Darkwallet’s Cody Wilson has been denied shipping support from FedEx over a 3D printer device, which allows anyone to manufacture anonymous firearms at home.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Cody Wilson’s ‘Ghost Gunner’ 3D Printer Shipments Blocked by FedEx
Darkwallet’s Cody Wilson has been denied shipping support from FedEx over a 3D printer device, which allows anyone to manufacture anonymous firearms at home.
FEB 25 DIGEST: First 2-Way BTM in Poland, Tails Adds Bitcoin Wallet
Poland welcomes its first two-way Bitcoin ATM in Warsaw, Magic's new Bitcoin concierge service, Tails implements Electrum Bitcoin client, industry insiders hire major ad agency to rebuild Bitcoin imag
WordPress Drops Bitcoin Payment Option, Says it 'May' Return
WordPress has removed its Bitcoin payment option and it has given a non-committal answer when asked if it will return.
Poland Welcomes Its First Two-Way Bitcoin ATM
Bitcoinomat.pl, a project aiming to create the largest Bitcoin ATM network in Poland and abroad, announces it had successfully set up the first two-way Bitcoin ATM in Poland located in the city center
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
German Fidor Bank Brings Bitcoin to Mainstream Banking, Expands Overseas
German Bitcoin exchange bitcoin.de and Fidor Bank have announced a new “Bitcoin Express” option for Fidor Bank customers to buy and sell bitcoin instantly on the exchange.
The new option addresses the delays involved in exchange transactions. Bitcoin exchanges like BitStamp, which are not licensed banks, must often wait hours or even days for a transaction to be cleared by an external bank. But because Fidor Bank is fully licensed, it is able to provide a direct interface to the mainstream banking system, eliminating transaction delays.
As a result, holders of a “Fidor Smart Giro Account” are now able to purchase bitcoin directly from a bank account and receive bitcoin immediately after the purchase. They can also sell bitcoin to another Smart Giro Account holder and have the money instantly credited to their account. Since the money is always in the user’s bank account, customers don’t have to worry about the possible insolvency – or dishonest behavior – of an external exchange operator.
The Smart Giro Account is a full bank account with all the standard features, including interest on credit balances and a low-cost credit card. The latter is, in practice, equivalent to a card that can be recharged with bitcoin.
Oliver Flaskämper, board member of bitcoin.de, said, “That is not only good news for all Bitcoin fans, but also good news for fintech companies based in Germany. “
Fidor Bank CEO Matthias Kroener commented: “The prompt conducting of [Bitcoin transactions] from one bank customer to another bank customer enhances security massively. As such Fidor Bank is setting a further milestone in digital banking.”
In related news, Fidor Bank disclosed plans to expand to the U.S. market. Kroener praised U.S. authorities’ open and pragmatic middle-of-the-road approach to Bitcoin regulation.
Kroener is persuaded that traditional U.S. banks are losing their appeal, especially among younger generations, because they don’t offer the innovative services that today’s tech-savvy consumers demand.
“The reason that a lot of very successful fintech startups are happening in the U.S. is not only because there are so many talented people setting up those businesses. It is also because there is a huge gap in innovative services.”
Fidor Bank is known as a modern Internet Bank and an early adopter of new trends in fintech with innovative services for connected consumers. Fast Company named Fidor Bank one of the world’s top 10 most innovative companies of 2015 in personal finance, and described it as a social bank that leverages cutting-edge technology to respond to customer wishes.
Fidor Bank’s fintech community website invites developers, notably dubbed “Pirates of Banking,” to become “part of reshaping the post-crisis banking industry through cutting-edge technology instead of doing the minimum to be compliant.” The deployment of innovative fintech services in the U.S. market could boost the mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin and the digital economy as a whole.
Decentral Announces 2015 Canadian Blockchain and Fintech Expo
Decentral, Toronto’s home to tech start-ups, announced it’s organizing the 2015 Canadian Blockchain and Fintech Expo for the second week of September as a follow up to last year’s successful Bitcoin Expo.
