Category Archives: Bitcoin

I'm a big fan of Bitcoin Regulation of money supply needs to be depoliticized.

-Al Gore, Former US Vice President and Winner of Nobel Peace Prize

You want money to be based on something that no government mandarin can wish into existence with the stroke of a pen.

-Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com CEO

Bitcoin is a technological tour de force.

-Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-Founder

I think the Internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government. The one thing that's missing, but that will soon be developed, is a reliable e-cash.

-Milton Friedman, Winner of Nobel Prize in Economics

We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error.

-Tyler Winklevoss, Facebook Forerunner

Every informed person needs to know about Bitcoin because it might be one of the world's most important developments.

-Leon Louw, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

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Bitcoin | Overstock.com: Now Accepting Bitcoins

UK bank Barclays has suspended the account of local cryptocurrency news resource Coinjournalwithout warning or explanation, it emerged today.

Also read:BitPay Offers Financial Services to RT Following Bank Account Freeze

In a tweet earlier Thursday, journalist Kyle Torpey stated it seemed the bank had suspended Coinjournals account for using and being associated with [Bitcoin].

The move follows similar complaints about Barclays blocking transactions related to Bitcoin trading this week. The bank is already known for its sporadic shutdowns of accounts associated with entitiesdealing in Bitcoin.

Speaking to Bitcoin.com, Coinjournal founder Oliver Carding said the decision had taken the business by surprise.

Considering the size of or business and the amount of money involved, we are surprised that weve been considered high risk, he said, adding that Barclays gaveno warning of the impending block.

When asked for more information about which rule wed broken they would not give us explicit information and referred us to their terms and conditions, he explained.

Its not just businesses which Barclays hasstung withits latest move. One Localbitcoins trader told Bitcoin.com that transactions from their private account to users settling trades had been disrupted since the beginning of the week.

Having received a message via the banks online banking service stating transactions were being delayed, a telephone conversation sawBarclays avoid direct comment.

They did not even mentioned fraud or anything; the last representative I spoke to didnt give a proper answer, the user said. They just said that the account that Im trying to send money too has been blocked and that there are issues with Barclays.

Elsewhere, Barclays has given mixed messages regardingits stance on blockchain technology. In contrast to its seemingly suspicious treatment of Bitcoin, the bank has joined many other legacy institutions in championing blockchainspotential.

In February, Head of Open Innovation Arian Lewis even went as far as to question whether Barclays was really a tech company. On the topic of Blockchain innovation in Africa, Lewis added that the technology could be the most significant social and political innovation to impact Africa in 100 years.

However, such evangelism provides little meaning for the banks marooned account holders.

Its a very familiar tale unfortunately and its a huge hindrance for adoption worldwide, not just in the U.K, Carding concluded.

He added Coinjournal was in the process of reaching out to contacts in the cryptocurrency space and hoped to have a resolution worked out in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, the publication is soliciting bitcoin donations to help keep the website operating.

What do you think about Barclays move to block Bitcoin-related accounts? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images via Shutterstock, Barclays

If you would like more information on the UKs history in regulating Bitcoin business, search our News section or post your queries in the Bitcoin.com Forum.

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Did Barclays Just Declare War on Bitcoin Users?

Bitcoin is the simplest way to exchange money at very low cost.

Bitcoin on mobiles allows you to pay with a simple two step scan-and-pay. No need to sign up, swipe your card, type a PIN, or sign anything. All you need to receive Bitcoin payments is to display the QR code in your Bitcoin wallet app and let your friend scan your mobile, or touch the two phones together (using NFC radio technology).

Bitcoin transactions are secured by military grade cryptography. Nobody can charge you money or make a payment on your behalf. So long as you take the required steps to protect your wallet, Bitcoin can give you control over your money and a strong level of protection against many types of fraud.

Just like with email, you don't need to ask your family to use the same software or the same service providers. Just let them stick to their own favorites. No problem there; they are all compatible as they use the same open technology. The Bitcoin network never sleeps, even on holidays!

Sending bitcoins across borders is as easy as sending them across the street. There are no banks to make you wait three business days, no extra fees for making an international transfer, and no special limitations on the minimum or maximum amount you can send.

There is no fee to receive bitcoins, and many wallets let you control how large a fee to pay when spending. Most wallets have reasonable default fees, and higher fees can encourage faster confirmation of your transactions. Fees are unrelated to the amount transferred, so it's possible to send 100,000 bitcoins for the same fee it costs to send 1 bitcoin.

With Bitcoin, there is no credit card number that some malicious actor can collect in order to impersonate you. In fact, it is even possible to send a payment without revealing your identity, almost like with physical money. You should however take note that some effort can be required to protect your privacy.

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Bitcoin for Individuals - Bitcoin

NEW YORK Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange.

Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses.

But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition.

"Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment."

The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote.

Brian Klein, a lawyer for Murgio, said he disagreed with the decision.

"Anthony Murgio maintains his innocence and looks forward to clearing his name at his upcoming trial," he added.

Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it.

Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people.

That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said.

Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed.

The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft)

WASHINGTON Tesla Motors Inc Thursday sued Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and other state officials in federal court over the state's refusal to allow the Palo Alto, California automaker to sell vehicles directly to consumers.

FRANKFURT Samsung Electronics aims to re-launch its flagship Note7 smartphone across Europe well before year-end, but it could well be 2017 before the company fully rebounds from a global product recall tied to defective batteries, a regional executive said on Thursday.

Gaming and gambling are among potential growth areas for Formula One as the sport's new owners seek to develop largely untapped digital markets, Liberty Media chief executive Greg Maffei said on Thursday.

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Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan ...

A bitcoin egy nylt forrskd digitlis fizeteszkz, amelyet 2009. janur 3-n egy ismeretlen (frumos nevn Satoshi Nakamoto) bocstott ki, kzvetlenl a 2008-as amerikai bankvlsg kirobbansa utn. Az elnevezs vonatkozik tovbb a fizeteszkzt kezel nylt forrskd szoftverre, s az azzal ltrehozott elosztott hlzatra is.

A tbbi elektronikus fizeteszkztl eltren a bitcoin nem fgg kzponti kibocstktl s hatsgoktl. A bitcoin a peer-to-peer hlzat csompontjai ltal trolt elosztott adatbzisra tmaszkodik. Az adatbzis tartalmazza a fizetsek adatait, garantlva az elektronikus fizeteszkzkkel szembeni alapvet kvetelmnyeket. A biztonsgot digitlis alrsok s proof-of-work rendszer adja.[2]

A bitcoinok biztonsgosan trolhatk egy pnztrcafjlban, szemlyi szmtgpen, mobiltelefonon, kls adathordzkon, vagy felh alap szolgltatknl, kldskhz s fogadsukhoz pedig csak a kld illetve a fogad bitcoincme szksges. A peer-to-peer felpts s a kzponti irnyts hinya megakadlyozza brmilyen hatsg szmra, hogy a forgalomban lev pnzmennyisget s tranzakcikat kontrolllja vagy befolysolja, ami lehetetlenn teszi a manipulcit s inflci gerjesztst.

Nem hivatalos jellege miatt ISO kdja nincs, de ltalnosan hasznlt megjellse a BTC.

A bitcoint szmos erre specializldott devizatzsde weblapon lehet amerikai dollrra s nhny ms devizra tvltani, illetve vissza, fizetsnl online es "offline" kereskedk/szolgltatk egyarnt elfogadjk, szmuk jelentsen n. Egyes szolgltatk lehetv teszik kereskedk szmra bitcoin elfogadst olyan mdon, hogy a keresked azonnal dollrban vagy egyb szoksos devizban kapja meg a bevtelt. Ezen kvl hasznlhat kzrdek felajnlsokra egyes szervezeteknl.[3]

Mivel a fizets nem egy kzponton keresztl zajlik, a mr megtrtnt tranzakcik visszafordtsra nincs md, szemben a hagyomnyos banki rendszerekkel, ahol csals gyanja esetn, vagy egyb okokbl a bankok s ms pnzintzetek sztornzhatjk a korbban jvhagyott kifizetst.

Ellenttben az orszgok ltal kibocstott fizeteszkzkkel, a bitcoinnak nincs kzponti kibocstja, amely az rfolyam stabilits vagy egyb rdekek szerint intervencit, vagy egyb akcit hajtana vgre.[4] 2013 novemberig valamivel tbb mint 12 milli bitcoin jtt ltre, ezt a szmot a hlzat algoritmikusan hatrozza meg, ahogy azt Nakamoto cikkben lerta. A monetris bvls mrtke elre ismert s brki szmra kvethet, az sszes bitcoinok szma idvel 21 millihoz tart, 2013-ra a teljes mennyisg fele, 2017-re hromnegyede fog rendelkezsre llni. A hatr kzeledtvel a bitcoinok rtke nvekedni kezdhet, deflcihoz vezetve, amennyiben a pnzre a kereslet tovbb n. Ugyanakkor a bitcoinok 8 tizedesjegyig oszthatak, gy ez technikai akadlyt nem jelent, szemben a megszokott pnzeszkzkkel.

A bvls cskken teme sztnzi a korai elfogadkat, akik mg alacsonyabb korai rfolyam mellett jutnak bitcoinokhoz, gy segtve a rendszer sikerre vitelt. A korai elfogadknak ez a kedvezmnyezse szmos kritikt eredmnyezett, gyakran piramisjtkhoz hasonltva a rendszert, m a tmogatk szerint ez az sztnz szksges ahhoz, hogy a hlzat s az infrastruktra beinduljon, egy arnyosabb rszeseds nem ellenslyozn megfelelen azt a kockzatot amit egy j, nem tesztelt fizetsi rendszer hasznlata jelent.[5]

