— Covering digital currencies, precious metals and online payments
Part I looks at the motivation behind Voucher-Safe, the evolution of digital currency and how Voucher-Safe transactions work.
Part II examines the Voucher-Safe economy, trust, security and software.
This final part looks at Voucher-Safe’s interaction with Bitcoin, Issuers and OnionPay.
Read More about Voucher-Safe, a Next Generation Digital Currency – Part III
Last night Bitcoin’s blockchain, the public ledger recording all transactions, forked. For a few hours there were two versions of the blockchain. Big Problem.
The Issue was caused by the 0.8 upgrade. It seems the blocks it was generating were too long for 0.7 to recognize them. The versions diverged with each building a different blockchain.
The problem was quickly spotted and resolved within about 6 hours. However, many exchanges and businesses halted transactions during this time and the Bitcoin exchange rate took a hit. One Bitcoin is now trading at about $43 USD.
The solution was for miners using 0.8 to switch back to 0.7 until a solution for the 0.8 version is found and released. For Bitcoin users the problem is resolved, you can transact with Bitcoin as usual. For further information you can read a play by play of yesterday’s events from The Bitcoin Trader here, or read Bitcoin Magazines review of the situation here.
The recently formed Exante Ltd. out of Malta is the world’s first Bitcoin hedge fund. The fund was designed to offer institutions and high-net worth individuals a regulated investment vehicle for Bitcoin. Unfortunately, US citizens and institutions “may not subscribe.”
The Bitcoin vs. gold debate frustrates me; these are incredibly valuable monetary tools, why should I limit myself to just one?
Both these currencies share many characteristics that make them great …limited supply, internationally accepted, non-political, etc. but they are however, very, very different creatures. As such, this argument isn’t entirely without merit, but what we’re arguing about are the pros and cons of ‘real’ vs. decentralized exchange mechanisms.
But this ATM doesn’t give you dollars; it takes them and gives you Bitcoins.
To use the machine you feed it dollar bills like you would a vending machine. Built into the front of the machine is a camera which reads QR codes generated by various Bitcoin smart phone apps. Your Bitcoins are then sent to the Bitcoin address associated with the QR code minus a 1% fee. Transaction completed, anonymously.
The ATM’s creators are hoping to sell the machine to retail businesses, particularly those who are already accepting the currency in their shops. “If we made these machines somewhere around $1,000 to $1,500 each, depending on the commission, they could be able to buy this and make it back within a reasonable period of time.”
You can find more details here.
And Bitcoin is of course the go to currency for those that find themselves on the wrong side of politically hot topics. For Kim Dotcom, that hot topic is file sharing and piracy.
Kim’s successful file hosting site, Megaupload.com was dramatically shut down in January 2012 with the seizure of his domain name and a raid on his New Zealand home. Kim has since launched a re-vamped version of his service at Mega.co.nz .
Read More about It was only a matter of time; Kim Dotcom’s ‘Mega’ is now accepting Bitcoin
Hungry? Need more cell phone minuets? Now you can order pizza and top up your phone with your bitcoins.
PizzaForCoins.com functions as a Pizza/Bitcoin middleman. You order and pay via their website and they complete the order for you. “Going back to the infamous 10,000btc for pizza back in 2010, we’re offering a system for ordering pizzas with your bitcoins!”
Currently the service only works with Domino’s however; plans are in the words to add Pizza Hut and Papa John’s.
BitcoinWireless.com allows you to top up your cellphone credit using Bitcoin.
To use this service you need to enter your country, service provider, email address and phone number. After making a Bitcoin payment to the address generated by the site you receive an email containing the pin number or other instructions from the service provider allowing you to use the newly purchased credit. Currently the service works with 280 carriers in 112 countries.
In a “rant” posted to the Bitcoin forum, Erik explains why Bitcoin and Amazon Coins, Amazon’s new ‘virtual currency’, are “as different as bumble bees and blueberry muffins.”
Read More about Erik Voorhees on why Bitcoin and Amazon Coins have nothing in common