Toronto will again play host to Bitcoin enthusiasts as event organizers assemble a growing list of all-star speakers for the Expo, including Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood and Anthony Di Iorio of Ethereum, David Johnston of DApps Fund, Matthew Roszak of Tally Capital, Brock Pierce of ChangeTip, Tether, and the Bitcoin Foundation, David Bailey of BTC Media, Joel Dietz of Swarm, Paul Snow of Factum, Shawn Wilkinson of Storj, Jason King of Sean’s Outpost, Jamie Robinson of QuickBT, Jeff Coleman of Kryptokit, William Mougayar of Start-Up Management, Michael Terpin of Social Radius, and Gerald Cotten of QuadrigaCX.
Event organizer Anthony Di Iorio explained that response from last year’s Expo prompted the follow-up conference for this fall, adding September was chosen to avoid conflicts with summer holiday schedules.
“Given the amazing feedback we received from the previous event, it was decided that we’d to go for it again this year. Toronto is a great location for events like this, especially since such a large percentage of the Canadian population is within a five-hour drive of Toronto. It is also such a prominent financial and technology center that it just simply makes sense to hold an event here again,” Di Iorio told Decentral.
The event will also feature a two-day hackathon that will be held along with Canadian university students. Stepan Vorobiev, head of the University of Toronto Decentralized Tech Association, said the hackathon would help create a “clear vision with definitive actions on how to integrate these technologies into the current system,” Decentral reported.
Di Iorio organized last year’s Expo, which attracted over 50 speakers from across the globe and more than 700 attendants. Decentral will announce further information and updates, including Expo dates and location on its website. http://decentral.ca
Media and partnership information for the Expo is available by contacting Di Iorio at anthony@decentral.ca.
Dor Konforty: Synereo is the ‘Natural Next Step’ After Facebook
Dor Konforty is the CEO of Synereo, a “next generation” decentralized social network that incorporates blockchain technology to overcome problems associated with centralized social networks such as pr
FEB 24 DIGEST: Blockchain.info Reaches 3 Millionth Wallet, Bitcoin Payment Option Disappears from WordPress
Wallet service provider Blockchain.info hits the three million bitcoin wallet mark on its platform, BTC payment option disappears from WordPress, ex-Mintpal CEO Ryan Kennedy arrested in the UK and oth
Bitcoin and Magic: Is Decentralized Shipping Coming?
Apparently one need only text the word “Magic” to (408) 217-1721 anywhere in the U.S., and if it's available for purchase, a new service called Magic will deliver it to your door on demand. All payabl
Blockchain Aids Investigators as Ex-Mintpal CEO Arrested in the UK
Ex-CEO of the now-defunct exchange Mintpal, Ryan Kennedy, has had his arrest confirmed over non-compliance with a court order requiring him to repay 750 BTC to one of his customers.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Bitrated Unveils Reputation System and Multisig Escrow
Bitrated has announced an online reputation management system for its multi-signature (multisig) escrow service for bitcoin payments. The two innovations combined provide unprecedented consumer protection to Bitcoin users, buyers and sellers alike.
Bitrated‘s bitcoin payment service uses multisig transactions where a trusted third party (trust agent) is nominated to resolve disputes and reverse payments in case of fraud. Two out of three signatures are required to unlock a payment: the seller’s, the buyer’s and the trust agent’s. So if the buyer is happy with the purchased goods or services, the payment can be unlocked by the buyer and the seller alone, with no intervention required from the trust agent. Otherwise, the trust agent will arbitrate the dispute for a fee, and eventually take either the side of the seller, in which case the payment will proceed, or the buyer, in which case the escrowed bitcoin will go back to the buyer.
With multisig, the trust agent is not able to take the money and run, because the payment address is fixed and any decision of the trust agent must still be validated by the seller or the buyer. But as usual, the devil is in the details: a dishonest trust agent could collude with a dishonest seller – or buyer – behind the scenes. Bitrated’s reputation management system addresses this problem.