Mivel a tranzakcikat az egsz hlzat fel sztkldik a csompontok, azok teljesen nyilvnosak. Szemben a hagyomnyos pnzgyi intzetekkel, amelyek az gyfelek magnszfrjt a tranzakcikra vonatkoz informcik visszatartsval vdik, ezt a Bitcoin rendszerben az biztostja, hogy a cmek tulajdonosra vonatkoz informcik nem ismertek. Ha pldul Alz kld Bobnak 12 BTC sszeget, akkor a nyilvnos adatok kztt csak az ltszik, hogy kt cm kztt 12 BTC sszeg mozgott. Hacsak valamilyen oknl fogva a rsztvevk nem hozzk nyilvnossgra, hogy az adott cmeknek k a tulajdonosai, szinte lehetetlen ket sszekapcsolni. Ugyanakkor ha egy cmrl egyszer mr kiderlt, hogy kihez tartozik, az ahhoz tartoz korbbi tranzakcik is visszakereshetek.

A hlzaton s az elosztottan trolt adatbzisban a tranzakciknl a kifizet s a kedvezmnyezett kizrlag a bitcoincmvel jelenik meg. Ez a cm nem ms, mint egy kriptogrfiai kulcspr publikus fele, amely lehetv teszi a cm tulajdonosnak (aki a privt kulcsot egyedl birtokolja), hogy a cmn lv egyenleg terhre kiadott tranzakcikat alrja. Mivel egy szemly brmennyi cmet ltrehozhat magnak, amelyekrl nem derl ki, hogy egy emberhez tartoznak, a pnz mozgsnak kvetse szinte lehetetlen.

A hlzatot alkot csompontok kztt nincs kiemelt szerep, a jelenlegi megvalsts szerint mindegyikk a teljes adatbzist trolja, gy a rendszer brmekkora szm csompont kiesse esetn is tovbb mkdik.

Az anonimitst s a kzponti kontroll hinyt elnysnek tallhatjk az illeglis zletet folytatk is. A rendszerrel szembeni egyik leggyakoribb kritika szerint mkdse elsegti a trvnytelen zletek lebonyoltst, s emiatt az egsz fizetsi rendszert illeglisnak kell tekinteni.[6] A trvnyessgi agglyokra egy Bitcoint hasznl drogkeresked weblap irnytotta r a figyelmet.[7]

A Bitcoin protokoll a Nakamoto Satoshi cikkben[8] lert s ltala kzztett kliensben megvalstott elveket kveti.

A nyilvnos kulcs digitlis alrs segtsgvel lehetsg van ellenrizni, hogy egy adott cm tulajdonosa valban hozzjrult-e a cmhez tartoz egyenleg terhre trtn fizetshez. Az egyenleg ellenrzse az adott cmre korbban berkez, hasonlkppen alrt tranzakcik lekrdezsvel oldhat meg. A hlzatban rszt vev felhasznlk mindegyiknek van legalbb egy pnztrcja, amelyben helyben generlt nyilvnos-privt kulcsprok tallhatak. Tranzakci alrshoz a kliensprogram a privt kulcsot hasznlja. Fizets fogadshoz a nyilvnos kulcs egy olvashat formjt kell a msik flnek megadni. Ez az olvashat forma ltalban 33 krli szm karakterbl ll, s mindig egyessel kezddik, mint pldul 15VzdkAvVpZsVAhw84esj14GVXbzUm9VTk.

Az alapvet problma a fentiek biztostsa mellett annak megakadlyozsa, hogy valaki a birtokban lv pnzt tbbszr elkltse. Ennek megakadlyozsra az adatbzis 10 percenknt bvl egy-egy blokkal, ahol az j blokkot egy vletlenszeren vlasztott csompont lltja ssze nllan gy, hogy abban ne legyen tlklts. Az adatbzisba gy bekerlt blokkban szerepl tranzakcikat a tbbi csompont megtrtntnek fogadja el.

Mivel a kvetkez blokkot elllt rsztvev kivlasztsa vletlenszeren trtnik, elfordulhat, hogy tbb blokk jn ltre, egyes csompontok pedig a ksbbi blokkok ltrehozshoz nem ugyanazokat az elzmnyeket hasznljk. A hlzat tagjai az ltaluk elrhet blokkok kzl azokat fogadjk el rvnyesnek amelyekbl a leghosszabb lnc llthat el.

Annak rdekben, hogy ezt kihasznlva ne lehessen egy korbban mr elfogadott tranzakcit meg nem trtntt tenni, az j blokkok adatbzishoz adst a protokoll szndkosan nehzz teszi. A csompontoknak egy j blokk kzzttelekor bizonytaniuk kell, hogy jelents szmtsi teljestmnyt ignyl, nehz kriptogrfiai feladatot oldottak meg, ennek megkvetelt mrtke pedig folyamatosan gy van szablyozva, hogy a hlzaton krlbell 10 percenknt egy csompont legyen kpes ezt teljesteni. Ennek eredmnyeknt a hlzaton a tbbsgi dntst a mgttes szmtsi kapacits hatrozza meg. A hlzat feletti ellenrzs tvtelhez legalbb akkora szmtsi teljestmnyre van szksg, ami a hlzat tbb mint felt adja.

