in Delaware. A related court document said another account at Wells Fargo had been seized earlier that month. The Department of Homeland Security justified the seizures by accusing Mt. Gox of failing to register with Treasury as demanded by FinCEN. (It eventually registered in June.) Karpeles has declined to comment on the seizures, but this complicated the ability of Mt. Gox to allow U.S. customers to liquidate existing investments. Dwolla eventually ended its relationship with Mt. Gox, in a blow to the exchange. "Most professional users moved away from Mt. Gox months ago, leaving April 2013 or thereabouts. By June 2013, the final nail was in the coffin for U.S. users," said one of bitcoin's core developers, who requested anonymity. This in turn caused bitcoin's prices on Mt. Gox to surge. "What happened then is because you couldn't withdraw dollars, there became a major premium for bitcoin on Mt. Gox," said Jacob Dienelt, a maker of bitcoin paper wallets in New York. CYBER ATTACKS The rise in bitcoin's value gave it more cachet with the general public, even though most people were still uninformed about exactly what bitcoin was. Dollar trading volumes started to diminish on Mt. Gox then - from about 66,770 transactions daily in May to a little over 14,000 in September. Volumes surged for a few months, but dropped to about 9,000 daily by January, according to bitcoincharts. Those in the industry said Mt. Gox ceased to be the exchange of choice about nine months ago as competitors such as Bitstamp gained prominence. By the start of this year, Mt. Gox was considered a diminished player due to concerns about its technology and safety. "It was obvious there was something really bad going on there for nearly a year. They were processing withdrawals very slowly and generally being very opaque about what was going on," said Mike Hearn, a bitcoin developer based in Switzerland. Mt. Gox's problems earlier this month stemmed from "distributed denial of service" attacks, where hackers sent thousands of phantom transactions to the exchange to slow its operations. Other exchanges experienced this problem as well, but were able to restore service more quickly. The hackers exploited a process used by some bitcoin exchanges that introduced "malleability" into the code governing transactions, experts said. Simply put, this allowed hackers to slightly alter the details of codes to create thousands of copies of transactions. These copies slowed the exchanges to a crawl, forcing them to independently verify each transaction to determine what was real and what was fake. "It was a well-known issue that every major exchange in the bitcoin community knew about and had solutions for. Mt. Gox did not," said Jordan Kelley, chief executive of Robocoin, the world's first bitcoin ATM maker. Mt. Gox said on Friday that it had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. "There could be issues with security, with theft and so on, and there could be issues with the way things were implemented, where there's just some negligence and just some accidents and poor management of the exchange," said Moshe Cohen, assistant professor at Columbia Business School in New York. Mt. Gox said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. "First of all, I'm very sorry," Karpeles, wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, told a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." (Reporting by Brett Wolf of the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus in St. Louis and Emily Flitter in New York; Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston and Sarah McBride in San Francisco; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

2014-02-28 16:17:15+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1593, 1903]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin true believers unfazed by losses in Mt. Gox collapse

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-true-believers-unfazed-losses-161715844.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Kevin Krolicki and Nathan Layne TOKYO (Reuters) - Like other bitcoin evangelists, Ken Shishido is ready to write off the money he lost in the bankruptcy of Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange Mt. Gox as the price of revolutionising global finance. "In the early days of the automobile, there were traffic accidents because you didn't have traffic lights or pedestrian crossings," he said hours after Mt. Gox said on Friday it had lost up to half a billion dollars of investor funds, including some of his own. "But we didn't ban automobiles." Shishido, who lives in Tokyo, was one of about 10,000 investors in Japan who became creditors in Mt. Gox's bankruptcy when the company capped a tumultuous period of weeks by filing for bankruptcy on Friday. He lost about a tenth of his investment in bitcoin in Mt. Gox, he said, and expected none of that money to come back. Early enthusiasts for the five-year-old crypto-currency were drawn to its revolutionary ideals of transparency and a lack of central or official control. There was also a heady mix of geek chic - the currency is "mined" through a process involving complex computer math - and laissez-faire Austrian economics. Mt. Gox's loss is eye-popping but so too is the number of creditors - 127,000 - in what had been the world's biggest exchange. That means the average trader lost the equivalent of $3,500 (2,090.68 pounds) in the bankruptcy at current bitcoin prices, assuming no money is recovered in the court-supervised restructuring in Tokyo set to play out over the following months. VALUE SPIKES, CRASHES, TAKES OFF AGAIN Bitcoin's value spiked in April 2013 as the crisis-racked Cyprus government clamped down on withdrawals and seized deposits, rattling faith in "fiat" currencies. The crypto-currency soon crashed back. Late last year, as the number of exchanges and the virtual money's name recognition grew, it took off again. Bitcoin gained wider acceptance - and took off again in price - late last year. It attracted high-profile proponents, like the investor twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook fame, and speculators. Story continues Investors interviewed after the exchange collapsed faulted the Tokyo exchange and Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles, but they remained committed to the bitcoin idea. Roger Ver, a big investor in Mt. Gox, said he did not know if he would ever get any of his lost bitcoin back. "But the important thing to realize is that Mt. Gox is just one company using bitcoin. The bitcoin technology itself is still absolutely amazing," he said. "Even if one email service provider is having a problem that doesn't mean people are going to stop using email. It's the same with bitcoin." POSITIVE VIEW Ver spoke of "all of the positive ways in which bitcoin is going to change the world ... if anything, it is kind of for the better of bitcoin that the irresponsible players are going out of business." Shishido said he does not expect to get his virtual money back, but that the rest of his bitcoin investments had soared 10-fold in value. Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association, lost 100,000 yen (585.39 pounds) worth of bitcoins, which he got involved with as a form of "study". But he was unfazed. "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. "I think then everyone would come to Tokyo in an instant." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles, even after bowing to apologise for the exchange's bankruptcy, later said the currency will endure. "The bitcoin industry is continuing and the most important thing now is to limit the impact of (Mt Gox's collapse) on that" (Additional reporting by Emi Emoto; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

2014-02-28 16:48:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [127, 197, 691, 970, 1184, 1383, 1570, 1931, 2426, 2606, 2776, 2833, 2951, 3241, 4238, 4405, 4512, 4629]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin's First Era Is Over

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoins-first-era-over-164827041.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

The Celts Conquer Rome Google Images We first called it a civil war . Following the New York Department of Financial Service's Bitcoin hearings, a rift seemed to develop between those who believed Bitcoin could not go mainstream without further regulation, and those who appeared to be clinging to the cryptocurrency's anarcho-libertarian roots. But the issue has now basically been settled by the spectacular implosion of MtGox: The above-board faction has won, diluting the freedom-fighter's ideology and pushing their activities to the margins. "I think the technology has a smaller, more outlier future if it's only going to be a wild west," said James Barcia, the spokesman for the NYC Bitcoin Center, whose founders maintain connections to small-government evangelists like U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Tex.). Stockman was the first incumbent in Washington to accept bitcoin for his campaign. In an emailed statement yesterday responding to a senator's call to ban Bitcoin, Stockman said, " Rather than thwart innovation Congress should help resolve challenges." He has not yet responded for further comment. The Federal Reserve itself has said that while it cannot yet regulate Bitcoin, is is observing the digital currency with interest. In comments made yesterday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen seemed to echo Stockman's sentiments . "The Fed doesn't have authority with respect to Bitcoin," she said. "But certainly it would be appropriate for Congress to ask questions about what the right legal structure would be for digital currencies." The professionalization of Bitcoin has already begun SecondMarket has announced it plans to start the first U.S.-based exchange network . Fortress Investment Group just made the first-ever public filing of bitcoin holdings. While extreme wealth is no guarantee of ensured survival — the collapse of what was once the world's largest exchange is unlikely to increase mainstream demand for Bitcoin — it will likely be enough to carry it into its next phase. Story continues "Today, thanks to the hard work of many, the Mt. Gox 'crisis', as it’s been reported, has really been more of a speed bump on the road to mainstream maturity," Tyler Winklevoss, a major bitcoin investor, wrote on his blog . "Several other exchanges have stepped up and seamlessly shouldered the burden, and as a result, the price of bitcoin has shown remarkable resilience." Some still cling to the notion that Bitcoin will suffer from further regulation. In a note on his blog, Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson said that it was actually too much regulation that caused MtGox's problems. "Bitcoin is already regulated in the US and it is becoming more regulated every day. And the regulatory environment in the US has dampened the amount of innovation around Bitcoin that has developed here in the US. All the major Bitcoin exchanges have been built outside of the US and a significant amount of the venture capital investment in the Bitcoin ecosystem is happening outside of the US. This is a direct response to the stricter regulatory oversight and requirements here in the US versus other countries." While not necessarily sharing the ideological implications of Wilson's statement, Chicago Ventures exec Ezra Galston, a Bitcoin enthusiast, believes there is some truth to the idea that a jumbled regulatory environment may have contributed to Gox's collapse. He draws an analogy to what happened to the online poker industry. He launched a poker hedge fund in 2011. "As poker became more popular, banks became less comfortable with how much they were holding," he told us. "That forced poker sites downstream into black market banks, which increased the risk of collapse." He continued: "What typically happens is companies don't want to shut down, so they move down-market, waiting for the day when it becomes easier to go mainstream. The near-term risk is [thus] in consumer deposits." It's clear that a rump customer base will continue to use bitcoin for illicit activity. There seem to be at least two dozen online "dark" marketplaces where drugs and the like can be purchased, and bitcoin seems to be the preferred currency for some . Some argue it also retains a potential as a tax haven . We've gone over what Bitcoin needs to do next for the mainstream branch to take off: Fix its wallets problem, and bring in customer protections. The victors in the battle for the heart of Bitcoin — along with the regulators — are already on the road to doing so. More From Business Insider What Bitcoin Must Do To Survive MtGox Finally Makes Extremely Short Statement About Its Shutdown The First Fully American Bitcoin Exchange Network Is Now In The Works

2014-02-28 17:14:43+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1575, 1885]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin true believers unfazed by losses in Mt. Gox collapse

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-true-believers-unfazed-losses-171443661.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Kevin Krolicki and Nathan Layne TOKYO (Reuters) - Like other bitcoin evangelists, Ken Shishido is ready to write off the money he lost in the bankruptcy of Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange Mt. Gox as the price of revolutionising global finance. "In the early days of the automobile, there were traffic accidents because you didn't have traffic lights or pedestrian crossings," he said hours after Mt. Gox said on Friday it had lost up to half a billion dollars of investor funds, including some of his own. "But we didn't ban automobiles." Shishido, who lives in Tokyo, was one of about 10,000 investors in Japan who became creditors in Mt. Gox's bankruptcy when the company capped a tumultuous period of weeks by filing for bankruptcy on Friday. He lost about a tenth of his investment in bitcoin in Mt. Gox, he said, and expected none of that money to come back. Early enthusiasts for the five-year-old crypto-currency were drawn to its revolutionary ideals of transparency and a lack of central or official control. There was also a heady mix of geek chic - the currency is "mined" through a process involving complex computer math - and laissez-faire Austrian economics. Mt. Gox's loss is eye-popping but so too is the number of creditors - 127,000 - in what had been the world's biggest exchange. That means the average trader lost the equivalent of $3,500 in the bankruptcy at current bitcoin prices, assuming no money is recovered in the court-supervised restructuring in Tokyo set to play out over the following months. VALUE SPIKES, CRASHES, TAKES OFF AGAIN Bitcoin's value spiked in April 2013 as the crisis-racked Cyprus government clamped down on withdrawals and seized deposits, rattling faith in "fiat" currencies. The crypto-currency soon crashed back. Late last year, as the number of exchanges and the virtual money's name recognition grew, it took off again. Bitcoin gained wider acceptance - and took off again in price - late last year. It attracted high-profile proponents, like the investor twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook fame, and speculators. Story continues Investors interviewed after the exchange collapsed faulted the Tokyo exchange and Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles, but they remained committed to the bitcoin idea. Roger Ver, a big investor in Mt. Gox, said he did not know if he would ever get any of his lost bitcoin back. "But the important thing to realize is that Mt. Gox is just one company using bitcoin. The bitcoin technology itself is still absolutely amazing," he said. "Even if one email service provider is having a problem that doesn't mean people are going to stop using email. It's the same with bitcoin." POSITIVE VIEW Ver spoke of "all of the positive ways in which bitcoin is going to change the world ... if anything, it is kind of for the better of bitcoin that the irresponsible players are going out of business." Shishido said he does not expect to get his virtual money back, but that the rest of his bitcoin investments had soared 10-fold in value. Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association, lost 100,000 yen worth of bitcoins, which he got involved with as a form of "study". But he was unfazed. "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. "I think then everyone would come to Tokyo in an instant." Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles, even after bowing to apologise for the exchange's bankruptcy, later said the currency will endure. "The bitcoin industry is continuing and the most important thing now is to limit the impact of (Mt Gox's collapse) on that" (Additional reporting by Emi Emoto; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

2014-02-28 18:30:48+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3539]}

{}

Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Surges Over 100 Points; Deckers Shares Slip After Disappointing Outlook

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mid-day-market-dow-surges-183048326.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.70 percent to 16,386.76 while the NASDAQ surged 0.44 percent to 4,338.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.69 percent to 1,867.06. Leading and Lagging Sectors In trading on Friday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.71 percent. Leading the sector was strength from Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL ) and The Standard Register Company (NYSE: SR ). Telecommunications services sector gained 0.12 percent in the US market today. Among the sector stocks, Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM ) was down more than 4.5 percent, while America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX ) tumbled around 2.3 percent. Top Headline Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM ) reported a 35% rise in its fourth-quarter profit. For the year, Pepco projects earnings of $1.12 to $1.27 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.22 per share. Pepco's quarterly earnings surged to $58 million, or $0.23 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $43 million, or $0.18 per share. Excluding one –time items, its earnings from continuing operations came in at $0.24 per share. Its total operating revenue climbed 3.3% to $1.09 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $1.11 billion. Equities Trading UP Central European Media Enterprises (NASDAQ: CETV ) shot up 74.54 percent to $4.73 after the company reported Q4 results. Shares of OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI ) got a boost, shooting up 8.27 percent to $17.54 after the company posted better-than-expected Q3 results. 58.com (NYSE: WUBA ) was also up, gaining 13.48 percent to $47.65 on Q4 results. Equities Trading DOWN Shares of Endologix (NASDAQ: ELGX ) were down 23.48 percent to $13.68 on lowered guidance, analyst downgrades. Oppenheimer downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and cut the price target from $20.00 to $16.00. Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK ) shares tumbled 13.61 percent to $73.15 after the company expected a Q1 loss of $0.16 per share. Analysts at Jefferies downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $100 to $75. Story continues KBR (NYSE: KBR ) was down, falling 14.68 percent to $27.25 after the company reported fourth-quarter results and announced a new $350 million share buyback program. BB&T Capital downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 0.10 percent to $102.50, while gold traded down 0.42 percent to $1,326.20. Silver traded down 0.41 percent Friday to $21.27, while copper fell 0.34 percent to $3.19 . Eurozone European shares were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.49 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.60 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.08 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.27 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.01 percent. Economics The US economy grew at an annual pace of 2.4% in the fourth quarter, versus a prior reading of 3.2%. However, economists were expecting a growth of 2.5%. The Chicago PMI rose to 59.80 in February, versus a prior reading of 59.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 56.40. The final reading of the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 81.60 in February, versus a prior reading of 81.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 81.20. The pending home sales index rose 0.1% in January, versus economists' expectations for a 1.8% gain. Data on farm prices will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Related Links Mt. Gox Bankruptcy Will Force Changes In Bitcoin What Companies Stand To Benefit From The 86th Academy Awards? Breakout or Fake Out - How Can We Know For Sure? (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-02-28 19:23:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3356]}