“We believe that Bitrated holds the key to the next wave of Bitcoin consumer adoption,” said Bitrated CEO Nadav Ivgi . “While disputes about e-commerce are usually settled in a fairly easy process, Bitcoin transactions still hold a major risk of fraud. The new reputation management system is a huge leap forward in consumer protection when combined with the secure payment system, and it can help bring Bitcoin one step closer to the massive numbers of users in e-commerce.”
Bitrated created a marketplace for arbitration services where trust agents can compete for customers by providing quality dispute resolution services, utilizing their domain expertise, building a reputation and offering competitive fees.
“Because trust agents never hold user funds in escrow, we can greatly reduce compliance costs, lower the entry barriers, encourage competition and allow smaller and specialized players to participate in a way that was never possible before.”
To join Bitrated, users need to create a profile like this and link their social network accounts. At this moment, reputation scores are mostly based on the various karma systems and number of friends/followers on the social networks. Later, it’s to be expected that reputation scores will be based on user reviews, successfully completed transactions and dispute resolutions on the Bitrated system itself.
To create a new trade, buyers need to specify what they are buying (a description of the product or service, delivery method and other agreed upon terms), the price in bitcoin, the user name of the seller (an external email address can also be used, in which case the seller will receive an invitation to join Bitrated), a refund bitcoin address, and the user name of the trust agent. Trust agents, who can be found in the Bitrated user database, can specify their fees: a base fee (for example 0.5%) and a dispute resolution fee (for example 2%). If the system catches on, top-rated trust agents whose services are in demand could earn significant fees.
Bitrated is a very welcome addition to the Bitcoin ecosystem, and one that meets an important need. It can be seen as an open and transparent alternative to the native escrow and reputation systems of specific Bitcoin marketplaces – where often escrow and dispute resolution are provided by the operator itself. Bitrated, which is essentially a public marketplace for arbitration services with a crowd-sourced reputation system, is a good solution to manage trust issues in the digital economy.
This Week on Decentral Talk Live
Decentral Talk Live features a diverse collection of guests this week from all over the decentralized and disruptive technology community. Topics include security and regulatory compliance, publishing, branding, web-development, and building features on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
Balancing security and privacy with regulatory compliance is a tricky business when it comes to digital currencies. This week, DTL talks with Amber Scott, founder and “Chief AML Ninja” of Outlier Services. Scott is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a Certified Privacy Professional (CIPP) with a degree in psychology from the University of Waterloo, where she helped develop the first applied psychology course on criminal profiling. In 2013, she founded Outlier Solutions to provide AML and CTF compliance for financial services (including casinos, insurance, accountants, real estate, securities/investments, digital currencies and more). Among other security-related topics, Scott delves into the complex world of financial regulation and gives tips on dealing with banks — always a tricky problem for Bitcoin companies.
Craig Sellars, the CTO of the Mastercoin Foundation, joins DTL to discuss its communications protocol. Mastercoin uses the Bitcoin blockchain to enable features such as smart contracts, user currencies and decentralized peer-to-peer exchanges. A common analogy used to describe the relation of the Master Protocol to Bitcoin is that of HTTP to TCP/IP. Like the Master Protocol, HTTP is the application layer for the more fundamental transport and internet layers of TCP/IP, such as Bitcoin.
As co-founder and CTO of Tether, Sellars also answers questions about this fiat currency token platform on the Bitcoin blockchain. Tether aims to provide a quick and secure way to store, send and receive real-world currency as if it were bitcoin.
Themes for this week will also include communication and marketing in the Bitcoin space.
Rik Willard, CEO of MintCombine, a think tank and product lab delivering blockchain solutions for brands and causes, will talk about the challenges of navigating the complex economic environment of emerging decentralized digital engagement ecosystems.
Mitchell Callahan, Founder and COO at Saucal, will provide insight into his Bitcoin & web application development firm.
Jeffrey Tucker, Chief Liberty Officer of Liberty.me, a subscription-based, action-focused social and publishing platform for the liberty minded, will share his enthusiasm for sharing and promoting ideas that support freedom.
Decentral Talk Live airs new episodes at 3 pm EST, Monday through Friday, on decentral.tv.
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