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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 »
Boost VC Launches Bitcoin Fund and Accelerator Program
Boost Bitcoin Fund and Accelerator
There are lots of startups getting into Bitcoin, from networks like Ripple to exchanges like BitInstant. Now there’s a new fund designed to support Bitcoin startups, called Boost Bitcoin Fund.
Adam Draper, Founder & CEO of Boost VC, announced the Boost Bitcoin Fund on his blog.
Bitcoin, the decentralized, ungoverned currency has become an obsession of mine. Almost all of my blog posts have been about it, and almost all of my meetings in the last 3 months have been in reference to it. Bitcoin is the most exciting innovation that is happening in the world today. That is why we here at Boost VC are excited to announce the Boost Bitcoin Fund.
The Boost Bitcoin Fund is a follow-on, or “start” fund for Bitcoin companies that graduate from the Boost accelerator program. The fund will provide each Bitcoin company in the summer cohort with a $50k investment after completing the program in September, in addition to the $15k invested by Boost VC. The fund is anchored by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Rothenberg Ventures, The Bitcoin Opportunity Fund and Ben Davenport. This impressive set of investors have already established themselves as true “thought leaders” in the alternative currency space, and I’m incredibly excited to have them onboard.
The idea for the fund came together 3 months ago when we decided to accept 5-7 Bitcoin companies into our summer session. We received incredibly positive responses from the investment community following our announcement, and as a result, decided to put together this follow on fund for this cohort of companies. Interest was so strong that the capital came together in a week! These awesome investors have partnered with Boost in the hope of producing the next generation of Bitcoin entrepreneurs and innovators. We’re committed to pushing Bitcoin toward becoming the next digital frontier.
As an added bonus one fourth of this fund will be invested as Bitcoin into the startup companies.
Mining Bitcoins with the $15,000 Cryonic Bitcoin FrostBit
Bitcoin Mining Taken to the Next Level
Mining Bitcoins today requires a powerful computer, and the next frontier in Bitcoin mining seems to be dedicated hardware. One of the latest machines to come to market specializing in Bitcoin mining is the Cryonic Bitcoin FrostBit, which also comes with a $15,000 price tag.
TechCrunch interviewed Fahad Koumaiha, CEO of Cryoniks.
It’s the first time a ‘PC’ has been built for consumers with built-in liquid nitrogen generators. We use helium compression technology to super-cool condensers that in turn condense nitrogen air into its liquid form. There’s nothing even remotely similar available to the consumers. By sustaining cryonic temperatures we were able to achieve superconductivity with our custom designed ASIC processors. Not only do we get a huge boost in speed, but we cut down power consumption to around 2800W per unit; significantly less than anything on the market today.
Via TechCrunch.
At Bitcoin HQ, An Interview in the Meditation Room in the UK
Interview at Bitcoin HQ in the UK
“Bitcoin started in the black markets, but people will soon realize they can cut large amounts of costs … It’s a new type of leadership.”
Understanding Bitcoin requires understanding the power users behind the alternative currency.
In the video below is an interview with two young libertarians from the UK sharing their perspective on the impact Bitcoin could have on the global market.
More from IamSatoshi.com.
Through London, Sun and rain, across the bridge, Bit-towers looms ahead, Anarcho- Libertarian, underworld cyber currency, or alternatively, the future.
Door opens and Mohawk welcomes us in. Post 80’s boom, large office complex, now home to upwards of sixty anarchists, activists, occupy members, squatters, hackers, programmers possible genius’s and appreciators of the above.
Upstairs to the Meditation room. We set up camera and get to know our hosts. Open source programmers and developers, stock market players and she sleeping off last nights party. Organic fruit, mineral water, soya milk an’coffee.
About to begin and Mohawk receives a call on his mobile. Grandmother from Brighton calling to ask advice on how to move money without being rinsed by the money transfer co.’s. Mohawk advises elderly lady. Anarcho- Libertarian support for the old and distressed by government. Stereo types are here to be broken.
Amir Taaki begins to speak, enthusiasm and imagination dance. Eyes telling of possible futures. Where people aren’t beholden to banks, untenable taxes, government spying/ snooping. Prophecies of the future or youthful passion, are they mutually exclusive?
From dizzy heights we return to earth. Jonathan Harrison talks of markets, gold, silver, financial solvency and Libertarianism. The language of the economist or banker (almost). Currently involved in negotiations with various leading exchange bureau’s. He points out, most criticisms are coming from institutions that may well lose heavily if Bitcoin becomes established in the “mainstream”. Confidence and pragmatism exist here. This is not an exercise in faith alone.
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.