{}

Russian 'Blackwater' Hits Ukraine

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russian-blackwater-hits-ukraine-192300372--politics.html

The Daily Beast

http://www.thedailybeast.com

Russian 'Blackwater' Hits Ukraine Private security contractors working for the Russian military are the unmarked troops who have now seized control over two airports in the Ukrainian province of Crimea , according to informed sources in the region. And those contractors could be setting the stage for ousted President Viktor Yanukovich to come to the breakaway region. The new Ukrainian government in Kiev has accused Moscow of “an armed invasion and occupation” in the Crimean cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol, where well-armed and well-organized troops with no markings or identification have taken control of the airports. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Secretary of State John Kerry over the phone Friday that no Russian military or marines have been deployed outside of the base of the Black Sea Fleet, which is anchored nearby, officials in both governments said. READ MORE Putin’s Shadow Shock Troops Lavrov was technically telling the truth, but the troops are being directed by the Russian government. Although not confirmed, informed sources in Moscow are telling their American interlocutors that the troops belong to Vnevedomstvenaya Okhrana, the private security contracting bureau inside the Russian interior ministry that hires mercenaries to protect Russian Navy installations and assets in Crimea. Other diplomatic sources said that the troops at the airport were paramilitary troops but not specifically belonging to Vnevedomstvenaya Okhrana. “They don’t have Russian military uniforms and the Russia government is denying they are part of the Russian military. Actually most of them may be Ukrainian citizens. But these are people that are legally allowed to perform services to the Russian fleet,” said Dimitri Simes, president of the Center for the National Interest. READ MORE China Taunts U.S. Ambassador A Russian Foreign Ministry statement Friday did not address the troops at the airport but did acknowledge that armored elements of the Black Sea Fleet had been moved in Crimea, “associated with the need to ensure the protection of locations of the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, what is happening in full accordance with the basic Russian-Ukrainian agreements on the Black Sea Fleet.” Simes cautioned that information about the fast moving events in Crimea is hard to verify, but the message coming out of Moscow is that these security contractors were deployed by the Russian military for two purposes; first of all they want to secure the airport to ensure that thousands of pro-western protesters don’t descend into Crimea to push back against the Crimean population’s effort to establish a new government and seek some autonomy from the new government in Kiev, which most Crimeans see as illegitimate. Story continues READ MORE Putin’s Bluff: Russia Won’t Invade Second, the forces could be paving the way for Yanukovich to travel to Crimea, where he will maintain that he is still the president of all Ukraine. In fact, Yanukovich was involved in the decision to deploy the security contractors to the airport, he said. “They are providing an extended perimeter of security. Yanukovich certainly has the authority (in Moscow’s view) to allow these units to extend their service wherever it is appropriate,” said Simes. “I am told by informed sources in Moscow that this is what it happening.” READ MORE Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange Bankrupt The Russian government response to the events in Crimea, where pro-Russian citizens have also taken over government buildings, is still a work in progress. Moscow is working with Yanukovich to plan his appearance in Crimea, where he would lead a political gathering and “give his blessing” to what’s going on there,but no announcement has yet been made. “I don’t think the Russian government wants to be allied with Yanukovich; he would be an albatross around their neck. But he allows them to do certain things,” said Simes. “I was told more generally that Yanukovich’s cooperation, which is described as legitimate cooperation, is providing cover for the new Crimean government to do a lot of things, and ignore the new leaders in Kiev.” READ MORE Gunmen Seize Crimea's Airport Senior U.S. officials have been warning Russian leaders both in public and private not to intervene in Ukraine militarily and to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. U.S. intelligence officials have seen no signs that Russia is planning to use huge nearby military exercises to prepare for an outright invasion of Ukraine. But the private security forces provide a loophole for Vladimir Putin; he can claim there is no Russian “military” intervention while using Russian-controlled forces to exert influence inside Ukraine . The plan would be to give the new Crimean government a space to hold a referendum and then elections, thereby establishing a province with some autonomy from Kiev. READ MORE Obama’s Afghan Zero Option Paul Saunders, the executive director of the Center for the National Interest, said that the Obama administration faces a particularly bad set of choices when it comes to responding to the airport takeovers, especially if is confirmed they are Russian government controlled security contractors. “If the Obama administration takes a public position that they are Russian forces, then they need to explain what they plan to do. This will be quite similar to the red line in Syria, in that they will have to choose between imposing the ‘consequences’ that administration officials have warned about, repeating statements that have been ignored, or saying that it is not really an ‘invasion,’” he said. READ MORE North Korea’s Needy Missile Test In the end, the U.S. is not going to deploy troops to Ukraine. Washington has limited ability to use economic sanctions, and therefore may not be able to stop the Russian backed Crimeans from possibly teaming with Yanukovich. If the former Ukrainian president can’t take over all of Ukraine, perhaps he can establish a breakaway government in Crimea that ignores the powers in Kiev. “We have a very weak hand. I don’t see an endgame where we would be able to force them to leave. You could have a situation where you have two governments both claiming to be the legitimate government of Ukraine,” he said. “My dark fear is a repeat of Taiwan in 1949.” READ MORE Crimea in Chaos & Crisis Matthew Rojansky, director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, said that if the reports are true, Moscow may have severely overplayed its hand in Ukraine. “If it’s true that Russian troops being directed by Moscow are crossing the line from simply securing existing Russian interests in Crimea to undermining Ukrainian sovereignty in Crimea, than Russia stands to lose from that because Russia’s influence in all of Ukraine will wane dramatically,” he said. Related from The Daily Beast Mother Teresa of the Maidan Britain’s Transgender Beauty Queen Italy’s Killer Boytoys Like us on Facebook - Follow us on Twitter - Sign up for The Cheat Sheet Newsletter View comments

2014-02-28 19:30:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1836, 3817]}

{}

Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy, hit with lawsuit

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-protection-094644255.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Yoshifumi Takemoto and Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The collapse caps a tumultuous few weeks in which the company has remained virtually silent after halting trades of the crypto-currency, shaking the nascent but burgeoning bitcoin community. Wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles bowed in contrition and apologized in Japanese at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, blaming his firm's collapse on a "weakness in our system", but predicting that bitcoin would continue to grow. "First of all, I'm very sorry," he said. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." Angry investors have been seeking answers for what happened to their holdings of cash and bitcoins on the unregulated Tokyo-based exchange. Gregory Greene, who estimated his bitcoin stake at $25,000, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago late on Thursday, saying Mt. Gox had failed "to provide its users with the level of security protection for which they paid. Baker & McKenzie, a Chicago-based law firm that represents Mt. Gox, declined to comment. It is not yet clear if the firm is representing the exchange in this lawsuit. Mt. Gox said the exchange, used overwhelmingly by foreigners, had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. "This may be telling for the level of traceability of the transactions. Bitcoin has been telling us that it is more traceable than cash. The question is, how much more and is there the potential for real recourse in the case of theft," said Moshe Cohen, assistant professor at Columbia Business School in New York. Mt. Gox said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. Junko Suetomi, a lawyer with Baker & MacKenzie, said she could not comment on the balances of foreign bank accounts held by the company. PROBLEM WITH EXCHANGE, NOT BITCOIN Many bitcoin market participants have said Mt. Gox's problems were specific to the company and were caused by what they said was a lax attitude by Karpeles, while bitcoin itself - free of any central bank control - was still a noble venture. Story continues "If we could agree on legal regulation, we should let (bitcoin and regulators) co-exist," said Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association. He lost about 100,000 yen worth of bitcoins, but seemed unconcerned as he became interested in the virtual currency as a form of "study". "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. Mt. Gox shut its website on Tuesday after freezing withdrawals earlier this month in the wake of a series of technical difficulties. The exchange had liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($63.67 million), dwarfing its total assets of 3.84 billion yen, the company said. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. The company and Karpeles have said little in the days before Friday's court filing, which is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, except that they were working with others to resolve their problems. Another lawyer, Akio Shinomiya at Yodoyabashi and Yamagami, said Mt. Gox wanted to file a criminal complaint against what he said was a hacking attack, but had no specific means of doing so. "Bitcoin has always been volatile and speculative, said bitcoin user Ken Shishido, who had about a tenth of his bitcoin holdings at Mt. Gox, but has seen the rest of his bitcoins soar tenfold since he began trading 18 months ago. "It's too bad that this happened, but we have to let it go. And then we'll buy more." Fortress Investment Group became one of the first big investors to say it had lost money investing in bitcoin. In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it incurred $3.7 million in unrealized losses in 2013. (Here is a list of related stories on bitcoin and the collapse of Mt. (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Emi Emoto in Tokyo, and Jonathan Stempel, Emily Flitter and David Gaffen in New York; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) View comments

2014-02-28 19:30:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1836, 3817]}

{}

Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy, hit with lawsuit

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-protection-094644255.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Yoshifumi Takemoto and Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The collapse caps a tumultuous few weeks in which the company has remained virtually silent after halting trades of the crypto-currency, shaking the nascent but burgeoning bitcoin community. Wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles bowed in contrition and apologized in Japanese at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, blaming his firm's collapse on a "weakness in our system", but predicting that bitcoin would continue to grow. "First of all, I'm very sorry," he said. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." Angry investors have been seeking answers for what happened to their holdings of cash and bitcoins on the unregulated Tokyo-based exchange. Gregory Greene, who estimated his bitcoin stake at $25,000, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago late on Thursday, saying Mt. Gox had failed "to provide its users with the level of security protection for which they paid. Baker & McKenzie, a Chicago-based law firm that represents Mt. Gox, declined to comment. It is not yet clear if the firm is representing the exchange in this lawsuit. Mt. Gox said the exchange, used overwhelmingly by foreigners, had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. "This may be telling for the level of traceability of the transactions. Bitcoin has been telling us that it is more traceable than cash. The question is, how much more and is there the potential for real recourse in the case of theft," said Moshe Cohen, assistant professor at Columbia Business School in New York. Story continues Mt. Gox said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. Junko Suetomi, a lawyer with Baker & MacKenzie, said she could not comment on the balances of foreign bank accounts held by the company. PROBLEM WITH EXCHANGE, NOT BITCOIN Many bitcoin market participants have said Mt. Gox's problems were specific to the company and were caused by what they said was a lax attitude by Karpeles, while bitcoin itself - free of any central bank control - was still a noble venture. "If we could agree on legal regulation, we should let (bitcoin and regulators) co-exist," said Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association. He lost about 100,000 yen worth of bitcoins, but seemed unconcerned as he became interested in the virtual currency as a form of "study". "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. Mt. Gox shut its website on Tuesday after freezing withdrawals earlier this month in the wake of a series of technical difficulties. The exchange had liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($63.67 million), dwarfing its total assets of 3.84 billion yen, the company said. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. The company and Karpeles have said little in the days before Friday's court filing, which is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, except that they were working with others to resolve their problems. Another lawyer, Akio Shinomiya at Yodoyabashi and Yamagami, said Mt. Gox wanted to file a criminal complaint against what he said was a hacking attack, but had no specific means of doing so. "Bitcoin has always been volatile and speculative, said bitcoin user Ken Shishido, who had about a tenth of his bitcoin holdings at Mt. Gox, but has seen the rest of his bitcoins soar tenfold since he began trading 18 months ago. "It's too bad that this happened, but we have to let it go. And then we'll buy more." Fortress Investment Group became one of the first big investors to say it had lost money investing in bitcoin. In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it incurred $3.7 million in unrealized losses in 2013. (Here is a list of related stories on bitcoin and the collapse of Mt. (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Emi Emoto in Tokyo, and Jonathan Stempel, Emily Flitter and David Gaffen in New York; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-28 19:30:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1836, 3801]}

