Bitcoin Plaza

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Dollar Weakening Could Propel Bitcoin to $300

The US Dollar, which has been in a massive uptrend since July 2014, has been sliding in recent days after last week’s Federal Reserve meeting. It is now being assumed by market pundits that the Feder

MAR 24 DIGEST: NASDAQ-Powered BTC Marketplace Announced, Russia’s Anti-Bitcoin Law Confirmed for 2015

NASDAQ has agreed to provide the New York-based startup Noble Markets the core technology to power a marketplace for trading bitcoins, Russia’s Ministry of Finance is expected to take measures against

Bitcoin Brokerage Anycoin Direct Expands to an Additional 14 European Countries

Dutch bitcoin and altcoin brokerage Anycoin Direct expands its instant buying and selling service to an additional fourteen – predominantly Eastern European – countries. The move is the result of a ne

Paybase’s Josh Garza Refutes Mt Gox Allegation as ‘Aggressive Claim’ Following Week-Long Funds Freeze

Paybase and GAW Miners founder Josh Garza has defended accusations his exchange has “gone full Mt Gox” after withdrawals were suspended without notice for a week.

Monday, March 23, 2015

CoinTelegraph Greece Launches

CoinTelegraph launches a dedicated site for Greek crypto news as the importance of digital currencies grows around the world.

Cyber•Fund Report: DAOs Will Reach Mass Adoption, Disrupt Politics and Religion by 2025

Cyber•Fund says that Bitcoin will lead to a new cybernetic economy. In a quirky new report, the fund explores how far along this new economy has come and makes some interesting predictions.

First Global Credit Kick Off 20 BTC Trading Competition

A global trading competition with a 20 BTC funded trading account as a prize begins 23 March

Why Third Parties Will Be Eliminated From the Internet (Op-Ed)

Once upon a time, transactions between people were more or less done in person. The druggist you bought methamphetamine from at the pharmacy (yes, meth) had a name and a face. The chap you bought a ca

Bitreserve Expands to India and Mexico; Partners with Mexican Billionaire

Bitcoin bank Bitreserve , founded by CNET founder Halsey Minor in 2013, shields its customers from the volatility of bitcoin by instantly locking deposits to a fiat currency selected by the customer, for example the US dollar. If you make a deposit in bitcoin to Bitreserve, you don’t have to worry about volatility, because your bitcoin can be converted to dollars on-the-fly and appear as dollars in your balance. So Bitreserve users don’t lose money if the exchange rate of bitcoin goes down – if they have chosen to convert part of their holdings to, say, $1,000 USD, they will continue to have $1,000 USD in their account regardless of any fluctuations of bitcoin value.

Of course, the reverse is also true: if the exchange rate of bitcoin goes up, you don’t make money. But today risk-averse bitcoin users are scared of volatility and many fear that bitcoin will continue to dive as it has done in 2014. In the harsh reality of today’s economy, most individuals and small businesses must carefully manage their finances, and are unable to tolerate even a small degree of volatility.

“Bitreserve is on a mission to democratize the use of digital currency by protecting businesses and consumers from the risks inherent in the bitcoin model,” notes a Forbes review quoted on the Bitreserve website.

Bitreserve users can fund their accounts with bitcoin, and can choose to hold their funds as bitcoin or “bitcurrencies” permanently pegged to gold or to a growing list of fiat currencies, including dollars, euros, pounds, yen, and yuan. Users who choose to convert their bitcoin are still able to send bitcoin payments to other Bitreserve users or external bitcoin addresses, but their bitcoin holdings fluctuate with exchange rates, whereas their converted holdings stay stable.

Recently Bitreserve announced the launch of two new bitcurrencies: the bitrupee (BitINR) and bitpeso (BitMXN), pegged to two key developing world currencies – the Indian rupia and the Mexican peso – now supported by Bitreserve’s cloud money system. Mexican Bitreserve customers will be able to hold their funds in Mexican pesos.

The most interesting part of the Bitreserve announcement is:

“The bitpeso is key to realizing the potential of our partnership with Bitreserve’s largest investor, Ricardo Salinas-Pliego, one of Mexico’s most admired entrepreneurs and the Chairman and CEO of Grupo Salinas, one of Latin America’s largest and fastest-growing business groups.”