A szksges szmtsi teljestmny felajnlsnak sztnzsre minden egyes kzztett blokk utn a kzztev csompont rszesl az jonnan ltrejtt pnzbl, amelyet a sajt cmre rhat. Jelenleg minden blokkrt 25 Bitcoin jr, ez a ksbbiekben cskkenni fog, a protokoll ltal meghatrozott temben. Az gy kiosztott bitcoinok begyjtsre irnyul erfesztsek eredmnyeknt a hivatalos klienstl fggetlen clprogramok jttek ltre, amelyek kizrlagos clja a minl nagyobb szmtsi kapacits hlzatba kapcsolsa s gy ennek a jutalomnak az elnyerse. Ezt a folyamatot szoktk bnyszatnak (mining) nevezni, utalva arra, hogy a nemesfmek bnyszathoz hasonlan j rtkhordoz kerl forgalomba. Jelenleg a kapacits nagy rszt videkrtyk ltalnos cl processzorn fut clprogramok adjk.

Annak rdekben, hogy a 21 millis hatrhoz kzeledve is fenntarthat legyen az sztnzs, lehetsg van a tranzakcikhoz jutalk belltsra. Az egyes blokkokban szerepl tranzakcikhoz tartoz jutalkokat az adott blokkot kzztev node sajt cmre rhatja, gy sztnzve a blokkok ltrehozst. Ez azonban nem ktelez, jelenleg az tranzakcik nagy rsze jutalk nlkl trtnik.

Ahhoz hogy minden cmhez tartoz egyenleg ellenrizhet legyen, a korbbi tranzakcik mindegyikt trolni kell, gy az adatbzis mrete folyamatosan n. A mkdsi elv miatt legalbb nhny csompontnak trolnia kell a teljes adatbzist, de nem kell felttlenl az sszesnek. Jelenleg (2011 jnius) az adatbzis alig pr szz megabjt, gy minden kliens megkapja a teljes msolatot az els indts utn nem sokkal.

Nakamoto elkpzelse szerint ha az adatbzis nagyobb vlik, olyan kliensekre lesz szksg, amelyek az adatbzisnak csak a relevns rszt troljk. Erre a clra egy olyan Merkle fa szolgl, ami lehetv teszi, hogy a kliens az adatbzisnak olyan rszeit eldobja, amikrl tudja, hogy a jvben nem lesz r szksge, mikzben a megmarad rsz kriptogrfiai integritsa megmarad.

Az eredeti nylt forrskd kliens minden nagyobb platformra lefordtott vltozatban is elrhet, a bitcoinok kldshez s fogadshoz szksges minden funkcit tartalmaz, folyamatosan fejlesztik. A blokkok generlsra azonban csak a CPU hasznlatval kpes, GPU-alap generlshoz kln szoftver szksges.

A C++-ban rt kliensen kvl elrhetek ms kliensek is, a projekt kzponti oldaln az rdekldk ttekintst kaphatnak az elrhet alternatvkrl. Az jabb kliensek egy rsze nem ignyli a teljes blokklnc letltst, ehelyett egy tvoli gpen fut teljes bitcoin kliensre tmaszkodik, gy lnyegesen egyszerbben hasznlhat. (pl. Multibit, electrum)

A blokkok kzzttelhez szksges kriptogrfiai feladatok megoldsra klnll, nylt forrskd programok szolglnak, amelyek tbbsge a modern, programozhat grafikus hardvereket hasznlja a hlzat ltal ignyelt nehz kriptogrfiai feladat elvgzsre. Mivel a csompontok nagy szma miatt ma mr egy-egy felhasznlnak elenyszen kis eslye van egy blokkot megoldani s az rte jr jutalmat megszerezni, ezeket a programokat lehetsg van gy belltani, hogy egy szerver irnytsa alatt kzsen dolgozzanak. Ekkor ha az egyttmkd programok kzl egy megtallja a megoldst, a jutalmon osztoznak a rsztvevk.

A Bitcoin f fejlesztje Satoshi Nakamoto lnven publiklta a szoftvert. Ksbb Craig Steven Wright azt lltotta, hogy Satoshi,[9] de ksbb hitelt rdemlen nem tmasztotta ezt al. Sokig hittk, hogy Satoshi Nakamoto egy japn programoz, de ennek ellentmondott precz brit formai angolsga, amivel lerta a rendszert, s az amerikai szlengje, amivel frumozott, ami azt engedi felttelezni, hogy inkbb egy csoport ll a Bitcoin kibocstsa mgtt mintsem egy konkrt szemly. A Bitcoin szoftvert Satoshi Nakamoto eredetileg Windowsra rta csak meg, a linuxos vltozat ltrehozsban nagy szerepet jtszott Martti Malmi.

A legels blokkban az albbi zenet szerepel:

"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"

Ami magyar nyelvre sz szerint fordtva a kvetkezket jelenti:

"The Times 2009. janur 3., a pnzgyminiszter a hatrn van a bankok msodik kisegtsnek."