{}

Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy, hit with lawsuit

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mt-gox-files-bankruptcy-protection-tokyo-media-094644906--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Yoshifumi Takemoto and Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The collapse caps a tumultuous few weeks in which the company has remained virtually silent after halting trades of the crypto-currency, shaking the nascent but burgeoning bitcoin community. Wearing a suit instead of his customary T-shirt, Mt. Gox's French CEO Mark Karpeles bowed in contrition and apologized in Japanese at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, blaming his firm's collapse on a "weakness in our system", but predicting that bitcoin would continue to grow. "First of all, I'm very sorry," he said. "The bitcoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." Angry investors have been seeking answers for what happened to their holdings of cash and bitcoins on the unregulated Tokyo-based exchange. Gregory Greene, who estimated his bitcoin stake at $25,000, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago late on Thursday, saying Mt. Gox had failed "to provide its users with the level of security protection for which they paid. Baker & McKenzie, a Chicago-based law firm that represents Mt. Gox, declined to comment. It is not yet clear if the firm is representing the exchange in this lawsuit. Mt. Gox said the exchange, used overwhelmingly by foreigners, had lost 750,000 of its users' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own. At the current bitcoin price of about $565, that would total some $480 million - representing about 7 percent of the estimated global total of bitcoins. "This may be telling for the level of traceability of the transactions. Bitcoin has been telling us that it is more traceable than cash. The question is, how much more and is there the potential for real recourse in the case of theft," said Moshe Cohen, assistant professor at Columbia Business School in New York. Mt. Gox said there was a discrepancy of 2.8 billion yen ($27.4 million) in its bank accounts when it checked on Monday. Junko Suetomi, a lawyer with Baker & MacKenzie, said she could not comment on the balances of foreign bank accounts held by the company. PROBLEM WITH EXCHANGE, NOT BITCOIN Many bitcoin market participants have said Mt. Gox's problems were specific to the company and were caused by what they said was a lax attitude by Karpeles, while bitcoin itself - free of any central bank control - was still a noble venture. "If we could agree on legal regulation, we should let (bitcoin and regulators) co-exist," said Keiichi Hida, a bitcoin investor and member of the Japan Digital Money Association. He lost about 100,000 yen worth of bitcoins, but seemed unconcerned as he became interested in the virtual currency as a form of "study". "We should make it a national project to have bitcoin used nationwide at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. Mt. Gox shut its website on Tuesday after freezing withdrawals earlier this month in the wake of a series of technical difficulties. The exchange had liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($63.67 million), dwarfing its total assets of 3.84 billion yen, the company said. It had 127,000 creditors in bankruptcy, just over 1,000 of whom are Japanese. The company and Karpeles have said little in the days before Friday's court filing, which is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, except that they were working with others to resolve their problems. Another lawyer, Akio Shinomiya at Yodoyabashi and Yamagami, said Mt. Gox wanted to file a criminal complaint against what he said was a hacking attack, but had no specific means of doing so. "Bitcoin has always been volatile and speculative, said bitcoin user Ken Shishido, who had about a tenth of his bitcoin holdings at Mt. Gox, but has seen the rest of his bitcoins soar tenfold since he began trading 18 months ago. "It's too bad that this happened, but we have to let it go. And then we'll buy more." Fortress Investment Group became one of the first big investors to say it had lost money investing in bitcoin. In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it incurred $3.7 million in unrealized losses in 2013. (Here is a list of related stories on bitcoin and the collapse of Mt. (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Emi Emoto in Tokyo, and Jonathan Stempel, Emily Flitter and David Gaffen in New York; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-02-28 21:53:12+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1872]}

{}

Market Wrap For February 28: Markets Unable To Hold On To Gains

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/market-wrap-february-28-markets-215312275.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

U.S. stocks were mixed despite the S&P 500 hitting new all time highs of 1,867.92. Rumors surrounding Russian military involvement in Ukraine naturally presented investor concerns and fear in the market. The market was boosted by a positive consumer sentiment and a steady existing-home sales. GDP figures, coming in within consensus contributed to early gains in the market that reversed course in a late afternoon sell-off. The Dow gained 0.30 percent, closing at 16,321.71. The S&P 500 gained 0.28 percent closing at 1,859.45. The Nasdaq lost 0.25 percent, closing at 4,308.12. Gold lost 0.48 percent, trading at $1,325.40 an ounce. Oil lost 0.04 percent, trading at $102.36 a barrel. Silver lost 0.90 percent, trading at $21.16 an ounce. Speaking on CNBC, St. Louis Fed Chief James Bullard said that recent soft economic data hasn't altered his generally strong outlook for the economy. News of Note Fourth Quarter GDP rose 2.4 percent, below the 2.5 percent consensus. February Chicago PMI read 59.8, higher than the 56.4 consensus. February Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment read 81.6, higher than the 81.5 consensus. January Pending Homes Sales rose 0.1 percent to 95.0, below an expectation for a 2.3 percent gain. The U.S. budget deficit for 2013 fell to $680 billion from $1.1 trillion in 2012. The fall was due to an increase in federal tax revenues and a fall in spending. Japanese industrial production grew four percent in January after dropping 0.9 percent in December. Inflation fell to 1.4 percent in the month from 1.6 percent in December. Core CPI which excludes food and energy remained at 0.7 percent, a 16 year peak. Mt. Gox has filed for bankruptcy protection with debts of approximately $63.6 million following an alleged massive security breach that involved the theft of close to 750,000 bitcoins. Related: Mt. Gox Bankruptcy Will Force Changes In Bitcoin According to New York University's Stern School of Business Professor Rosa Abrantes-Metz and Albert Metz, managing director at Moody's Investors Services, the price has gold has been fixed and manipulated for a decade. “The structure of the benchmark is certainly conducive to collusion and manipulation, and the empirical data are consistent with price artificiality,” the two wrote in a yet un-published study . Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades of Note Analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated a Neutral rating on Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU ) with a price target lowered to $46 from a previous $53. Shares lost 4.93 percent, closing at $50.30. Analysts at Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY ) with a Buy rating and $148 price target. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $131.47 before closing the day at $130.93, up 1.62 percent. Story continues Analysts at BNP Paribas downgraded Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) to Reduce from Hold with a price target of $180. Shares lost 4.60 percent, closing at $170.69. Analysts at Susquehanna upgraded TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP ) to Neutral from Negative with a price target raised to $90 from a previous $67. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $102.83 before closing the day at $100.24, up 0.52 percent. Analysts at JMP Securities upgraded Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR ) to Market Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $16. Shares gained 2.71 percent, closing at $14.38. Equities-Specific News of Note According to the Financial Time's , Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) has successfully raised over $2 billion in what turned out to be the largest U.S. convertible bond offering in over two years. Shares lost 3.06 percent, closing at $244.80. Related: Tesla Motors Looks To The Future With Billion Battery Factory Mattel (NYSE: MAT ) has agreed to purchase Canadian based Mega Brands for approximately $460 million. In 2013 Mega Brands sold its products in over 100 countries and collected $405 million in revenue. Shares gained 0.43 percent, closing at $37.31. Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG ) disclosed a mark-to-market loss of $3.7 million $20 million of bitcoin purchased in 2013. Shares gained 1.34 percent, closing at $8.69. Citi (NYSE: C ) announced it will adjust downward its fourth quarter and full year 2013 results which were reported on January 16 by an estimated $235 million after-tax ($360 million pre-tax) due to fraudulent activities in its Mexican subsidiary. The fraud relates to loans made to a Mexican oil services company through an accounts receivable financing program. Banco Nacional de Mexico, or Bananex, had loaned $585 million in short-term money to the Mexican oil services which has been suspended by the government from being awarded new contracts. Shares lost 0.14 percent, closing at $48.62. Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has scheduled a conference call for March 11 to report on his firms investigative research related to Herbalife's (NYSE: HLF ) business practices in China. “The report will show that Herbalife's business in China operates much like the company's business in the rest of the world as a pyramid scheme,” Ackman said. Shares of Herbalife lost 0.57 percent, closing at $66.60. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK ) said that it has sold its midstream compression assets for $520 million as the company continues to improve its balance sheet with “minimal impact” on 2014 cash flow guidance. Shares gained 0.04 percent, closing at $25.91. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) said that it sold over $1 billion worth of Apple TVs in 2013 sales. Shares lost 0.26 percent, closing at $526.30. Related: Friday's Apple Recap Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD ) said that it has launched an investigation to determine if the company has become a victim of a security breach. Shares gained 4.05 percent, closing at $44.75. Total (NYSE: TOT ) plans to sell its 10 percent stake in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II gas field as lower Russian gas prices are making the source less desirable to hold on to. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $64.97 before closing the day at $64.84, up 2.05 percent. According to Chinese media reports and confirmed by Fox Business News, Alibaba is planning to go public in the U.S. instead of Hong Kong. Winners of Note This morning, Central European Media Enterprises (NASDAQ: CETV ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of -$0.72 and revenue of $237.91 million. There was no consensus estimate. Net loss for the quarter totaled $281.53 million, compared to a net loss of $546.39 million in the same quarter last year. The company announced that it has reached an agreement with its main shareholder Time Warner to secure the company's financing needs. Shares of Central European Media surged 73.80 percent, closing at $4.71. This morning, 58.com (NASDAQ: WUBA ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.13, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05. Revenue of $45.3 million beat the consensus estimate of $42 million. Net income for the quarter rose to $10.8 million from a net loss of $4.8 million in the same quarter last year. Gross margin rose to 95.4 percent from 89.1 percent in the same time period. The company issued upside guidance and sees its first quarter revenue to be $43 million to $45 million, above the consensus estimate of $40.8 million. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $50.12 before closing the day at $47.16, up 12.31 percent. Riverbed (NASDAQ: RVBD ) said that Elliott Management's $21 offer for the company “undervalues the Company and is not in the best interest of shareholders.” Shares hit new 52 week highs of $22.76 before closing the day at $22.28, up 7.89 percent. Recommended: Overvaluing Liquidity: Invest For The Future, Not For Today According to Bloomberg, Fred's (NASDAQ: FRED ) has approached Walgreen, (NYSE: WAG ) Dollar General (NYSE: DG ) and CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS ) over a sale of the company. Shares of Fred's hit new 52 week highs of $20.29 before closing the day at $19.93, up 10.17 percent. According to Marbridge Daily, Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU ) CEO Charles Zhang has discussed a potential merger of the company's online video unit with Tencent to better compete against the market leader Baidu . Shares of Sohu gained 7.90 percent, closing at $84.99. Decliners of Note Pier 1 (NYSE: PIR ) issued downside guidance and sees its fiscal 2014 EPS to be $1.00 to $1.01 compared to previous guidance of $1.07 to $1.12. The company also projected sales growth of 5.5 percent, below the six percent growth rate that analysts had expected. Shares hit new 52 week lows of $18.05 before closing the day at $18.94, down 5.58 percent. Last night, Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $4.04, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80. Revenue of $736 million beat the consensus estimate of $711.47. Things turned ugly when Deckers guided its first quarter EPS to a loss of $0.16 compared to a consensus estimate of a profit of $0.10. Revenue is expected to rise only six percent year over year below a consensus of 11.6 percent growth. Full year the company is guiding for ten percent revenue growth, below a 10.4 percent consensus estimate. EPS is guided to grow by eight percent, below the consensus estimate for a 12 percent rise. Shares lost 12.19 percent, closing at $74.35, down 12.19 percent. Related: What The DECK Happened? Deckers Outdoor Announces Ugly Guidance Last night, Medivation (NASDAQ: MDVN ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.03, beating the consensus estimate of -$0.08. Revenue of $96.6 million beat the consensus estimate of $72.68 million. Net income for the quarter totaled $2.8 million, compared with a net loss of $31.7 million in the same quarter last year. Medivation issued guidance and sees its full year sales for Xtandi to be $500 million to $535 million in 2014. The sales projection prompted analysts at Jefferies to comment that the revenue guidance implies only modest growth and Xtandi is not on the same trajectory of growth as previously assumed. Shares lost 14.92 percent, closing at $71.91. According to Bloomberg, The FDA said that it is investing Questcor's (NASDAQ: QCOR ) Achtar gel following Citron Research's detailed 24 page report released yesterday. Citron claimed there is no detectable amounts of the hormone ACTH, which the company has said it believes is the primary active ingredient within Achtar. Shares lost 9.96 percent, closing at $60.75. Earnings of Note This morning, 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.19, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20. Revenue of $154.8 million missed the consensus estimate of $154.98 million. Net income for the quarter totaled $11.22 million compared to $10.91 million in the same quarter last year. Gross margin profit for the quarter remained flat compared to last year at 53 percent. The company issued guidance and expects its 2014 revenue to be in a range of $680 million to $720 million versus a consensus estimate of $698.41 million. The company expects its EPS to be in a range of $0.73 to $0.85, versus a consensus estimate of $0.80. Shares gained 1.74 percent, closing at $75.96. This morning, Endo Health Solutions (NASDAQ: ENDP ) reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.96, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92. Revenue of $585 million missed the consensus estimate of $549.1 million. Net loss for the quarter rose to $776 million from $716 million in the same quarter last year. The company issued downside guidance and sees its full year 2014 EPS to be $3.40 to $3.65 below the consensus estimate of $3.93. Revenue is guided to be $2.50 billion to $2.62 billion versus consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $80.15 before closing the day in negative territory at $79.82, down 2.05 percent. Quote of the Day "For most Americans, Friday afternoons are filled with positive anticipation of the weekend. In Washington, it's where government officials dump stories they want to bury. Good news gets dropped on Monday so bureaucrats can talk about it all week." - Former Republican Senator John E. Sununu, comments made on December 26, 2011. Related Links Dan Loeb Declares A Proxy War Against Sotheby's Airbus, Battling Boeing For Market Share, Secures New Orders From Chinese Airline Report: J. Crew Considering Going Public This Year (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments

2014-03-01 00:32:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1337]}

{}

Tokyo bitcoin exchange files for bankruptcy

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tokyo-bitcoin-exchange-files-bankruptcy-102733681.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) -- The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo filed for bankruptcy protection Friday and its chief executive said 850,000 bitcoins, worth several hundred million dollars, are unaccounted for. The exchange's CEO Mark Karpeles appeared before Japanese TV news cameras, bowing deeply. He said a weakness in the exchange's systems was behind a massive loss of the virtual currency involving 750,000 bitcoins from users and 100,000 of the company's own bitcoins. That would amount to about $425 million at recent prices. The online exchange's unplugging earlier this week and accusations it had suffered a catastrophic theft have drawn renewed regulatory attention to a currency created in 2009 as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks. It remains unclear if the missing bitcoins were stolen, voided by technological flaws or both. "I am sorry for the troubles I have caused all the people," Karpeles, a Frenchman, said in Japanese at a Tokyo court. Karpeles had not made a public appearance since rumors of the exchange's insolvency surfaced last month. He said in a web post Wednesday that he was working to resolve Mt. Gox's problems. The loss is a giant setback to the currency's image because its boosters have promoted bitcoin's cryptography as protecting it from counterfeiting and theft. Bitcoin proponents have insisted that Mt. Gox is an isolated case, caused by the company's technological failures, and the potential of virtual currencies remains great. Debts at Mt. Gox totaled more than 6.5 billion yen ($65 million), surpassing its assets, according to Teikoku Databank, which monitors bankruptcies. Just hours before the bankruptcy filing, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso had scoffed that a collapse was only inevitable. "No one recognizes them as a real currency," he told reporters. "I expected such a thing to collapse." Japan's financial regulators have been reluctant to intervene in the Mt. Gox situation, saying they don't have jurisdiction over something that's not a real currency. Story continues They pointed to the Consumer Affairs Agency, which deals with product safety, as one possible place where disgruntled users may go for help. The agency's minister Masako Mori urged extreme caution about using or investing in bitcoins. The agency has been deluged with calls about bitcoins since earlier this year. "We're at a loss for how to help them," said Yuko Otsuki, who works in the agency's counseling department. It's hard to know how many people around the world own bitcoins, but the currency has attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com begin to accept it. Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. One bitcoin has cost about $500 lately. Roger Ver, a Tokyo resident who has provided seed capital for bitcoin ventures such as Blockchain.info, a registry of bitcoin transactions, said he believes bitcoin will survive, possibly emerging with better technology that's safer for users. He said Mt. Gox people were likely sincere but had failed to run their business properly. "Mt. Gox is a horrible tragedy. A lot of people lost a lot of money there, myself included," he said ahead of the bankruptcy filing. "I hope we can use this as a learning experience." Some countries have reacted sternly to bitcoin's emergence, but many people remain fans of its potential. Vietnam's communist government said Thursday that trading in bitcoin and other electronic currencies is illegal, and warned its citizens not to use or invest in them. Late last year, China banned its banks and payment systems from handling bitcoin, although people still use them online. Thailand earlier put a blanket prohibition on using bitcoins and Russia has effectively banned them. There was still considerable appetite for bitcoin in China, where it has become attractive as an investment since tightly-regulated state banks offer very low interest rates on deposits. Even some with money tied up in Mt. Gox were undaunted. Huang Zhaobin, a 21-year-old student in Chengdu, said he had lost 50,000 to 60,000 yuan ($8,125 to $9,750) from the Mt. Gox closure. "Actually this money itself is the benefit from bitcoin investment," said Huang, who plowed 10,000 yuan into bitcoins about three months ago. "If it is legal, I will continue to invest for sure as it is the trend in the world." In Singapore, Tembusu Terminals, a joint venture specializing in crypto-currencies, announced Friday its first bitcoin ATM in the city-state and plans for many more. In Hong Kong, a group opened what it said was the world's first bitcoin retail store. Yang Weizhou, analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo, said laws to regulate virtual currencies may have to be created by countries including Japan. She said lawsuits from those who lost money were likely, and any court rulings would chart unexplored territory and help define the reach of virtual money. The trend toward such technology for peer-to-peer payments wouldn't replace traditional money but was here to stay because of its convenience, she said. "It is undeniable," she said. "One must separate the Mt. Gox problem from the overall concept." __ Associated Press video journalist Kaori Hitomi in Tokyo, researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai and writers Chris Brummitt in Hanoi, Vietnam and Satish Cheney in Singapore contributed to this report. Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

