All Bitcoin transactions require that each transfer be confirmed by a Bitcoin miner. In order to make it worth the miner’s while to include the transaction in a mining block, miners are rewarded with small amount of Bitcoin called “transaction fees.” These fees are set by the core developers, and as the price of Bitcoin […]

Following in the footsteps of Thailand, China and other countries in the region, Vietnam’s central bank issued a new warning on the dangers of Bitcoin today. The statement explained that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are not legal tender in Vietnam, and are not permitted as a form of payment within the country. The statement […]

While Bitcoin prices eroded this week due to the worsening situation at the now-bankrupt Mt.Gox, demand in China appears to be surging. According to a report on the Wall Steet Journal‘s MarketWatch, China is currently experiencing a “gold rush” for Bitcoin. On Friday, while fans in Hong Kong embraced the opening of the first bitcoin […]

Mt.Gox CEO Mark Karpeles ended weeks of speculation today, formally announcing at a press conference in Tokyo that his long-troubled Bitcoin exchange will be filing for bankruptcy protection. The filing claims that Mt.Gox has an outstanding debt of ¥6.5 billion, or roughly $63.6 million. Karpeles also confirmed the loss of roughly 750,000 customer Bitcoins, as […]

Earlier this month, two Florida men were charged with in an alleged Bitcoin-based money-laundering scheme. Today, an attorney for one of the men argued that the Florida law they were being charged under wasn’t applicable, noting that the law only applies to money issued by the U.S. or other countries. As a decentralized, completely virtual […]

Responding to questions about the closure of Tokyo-based Mt.Gox, Japan’s Senior Vice Finance Minister Jiro Aichi told reporters that international collaboration would be necessary to regulate the currency. Aichi added that Bitcoin does not fall under his agency’s jurisdiction, as it does not involve coins or notes issued by the Bank of Japan. Under that […]

In less than two years, Coinbase has gone from providing a humble 13,000 Bitcoin wallets to an eye-popping 1 million. The San Francisco-based company officially celebrated their millionth download earlier today. According to the official Coinbase blog, that’s a growth rate of 7,592.31%. Coinbase is actually the second Bitcoin wallet provider to cross the million […]

“The Fed doesn’t have authority to supervise or regulate Bitcoin in any way,” Federal reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said today. Speaking to the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen was asked about the virtual currency by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who called yesterday for a Federal ban on Bitcoin. While she noted at the Fed was “looking […]

The West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, recently unveiled a new Bitcoin ATM. The mall is the largest in North America, and serves as a major tourism destination in Alberta, with 30.8 million shoppers passing through its doors every year. The Robocoin-made ATM is the first in the region, and is owned and operated by […]

Is Bitcoin “disruptive” enough to the U.S. economy to merit a federal-level ban? According to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), it is. In a strongly worded letter to the Treasury, Federal Reserve and other related financial agencies, Manchin called for the outright prohibition of “this dangerous currency” before it can harm American consumers. Manchin’s letter […]