Megoszlanak a vlemnyek arrl, hogy ez milyen cllal kerlt bele, egyesek szerint csupn idblyegz szerept tlti be (az els blokk a tovbbiakkal ellenttben rtelemszeren nem tud korbbiakra hivatkozni s gy bizonytani, hogy adott idpont utn jtt ltre), msok az zenetet a pnzgyi rendszer kritikjaknt vlik rtelmezni.

A bitcoint folyamatosan szmos kritika ri, jogi, gazdasgi, technolgiai megfontolsok alapjn egyarnt.

A nvnlklisg kivl terep a bnzk szmra: pnzmosshoz, nvtelen zsarolshoz hasznlhat, gyerekporn s illeglis hacker tevkenysg fizetsge lehet, br az amerikai szentus tagjai is megjegyeztk, hogy illeglis tevkenysg folytatshoz a kszpnz a leghatkonyabb fizet eszkz.

A kzponti rszablyozs hinya az rfolyamot nagyon vltozkonny teszi, a teljes monetris bzishoz kpest alacsony forgalom mellett mozg r pedig gyakran szlssges mozgsokat, hirtelen felfutsokat s drasztikus sszeomlsokat eredmnyez. Emiatt s a korai hasznlk ltal birtokolt nagy mennyisg bitcoin miatt szoktk piramisjtkhoz hasonltani a rendszert.

A tranzakcik visszafordthatatlansga egyes esetekben megnehezti a vsrlk tversekkel szembeni vdelmt, valamint a hagyomnyos banki rendszerekkel ellenttben ha valamilyen rosszindulat program eltulajdont bitcoinokat, azokat a hagyomnyos bankszmlkkal ellenttben eslytelen visszaszerezni. Ezt a kritikt azonban a rendszert hasznlk azon az alapon utastjk el, hogy a tradicionlis rendszerekben a kresemny utni kompenzci nem ingyenes, hanem be van ptve a pnzgyi szolgltatk zleti modelljbe. A bitcoin protocol bta, fejleszts alatt ll, tbbek kztt a beptett "escrow" funkci sem aktv mg.

A hlzat biztonsgt garantl s frissen kibocstott bitcoinokkal jutalmazott bnyszs 2013-ra jelents iparr ntt, az egymssal versenyz szereplk hatalmas szmtsi erforrsokat zemeltetnek. Ez hatalmas hardver- s energiaignnyel jr, ami sokak szerint flsleges s tlz trsadalmi kltsg egy fizetsi rendszer fenntartsrt. Ez a kritika sem felttlenl rendelkezik alappal, amg nincs rendelkezsre ll pontos adat a megszokott pnzgyi szolgltatk energia ignyrl, az egsz rendszert figyelembe vve (POS eszkzk, ATM-ek, banki pletek, stb). Ezekkel szemben a bitcoin rendszer llandan zemel, kzpontostatlan mivolta miatt nincs sznet a szolgltatsban.

Ez a szcikk rszben vagy egszben a Bitcoin cm angol Wikipdia-szcikk ezen vltozatnak fordtsn alapul. Az eredeti cikk szerkesztit annak laptrtnete sorolja fel.

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Bitcoin Wikipdia

In brief

Founded in June of 2012, Coinbase is a digital currency wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact with new digital currencies like bitcoin and ethereum. We're based in San Francisco, California.

Bitcoin is the world's most widely used alternative currency with a total market cap of approximately $10 billion. The bitcoin network is made up of thousands of computers run by individuals all over the world.

Adam Draper

Greg Kidd

Garry Tan

Bitcoin & Ethereum are changing how we use and think about money. Coinbase, the most trusted company in the space, is looking for you to join our rapidly growing team.

Open positions

Bitcoin & Ethereum are changing how we use and think about money. Coinbase, the most trusted company in the space, is looking for you to join our rapidly growing team.

Open Positions

We make Bitcoin & Ethereum easy to use, strive to be the trusted brand in the space, and have built the world's leading platform for Bitcoin and Ethereum integration.

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About - Coinbase

Inside a metal shed in the Tibetan highlands of western China, thousands of microprocessors flank narrow corridors, generating a constant hum and stifling waves of heat.

Outside, the sky is clear and blue, with a mountain peak looming at the top of a narrow wooded valley. A flock of goats ambles idly past a pile of discarded foam packaging. Inside, though, tranquility is transformed into clamor. Red, blue and green lights constantly flash; cooling water trickles down the walls, and large ventilation fans thrum as they struggle to shift the hot air produced by all this concentrated computing power.

This is a bitcoin mine, the engine room of the worlds leading digital currency. The microprocessors here approve and record all the transactions that keep the bitcoin system running. They also compete to solve complex mathematical problems and are rewarded with bitcoins: Thats a way of putting fresh digital currency into circulation and incentivizing more people to set up mining operations.