2014-03-01 00:32:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1336]}

{}

Tokyo bitcoin exchange files for bankruptcy

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tokyo-bitcoin-exchange-files-bankruptcy-102841684--finance.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) — The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo filed for bankruptcy protection Friday and its chief executive said 850,000 bitcoins, worth several hundred million dollars, are unaccounted for. The exchange's CEO Mark Karpeles appeared before Japanese TV news cameras, bowing deeply. He said a weakness in the exchange's systems was behind a massive loss of the virtual currency involving 750,000 bitcoins from users and 100,000 of the company's own bitcoins. That would amount to about $425 million at recent prices. The online exchange's unplugging earlier this week and accusations it had suffered a catastrophic theft have drawn renewed regulatory attention to a currency created in 2009 as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks. It remains unclear if the missing bitcoins were stolen, voided by technological flaws or both. "I am sorry for the troubles I have caused all the people," Karpeles, a Frenchman, said in Japanese at a Tokyo court. Karpeles had not made a public appearance since rumors of the exchange's insolvency surfaced last month. He said in a web post Wednesday that he was working to resolve Mt. Gox's problems. The loss is a giant setback to the currency's image because its boosters have promoted bitcoin's cryptography as protecting it from counterfeiting and theft. Bitcoin proponents have insisted that Mt. Gox is an isolated case, caused by the company's technological failures, and the potential of virtual currencies remains great. Debts at Mt. Gox totaled more than 6.5 billion yen ($65 million), surpassing its assets, according to Teikoku Databank, which monitors bankruptcies. Just hours before the bankruptcy filing, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso had scoffed that a collapse was only inevitable. "No one recognizes them as a real currency," he told reporters. "I expected such a thing to collapse." Japan's financial regulators have been reluctant to intervene in the Mt. Gox situation, saying they don't have jurisdiction over something that's not a real currency. Story continues They pointed to the Consumer Affairs Agency, which deals with product safety, as one possible place where disgruntled users may go for help. The agency's minister Masako Mori urged extreme caution about using or investing in bitcoins. The agency has been deluged with calls about bitcoins since earlier this year. "We're at a loss for how to help them," said Yuko Otsuki, who works in the agency's counseling department. It's hard to know how many people around the world own bitcoins, but the currency has attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com begin to accept it. Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. One bitcoin has cost about $500 lately. Roger Ver, a Tokyo resident who has provided seed capital for bitcoin ventures such as Blockchain.info, a registry of bitcoin transactions, said he believes bitcoin will survive, possibly emerging with better technology that's safer for users. He said Mt. Gox people were likely sincere but had failed to run their business properly. "Mt. Gox is a horrible tragedy. A lot of people lost a lot of money there, myself included," he said ahead of the bankruptcy filing. "I hope we can use this as a learning experience." Some countries have reacted sternly to bitcoin's emergence, but many people remain fans of its potential. Vietnam's communist government said Thursday that trading in bitcoin and other electronic currencies is illegal, and warned its citizens not to use or invest in them. Late last year, China banned its banks and payment systems from handling bitcoin, although people still use them online. Thailand earlier put a blanket prohibition on using bitcoins and Russia has effectively banned them. There was still considerable appetite for bitcoin in China, where it has become attractive as an investment since tightly-regulated state banks offer very low interest rates on deposits. Even some with money tied up in Mt. Gox were undaunted. Huang Zhaobin, a 21-year-old student in Chengdu, said he had lost 50,000 to 60,000 yuan ($8,125 to $9,750) from the Mt. Gox closure. "Actually this money itself is the benefit from bitcoin investment," said Huang, who plowed 10,000 yuan into bitcoins about three months ago. "If it is legal, I will continue to invest for sure as it is the trend in the world." In Singapore, Tembusu Terminals, a joint venture specializing in crypto-currencies, announced Friday its first bitcoin ATM in the city-state and plans for many more. In Hong Kong, a group opened what it said was the world's first bitcoin retail store. Yang Weizhou, analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo, said laws to regulate virtual currencies may have to be created by countries including Japan. She said lawsuits from those who lost money were likely, and any court rulings would chart unexplored territory and help define the reach of virtual money. The trend toward such technology for peer-to-peer payments wouldn't replace traditional money but was here to stay because of its convenience, she said. "It is undeniable," she said. "One must separate the Mt. Gox problem from the overall concept." __ Associated Press video journalist Kaori Hitomi in Tokyo, researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai and writers Chris Brummitt in Hanoi, Vietnam and Satish Cheney in Singapore contributed to this report. Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

2014-03-02 14:00:41+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [75, 116, 167, 372, 555, 609, 618, 820, 937, 1108, 1144, 1266, 1294, 1644, 1741, 1974, 2586, 2668, 2755, 2912, 3057, 3752, 3824, 3949, 4274, 4348, 4539, 4716]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin: The Pros and Cons for Consumers and Merchants

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-pros-cons-consumers-merchants-140041526.html

Manilla.com

https://app.manilla.com/users/sign_up/lp/manilla/main

iStock iStock Between the mysterious security dilemmas underway at Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange, the cyber battles over Bitcoin black markets and the recent arrest of the Bitcoin Foundation’s vice chairman, the media is now ablaze with fear-inspiring virtual currency stories. However, the hype has overshadowed the questions concerning most consumers and businesses: What is Bitcoin? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using it? How do they stack up with more common payment methods? Here we’ll illuminate the key characteristics, pros and cons of Bitcoin that you need to know about. What the heck is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is the world’s “first decentralized digital currency,” according to bitcoin.org . It was launched in 2009 and it has several features that make it different from common forms of payment: First, Bitcoin is considered a ‘cryptocurrency’ because it uses military-grade cryptography to secure transactions. Second, Bitcoin payment processing is conducted through a private network of computers, and every transaction is recorded in a public record known as the “blockchain.” Third, new Bitcoins are only generated to pay “Bitcoin miners”—the people whose computers participate in this network and complete complex mathematical tasks to approve Bitcoin transactions. Last, Bitcoin has no government affiliation, central authority or banks. It’s based strictly on peer-to-peer technology. How do I get them and use them? If you’re tech savvy and have some very powerful computers around, you can try bitcoin mining. If you’re like most people, you download a bitcoin wallet on your computer or smartphone, trade dollars for Bitcoins on an exchange and then use your wallet to spend bitcoins. Consumers: The Pros and Cons Bitcoins protect your identity and money. You do not have to disclose personal identity information in a bitcoin transaction, much like cash, nor do you have to provide a credit card number that could be stolen. You’ll use anonymous Bitcoin addresses that change with every transaction. Story continues You can send and receive payments at a very low cost or none at all, and for international payments, you never have to pay a foreign transaction or exchange fee. This can be a big advantage while travelling. However, transactions are irreversible—they can only be refunded by the person receiving the funds, so there’s no recourse if it goes to the wrong address or a sketchy vendor. You can’t get liability protection for bitcoin use. If your wallet or another bitcoin fund is hacked, you probably have to eat the loss. Finally, if you keep Bitcoins, you have to deal with their volatility. To get a sense of just how much Bitcoin can fluctuate, check out Coinbase’s charts. In the last 3 months, the price of Bitcoins has ranged from over $1100 USD to under $600. Yes, you have the chance to profit through speculation, but you could also lose a lot of money. Also, Bitcoin is not that popular yet—while Overstock.com, TigerDirect, Etsy and some other big names have come aboard, most major retailers have not. Bitcoins have more similarities with cash than credit cards. With credit cards, you get liability protection, warranty extensions, reward points and the convenience of knowing that your card will be accepted just about anywhere. However, with credit cards you risk late fees, interested charges, foreign transaction fees and effects on your credit score. Businesses: The Pros and Cons First and foremost, you’re going to save money. If you use a provider like Coinbase to process transactions, the first $1 million will be free and then you’ll pay 1% on all transactions. That’s a significant savings compared to the 3%-4% transaction fee for credit cards. Many exchanges will instantly convert Bitcoin payments to minimize the risks of volatility. In addition, with Bitcoin you never need to worry about consumer chargebacks, PCI compliance and hackers going after stored credit cards. Most Bitcoin merchants use a simple tablet or smartphone app to process payments—you don’t need a pricey POS system and hardware. You must, however, establish a very clear policy for returns and refunds. You should base the return amount on the item’s original dollar price rather than bitcoin price to avoid exposing yourself to Bitcoin’s volatility. The Bottom Line Keep up to date with development of Bitcoin, and don’t let sensationalized headlines cloud a rational assessment of the cryptocurrency. Having a mix of payment methods at your disposable is ideal. As a consumer, consider using Bitcoin for digital payments when you want to minimize the risk of identity theft and stolen card information, or avoid foreign transaction fees. As a merchant, consider making Bitcoin an option to provide your customers with choice, save on processing fees and defend yourself from hackers. With more than 10 years as a digital entrepreneur, Eric Adamowsky recognized the growing need for accurate and unbiased financial information online, particularly with credit cards. With many predatory online lenders providing biased information, Credit Card Insider was created to give consumers accurate, unbiased credit information. Eric’s tactical expertise and passion for building web brands will establish Credit Card Insider as the premier website for credit card information online. More from Manilla.com: When It Comes to Your Investing Strategy, Are You Playing It Too Safe? 5 Simple Ways to Invest Like a Pro Financial Tracking & Budgeting

2014-03-03 10:25:37+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [387]}

{}

Gold Is Surging, And It's Having An Awesome 2014

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-surging-having-awesome-2014-102537283.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

A quick shout out to the yellow metal, which perhaps hasn't gotten the attention it deserves this year. It's already up $22.50/oz today to $1344 in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. And really the whole year has been great. It was right around $1200 at the end of December, and has since rallied more than 11%. Screen Shot 2014 03 03 at 5.20.55 AM FinViz More From Business Insider Here's Bitcoin Priced In Gold 12 Phrases You Should Never Say In A Professional Context Warren Buffett Gets Away With Paying His Employees Less By Using This One Weird Trick

2014-03-03 14:07:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [255, 354, 618, 782, 1048, 1470, 2074, 2254]}

{}

3D Eye Solutions Inc., Shareholders Update.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3d-eye-solutions-inc-shareholders-140700391.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

CHEYENNE, WY--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2014) - 3D Entertainment Holdings, Inc., a Wyoming Corporation dba 3D Eye Solutions, Inc. (OTC Pink: TDEY), would like to announce the following updates. The company would like to further explain our expansion into the Bitcoin/Digital Currency marketplace. The company is currently developing an untouched area of the Bitcoin marketplace. We will be fully updating our shareholders on the complete concept within a week. We are also in final negotiations with our finalist CEO, whom has more than 20 years senior level management experience in the software industry and ties to the Bitcoin arena. 3D Eye Solutions Inc., has embarked on the development of a proprietary cell phone application that will enable users to purchase, wallet, and spend Bitcoins. This venture will be based on the usage of pre paid cell phones as a platform and pre paid phone cards for funding purchases. In conjunction the company is developing an RFID processing system to use at point of sale, which will revolutionize and simplify Bitcoin processing for merchants and consumers. The company believes this will bridge the gap in port ability and ease of use. This has the potential to greatly increase the digital currency audience. Some of the benefits of this system are: Anonymity -- With the purchase of pre paid phones and pre paid cards the consumer can remain 100% anonymous. Security -- The consumer purchases, wallets (stores), and spends their Bitcoins directly on their pre paid phones. All information will be backed up on their sim or sd card. Most of us have seen the fiasco at Mt. Gox and are beginning to understand the risks of online storage. The company believes that the system will be able to completely store your currency offline. Purchases -- The RFID concept is absolutely revolutionary. It is similar to Visa's Paywave or Mastercards Pay Pass, but has a much broader spectrum of use. The system will allow the consumer to pay for goods and services by passing their phone over the terminal, and also may be expanded to use with new Bitcoins ATM's. Story continues We are extremely excited about this wonderful opportunity to be on the forefront of the digital currency revolution that is being test run with the Bitcoin. We believe digital currency could replace our current system of paper currency in the near future and would like to be a leader in this frontier. About 3D Entertainment Holdings, Inc. TDEY (OTC Pink: TDEY) is fully focused on a 2D and 3D content media creation business with distribution of content through application and smart devices. Owner and developer of App3DTV found on smart devices, which provide media content and entertainment. More information can be found on www.App3DTV.com App3DTV is 2D and 3D app available on Smart Mobile devices for $7.99 per month. The application that features 3D movies, music videos, and other media all at your finger tips. It is currently on schedule to be on Roku and Apple shortly. To download the app go to: www.App3dTV.com or directly from Android Play market: http://goo.gl/Gy3hLG Safe Harbor: Statements regarding financial matters in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, technology efficacy and all other forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The Company is a development stage company who continues to be dependent upon outside capital to sustain its existence. Since these statements (future operational results and sales) involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results.

