Monthly Archives: February 2014

Swedish Bitcoin exchange Safello gets $600K investment

Posted on 17th February, 2014

Although Swedish Bitcoin exchange Safello is relatively new to the European market, it appears to have gained the attention of some major investors. Notable Bitcoin venture capitalists Erik Voorhees, Roger Ver and Blockchain.info CEO Nicolas Cary recently signed deals to provide some $600,000 to the company, which has only been active since August of 2013. […]

Mt.Gox claims withdrawals to resume soon

Posted on 17th February, 2014

In a statement released earlier today, Mt.Gox announced plans unfreeze customer accounts “soon.” The announcement follows a terrible week for Mt.Gox, as Bitcoin prices on the troubled exchange tumbled to $220 over the weekend, over $400 lower than the values on the other major exchanges. On Saturday, Mt.Gox froze internal trading on the site while […]

Suspicious SPAM: The 1 Satoshi Mystery

Posted on 16th February, 2014

While the transaction malleability bug, DDoS attacks and massive problems at Mt.Gox have snagged many headlines this week, another mystery has been on the minds of Bitcoin experts: What’s with the flood of 1 Satoshi (0.00000001BTC) transactions being sent to random wallets? Bryan Chaffin at The Mac Observer takes a look at the situation, and […]

Plummet: Mt.Gox Bitcoin value drops below $250, may be hacked

Posted on 16th February, 2014

Bitcoin values at troubled Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange plunged below $250 today, well under the $620 average seen on most other exchanges this morning. Given the rough week that Mt.Gox has had, the exact cause behind the latest price drop is difficult to pinpoint. One strong candidate, however, is the growing rumor that Mt.Gox itself was […]

Feds lose $31 million from seized Silk Road Bitcoins

Posted on 15th February, 2014

In October of last year, the FBI seized 144,336 Bitcoin from accounts belonging to the Silk Road black market site. By the start of 2014, those coins were valued at around $114 million. Unfortunately, Bitcoin’s value has taken quite a hit in recent months, resulting in a net loss to the Federal government of nearly […]

BitPay announces Bitcore, new open-source project for Bitcoin apps

Posted on 15th February, 2014

Bitcoin processor BitPay announced the beta launch of a new project called Bitcore yesterday. According to the project homepage, “Bitcore is a complete, native interface to the Bitcoin network, and provides the core functionality needed to develop apps for bitcoin.” BitPay’s announcement provided a few key details about the fundamental concept behind Bitcore, explaining: At […]

Mt.Gox halts internal deposits

Posted on 15th February, 2014

Earlier this week, Mt.Gox suspended all Bitcoin withdrawals from the site, citing vulnerabilities to the “transaction malleability” glitch, preventing customers from removing their funds from the site. Today, the Tokyo-based exchange took things a step further, blocking all deposits and internal transfers for a “short site maintenance update.” From the Mt.Gox press release: In order […]

What the new Obama rules on marijuana money means for Bitcoin

Posted on 15th February, 2014

Yesterday, the Obama administration announced new guidelines allowing the banking industry to do business with legal marijuana sellers. While this is clearly a game changing moment for the mainstream financial sector, the implications for the growing Bitcoin market will also be significant. To understand why, it’s worth remembering that Bitcoin first entered the mainstream consciousness […]

Report: Transaction malleability, hour by hour

Posted on 15th February, 2014

Last week’s transaction malleability scare made international headlines, once again bringing Bitcoin into the mainstream news. It was the cited cause of the total collapse of Silk Road 2.0, the glitch that forced both Mt.Gox and Bitstamp to freeze user accounts for a few days, and it put massive downward pressure on global Bitcoin value. […]

Report: Bitcoins more likely to be spent than hoarded

Posted on 14th February, 2014

According to a recent infographic report in the MIT Technology Review, “hoarded” Bitcoins account for only a tiny fraction of the overall volume of the currency. The overwhelming majority of newly mined coins are spent within 24 hours, the report says, casting doubt on the relevance of the 2012 reports claiming that 78% of the […]