Bitcoin began as a utopian, libertarian dream, a decentralized currency outside the control of governments, a system that gives its users the anonymity of cash and the instant, global power of email. This was a system built not just for convenience, but also for those who cant bring themselves to trust the global financial system, created by a programmer whose identity remains a mystery.

Across Tibet, China is busy pulling mineral resources out of the ground; there is even a gold mine close by. But here in Kongyu, most of the mining is virtual. It is here because of extremely cheap hydropower, cheap wages and perhaps because Chinese entrepreneurs have a knack for the business.

[Chinas scary lesson to the world: Censoring the Internet works]

For a while, bitcoin was effectively kidnapped by drug dealers, becoming the anonymous payment backbone of the Silk Road, a black market in illegal drugs that flourished on the dark Net until the FBI closed that market down in 2013.

Today it is an industry that is starting to come of age, but whose center of gravity has shifted to China, and away from utopian dreamers toward venture capitalists.

When bitcoin was invented, the people dedicated to it were mostly crypto-punks and libertarians, said Eric Mu, the chief marketing officer with HaoBTC, which operates the bitcoin mine in this township in Chinas western Sichuan province. Now they are more like bankers and lawyers who see opportunities in the industry. And as they join, the industry is changing.

In this case, changing also means moving to China.

Today, mines run by Chinese companies account for about 70percent of the worlds bitcoin processing power, its factories produce the cheapest microprocessors to run these mines, and its exchanges account for about 70percent of the worlds bitcoin trade.

It is increasingly big business. Altogether there around more than 15 million bitcoin in existence: Each is worth $615 at current prices, with a market capitalization of $9.2 billion.

For some, Chinese domination of an industry once controlled by libertarian crypto-punks is a rich irony. For others, it is a more practical threat: Chinese miners, some argued, have been standing in the way of reforms needed to speed up transaction speeds on bitcoins fast-expanding network of users.

But those concerns might be overblown.

Some people in the Western world were painting Chinese miners with too broad a brush, said Emin Gn Sirer, a computer science professor at Cornell University. Its not the case that all Chinese miners are part of the same enterprise or are colluding.

But Sirer identifies one risk with the concentration of mining power here: If the Chinese government wanted, it could in theory crack down on miners and force them to block certain bitcoin accounts.

They would not be able to usurp funds, but they could stop the motion of funds, he said, describing exactly the sort of government control bitcoin was supposed to guard against.

These are concerns that have parallels with the way China is using its digital market power to reshape the Internet and influence the global debate about censorship and surveillance.

But here, in the mountains of Sichuan, it is hard to see much evidence of a Chinese plot to bring bitcoin to heel.

The Chinese government has employed a fairly light touch. Although it banned banks from taking part in bitcoin trading in 2013, it left ordinary people free to buy and trade the crypto-currency, and miners free to operate.

[Internet activists are finding ways around Chinas Great Firewall]

The industry is run by a disparate mix of investors and dreamers and is manned by electricians and IT experts. There are people like Ryan Xu, an infectiously enthusiastic Chinese-born Australian who first became interested in libertarian economics while working as a reactor operator in a nuclear power plant. He now describes himself as both a utopian and a venture capitalist.

We need to foresee the next five or 10 years, he said in a wide-ranging conversation over dinner in the western city of Kangding. All the governments are printing money and diluting peoples wealth. Is that justice or robbery? The financial system also keeps crashing every five or 10 years. I think thats an illness in the monetary system and it needs a cure.

He says he is not sure bitcoin is the answer, but it is at least an experiment that might work.

So why China?

Running microprocessors sucks electricity. Competition is intense, and profit margins are narrow: Xu has moved his mines around the world in search of the cheapest power, from Iceland to Georgia, and then to Washington state, from the coal fields of Chinas northern Inner Mongolia province and now to the mountains of Sichuan.

His latest mine is still under construction, between a hydroelectric power plant and the concrete shell of a disused power transmission station, between Kongyu and the city of Kangding.

As Chinas economy boomed, private companies set up hydroelectric plants in western Sichuan; then, as the economy slowed, they found themselves unable to sell to the national grid, elbowed out of the market by more politically powerful state-owned firms.

It took a lot of money to build the plants, but it doesnt cost that much to maintain them, said HaoBTCs Mu. So it makes sense for them to sell the power to anyone willing to buy, even at a low rate.

Maintenance staffers are cheaper here than in the West. Mu says his company employs 10 people at three mines in the mountains, paying them around 6,000 yuan ($900) a month, a decent salary for this part of the world. HaoBTC runs one other mine in Sichuan and one farther west in Xinjiang, with more than 11,000 machines, earning more than 80 bitcoin a day a daily income stream worth more than $745,000.

[These viral selfie apps with 1 billion downloads are shaping Chinas start-up culture]

But it is not only Chinese entrepreneurs who have taken to bitcoin. Deprived of good investment opportunities at home, and burned by a volatile stock market, a growing number of Chinese people have begun speculating and investing in bitcoin.

Bobby Lee, a former Silicon Valley engineer who founded Chinas first bitcoin exchange, BTCC, attributes it partly to a natural instinct to buy and sell.