2014-03-03 18:04:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [79, 240, 319, 445, 490, 718, 763, 783, 1208, 1244, 1297, 1321, 1514, 1705, 1781, 1844, 1929, 2045, 2131, 2197, 2214, 2260, 2441, 2576, 2652, 2770, 2847, 2989, 3043]}

{"Bitcoin": [28]}

6 Totally False Myths About Bitcoin Everyone Thinks Are True

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-totally-false-myths-bitcoin-180400304.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

bitcoin btckeychain/flickr It's a little hip right now to pile on and say that Bitcoin is over in light of the Mt. Gox scandal, but it's not over at all. Let's take a couple steps back to reestablish some of the fundamentals on how and why Bitcoin works, and cast aside clunky myths that aren't grounded in reality. 1. Bitcoins are worthless because they aren't backed by anything . False! Just because there's no vault full of gold maintaining Bitcoin's value doesn't mean it's worthless. Bitcoin has value because people say it does. It might sound like a cop-out, but consider the subjective theory of value , which argues that a thing has value when it serves someone's purposes. As an anonymous digital currency, Bitcoin serves a purpose for many people. 2. Bitcoin is illegal. Bitcoin is completely legal in the United States. In March 2013, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issues a new set of guidelines on virtual currency, determining that "a user of virtual currency is not a Money Services Businesses (MSB) under FinCEN's regulations and therefore is not subject to MSB registration, reporting, and record keeping regulations." Simply put — you don't need anyone's permission to use Bitcoin. This post lays out various Bitcoin legalities in countries around the world. 3. Bitcoin is untraceable. Bitcoin is completely traceable by design. These are financial transactions facilitated by open-source software running over the Internet. You should assume none of it is private. Every single Bitcoin transaction that gets made, whether it's to buy illegal drugs on the Silk Road or alpaca wool socks from a Massachusetts farm, is recorded at Blockchain.info. You probably should use Bitcoin the same way you use the Internet at the office — intelligently. 4. Bitcoin has never been so volatile as it has been lately. Yes, Bitcoin's value has seen quite some speed bumps lately. But consider June 2011, when Bitcoin rose 40-fold from $0.75 to $30. It stabilized around $5 in early 2012. This was a far more volatile time in Bitcoin's history, but went largely unnoticed because no one was really talking about Bitcoin yet. Story continues Screen Shot 2014 02 27 at 2.00.10 PM BitcoinCharts 5. Bitcoin is completely safe and secure. Nope . Bitcoins can be stolen , and the recent Mt. Gox scandal should be a reminder that as long as there are humans involved, it will not be perfect. 6. There can only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in existence and that isn't enough. Of course it's enough. If we should start "running out," it's important to realize that a Bitcoin is divisible up to eight decimal places. The value of an individual Bitcoin may rise quite high, but we can keep dealing with smaller and smaller portions of it. As little as 0.00000001 Bitcoins, to be precise. We'll likely end up dealing with fractionally named Bitcoin measures, like millibitcoins and nanobitcoins. More From Business Insider Why The Mt. Gox Disaster Will Mean The End Of Anonymity For Bitcoin Users This Guy Wants To Buy All The Silk Road Bitcoins Seized By The FBI Mt. Gox Leaked Financials Show It Was Profitable (Before Being Robbed Of $300 Million)

2014-03-03 20:05:57+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [931, 2194]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin sheds Mt. Gox albatross, extends surge

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-sheds-mt-gox-albatross-200557481.html

CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/

David Ryder | Getty Images Is bitcoin the new honey badger? In spite of being hit on all sides by bad news, the embattled virtual currency rallied sharply on Monday by nearly 20 percent, as questions swirled around the demise of the world's largest bitcoin exchange. As regulators and prosecutors encircled Mt. Gox, the bitcoin trader that folded into bankruptcy protection last week as nearly $500 million of virtual currency vanished into the ether, bitcoin extended its rally. The crypto-currency plunged immediately after the disclosure of Mt. Gox's troubles but began quietly rallying late last week as the world's attention shifted elsewhere. Some analysts think that the worst news may already be discounted in bitcoin's price, and that investors could be separating bitcoin and the defunct exchange. "There's a lot of really good news coming out that's not getting attention," said Austin Alexander, deputy director of The Bitcoin Center in New York. He pointed to several positive developments, including a ruling by British authorities that bitcoin would receive the same tax treatment as other foreign currencies, as providing a boost to the virtual currency's spot price. He speculated that investors may also be searching for safe-havens as Ukraine's confrontation with Russia reaches a boiling point, and engulfs world powers in a standoff. "It just doesn't bode well for the world economic picture," Alexander said, adding that big venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen were still bullish on the currency. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal , Mt. Gox is the target of an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors have subpoenaed the company, a person familiar with the matter told The Journal. ( Read more: Back to work at bitcoin's embattled Mt. Gox ) Although the currency has true believers, billionaire investor Warren Buffett isn't among them. In a "Squawk Box" interview Monday, the Oracle of Omaha told CNBC that bitcoin "isn't a currency" and that he wouldn't be surprised to see its complete demise in 10 to 20 years. Story continues ( Read more: Warren Buffett: Ukraine won't stop my stock-buying ) Bitcoin was trading under $700 on Monday afternoon, a gain of about 18 percent on the day, according to CoinDesk . -By CNBC's Javier E. David

2014-03-03 22:04:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [940, 2368]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin exchange looks into criminal complaint

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-looks-criminal-complaint-080504393--finance.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo bitcoin exchange that filed for bankruptcy protection blamed theft through hacking for its losses Monday, and said it was looking into a criminal complaint. In an announcement posted on the Mt. Gox exchange's website, CEO Mark Karpeles outlined the events that resulted in the company's insolvency and said there was a "high probability" theft was behind the disappearance of bitcoins. "We will make all efforts to ensure that crimes are punished and damages recovered," Karpeles said. He said Mt. Gox will try to resume business as a way of increasing repayments to its creditors. The online exchange was unplugged early last week as rumors of its insolvency swirled, adding to doubts about the viability of bitcoins overall. Its woes are a setback for bitcoin, a virtual currency that has grown in popularity since its 2009 creation as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks. Bitcoin has also become a highly speculative form of investing. But it has comes with risks, as the Mt. Gox debacle has illustrated, partly because bitcoins are not regulated by central banks or other financial authorities. The statement said illegal access to Mt. Gox in early February abused a bug in its computer system. It also said "large discrepancies" were found between the amount of cash held in financial institutions and the amount deposited by users, meaning that about 2.8 billion yen ($28 million) was unaccounted for. Karpeles said Friday that 750,000 bitcoins deposited by users and another 100,000 belonging to the company disappeared. That would amount to about $425 million at recent prices. He repeated the bitcoin numbers in Monday's statement but said also the complete extent is not yet known. A huge number of transactions must be investigated for a variety of problems to establish the truth, Karpeles said. Mt. Gox set up a call center at a Tokyo telephone number, open during business hours Monday through Friday, to answer any queries. Story continues Karpeles promised to cooperate with the authorities in Japan and overseas in ongoing investigations, and said an expert had been asked to investigate a possible criminal complaint. "All efforts will now be made to restore the business and recover damages to repay debts to creditors. We hope for the understanding and cooperation of all," he said. Bitcoin proponents have insisted that Mt. Gox is an isolated case, caused by the company's technological failures. Mt. Gox said its liabilities totaled 6.5 billion yen ($65 million), while its assets totaled 3.8 billion yen ($38 million). A class-action lawsuit was filed in a U.S. federal court in Chicago last week, which claims users had not been properly protected from the exchange's security breach and instead were told false information, causing the loss of millions of dollars of their bitcoins. __ Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

2014-03-03 22:19:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 156, 356, 614, 654, 780, 832, 981, 1155, 1308, 1361, 1448, 1687, 2020, 2215, 2254, 2344, 2408, 2540, 2611, 2670, 2788, 2844, 2987, 3009, 3049, 3227, 3319, 3430, 3481, 3561, 3679, 3746, 3780, 3860, 4152, 4234, 4349, 4499, 4742], "BTC": [4016]}

{"Bitcoin": [2]}

6 Bitcoin Basics for Beginners

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-bitcoin-basics-beginners-221900127.html

Entrepreneur

http://www.entrepreneur.com/

Bitcoin backers say it’s the future of money . Doubters call it “ evil .” Good, bad, or downright misguided, these days everyone has something to say about Bitcoin, even if they don’t necessarily understand the world’s most popular virtual currency. Post-Mt. Gox bankruptcy and FBI Silk Road shakedown , many are still trying their wrap their minds around Bitcoin. And we don’t blame them. The controversial cryptocurrency, and just about every aspect of it, is incredibly confusing, especially if you believe the misconceptions about it being recycled in the mainstream media. Related: 3 Big Misconceptions About Bitcoin So, let’s slow down the runaway Bitcoin rumor train a minute and review exactly what it is and why everyone’s buzzing about it, starting with these six basic Bitcoin questions, unraveled: 1. What are bitcoins? Bitcoins are decentralized, purely digital virtual coins exchanged directly between two parties online with no middle man. Unlike modern fiat money, Bitcoin, which has often been called “cash for the Internet,” is not controlled or backed by any bank or central government authority, like the Federal Reserve, for example. Bitcoins are pieces of computer code -- mathematical algorithms, actually -- that represent monetary units. There are currently approximately 11 million Bitcoins in existence. In all, only about 21 million Bitcoin will ever be generated through the year 2140. Unlike credit card transactions, Bitcoin transactions, which take place internationally every day, are irreversible; they can only be refunded by the person receiving the funds. 2. Are bitcoins anonymous and untraceable? No, contrary to popular belief, they aren’t. While Bitcoin users don’t have to divulge certain pieces of identifying information, like their bank account and Social Security numbers or physical addresses, a traceable trail of each of transaction is left behind in a public log known as the blockchain. The public record prevents people from spending the same bitcoins more than once. Bitcoin exchanges that operate in the U.S. collect personal identifying information from their users, which can be requested via subpoena. Related: How the World's Richest Nations Are Regulating Bitcoin 3. How are bitcoins purchased? Bitcoins are bought online using real analog money (U.S. dollars, Japanese yen, etc.) via Bitcoin exchanges and private sellers. Some of the more popular Bitcoin exchanges include Bitstamp and Coinbase , though there are dozens to choose from around the globe. 4. How can I start using Bitcoin? You don’t have to master all of the technical ins and outs of Bitcoin to start using it. First, you’ll need to install a Bitcoin wallet on your computer or smartphone. Or you can use a web wallet in the cloud. Story continues Some desktop Bitcoin wallets (also sometimes called clients) include Bitcoin-Qt , Armory , Electrum , Hive , and MultiBit . If you use a desktop wallet provider, be sure to backup your computer regularly. Mobile Bitcoin wallets, like Bitcoin Wallet for Android, let you use Bitcoin to pay for items in physical stores that accept them by scanning a QR code or using NFC “tap to pay.” Web wallets, such as Coinbase and Blockchain.info enable you to use Bitcoin from any browser or mobile device and often offer additional services, like current Bitcoin prices and news and the ability to buy, use and accept the cryptocurrency. Once you’re signed up, your Bitcoin wallet provider should generate your first Bitcoin address and you can create more whenever you need one, according to The Bitcoin Foundation. You can share you addresses with friends and contacts so they can pay you and you can pay them in Bitcoin. Related: More Major Retailers Are Getting Ready to Accept Bitcoin 5. Which companies accept Bitcoin payments? Thousands of businesses throughout the world currently accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. While once notorious as payment for illegal goods online, thousands of reputable e-commerce businesses are starting to accept BTC as payment, including Etsy vendors, Wordpress, Overstock.com, Amazon.com. Larger brick and mortar retailers are beginning to accept Bitcoins in their stores, including Kmart, Sears, Home Depot and CVS. 6. What are Bitcoins currently worth? As of 5:18 p.m. ET today, the currency was trading at $650.61, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index . Values often fluctuate wildly from day to day. Though bitcoins are relatively new, but they’re growing at a breakneck pace. The Bitcoin market is worth approximately $7 billion at current market rates , with millions of dollars of the digital currency being traded daily. More From Entrepreneur Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy, Faults Hackers and Flawed System for Collapse Bitcoin Advocate Andreessen: 'Mt. Gox Had to Die' Mt. Gox Breaks Silence With Vague Statement, Confirms Transaction Freeze View comments

2014-03-04 14:04:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1472, 4017]}

{"Bitcoin": [46]}

Myriad Interactive Media Inc. (MYRY) Launches Bitcoin Stock Index

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/myriad-interactive-media-inc-myry-140400760.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