Salinas-Pliego is the fourth richest person in Mexico behind Carlos Slim and the 168th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US $8 billion in March 2015.

Grupo Salinas, a group of companies with interests in telecommunications, media, financial services, and retail stores, is a pioneer in bringing basic financial services to the poor and working class through its retail and banking arm Grupo Elektra. According to the official website, Grupo Elektra, Latin America’s leading financial services company, is “focused on the base of the pyramid” – the large mass of Latin American financially disadvantaged citizens and migrant workers in the US. The Bitreserve announcement notes that:

“With over 2,600 retail outlets and bank branches throughout Latin America, Grupo Salinas will be a key partner in bringing the benefits of Bitreserve’s cloud money system to millions of Mexicans working in the US and hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses throughout Latin America.”

The wording of the announcement and the business model of Grupo Elektra imply that Bitreserve wants to grab a slice of the large market for remittances sent from migrant Mexican workers in the US back to their families in Mexico, in partnership with a major financial services company and community bank. The plan combines the faster and cheaper remittances permitted by Bitcoin with the convenience of using the national currency.

The announcement also reveals that Salinas-Pliego is now the main investor in Bitreserve, but the amount of his investment hasn’t been disclosed.

Russian Ministry of Finance: Anti-Bitcoin Law ‘Will Finally Be Passed This Year’

Speaking at the All-Russian Banking Conference, Deputy Minister of Finance Alexey Mioseev stated that the bill proposing penalties for using “monetary surrogates” will finally become law this year.

Million Dollar Hackathon Returns to Austin, Texas

The Texas Bitcoin Association will present the Texas Bitcoin Conference March 27-29, a technological summit to showcase new developments that support Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and its proliferation.

The event will be held at Moody Theater, Home of “Austin City Limits Live,” in Texas’ capital city, and will spotlight the diversity of the Bitcoin community worldwide.

“The Texas Bitcoin Conference is focusing on the blockchain and the many ways Bitcoin can impact finance, business and government beyond just by being a better payment rail,” said Paul Snow, chairman of the Texas Bitcoin Conference.

Conference organizers are working with the College Crypto Network, Bitcoincollege.info, and BitcoinU to make the event appeal to students as well as seasoned developers, entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and enthusiasts.

“We are bringing voices new to the Bitcoin Community, like George Gilder author of ‘Wealth and Poverty;’ John Allen, adviser for the Festival of HOPE’ and IBM’s Sumabala P Nair, the architect of IBM’s Internet of Things architecture ADEPT,” said Steven Wilkinson, manager of the Texas Bitcoin Association.

Other prominent leaders in the Bitcoin community who will be speaking include James D’Angelo, founder and host of World Bitcoin Network; Bruce Fenton, founder of Bitcoin Association; former Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman’ Shawn Wilkinson, founder and lead developer of the Storj Project’ Steven Sprague, CEO of Rivetz; Charlie Shrem, co-founder and CEO of BitInstant; and Paul Snow, president of the Texas Bitcoin Association.

The conference will include the Bitcoin 2.0 Million Dollar Hackathon, where teams will compete for more than $1 million in prizes and contracts. Organizers will also release their call for papers that focus on greater technological information about Bitcoin.

“The 1st Texas Bitcoin Hackathon led the charge for developer participation in Bitcoin conferences, and served as a launching point for our platform. We look forward to the next one!” said Shawn Wilkinson, founder of Storj.

“The Texas Crypto 2.0 Hackathon is designed to empower the next generation of decentralized applications using blockchain technology to become reality,” added David Johnston, managing director of the Dapps Venture Fund.

Conference sponsors are Rivetz, GoCoin, Cryptocurrency Partners, Decentralized Applications Fund, Lighthouse Partners, Tally Capital, Digital Currency Council, Uber and Lyft.

Tickets and registration information can be found at http://ift.tt/18hNrY6.

Synereo Kicks Off Crowdsale for its ‘Decentralized Facebook’ Platform

Synereo, a next generation decentralized and distributed social network, will commence its crowdsale of AMPS on March 23, 2015 at 8:00 PM GMT.