If you look at Las Vegas or Macau or casinos worldwide, how come most of the clientele are of Asian descent, or Chinese specifically? he asked. It has to do with some cultural instinct. Chinese people like to gamble.

Yet as bitcoin matures, it is also experiencing some significant growing pains.

Bitcoin is virtual money that cuts out banks and credit card companies, and has gotten more popular recently. Here's what you need to know about the original cryptocurrency. (Davin Coburn/The Washington Post)

On Aug. 2, the Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong was forced to admit that hackers had stolen nearly 120,000 bitcoin worth $72million from customers accounts. That news caused the bitcoin price to fall by more than 20 percent and underlined the safety concerns that many ordinary people feel about owning digital money.

At the same time, the system is showing signs of overloading. Bitcoins current technology can process only around three digital transactions a second minuscule compared with the roughly 24,000 transactions per second that Visa can manage.

Delays in processing transactions have grown, as have transaction fees, and the industry has become deeply divided about how to reform the system to solve the problem.

Jeff Garzik, a leading bitcoin developer based in Atlanta, argues that a technological fix is in the pipeline that soon will allow bitcoin to process tens of thousands of transactions a second.

I think that with new technologies coming down the pipeline, it can scale up to everyone buying their coffee with bitcoin in the entire world, he said. It really can be the first really good substitute for physical in-your-hand cash.

Like Sirer, he isnt too worried about the current concentration of mining power in China, partly because the market is so dynamic and the dominant players change every year.

Its much easier to challenge the dominant players in this space because market entry is so easy, he said. If the Chinese miners suddenly power off their rigs, within 24 hours well see the emergence of another competitor.

Here in the mountains, miners while away their free time playing mah-jongg or poker, smoking cigarettes or surfing on their smartphones. Site manager Guo Hua used to run a small camera-repair shop and still likes fiddling around with machines. Marketing manager Mu, who spends only a few weeks of the year here, likes to translate books in his free time or run to the nearest town to buy cigarettes for his colleagues. Sometimes he hikes into the mountains, toward a remote Tibetan village or a looming peak, a welcome change of change of pace from Beijing and its polluted air.

And all the time, the microprocessors keep on running.

Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has come forward as the mysterious creator behind the virtual currency Bitcoin. Here's a look at what we know about the creator's pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's history and Wright's claims. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Xu Yangjingjing contributed to this report.

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America wants to believe China cant innovate. Tech tells a different story.

The Internet was supposed to foster democracy. China has different ideas.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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The Bank of England (BoE) is ramping up its efforts to research and develop fintech and understand distributed ledger technology (DLT). During the recent launch of UKs FinTech Accelerator program, BoE chief cashier Victoria Cleland discussedthe firms technology options with blockchain protocol.

Also read:Bank of England: Digital Currency Can Raise GDP By Almost 3%

The BoE accelerator beganin London,focusing solely on R&D efforts in a working partnership with fintech firms. The program will develop innovative technologies on issues that matter to the Banks mission and operations, the company said.

Clelands speech focused around the banks intentions to explore fintech and distributed ledger technology. She said:

We also need to understand the technology options. Could, and should CBDC be delivered using DLT, and is this technology the best way to achieve the necessary scalability and resilience? What are the implications on privacy, and how could the rules for the operation of the distributed ledger be managed?

The bank has been interested in virtual currencies and blockchain technology for some time. In July, Bitcoin.com reported on its paper regarding a central bank-based cryptocurrency. The paper stated that a centralized crypto could raise the UKs GDP by almost 3%. However, in Clelands speech, she said she believes the technology is in its very early stages and the BoEshould explore its options.

DLT is still in its infancy, and there are numerous questions that need exploring. The Bank has already undertaken a proof of concept using this technology, and we are looking for new opportunities through our FinTech accelerator, Cleland said.

She added thatthe latest wave of fintech has brought high expectations, and a considerable amount of attention has been focused around DLT. There are projects in the works that could reshape the trading and settlements landscape, and peer-to-peer deposit and lending schemes could disintermediate incumbent banks.

The London accelerator is also working with Big Four global auditor PwC onits DLT proof of concept. TheBoE is also working with BitSight, which uses publicly-available bulk data to assess firms cyber-resilience and Privitar, that provides tools to anonymize and desensitize data. BoE seems to be focused on its DLT but says its also interested in other areas of fintech such as anomaly detection and pattern recognition with machine learning.

BoE seems steadfast onplaying a significant role within the blockchain landscape. Its recent reports, and Victoria Clelands speech, show BoE wants these technological developments to progress the banks infrastructure. With its London FinTech Accelerator program and existing distributed ledger network, the Bank is taking the necessary steps in order not tobe left behind.

What do you think about the Bank of Englands fintech and blockchain accelerator? Let us know in the comments below.

