Category Archives: News
Winklevoss Twins Invest in Bitcoin Startup BitInstant
Winklevii Invest in BitInstant
“We’re definitely pretty fascinated by it. The classic issue with Bitcoin is that it’s very early days.” — Tyler Winklevoss
The WinkleVoss twins, the two Harvard graduates who sued Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook, have been getting into Bitcoins. First, it was learned that they own 1% of the Bitcoin economy, and today TechCrunch learned that the Winklevii have invested in BitInstant, a Bitcoin startup.
BitInstant, a New York City based startup that operates an online platform for buying and selling Bitcoins, has raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Winklevoss Capital with the participation of other strategic investors including money services veteran David Azar. The investment was closed this past fall, but the Winklevosses are just now publicly announcing it in the lead-up to the Bitcoin Foundation’s 2013 Conference being held in Silicon Valley this weekend.
Via TechCrunch.
Is the Ripple Network Bitcoin 2.0?
Is the Ripple Network Bitcoin 2.0?
Fastco.exist provides an in-depth look at Ripple, a company that calls itself the “world’s first open payment network,” and may be the next big thing for Bitcoin.
Ripple, a platform that just received funding from Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and others, has created both an alternative to Bitcoin and a distributed currency exchange for Bitcoiners (and others) who aren’t comfortable using only Ripple’s currency, known as XRP.
More on the mechanics of Ripple:
The Ripple platform serves two purposes: it’s a distributed open-source payment network, and it’s the home of the newly minted XRP currency. As a payment network, Ripple provides free global payments without chargebacks (minus a $0.0001 per transaction network charge, implemented as a security precaution against hackers), the ability to pay in any currency using a distributed currency exchange, and an open protocol that any developer can use. “The Ripple network is a protocol. It’s like HTTP for money. Users, merchants, anyone can use it for free without a license,” explains OpenCoin co-founder Chris Larsen.
So is it complementary or competitive with Bitcoin?
Ripple isn’t trying to convert all Bitcoin users to dedicated XRP advocates (though that would certainly be nice for OpenCoin). Instead, Larsen sees Ripple as a companion to Bitcoin. “It’s complementary. You can hold your Bitcoin in Ripple. We want to be agnostic to any currency, whether that be a virtual currency, political currencies, or peer to peer currencies,” he says.
Read the full article at Fastco.exist.
Why Bitcoin Excitement is Staying Higher After Crash
After the Bitcoin Crash
Although Bitcoin crashed hard last month, there are reasons to keep excited about Bitcoin, as GigaOm reports:
- Bitcoin is becoming more liquid
Gift card site Gyft has started accepting Bitcoin as payment.
- Real investors are starting to take Bitcoin seriously
This week, the WSJ reported that Fred Wilson’s Union Square Ventures is investing $5 million in Coinbase, a service that provides an online wallet and easy conversion between BitCoin and traditional currencies.
- Bitcoin is getting easier to understand
Forbes reporter Kash Hill kept a day to day diary of how she lived on BitCoin (albeit with difficulty) in San Francisco for a week.
- The government wants a piece of Bitcoin
Commissioner Bart Chilton of the CFTC — the agency that regulates futures contracts – says he’s thinking of regulating BitCoin.
Read the full report at GigaOm.
Top Bitcoin News Last Week: Media, Disruption, Ashton Kutcher, more
Bitcoin News
A roundup of the top Bitcoin news from May 1 to May 11:
Wednesday, May 1
Saturday, May 4
Tuesday, May 7
Saturday, May 11
CC Image by jdlasica.
Arguments Why Bitcoin Will Survive Amidst Negative Media Attention
Bitcoin Media Attention
At a time when much of the media is saying Bitcoin’s best days are in the past, Barry Randall, a contributor for MarketWatch, presents a few arguments why Bitcoin will succeed.
Bitcoin screw-ups have resulted in fewer Bitcoins but never more of them
Despite huge profit motives (both legal and otherwise) the supply of Bitcoins is stable, growing in accordance with the algorithms that define the currency, and outside the control or influence of third parties.
The opportunity cost of Bitcoin is negative
Bitcoin only costs roughly the price of the transaction necessary to convert existing currency and which has appreciated considerably in the four years of its existence. In other words, instead of being penalized for being an early adopter, you’ve thus far been rewarded.
Some observers have complained that this anti-inflationary dynamic encourages hoarding, which in turn reduces Bitcoin’s ability to serve as a “medium of exchange,” one of the necessary attributes of any form of money. But this same dynamic cuts in both directions: in our new world where even the ultra-conservative Japanese feel the need to debase their own currency, there is huge utility in adopting a currency that by design can’t be debased.
Read the full commentary at MarketWatch.
CC image by zcopley.
