On Bitcoin | Tracking Bitcoin news and the incredible adoption of Bitcoins!

With MtGox effectively dead, Bitcoin can now enter the third stage of evolution, explains BitGo CEO Will O'Brien in an extensive essay. More »

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 »

First Bitcoin ATM Officially Operational in Canada – RoboCoin

October 30, 2013 News

Last month, we reported that Bitcoiniacs, a Canadian retail store, had ordered RoboCoin Bitcoin ATM kiosks and will be deploying them across Canada. This week, in a Bitcoin milestone, the first ever commercial Bitcoin ATM went online in Vancouver.

RoboCoin allows buying and selling Bitcoins from a freestanding kiosk that integrates software, bank grade hardware and security.

“We are incredibly passionate about the product we’ve put together,” said RoboCoin on the occasion. “Robocoin will be the easiest, quickest, most convenient way to both buy and sell bitcoin ever. Say goodbye to pesky bank wires, archaic verification processes, and weeks of waiting time to get money converted. Using only the best bank grade hardware, Robocoin is capable of instantly handling transactions in the thousands of dollars. Not only does this provide incredible convenience for Bitcoin owners, but this also has the potential to change the entire remittance industry.”

The ATM is different from your typical bank machine. The machine accepts cash and delivers Bitcoin, or accepts Bitcoin and provides cash.

This is important because it is difficult for many to get liquidity on their Bitcoin. Signing up for an exchange like Mt.Gox is a lengthy process, involving scanning and submitting your government-issued ID. Other Bitcoin wallets, like Coinbase, make the process easier but there is a limit to liquidity.

This is the first step in what will be a large movement by the Bitcoin ecosystem to bring the digital currency to retail.

On Bitcoin Announces Media Partnership with Inside Bitcoins Conference in Las Vegas

October 29, 2013 Announcements

Inside Bitcoins, Mediabistro’s bitcoin-focused conference that debuted last summer in NYC, is headed to Las Vegas after receiving tremendous interest and positive feedback following the first event.

Taking place in the MGM Grand Las Vegas from December 10-11^th, the conference will explore the current success and buzz surrounding the popular cryptocurrency. At the event, attendees will hear from experts in the bitcoin industry who will discuss the role bitcoins play in the current economy.

The first day of the conference will focus on topics including how to win at the bitcoin exchange ecosystem, creating and funding the next 100 great bitcoin companies, emerging issues in regulatory compliance, and the potential of bitcoin data analysis. Day one will also feature a keynote address by Tradehill founder, Jered Kenna, titled “A State of the Union for Bitcoin.”

Day two promises to offer just as much vital bitcoin information with sessions revolving around themes including Bitcoins in China, the future of free market money, freedom of speech and transaction, bitcoin and the music industry, and how trust and transparency can be brought to the market.

Inside Bitcoins was able to secure an impressive roster of speakers, including Rob Banagale, CEO and co-founder of Gliph; Steve Beauregard, CEO and Founder of GoCoin.com; Robert Cho, Vice President of SecondMarket; Bobby Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of BTC China; Adam B. Levine, Editor-in-Chief of Let’s Talk Bitcoin!; and Ardon Lukasiewicz, Founder of Bitmarkers. View the full speaker list.

The event will also feature exhibitors including Armory, CoinTap, and IDology, Inc. and the evening’s drinks reception provides the ideal forum to network with like-minded peers. Developers, entrepreneurs, investors, finance professionals, bankers, consultants, lawyers, security solution providers, data and payment processors, and online retailers will all be present.

We’re pleased to announce that On Bitcoin is partnering with Inside Bitcoins to offer all readers 15% OFF admission to the innovative Las Vegas event.

To redeem, simply enter code ONBC at checkout. Register Now!

You May Have a Fortune on Your Hard Drive: Recovering Lost Bitcoin

October 29, 2013 News

There’s Gold In Them Hills, and Bitcoin On Your Hard Drive, Maybe

A story published by The Guardian is sweeping the Internet today. It’s about a Norwegian man who found 5,000 Bitcoin in 2009 for $27, and forgot about them until this year only to discover that they are now worth over $800,000.

“Kristoffer Koch invested 150 kroner ($26.60) in 5,000 bitcoins in 2009, after discovering them during the course of writing a thesis on encryption,” explained the Guardian. “He promptly forgot about them until widespread media coverage of the anonymous, decentralised, peer-to-peer digital currency in April 2013 jogged his memory.”

Koch bought an apartment in Toyen with his newfound money.

Losing Bitcoins is Not Uncommon

It turns out that losing Bitcoins is not an uncommon circumstance. Many of the early adopters started mining or trading for Bitcoin back in 2009 and 2010 when the currency had little value. They did not look at Bitcoin as an investment, but rather a social experiment.

One man, in May 2010, offered to pay 10,000 BTC to someone to deliver a pizza to him. That sum is now worth over $2,000,000.

In the early days of Bitcoin, there were no cloud wallets. Bitcoiners used client software that would generate or accept bitcoins and save them into a file on the computer. Imagine the scenarios in which these bitcoins can be lost: file corruption, hard drive crashing, or just disposing an old computer.

One user on a Reddit forum compared his experience to the Norwegian man, “This happened to me but I only walked away with $25k. Still felt like winning the showcase on the Price is Right. I was cleaning up my important folder on one of my hard drives and came across the wallet.dat file.”

How to Recover Lost Bitcoins

The first step in protecting your Bitcoin investment is proper backup. You can use a Bitcoin cloud wallet to store your money or just use regular file backup solutions.

Second, if you think you used Bitcoin in the early days with a client program, search your hard drive for a file named “wallet.dat.”

Finally, if you do have bitcoins stored on your computer and your hard drive gets corrupted, then here is a list of free software to help you recover what might be a small fortune.