TORONTO, ON and LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Mar 4, 2014) - Myriad Interactive Media Inc. ( OTCQB : MYRY ) (XNG.BE), a global interactive media and development company, is pleased to announce the launch of BTCTickers.com. We have decided to build this index to have a centralized location where the investing public can monitor bitcoin related stocks and their overall performance both individually and collectively which is our bitcoin Stock Index. "This new website will provide a one-stop shop for investors to get their daily bitcoin briefing from everything to do with the popular cryptocurrency and industry news, to publicly traded companies that are in the space as well as new publicly traded firms that have entered the bitcoin space in Canada, USA and abroad," said Myriad CEO Derek Ivany. He added, "We have a clear strategy ahead and are simply wrapping up execution of our more simplified projects in order to expand our bitcoin-related marketing channel. This website will become yet another launch pad for our upcoming bitcoin development plans as well as an additional revenue source for the company, which would be generated primarily in the form of advertising. Myriad is dedicated to the cryptocurrency space and we firmly believe we can add a lot more value to our technology portfolio from this new innovative sector, and when I reference sector, It's important to realize that this is a completely 'New Sector' that's only been around for 5 years. Bitcoin has a lot of growing up to do, however we have been early adopters of the technology in the public space well before many of the new market entrants made any official announcements. We feel that as our team continues to establish a stronger grasp of the technology and its complexities this helps us move in the right direction where we can deliver bigger and better innovation; that is where our future lies ahead." Corporate Update As we continue to keep investors in touch with our plans and what the company has in store, we wanted to notify investors of the following updates. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been able to settle debts and therefore further eliminate just over $150,000 in debt that was posted on our last quarterly financial statements. Investors have made several inquiries asking for information about a large investor who has filed a Form 3 and accumulated a substantial amount of stock in the company. Prior to the filing we were not officially aware of who this shareholder was, however the company has reached out to him and the investor has responded and stated that he likes the direction the company is heading in, is very bullish on the cryptocurrency sector and at this time remains a long term shareholder. Myriad would also like to mention that we are preparing for market entry of two additional sectors as we have formed two strong advisory panels, and we plan to make an announcement in the near future. We believe it's important to continually diversify and bring forward this diversification for our shareholders. Lastly, there have been some false postings on the InvestorsHub message board brought to our intention that question our company and make completely defamatory statements about Myriad and its leadership. We will not accept any defamation or libel against the company, its officers, directors or employees. It should be noted that we have notified our legal counsel about this situation and we plan to monitor this further. Investors are encouraged to read our filings that are made publicly available on the SEC website, as well as contact the company for clarification on any questions or concerns about our company. Story continues CryptoCafe.com Update The company would like to thank all our CryptoCafe.com supporters for sharing the website as well as participating in offerings. We would like to encourage our shareholders, supporters and followers to all share the website with their friends and family and help us spread the word about how turning unwanted stuff into Bitcoin is easy! We continue to make small adjustments and would also like to thank our responsive shareholders who have brought suggestions to the table. We take all of your comments seriously and appreciate your feedback, which in turn helps us improve the end user experience. As the website user base grows, we will continue to add additional features and filtering, as well as our future planned introduction of other crypto coins. About Myriad Interactive Media, Inc.: Myriad Interactive Media is an interactive marketing and development firm based in Toronto, Canada. Myriad designs and develops customized marketing plans, social media marketing campaigns, pay per click, and search engine marketing. Our company also develops in house web & mobile applications. Myriad Interactive Media Inc. is a public company quoted on the OTCQB under the symbol MYRY. For more information, please visit us in the USA at www.myriadim.com . Forward-Looking Statements In addition to historical information, this press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations and projections about future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to be materially different from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Except as required by federal securities law, the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or to revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available, new events occur or circumstances change in the future. Find us on Twitter https://twitter.com/myriadsocial Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/myriadinteractivemedia Find us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/+Myriadim/

2014-03-04 15:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [404, 467, 543, 754, 6955, 6997], "BTC": [1835, 2526, 2659, 3249, 3493, 4538, 4788, 4852, 4912, 5094, 5196, 5381, 5923, 6368, 6608]}

{}

The Statements From People Who Lost Their Money On Mt. Gox Are Seriously Sad

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/comments-people-lost-money-mt-150026704.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

mark karpeles YouTube Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles Last week, Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles admitted that the exchange's 850,000 bitcoins — worth nearly half a billion dollars — were gone . The firm, Karpeles said in a press conference in Tokyo, is filing for bankruptcy. Those who held bitcoin with Mt. Gox were left to vent their frustrations online — and try to potentially organize for litigation. And some Bitcoin enthusiast argued that Mt. Gox had to die in order for Bitcoin to live in more above-board fashion. Either way, this thread from a Bitcoin forum posted to Reddit shows some of the sad stories: People who say they have lost their entire life savings or can't tell their spouses how much they've lost. This is a big story from the first era of Bitcoin, and it can't keep having these episodes if it's going to thrive. These are from right before Mt. Gox filed bankruptcy ( via Adrianne Jeffries ): -- I am in Japan and have deposited 12.499 million Yen (about USD 122,000) at MtGox from October to December 2013. I currently have 175 BTCs and 13,000 Yen in cash at their exchange. I also have a Premium status account. Please let me know how to proceed. That was most of my retirement money. -- My name is xxx and I live in Sweden, Malmö. I am writing for me and for my girlfriend and my dad. We all bought and sold bitcoins a last years and made some money. We have taken out some money when we need to and right now me and my girlfriend was going to buy a house and start a family so we tried to withdraw the money in January. Since the money didn't show up after 4 weeks I tried to contact them but still nothing. I hope that together with you and some others get at least some money back. If you need any proof of the withdrawals or such I can provide some of it. We had in total $49000 on the accounts. -- have about 90 BTC and no USD in my mtgox account, which I would very much like to receive back at some point. It's only just sinking in that it might all be gone.. I can't believe I waited so long before getting it out somewhere safe, but.. here we are. -- Hey there, I am interested in being a plaintiff as well. I had about 70k in Mtgox in Dec due to the price explosion in November and attempted to withdraw some funds since I wasn't comfortable having that amount hosted there. I ran into the withdrawal issue back in Dec and opened a support ticket in which I got the run around until they finally officially announced what the problem was. As the moment, I don't have any $$ in Mtgox but around 180 BTC. My stomach has been in knots all week :-( -- Hi, My name is xxxxxx and I am from California (if that matters). I have about 650 BTC in Gox. I haven't slept in days and haven't been able to tell my wife how much I've lost. I was an early adopter, just mining in my basement, and I can't imagine all of my time and work vanishing like this. Please contact me with what I need to do -- I am a French citizen. I would like to know how to try and join you in reclaiming my lost funds. I had almost 100.000 EUR in my account. It will be a complete disaster for me if it is stolen. -- I cannot reasonably afford to lose the funds I have at Mtgox. I currently hold the majority in USD, but also significant amounts of EUR and BTC. -- I'm a student and this is almost all of my money I have left (I actually have a lot of debt, which I intended to pay back with that money). I'm really panicking right now and not sure what to do!!! -- I'm in Tokyo as well and I lost ~8 BTC and 500,000 in JPY. Please let me know how your case progresses and whether at any time you think it would be possible to get others involved. I really hope I can get at least some of that money back. I need it. -- Hey, I'd like to get involved in this as well. Gox has yet to deliver a withdrawal of funds from late last year and currently has all my coins locked up because of their withdrawal lock. Email is below, let me know if you need any other info. Thanks Story continues -- (originally I tried to withdraw $30,000.00, but Mt.Gox cancelled my withdraw and asked me to change to GBP. Funds never arrived--> Mt.Gox confirmed they were unable to wire funds, but funds are not re-instated to my account. Mt.Gox admits in the e-mail funds are mine.) -- I found your post just today after the Gox closed the site. I had 10,200 USD with them, which I traded just last week for gox coin. I initially deposited USD from bank account on November 2013, and traded on Gox just about 2 weeks ago, not knowing there was a trouble to withdraw any BTC from them. I do have screen shots from last week from trading and all my history since November 2013. My initial deposits in November have been 8000 USD and 2200 USD, so whatever trading I did in last weeks was for vain since gox did not let any BTC out of the site. Current standing on my account is about 27 BTC and around 2200 USD but since gox coin was never a real BTC, as I just learnt recently, I consider Gox owing me 10200 USD which I initially deposited. -- I wish to be include in the class action lawsuit, I an non-us (EU) and have lost 50 BTC and 24,600€. -- I would like to join the lawsuit if there is any chance of getting the either the BTC or EURO-equivalent at the price determined at the time of judgement. I would be thankful for any news / suggestions / ideas. Thank you very much -- I want to participate. I have 85 BTC on Mt Gox. -- Please update me and let me know, which further steps I have to take to participate. -- I had $28500 in, and purchased 50btc @ $570. So now I have the 49.7btc still in and no fiat. Have been waiting for withdrawal to resume to clean myself of gox forever. -- I was very lucky, having pulled out the bulk of my btc holdings from gox in mid-January. -- Please respond if whether I can or can't participate. -- I have 37 BTCs and wnt to be part of your lawsuit. Please send me more details. -- i too am a Gox victim. I have 69 BTC stuck on Gox. At this stage i would be very reluctant to take such a haircut and convert to USD. -- I have roughly $100K in my account, so it might be worth it for the lawyer to squeeze me in. -- I have 50BTC in MTGOX and would be interested in joining. If yes, how large would the fees be? -- If Mtgox is indeed gone and finished, I would like to know what the status of this suit is and who I can contact regarding it. I had about 111.777 BTC on gox. -- I have 158 btc on MtGox and would like to take part to your lawsuit. -- Most of our holdings were in bitcoin, and at market rates on other exchanges, I had over $40,000 while my friends had $300,000 to 400,000. -- I have 154 BTC and 0 USD in MTGOX. -- I live in Malta but would like to know what my options are for joining your case? -- Hey. Mt. Gox has owed me roughly 1,800 USD for more than 6 months. Two transactions. One they're claiming technical difficulties to Dwolla which never went through, and one they just never sent to my bank. Check out the full thread at Bitcoin Talk » More From Business Insider Bitcoin Has Made A Really Impressive Recovery REPORT: MTGOX SUBPOENAED BY US PROSECUTOR ANDREESSEN: MtGox Is Like MF Global And Not An Existential Threat

2014-03-04 16:02:33+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [29, 217, 1310, 1439, 2100, 2707], "BTC": [511]}

{"Bitcoin": [8]}

Another Bitcoin Site Gets Completely Wiped Out by Thieves

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/another-bitcoin-gets-completely-wiped-thieves-160233294.html

The Atlantic

http://theatlantic.com

Flexcoin, a relatively small Bitcoin bank, announced early Tuesday morning that it's shutting its doors in light of being completely robbed of its currency. All of it. Just days after a massive theft at another major Bitcoin depository, Flexcoin was completely cleaned out by hackers, leaving the site no choice but to shut down. In a brief announcement on its website, Flexcoin execs announced : On March 2nd 2014 Flexcoin was attacked and robbed of all coins in the hot wallet. The attacker made off with 896 BTC, dividing them into these two addresses: 1NDkevapt4SWYFEmquCDBSf7DLMTNVggdu 1QFcC5JitGwpFKqRDd9QNH3eGN56dCNgy6 As Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets, or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately. According to Flexcoin's terms of service, Flexcoin users aren't owed anything: " We have taken every precaution to defend your bitcoins from hackers and/or intruders., " the terms clearly state . " However, Flexcoin Inc is not responsible for insuring any bitcoins stored in the Flexcoin system. You are entering into this agreement with Flexcoin Inc. You agree to not hold Flexcoin Inc, or Flexcoin Inc's stakeholders, or Flexcoin Inc's shareholders liable for any lost bitcoins." The total amount lost is 896 bitcoins, which converts to about $618,000. Bitcoin users have responded similarly to how they responded to the Mt. Gox collapse — blame the individual site, not concept of Bitcoin itself. One reddit user writes Tuesday morning, RELATED: Luxury Good Inflation Is Making Things Really Hard for Rich People This is pretty sad. From a spectator's point of view though, how can this happen? What security measures did they have in place and how could they be breached? This would all help answer the question 'who can we trust with our coins and why?' Of course, the answer is nobody 100 percent, but there must be some hosted wallets/exchanges that you can trust to a large degree, for say 98 percent of your coin. Story continues The Mt. Gox collapse, which was much larger in scale , did not turn users away from the digital currency. Bitcoin investors are diehard believers in the idea of an unregulated, worldwide currency. Sadly, it appears that Flexcoin did not see the theft coming at all — the company assured users after Mt. Gox that the same thing would not happen to them. We hold zero coins in other companies, exchanges etc. While the MtGox closure is unfortunate, we at Flexcoin have not lost anything. — flexcoin (@flexcoin) February 25, 2014 This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/business/2014/03/another-bitcoin-site-was-completely-robbed/358779/ Read more from The Wire • Mt. Gox Lost More than Just Bitcoins • These Interns Are Making More Money Than You Are

2014-03-04 17:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2403]}

{}

Mindjet CEO Scott Raskin Presents on How Companies Sustain Innovation at the Annual Oasis Summit and Technology Conference

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mindjet-ceo-scott-raskin-presents-170000917.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 4, 2014) - Mindjet CEO Scott Raskin is included in an impressive lineup of speakers slated to present at OASIS: THE MONTGOMERY SUMMIT, held March 5-6, 2014 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, CA. OASIS is an invitation-only event featuring top entrepreneurs and investors, senior level media and technology executives, and leading industry visionaries. Raskin will present on Mindjet's success as a leading provider of SaaS-based innovation management software. Mindjet enables large enterprises to concentrate the best ideas that employees, customers, and partners have into an actionable plan that achieves repeatable business outcomes. Mindjet enables the world's leading brands to manage innovation from idea creation to opportunity selection to project completion. We provide the capabilities for the world's leading companies to innovate at scale. In a February 20 New York Times interview , newly appointed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said this about galvanizing their employee base to lead innovation: 'So the question is: How do we take the intellectual capital of 130,000 people and innovate where none of the category definitions of the past will matter?' This is what Mindjet does. Other OASIS speakers added to the conference's schedule include BlackBerry interim CEO John Chen, bestselling author Deepak Chopra, and tech legend Paul Maritz. An outgrowth of the hugely popular Montgomery Technology Conference, OASIS makes its debut this year with 150 exceptional presenting companies. Mindjet will be presenting in the category of "Growth" companies whose yearly revenues exceed $50 million. Prior conferences have provided early looks at Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Splunk, Marketo, Meraki, Exact Target, Rocket Fuel, and other breakout companies. OASIS will have a special focus on creativity and innovation at the intersection of the technology and business worlds. Other speakers previously announced for OASIS include Ashish Thakkar, named World's Best Young Entrepreneur by the World Entrepreneurship Forum, and Brazilian mining billionaire Bernardo Paz, who will talk about the importance of creativity and innovation through the context of his world-famous art retreat in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Story continues The digital payments panel, moderated by Quentin Hardy of the New York Times, will closely examine the future of Bitcoin and other "math based" currencies from the perspectives of leading entrepreneurs and investors. ABOUT OASIS: THE MONTGOMERY SUMMIT OASIS will feature exclusive gala receptions, world-class food, and special evening entertainment. Over 1,000 participants from around the world are expected to attend the inaugural OASIS Summit. Presenting sponsors for OASIS include the Signal Hill and Macquarie Capital. Additional sponsors include Citrix, Earnst & Young, Silicon Valley Bank, Cooley, Telesign, Stradling, City National Bank, Gibson Dunn, Vantage Media, and Telesystem Media. The conference will be held March 5-6, 2014 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. http://www.fairmont.com/santa-monica/ www.oasis-summit.com ABOUT MINDJET Mindjet is committed to enterprise innovation excellence. We provide the first software platform with the capability to drive repeatable business innovation at scale. Millions of people, as well as Fortune 100 companies, use Mindjet's enterprise-ready innovation management suite, featuring SpigitEngage and MindManager. We enable the world's leading brands to build and manage sustainable innovation programs with social dynamics, purposeful collaboration, crowd science, and analytics to surface and develop the best ideas then bring them to market. Mindjet is headquartered in San Francisco with offices throughout the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia.