Source:BoE Chief Cashiers Public Speech, and IBTimes

Images via Shutterstock, and Pixabay

There are no bigger believers in Bitcoin than the team atBitcoin.com. Thats why this site is a one-stop-shop for everything you need to get into bitcoin life. Bitcoin store? Check. Earning bitcoin? Check. Forum discussions? Check. A casino? Yep, we have that too. Information? All here.

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BoE Accelerator Will Focus On Blockchain Pilots - Bitcoin News

Using Bitcoin to pay and get paid is easy and accessible to everyone.

How to use Bitcoin

Bitcoin is different than what you know and use every day. Before you start using Bitcoin, there are a few things that you need to know in order to use it securely and avoid common pitfalls.

You can bring a Bitcoin wallet in your everyday life with your mobile or you can have a wallet only for online payments on your computer. In any case, choosing your wallet can be done in a minute.

You can get bitcoins by accepting them as a payment for goods and services or by buying them from a friend or someone near you. You can also buy them directly from an exchange with your bank account.

There is a growing number of services and merchants accepting Bitcoin all over the world. You can use Bitcoin to pay them and rate your experience to help honest businesses to gain more visibility.

How to accept Bitcoin

Bitcoin does not require merchants to change their habits. However, Bitcoin is different than what you know and use every day. Before you start using Bitcoin, there are a few things that you need to know in order to use it securely and avoid common pitfalls.

You can process payments and invoices by yourself or you can use merchant services and deposit money in your local currency or bitcoins. Most point of sales businesses use a tablet or a mobile phone to let customers pay with their mobile phones.

Merchants often deposit and display prices in their local currency. In other cases, Bitcoin works similarly to a foreign currency. To get appropriate guidance regarding tax compliance for your own jurisdiction, you should contact a qualified accountant.

There is a growing number of users searching for ways to spend their bitcoins. You can submit your business in online directories to help them easily find you. You can also display the Bitcoin logo on your website or your brick and mortar business.

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Getting started - Bitcoin

Australian computer scientist Craig Steven Wright has publicly identified himself as "Satoshi Nakamoto," founder of the widely-used cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Wright has told three media organizations -- the BBC, the Economist and GQ -- that he is the father of Bitcoin. The computer scientist has also published a blog post that he says includes cryptographic proof for the claim.

Bitcoin was created in 2009, but the identity of its founder has remained shrouded in secrecy. The creator used the name "Satoshi Nakamoto," but many experts have assumed the moniker was a pseudonym.

Speculation over the mystery flourished in recent years, and multiple media outlets carried out investigations that sought to unmask the founder. At least a dozen of people have in the past been named as Bitcoin creators.

Newsweek, for example, reported in 2014 that a retired engineer named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto was the one. But Nakamoto forcefully denied the report, saying he had never even heard of the currency.

The New Yorker ran an article in 2011 that suggested a graduate student in cryptography at Trinity College could be the founder. The student denied the claim.

Related: Alleged Bitcoin creator denies he's the one

In 2015, tech publications Wired and Gizmodo put forward Wright's name. "Either Wright invented Bitcoin, or he's a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did," Wired wrote at the time. Australian media reported at that time that a house believed to be owned by Wright has been searched by the Australian Federal Police in connection to a tax issue.

But many questions remained unanswered.

The blog published by Wright on Monday seeks to remove all doubts. In it, the computer scientist claims to verify the cryptographic keys to a key Bitcoin "block," or group of transactions, that dates to the early days of the currency.

Two leading Bitcoin developers, Jon Matonis and Gavin Andersen, came forward on Monday, backing Wright's claims.

Andersen, who is the chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, said Wright demonstrated the supposed verifications keys to him at a meeting in London a couple of weeks ago. "After spending time with him I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt: Craig Wright is Satoshi," he said in a blog post.

Matonis, who is the founding director at Bitcoin Foundation, said he was also convinced Wright was the founder of Bitcoin, after attending a private proof session with him.

Related: What is Bitcoin?

But many other Bitcoin developers remain skeptical. They say the blog itself proves nothing, publishing something that has been "out there" for a while. They also claim cryptographic keys found on Wright's blog posts have been backdated.

"The page copies a signature out of the Bitcoin Blockchain from 2009," said Greg Maxwell, the chief technology office at Blockstream, a Bitcoin startup.

Wright reportedly demonstrated the procedure for the Economist, which reported that, "as far as we can tell he indeed seems to be in possession of the keys."

But even the Economist, which agreed not to write about the computer scientist until the blog post was published, has doubts.

"Our conclusion is that Mr. Wright could well be Mr Nakamoto, but that important questions remain," the magazine said in its report.

Wright did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. "Some people will believe, some people won't," he told the BBC. "And to tell you the truth, I don't really care."

He told the Economist and the BBC he was not seeking publicity. "I don't want money, I don't want fame, I don't want adoration. I just want to be left alone," he said in a video posted by the BBC.

On his blog, Wright said he came out as the founder of Bitcoin to "set the record straight" and "dispel the myths out there and unleash its potential to change the world for the better."

CNNMoney (London) First published May 2, 2016: 4:59 AM ET

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Australian computer scientist claims he created Bitcoin - May ...