Category Archives: News
Winklevoss Twins File IPO to Bring Bitcoin to the Public
The Winklevoss twins, best known for suing Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their idea for Facebook, today filed an S-1 to create an exchange-traded fund for Bitcoin.
Tyler Winklevoss explained the motivation behind going public, “The trust brings bitcoin to Main Street and mainstream investors to bitcoin. It eliminates the friction of buying and reduces the risks associated with storing bitcoin while offering similar investment attributes to direct ownership.”
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have already made several headlines when it comes to Bitcoin. First, they claimed to own 1% of the outstanding bitcoins available. Later, they announced that they were investors in Bitcoin startup BitInstant. They operate an investment fund called Winklevoss Capital.
The filed S-1 outlines the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, a vehicle that the public can invest in and simply reflects the value of Bitcoin.
The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the Blended Bitcoin Price of Bitcoins, less the expenses of the Trust’s operations. The Shares are designed for investors seeking a cost-effective and convenient means to gain exposure to Bitcoins with minimal credit risk.
The Bitcoin Network is a recent technological innovation, and the Bitcoins that are created, transferred, used and stored by entities and individuals have certain features associated with several types of assets, most notably commodities and currencies. Apart from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Department of the Treasury (“FinCEN”), major US regulators such as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and SEC, have yet to make official pronouncements or adopt rules providing guidance with respect to the classification and treatment of Bitcoins and other Digital Math-Based Assets for purposes of commodities, tax and securities laws. The Sponsor believes that, on balance, the important features of Bitcoins and other Digital Math-Based Assets are those that are characteristics of commodities and therefore has referred to and discussed these assets as such. It is not known whether US or foreign regulators will share this view, adopt a single, different view or espouse a variety of differing views; this regulatory uncertainty creates risks for the Trust and its Shares. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to the Regulation of the Trust and its Shares.”
The Sponsor believes the Trust to be the first exchange-traded product that seeks to track the price of a Digital Math-Based Asset such as Bitcoins (a “DMBA ETP”). Some of the distinguishing features of the Trust and its Shares include directly holding Bitcoins using the Trust’s proprietary Security System, storage of the Trust’s Bitcoins in various premises of the Trustee located in the United States, the experience of the Sponsor’s management team, the use of [TRUSTEE] as custodian, third-party vault inspection and the use of a security consultant to advise on upgrades to the Trust’s technology and custody procedures. See “Business of the Trust.”
Cameron Winklevoss is listed at the CEO, while Tyler is listed as the CFO of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust.
CES and SXSW to Feature Bitcoin Showcase Hosted by Startup Debut
Startup Debut, a leading media showcase company owned by BitAngels co-founder Michael Terpin, will hold the first-ever media showcase events for Bitcoin and digital currency companies at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show® in Las Vegas and at the 2014 South by Southwest® festival in Austin, Texas.
The first and largest event will be at the start of CES® on Sunday, January 5, 2014, from 7-10 pm at Cili Restaurant, 5160 Las Vegas Boulevard South, a large events facility on the Bali Hai Golf Course, two blocks south of Mandalay Bay, where Sunday’s primary CES media activities will be taking place. Startup Debut will be able to accommodate more than 100 exhibitors and 1,000 media, with up to two dozen of the companies expected to be involved in the Bitcoin space.
Startup Debut will hold a second media event for startups at the 2014 South by Southwest (SXSW®) Interactive festival on Sunday, March 9, at Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, 320 E. 2nd St., Austin, from 5-9 pm. This showcase can accommodate up to 50 exhibitors and 500 media. Both events are expected to co-locate with Internet personality and video blogger Sarah Austin’s “Bubble Tank” startup competition for brands, which will immediately precede both events and incorporate a filmed competition with prizes and tech/brand/celebrity judges.
Bitcoin Awareness at 25% of US Population, Research Shows
Mobile research firm On Device Research recently conducted a survey about the awareness of Bitcoin. As reported by TechCrunch, more than 22,000 U.S. consumers were surveyed in May 2013 to test Bitcoin awareness and trust in the alternative currency.
In the US, 25% of respondents said they were familiar with Bitcoin. Awareness was higher in Argentina (38%) and the UK (32%).
There were also questions probing where respondents used Bitcoins, detailed in the table below. In Argentina, 40% of respondents said they buy electronics with Bitcoin, which was substantially higher than other countries. 11% of all respondents reported spending Bitcoins in a gambling context.
Read more at TechCrunch.
Mt.Gox Now Offering International Wire Transfer to all US Banks
Bitcoin Exchange Mt.Gox Embraces US Banks with ABA Routing
Earlier this week, Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox announced the support of ABA routing number based transfers designed to simplify withdrawals to US based accounts.
Mt.Gox users wishing to withdraw their funds to their US based bank account will now see along side the IBAN, SWIFT/BIC, a new ABA field where they will now be able to put their unique nine digit bank code identifying their branch.
Learn more at Mt.Gox.
Startup Profile: Coingig Launches the eBay Marketplace for Bitcoin
Coingig is part eBay, part Amazon, all Bitcoin
As adoption of Bitcoin rapidly increases, the alternative currency is gaining ground as a payment method for online marketplaces, but primarily only accepted for digital goods. Coingig is a relatively new marketplace that is taking the revolutionary step of only accepting Bitcoin for physical goods.
Coingig is part eBay, part Amazon, all Bitcoin. Individual sellers or small businesses can list physical items for sale, from clothing to electronics and beyond. Sellers price their goods in USD and Coingig automatically updates the price in Bitcoin every 10 seconds. Coingig charges a flat 2.5% fee to sellers, and holds payment in escrow to ensure transactions are successful.
We connected with Kenneth Metral, CEO of Coingig to interview him about his company.
On Bitcoin: When did you create Coingig and what services does it offer?
Kenneth Metral: Coingig.com was launched 2 months ago with the intention of providing an easy and fast platform to allow users to buy and sell products using the new virtual currency bitcoin. Since the day that we opened we have already brought in 1000 products from sellers across the world that are looking to create a bitcoin business fast and easy. Many people compare us to the eBay and Amazon of Bitcoin but with the difference that our fees are pennies compared to what they charge and we allow users to buy and sell products from any part in the world, which is not possible with eBay nor Amazon.
On Bitcoin: What products sell best on your marketplace?
Kenneth Metral: The products in our inventory range from toys to electronics to even outdoor gear. Currently our best selling products are bitcoin t-shirts, stickers, electronics and paintball gear and even toy magnets. Everyday we receive tons of new products added to our inventory so orders come in for practically anything.
On Bitcoin: How has the volatility of Bitcoin impacted your sales?
Kenneth Metral: The volatility of bitcoin was a factor that was thought of when we built our system, when a seller lists a product they set the price they want to sell their item for to the current price of the local currency they choose when they sign up, our system will then automatically update their bitcoin price every 10 secs to the current exchange rate price for that currency. For example, if someone is selling a shirt for $10 USD, they set the price at $10 and it will show the equivalent bitcoin price right next to it, once the seller saves the item it will lock in that price and automatically load its BTC price on the fly without ever touching the price again.
On Bitcoin: What can you tell us about the future for Coingig?
Kenneth Metral: Coingig is still in it’s beta stage but we are growing very fast, with new buyers and sellers joining everyday our marketplace will soon grow to 5,000-10,000 items and housing all the possible products to be able to provide a one stop shop to purchasing goods and services with bitcoin. Our system was built from scratch so we can add any features that our users suggest and by being hosting with Rackspace we provide the fastest possible service to our users with zero downtime. We believe that by providing the best technology, design, and customer service we can become the new Amazon of this generation.
Learn more at Coingig.com