2014-03-04 18:45:43+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2034]}

{}

UK lawyer says 'hundreds' ready for bitcoin class action

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-lawyer-says-hundreds-ready-bitcoin-class-action-184543886--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Lionel Laurent PARIS (Reuters) - More than 400 people have signaled they would join a class action against Mt. Gox, the world's biggest marketplace for the digital currency bitcoin before its abrupt collapse, British-based law firm Selachii said. It would be the latest effort to try to recoup some of the $480 million in losses that Mt. Gox has blamed on a hacking attack that drove it into bankruptcy. The exchange is already being sued by a U.S. customer for alleged negligence and fraud. Selachii has received over 400 expressions of interest in joining a class action, according to the law firm's co-founder Richard Howlett. After ending submissions on Friday the firm will tally the list of claimants and file a suit in London against the parent company of Mt. Gox, K K Tibanne, and Mt. Gox chief Mark Karpeles, he said. "There are already over 400 people who are joining in ... From every country you can think of," Howlett said. Neither Karpeles nor his lawyer were available to comment. Class actions, also known as representative actions, are rare under English law. The court at first instance considered only two cases reported since the introduction of new rules in 2000, Thomson Reuters-owned legal publisher Practical Law said on its website. Although Selachii's Howlett said it was still impossible to say what had really caused the collapse, he said the suit would focus on customer complaints about a lack of disclosure by the exchange and customer deposits made in the immediate run-up to its collapse. "On the back of the Mt. Gox collapse a lot of people say they feel the truth is not being stated," Howlett said. If Selachii does file the suit, it will be the firm's first class action. The benefits for claimants are that legal fees will be spread across a big number of people, Howlett said. At a news conference on Friday at the Tokyo District Court, Karpeles said he was very sorry and blamed Mt. Gox's collapse on a "weakness in our system," but predicted that the bitcoin market would continue to grow. Bitcoin, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value has soared in the last year, and the total worth of bitcoins created is now about $7 billion. Mt. Gox said it may have lost 750,000 of its customers' bitcoins and 100,000 of its own, equal to about 7 percent of bitcoins worldwide, for a total loss of about $480 million. The exchange reported having 127,000 creditors, liabilities of 6.5 billion yen ($64 million) and assets of 3.84 billion yen ($38 million). Global regulators are also delving into the risks of bitcoin. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox and other exchanges to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe told Reuters last week. "There are lots of unanswered questions," said Selachii's Howlett. "Some people have had their life savings disappear." (Reporting by Lionel Laurent; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Ando in Tokyo; editing by Mark John and Jane Merriman)

2014-03-04 19:16:45+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1183], "BTC": [1807]}

{"Bitcoin": [26]}

Japan to regulate and tax Bitcoin trades - Nikkei

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-regulate-tax-bitcoin-trades-nikkei-191645013--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) - The Japanese government will set rules for trading bitcoin, including imposing taxes on transactions with the virtual currency, that will become the basis for guidelines applicable to similar currencies in future, the Nikkei reported. Japan's government is still trying to explain the collapse of Mt. Gox - once the world's once largest bitcoin exchange - and figure out how the Tokyo-based company could lose nearly half a billion dollars in bitcoins, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost some 850,000 bitcoins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The guidelines proposed by the Japanese cabinet will call for taxing bitcoin transactions, defining the virtual currency as a commodity rather than a currency, the Nikkei said. Gains from trading bitcoins on online exchanges, purchases made with bitcoins, and companies earning revenue from bitcoin transactions will be subject to Japanese tax, the financial newspaper said. Banks will be also be prohibited from handling bitcoins while securities firms will be barred from brokering bitcoin trades, the Nikkei reported. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value has soared in the last year, and the total worth of bitcoins minted is now about $7 billion. The virtual currency has engendered a new wave of creative criminality from hacking online platforms to steal bitcoins to their potential for use in money laundering, bribery and purchases of illicit products. Last week, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. Congress should look into legal options for regulating virtual currencies such as bitcoin. Shanghai-based BTC China, the world's largest bitcoin exchange by volume, has imposed new regulations to curb bitcoin trade weeks after Beijing banned financial institutions from trading in bitcoin due to the risks involved. Russian authorities have issued warnings against using bitcoin, saying treating it as a parallel currency is illegal. Britain, however, has supported bitcoin and is preparing to abort its plans to tax bitcoin trading, according to a Financial Times report. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

2014-03-04 19:16:47+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1183], "BTC": [1807]}

{"Bitcoin": [26]}

Japan to regulate and tax Bitcoin trades - Nikkei

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-regulate-tax-bitcoin-trades-191647775.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - The Japanese government will set rules for trading bitcoin, including imposing taxes on transactions with the virtual currency, that will become the basis for guidelines applicable to similar currencies in future, the Nikkei reported. Japan's government is still trying to explain the collapse of Mt. Gox - once the world's once largest bitcoin exchange - and figure out how the Tokyo-based company could lose nearly half a billion dollars in bitcoins, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost some 850,000 bitcoins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The guidelines proposed by the Japanese cabinet will call for taxing bitcoin transactions, defining the virtual currency as a commodity rather than a currency, the Nikkei said. Gains from trading bitcoins on online exchanges, purchases made with bitcoins, and companies earning revenue from bitcoin transactions will be subject to Japanese tax, the financial newspaper said. Banks will be also be prohibited from handling bitcoins while securities firms will be barred from brokering bitcoin trades, the Nikkei reported. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value has soared in the last year, and the total worth of bitcoins minted is now about $7 billion. The virtual currency has engendered a new wave of creative criminality from hacking online platforms to steal bitcoins to their potential for use in money laundering, bribery and purchases of illicit products. Last week, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. Congress should look into legal options for regulating virtual currencies such as bitcoin. Shanghai-based BTC China, the world's largest bitcoin exchange by volume, has imposed new regulations to curb bitcoin trade weeks after Beijing banned financial institutions from trading in bitcoin due to the risks involved. Story continues Russian authorities have issued warnings against using bitcoin, saying treating it as a parallel currency is illegal. Britain, however, has supported bitcoin and is preparing to abort its plans to tax bitcoin trading, according to a Financial Times report. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

2014-03-04 19:52:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2459]}

{}

Why Does Apple's CarPlay Exclude Pandora And Google Maps?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-does-apples-carplay-exclude-195252029.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

When Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) unveiled details of its CarPlay on Monday, all the buzz was over what the new technology can do. On Tuesday, the buzz is over what CarPlay cannot do. iPhone users who are faithful Pandora subscribers are likely to be disappointed if they were hoping to be able to stream their favorite Pandora station in their car. Same goes for those who default straight to Google Maps over Apple's mapping service. Apple insists on keeping a tight control over how users use its devices, but many are questioning on why Pandora was left out of CarPlay, but a service like Spotify is included. The argument could be made that Pandora's station-based functionality mirrors Apple's iTunes Radio, which makes Apple's decision to include Spotify and not Pandora an obvious business decision. Spotify, on the other hand, allows users to search for specific songs instead of genre-based stations. Pandora released a statement to MacRumors and noted that it remains a “valued partner” to Apple, but at the same time Pandora will continue to explore opportunities to further expand its presence in the car. Related: Panasonic, Major Automakers Evolving With Mobile & Infotainment In 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an awkward apology over its mapping platform and even suggested using other mapping services. Apple has made many improvements to its mapping system since 2012 and is putting a lot on the line by leaving out Google Maps. Apple needs to be 100 percent sure that its mapping service can perform equally as well as users have experienced over the years with the feature-rich Google Maps. According to TechCrunch's Matt Burns, Apple Maps has “thankfully” improved dramatically since its “disastrous” launch and is “nearly on par” with Google maps. The relationship between Apple and Google isn't similar to the relationship between Apple and Pandora. Google won't come out and say that it remains a “valued partner” of Apple. In fact, Google is working on a vehicle platform similar to CarPlay and the company has already confirmed it had formed an “Open Automotive Alliance” with Audi, General Motors, Hyundai, Honda and chip-maker NVIDIA. Story continues Apple and Google are on a “collision course” in the race for car tech supremacy. A key battlefront will certainly be over mapping and navigation. As of now, Google Maps is miles ahead of Apple Maps -- but will Google hold on to its lead? Related Links Could Turmoil In Ukraine Ignite a Bitcoin Price Explosion? Over 1,000 Store Closures Coming For RadioShack Following Poor Earnings Report ZipRealty Plunges Following Fourth Quarter Miss (c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2014-03-04 20:31:21+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [49, 279, 299, 440, 527, 634, 725, 1835]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Shop Begins Trading Under the Stock Symbol "BTCS" Effective March 5, 2014

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-shop-begins-trading-under-203121032.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

SILVER SPRING, MD--(Marketwired - Mar 4, 2014) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : TUCND ), the virtual currency ecommerce marketplace www.bitcoinshop.us , today announced that the Company will begin trading under the new ticker symbol "BTCS" effective tomorrow, March 5, 2014. About Bitcoin Shop, Inc.: Bitcoin Shop, Inc. operates an ecommerce website ( www.bitcoinshop.us ) where consumers can purchase products using virtual currency such as Bitcoin, by searching through selection of over 400 categories and over 140,000 items. Bitcoin is a digital or virtual currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments. Bitcoin is categorized as a cryptocurrency, as it uses cryptography as a security measure. Bitcoin issuance and transactions are carried out collectively by the network, with no central authority, and allow users to make verified transfers. Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its Bitcoin business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

2014-03-04 20:31:21+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [49, 279, 299, 440, 527, 634, 725, 1835]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Shop Begins Trading Under the Stock Symbol "BTCS" Effective March 5, 2014

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-shop-begins-trading-under-203121032.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

SILVER SPRING, MD--(Marketwired - Mar 4, 2014) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : TUCND ), the virtual currency ecommerce marketplace www.bitcoinshop.us , today announced that the Company will begin trading under the new ticker symbol "BTCS" effective tomorrow, March 5, 2014. About Bitcoin Shop, Inc.: Bitcoin Shop, Inc. operates an ecommerce website ( www.bitcoinshop.us ) where consumers can purchase products using virtual currency such as Bitcoin, by searching through selection of over 400 categories and over 140,000 items. Bitcoin is a digital or virtual currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments. Bitcoin is categorized as a cryptocurrency, as it uses cryptography as a security measure. Bitcoin issuance and transactions are carried out collectively by the network, with no central authority, and allow users to make verified transfers. Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its Bitcoin business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

2014-03-04 23:16:13+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [12, 1082]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts down after theft

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-bank-flexcoin-shuts-down-theft-231613261--sector.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) - Bitcoin bank Flexcoin said on Tuesday it was closing down after it lost bitcoins worth about $600,000 to a hacker attack. Flexcoin said in a message posted on its website that all 896 bitcoins stored online were stolen on Sunday. "As Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets, or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately," the company said. (http://r.reuters.com/web47v) Alberta, Canada-based Flexcoin, which is working with law enforcement agencies to trace the source of the hack, said it would return bitcoins stored offline, or in "cold storage", to users. Cold storage coins are held in computers not connected to the Internet and therefore cannot be hacked. Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost some 850,000 bitcoins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. Flexcoin said on February 25 it was not affected by Mt. Gox's closure. "While the Mt. Gox closure is unfortunate, we at Flexcoin have not lost anything," it had tweeted. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value soared last year, and the total worth of bitcoins minted is now about $7 billion. According to Tuesday's price on Bitstamp, one of the largest exchanges for trading bitcoins, the crypto-currency was valued at about $668.57. (Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

2014-03-05 01:20:41+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [823]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin bank closes after high-tech heist

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-bank-closes-high-tech-004516045.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A bank specializing in bitcoins says it has closed after computer hackers robbed its digital currency. The closure of the Flexcoin bank comes just a week after the collapse of Mt. Gox, a major bitcoin exchange. Mt. Gox also linked its demise to an electronic heist. The twin failures of Mt. Gox and Flexcoin will likely raise more doubts about bitcoin's ability to establish itself as an alternative currency. Hackers stole 896 bitcoins from Flexcoin's online vault, or "hot wallet," according to a notice on Flexcoin's website Tuesday. That translates into a loss of about $600,000, based on bitcoin's current trading value. Unlike banks dealing in government-backed currencies, Flexcoin's losses aren't covered by deposit insurance. The Alberta, Canada, bank says it can't recover from the setback. Bitcoins that Flexcoin kept offline, or in "cold storage," remain secure, according to the bank. Although Flexcoin didn't provide details, bitcoins stored this way are often documented on paper certificates or on a hard drive that's not connected to the Internet. The Mt. Gox collapse represents a far bigger blow to bitcoin's credibility. That downfall wiped about 750,000 bitcoins, or about 6 percent of the currency's total circulation. Mt. Gox, which is based in Japan, has filed for bankruptcy protections while it sifts through its financial mess. But the timing of Flexcoin's collapse could make it more difficult to foster trust in bitcoin. Supporters are touting the five-year-old currency as a way to lower transaction fees by cutting out banks and payment processors that collect billions of dollars annually by serving as financial middlemen. Skeptics, including government leaders around the world, deride bitcoins as a currency suitable only for speculators.

