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Erik Voorhees, a respected Bitcoin entrepreneur who created SatoshiDice and now runs Coinapult, shares his views about MtGox and the future of Bitcoin. More »

Hollywood could learn a lot from Silk Road 2 about heightening stakes and creating suspense in this epic whodunnit thriller where 4000 bitcoins were stolen! More »

In this extensive video, Bitcoin Leah interviews Brock Pierce, Alan Meckler, Sam Cole, and companies including BitGo, GoCoin, Lamassu and more. More »

 

What Bitcoin Is and How It Works: Two Videos

Sometimes videos are best way to learn about new things. We’ve selected two of the best introductory videos on Bitcoin and included them here.

Bitcoin

First, here’s a fun video with a brief primer on Bitcoin, created by Funk-e in collaboration with Bitonic.

For a more advanced video overview, check out this excellent, detailed tutorial by Scott Driscoll who blogs at ImponderableThings.com

Bitcoin Week: Circle, Plastic Surgery, Bitcoin ATM, Ripple, Treasure

Bitcoin News

Here is a roundup of the top Bitcoin news from October 28 to November 4.

Bitcoin startup Circle raised $9 million. The company is run by veteran entrepreneur Jeremy Allaire and has a stellar investor group.

The first Bitcoin ATM from RoboCoin was deployed in Vancouver, Canada.

Plastic surgeons in Miami started accepting Bitcoin for nose jobs and breast augmentations.

After a Norwegian man found over $800K in Bitcoin on his hard drive, we provided some tips for looking for your own digital treasure.

We also covered an interview with Ripple CEO Chris Larsen, and announced our partnership with the upcoming Inside Bitcoins Conference in Las Vegas.

Circle Internet Financial Bitcoin Startup

Tuesday, October 29

Wednesday, October 30

Thursday, October 31

Friday, November 1

Sunday, November 3

 

Miami Plastic Surgeons Accept Bitcoin to Help International Patients

Vanity Cosmetic Surgery offers breast augmentations and liposuction procedures, payable in Bitcoin

In the hit show TV Nip/Tuck, Sean and Christian would go to great lengths to be paid in any means necessary. If that show were still running, the writers might have used Bitcoin to create an elaborate plot about an international digital currency connoisseur.

Vanity Cosmetic Surgery performs a wide variety of plastic surgeries in South Florida, including trans-umbilical breast augmentation (TUBA), liposuction, butt-lift, breast reduction and many other kinds of cosmetic surgeries, and now their surgeons accept Bitcoin.

Since its founding, Vanity has gone through extraordinary lengths to facilitate payment options for their international patients. Now with the implementation of Bitcoin, Vanity is breaking down even more payment barriers.

Vanity says it is the first medical center in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official payment method.

Plastic-Surgery-Bitcoin

Patients may request to pay with Bitpoints, when they call or visit any of their three centers in South Florida. These innovative offering benefits everyone, but especially non-US customers who do not want to exchange their currency for USD.

What does this mean to patients? They can now use their loaded Bitcoin account to pay for a breast augmentation or a nose job, or maybe a laser hair removal treatment. This will definitely transform the way people will choose their doctors in the near future.

 

Nip/Tuck photo from Fanpop.com

Ripple CEO Chris Larsen Talks Western Union, Money, and Bitcoin

Chris Larsen is CEO of Ripple, a hot startup in the digital payments space. In a video interview with Bloomberg, Larsen gave an update on his team’s progress.

Ripple Labs – the company – raised funding from Andreessen Horowitz to build a world-class team, now 28 people. Ripple – the currency – is an open-source network for digital payments. Larsen compares this relationship to Redhat’s with operating system Linux.

Ripple Bitcoin

When asked about Bitcoin, Larsen says that Bitcoin set out to create a new currency with no central bank, while Ripple is an exchange for any currency.

Related: Is the Ripple Network Bitcoin 2.0?

Watch the full video interview from Bloomberg.

 

Circle, A High Profile Bitcoin Startup, Raises $9M with Seasoned Team

“We’re as excited about Bitcoin and digital currency as we were when we first discovered the Internet in 1990.” — Circle launch announcement

Jeremy Allaire is a seasoned entrepreneur. In the late 1990s, he developed the web development platform ColdFusion that was widely adopted and later acquired by Macromedia in 2001. Mr. Allaire then started an online video platform called Brightcove that went public in 2012.

Now Mr. Allaire has raised $9 million for his new venture called Circle, a company that is embracing the Bitcoin revolution.

“Bitcoin and digital currency represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future of the Internet and global commerce,” said Jeremy Allaire, founder and chief executive officer of Circle Internet Financial, Inc. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to make payments easier, more secure and less costly for consumers and businesses. Digital currency can dramatically reduce the friction and costs currently experienced in the world by merchants and consumers.”

Circle Jeremy Allaire Bitcoin

Jeremy Allaire photo by Keith Teare

Circle promises to enable global digital currency and transforming the world economy with secure, simple, and less costly technology for storing and using money. Circle is building a suite of online products for end-users, businesses and charities aimed at enabling greater ease-of-use in online and in-person payments, enhanced security and privacy for consumers, and lower costs for businesses in accepting digital payments.

The Circle platform will be built on top of open protocols such as Bitcoin. Circle has also announced that it is a gold member of the Bitcoin Foundation.

The company’s $9 million Series A funding comes from Jim Breyer, Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners. Jim Breyer will join the Board of Directors of Circle, as will David Orfao of General Catalyst Partners.

“It is rare to find a world-class entrepreneur embarking on a path to bring innovation to the global financial marketplace,” said Jim Breyer, Partner, Accel Partners. “The dramatic global growth in mobile, social and online commerce is creating the need and potential for a real global digital currency. With Jeremy’s vision for Circle and track record as an Internet pioneer, the opportunity here is to potentially build a significant global company. I’m very pleased to be working with Jeremy again.”

Circle Internet Financial Bitcoin Startup

Unlike other companies in the Bitcoin space that have skirted regulatory gray areas, Circle is taking the challenge head on. Circle is regulated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury, as a money transmitter and is seeking appropriate state licenses. Circle also recently hired John Beccia as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Beccia, former Chief Regulatory Counsel for the Financial Services Roundtable in Washington, D.C. brings decades of operating experience in banking, compliance and risk management.

Circle’s funding was first announced in a New York Times profile piece published last night. Read “Bitcoin Pursues the Mainstream“.

Learn more at www.circle.com.