2014-03-05 01:21:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1135]}

{}

The 10 Best Cities For Freelancers

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-best-cities-freelancers-012102777.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

photographer Flickr/istolethetv Many news photographers are freelancers. There are more than 17.7 million freelance workers in the United States, according to an annual report from MBO Partners , which tracks the freelance industry. Freelancing offers unparalleled flexibility but also comes with the risk of not having enough work and being unable to afford health care. NerdWallet recently did a study that determined the best cities for independent workers based on three factors: the percentage of residents with self-employment income (50% of the score), the affordability of the median rent cost (25%), and the affordability of the median health care cost (25%). Here are NerdWallet's best cities for freelancers: best cities for freelancers NerdWallet Freelancers make up one-fifth of the construction, arts and media, personal care, and legal industries according to Census data analyzed by Economic Modeling Specialists International . Emergent Research predicts that freelancers will comprise up to 40% of the American workforce by 2020. More From Business Insider Goldman Sachs Elevator: It's Time I Set The Record Straight Bitcoin Site Shuts Down After Being Robbed Of Every Single Coin It Held Online Aide To Putin Makes The Stupidest Threat Imaginable To The US View comments

2014-03-05 06:35:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1120]}

{}

PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - March 5

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/press-digest-york-times-business-063516913.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

March 5 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. * Products virtually identical to e-cigarettes are known by names like e-hookahs or vaping pens, thwarting efforts by health officials to track their use, especially among young people. () * Walt Disney Animation won its first animated-feature Oscar on Sunday for "Frozen," and with it a new lease on life after a difficult transition to computer-aided filmmaking. () * A newly obtained government document explains why the picture is still clouded on the question of what JPMorgan Chase bankers knew about Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. () * Payouts for the top executives in private equity have rocketed into the stratosphere, thanks to a soaring stock market and shrewd maneuvers by their firms in the aftermath of the financial crisis. () * A staff member of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania played a small role in the investigation that resulted in the shutdown of Silk Road, the online marketplace where drugs and weapons could be bought with Bitcoin. () * Bart Chilton, a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said President Obama's $280 million request for the agency in the next fiscal year was inadequate for the agency's expanded mission. () * Former Goldman Sachs trader Fabrice Tourre had been scheduled to teach an undergraduate course on economic analysis beginning March 31. But a University of Chicago spokesman said on Tuesday that he would no longer be an instructor. ()

2014-03-05 08:26:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1553]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts after hacking theft

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-bank-flexcoin-shuts-hacking-080813342.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) - Flexcoin, a Canada-based bitcoin bank, said it was closing down after losing bitcoins worth about $600,000 to a hacker attack enabled by flaws in its software code. Flexcoin said in a message on its website that all 896 bitcoins stored online were stolen on Sunday. Its collapse came after Mt. Gox, once the world's dominant bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and said it may have lost some 850,000 bitcoins due to hacking. "As Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets, or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately," Flexcoin said. ( http://r.reuters.com/web47v ) It later posted an update on its site saying that the attack exploited a flaw in its code on transfers between users and involved inundating the system with simultaneous requests to move coins between accounts. "Flexcoin has made every attempt to keep our servers as secure as possible, including regular testing," it said, adding it had repelled thousands of attacks over the past few years. "But in the end, this was simply not enough." The Alberta, Canada-based firm, which said it is working with law enforcement agencies to trace the source of the hack, said it would return bitcoins stored offline, or in "cold storage", to users. Cold storage coins are held in computers not connected to the internet and therefore cannot be hacked. Flexcoin said on February 25 it was not affected by Mt. Gox's closure. "While the Mt. Gox closure is unfortunate, we at Flexcoin have not lost anything," it had tweeted then. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value soared last year, and the total worth of bitcoins minted is now about $7 billion. According to Bitstamp, one of the largest exchanges for trading bitcoins, a bitcoin was valued at about $658 on Wednesday. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando in Tokyo and Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Ian Geoghegan)

2014-03-05 08:26:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1553]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts after hacking theft

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-bank-flexcoin-shuts-hacking-080813834.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) - Flexcoin, a Canada-based bitcoin bank, said it was closing down after losing bitcoins worth about $600,000 to a hacker attack enabled by flaws in its software code. Flexcoin said in a message on its website that all 896 bitcoins stored online were stolen on Sunday. Its collapse came after Mt. Gox, once the world's dominant bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and said it may have lost some 850,000 bitcoins due to hacking. "As Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets, or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately," Flexcoin said. ( http://r.reuters.com/web47v ) It later posted an update on its site saying that the attack exploited a flaw in its code on transfers between users and involved inundating the system with simultaneous requests to move coins between accounts. "Flexcoin has made every attempt to keep our servers as secure as possible, including regular testing," it said, adding it had repelled thousands of attacks over the past few years. "But in the end, this was simply not enough." The Alberta, Canada-based firm, which said it is working with law enforcement agencies to trace the source of the hack, said it would return bitcoins stored offline, or in "cold storage", to users. Cold storage coins are held in computers not connected to the internet and therefore cannot be hacked. Flexcoin said on February 25 it was not affected by Mt. Gox's closure. "While the Mt. Gox closure is unfortunate, we at Flexcoin have not lost anything," it had tweeted then. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Its value soared last year, and the total worth of bitcoins minted is now about $7 billion. According to Bitstamp, one of the largest exchanges for trading bitcoins, a bitcoin was valued at about $658 on Wednesday. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando in Tokyo and Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Ian Geoghegan)

2014-03-05 09:23:51+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [894], "BTC": [4080]}

{}

Japan may tax bitcoin deals, stop banks, brokerages from handling

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-not-consider-bitcoin-currency-001544507.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Noriyuki Hirata and Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will this week set out rules on how to handle bitcoins, the first sign that the government is taking action on regulating the virtual currency after the collapse last week of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world's dominant bitcoin exchange. The cabinet will decide on Friday how to treat bitcoins under existing laws, said people familiar with the matter, adding that banks and securities firms will not be able to handle bitcoin as part of their main business, suggesting the crypto-currency will be treated more as a commodity, like gold. Japan has struggled to define its approach to bitcoin since the collapse of Mt. Gox, which filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo on Friday, saying it had lost bitcoins and cash worth some half a billion dollars due to hacker attacks on what it said was its lax computer system security. Bitcoin, a digital currency that is traded on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control, has engendered a wave of creative criminality - from bitcoin theft by hacking online platforms to potentially using the crypto-currency in money laundering, bribery and buying illicit products. Its value has soared in the past year, and the total worth of bitcoins minted is now about $7 billion. Flexcoin, a Canada-based bitcoin bank, said on Tuesday it was closing after it lost $600,000 worth of the online currency - all the bitcoins it stored - to hacker theft. TAXING PROBLEM Japanese authorities are looking at possibly taxing bitcoin transactions, but it remains unclear how they could do this, given that one of the attractions of using bitcoin is that transactions are largely anonymous. "We haven't yet thoroughly grasped the situation, but some kind of regulation is needed from the perspective of consumer protection, and we will also discuss (bitcoin) from the perspective of imposing asset tax," said Takuya Hirai, head of an IT panel in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Story continues The panel heard on Wednesday from consultant Deloitte about bitcoin and from officials of the Consumer Affairs Agency, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) the Finance Ministry, central bank, Cabinet Office and the National Police Agency about the Mt. Gox collapse, Hirai told reporters. The FSA and the Finance Ministry have said bitcoin is not a currency and doesn't fall under their purview, while the Bank of Japan has said it was studying the bitcoin phenomenon with interest. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the relevant Japanese ministries will be in close contact with each other on matters relating to bitcoin. A former insider at Mt. Gox told Reuters the exchange had repeatedly approached the FSA in the past, asking it to define the handling of bitcoin, but received no definitive answer. Last week, the FSA said it had not recently been in contact with Mt. Gox, but did not specify whether it had ever been in touch with the company. A lawyer for Mt. Gox declined to comment. Taxing bitcoin is not without precedent. U.S. online retailer Overstock.com collects sales tax on sales to places where the company has a physical presence, such as its home state of Utah, said vice chairman Jonathan Johnson. "It's pretty easy to do with bitcoin as at this point we are converting bitcoin into dollars immediately," he told Reuters. But Hiroshi Mikitani, a prominent Japanese e-commerce billionaire and CEO of Rakuten Inc, expressed caution about trying to regulate the virtual currency. "They should not act hastily," he said, according to Kyodo News. "As for whether we need regulations, they should first examine the situation a bit more and discuss it in depth." INTERNATIONAL EFFORT? Japan doesn't want to go it alone in trying to get a grip on bitcoin. Any regulation of the crypto-currency should involve international cooperation to avoid loopholes, Vice Finance Minister Jiro Aichi said last week. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has said Congress should look into legal options for regulating virtual currencies such as bitcoin. Shanghai-based BTC China, the world's largest bitcoin exchange by volume, has imposed regulations to curb bitcoin trade weeks after Beijing banned financial institutions from trading in bitcoin due to the risks involved. Russian authorities have issued warnings against using bitcoin, saying treating it as a parallel currency is illegal. Britain, however, has supported bitcoin and is preparing to abort plans to tax bitcoin trading, the Financial Times reported. (Additional reporting by Sophie Knight in Tokyo, Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore and Peter Henderson in SAN FRANCISCO; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

2014-03-05 11:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [254, 416, 1062, 1761, 1791, 1877, 1945]}

{"Bitcoin": [79]}

Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp (PINKSHEETS: BITCF) Officially Changes Name to First Bitcoin Capital Corp.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grand-pacaraima-gold-corp-pinksheets-110000778.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - Mar 5, 2014) - Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp ( PINKSHEETS : BITCF ) is pleased to announce that the board and the majority shareholders have voted and approved to change the company name from Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. to First Bitcoin Capital Corp. to better reflect the new direction and focus of the company. "Now that Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. has officially changed its name to First Bitcoin Capital Corp ( PINKSHEETS : BITCF ), in our state of incorporation, we will request FINRA to reflect this change in the OTC Markets," the company said. Company also announced today the appointment of Yuri Abramov to its Board of Directors. For more than three decades, Yuri has applied his superior analytical skills and expertise to advance the field of applied physics in his work as a mathematician, algorithms and software developer, engineer and inventor. The company is currently preparing to enter the crypto-currency arena, specifically positioning itself to becoming the first vertically- integrated consolidator of the emerging Bitcoin and other crypto-currency industries. "We expect to see the name change reflected in the stock market to coincide with the launching of one or more of our businesses under development relating to crypto-currencies," the company said. Company is also working on a project to exchange its gold mining concessions for a new crypto currency concurrently granting it a license to use the company's pending application for a patent-making first dual currency and subsequently backed by those gold reserves. "Should this project be successful, we intend to be the first public company to pay its shareholders a crypto currency as a dividend," the company said. The company seeks to consolidate the Bitcoin industry by acquiring Bitcoin start-ups, raise funding and invest in companies that are developing advanced Bitcoin software or hardware applications. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. is a developing Canadian-based mining company currently holding concessions of Gold in Venezuela and is preparing to enter the crypto-currency industry. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over the Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof.

2014-03-05 11:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [254, 416, 1062, 1761, 1791, 1877, 1945]}

{"Bitcoin": [79]}

Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp (PINKSHEETS: BITCF) Officially Changes Name to First Bitcoin Capital Corp.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/grand-pacaraima-gold-corp-pinksheets-110000778.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - Mar 5, 2014) - Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp ( PINKSHEETS : BITCF ) is pleased to announce that the board and the majority shareholders have voted and approved to change the company name from Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. to First Bitcoin Capital Corp. to better reflect the new direction and focus of the company. "Now that Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. has officially changed its name to First Bitcoin Capital Corp ( PINKSHEETS : BITCF ), in our state of incorporation, we will request FINRA to reflect this change in the OTC Markets," the company said. Company also announced today the appointment of Yuri Abramov to its Board of Directors. For more than three decades, Yuri has applied his superior analytical skills and expertise to advance the field of applied physics in his work as a mathematician, algorithms and software developer, engineer and inventor. The company is currently preparing to enter the crypto-currency arena, specifically positioning itself to becoming the first vertically- integrated consolidator of the emerging Bitcoin and other crypto-currency industries. "We expect to see the name change reflected in the stock market to coincide with the launching of one or more of our businesses under development relating to crypto-currencies," the company said. Company is also working on a project to exchange its gold mining concessions for a new crypto currency concurrently granting it a license to use the company's pending application for a patent-making first dual currency and subsequently backed by those gold reserves. "Should this project be successful, we intend to be the first public company to pay its shareholders a crypto currency as a dividend," the company said. The company seeks to consolidate the Bitcoin industry by acquiring Bitcoin start-ups, raise funding and invest in companies that are developing advanced Bitcoin software or hardware applications. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. is a developing Canadian-based mining company currently holding concessions of Gold in Venezuela and is preparing to enter the crypto-currency industry. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over the Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof.

2014-03-05 14:38:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1119, 1177, 1576, 1623, 1769, 1986, 2049, 2292, 2388, 2493, 2513, 2599]}

{}

City Wine Cellar Joins Virtual Currency Revolution With New Online Payment Method

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/city-wine-cellar-joins-virtual-143800612.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Mar 5, 2014) - Pretty soon paper currency and even electronic payments in the form of credit and debit card transactions will feel dated. That's because "virtual currencies" and mobile payment solutions (like PayPal) are continuing to gain converts aggressively vying for younger user attention. In fact, according to research agency Millward Brown , 73 percent of millennials -- individuals generally born between 1980 and 2000 -- expect to complete shopping and bill payments through their mobile phone. Considering millennials are predicted to mature into the world's largest spending group (outspending baby boomers by as soon as 2017), catering to their desired payment method is essential if the business in question expects to thrive. Recognizing the growing importance of online payment and virtual currencies, the owners of City Wine Cellar and hosts of CityWineCellar.com are pleased to announce that their wine and spirits establishment on Richmond Avenue (located in the New Springville section about two miles south of the Staten Island Expressway/I-278) is now accepting the Bitcoin virtual currency for all online purchases. "Using Bitcoin is a way to avoid the hassle of everyday currency, while giving consumers alternate shopping options with their virtual currency," said John Ha, City Wine Cellar's co-founder. "Here at City Wine Cellar, we want to give customers as many payment options as possible to make transactions smooth and simple without the frustration and restrictions of traditional currencies." A "Bit" More Info Bitcoin is a virtual digital currency, meaning Bitcoins are not valued against a precious metal like gold or silver, and they are not printed on bank notes or minted on coins. Created in 2009, Bitcoin has grown to become one of the world's most popular virtual currency platforms out of some 67 other competitors. As of late 2013 the combined value of all virtual currencies stood at about $13 billion , while Bitcoin alone was worth more than $10 billion. Currencies like Bitcoin appeal to small businesses eager to eliminate high credit card transaction fees. Consumers, meanwhile, appreciate the currency's ease of use, as well as the ability to complete anonymous payment. Story continues Any orders placed with Bitcoin on CityWineCellar.com can be shipped throughout the U.S. Consumers can also pick up any Bitcoin-purchased online orders in person if they live near the Staten Island area. To place orders with Bitcoin, select the Bitcoin payment option during the online checkout process. "For those who are already Bitcoin users, City Wine Cellar offers an array of both red and white wines in addition to champagne, dessert wine, rose wine and even spirits available for purchase using your virtual currency," added Ha. "Whether you're searching for the finest rum, sake or even the latest Moscato, we have everything to satisfy your tastes." About City Wine Cellar After graduating college in 2002, John Ha and his father went into business together, opening their very own wine store on Staten Island. In just six years, the shop became the largest wine and liquor store on the island. In 2009, the brand City Wine Cellar was launched along with the official website, CityWineCellar.com. Today, the store currently sells the most wine on Staten Island, with a 50-percent growth in online sales and over 3,000 products. For more information about City Wine Cellar, please visit their website .