Bitcoin Pulse: 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

2014: The year to start accepting Bitcoin at your business

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http://bitcoinwarrior.net/2013/12/2014-year-start-accepting-bitcoin-business/

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 01:29PM by BTCwarrior

I was disappointed when they wouldn't accept bitcoins..

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http://i.imgur.com/3HxLQBb.jpg

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 05:44PM by thedarcy

A warning/reminder to those selling Bitcoins on localbitcoins.com

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Yesterday someone attempted (unsuccessfully) to scam me out of some Bitcoins I was selling.

They initiated a trade, causing my Bitcoins to be held in localbitcoins' escrow. Then asked to be emailed an invoice for the Bitcoins, else they couldn't buy them without some kind of receipt, claiming they were new to localbitcoins and didn't know asking for an invoice wasn't normal.

In this instance, I did email them one as asked. They then used my email address to spoof a localbitcoins email to me, claiming the user had paid me.

The email suggested the payment was being held by localbitcoins and would be sent to my account on record later and that I should release the coins.

Obviously I reported the trade immediately and did not release the coins, but I figured other newer users might not realise this is a scam.

So in short:

If someone buying Bitcoins from you asks for you to send them an email of any kind. Be wary, they are probably trying to get your email address so they can send you a fake email from localbitcoins.

If someone really does need an invoice (highly unlikely), at most you should offer to upload a pdf using the attached documents feature.

Also, I'm 99% sure localbitcoins does not have any fiat escrow service. So if you get an email saying someone you're trading with has paid into localbitcoins' main account. Open a support ticket and do not release your Bitcoins. They are trying to scam you.

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 11:43AM by viralplatipuss

My local Chase branch manager allowed me to use one of their meeting rooms to make a large localbitcoin.com transaction.

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I've been selling BTC and LTC through craigslist, localbitcoin.com and litecoinlocal.org I always spend a lot of time with the new clients, especially if they are new to crypto. I will help them setup their wallets, show them how to use the exchanges, and most importantly, how to protect their coins.

I've built up a nice customer base, and I am now receiving phone calls from friends of clients. Some of these people are pretty well off, and they are willing to make large cash purchases. I have made some five figure sales of BTC, but only from repeat clients that I could trust.

On monday of this week, a new user of localbitcoin initiated a large buy from me (I only deal in cash, in person). While I had his personal information, I could not do a good verify on this person where I felt comfortable meeting him in a public place. I've called police stations before to see if they could facilitate a transaction, but most shy away from "large cash transactions", so I've never actually went through with a deal at a PD..

I was going to pass up on the sale, until I was in my Chase branch on Tuesday. I am on a first name basis with the manager, and I am in their very often. Tuesday, he happened to have been helping me and I brought up bitcoins to him, and he knew all about them. I told him the issue I had about transactions for cash, and sometimes I didn't feel safe.

His response was "Do your transactions here!!" Later that day, the purchaser agreed to meet me at the branch, and here is how it worked out:

I showed up, signed in, and the manager asked me for the info of the other party.

I was escorted to a meeting room, and given the password to the guest wifi network.

I had my laptop on the desk, and had the QT software running.

I hear a knock on the door, and the manager introduced me to the buyer.

I counted out the money, and initiated the transaction.

He was already knowledgeable in BTC, so there was no talk about security, etc, but we chatted about fiat, and precious metals.

Verified the block chain, and the guy left.

The manager sends a teller into the room to count the money, they initiate the deposit, and I leave with a deposit slip.

This was the easiest and safest transaction I've ever completed, and for those of you that have wondered where a safe place to handle transactions like this, check out your bank! I walked in with a laptop, and left with a cash deposit receipt. While the risk of being robbed was still there, the chances of somebody going into a bank to do such a thing would be very low.. I felt 100% comfortable, and not only did I not have the risk associated with the meeting, but I did not have any risk associated with driving around with a huge amount of fiat.

I know the tinfoil hats will freak out because the bank knows what I'm doing, but I do not care. It's safe and legal :)

I also am building a good crypto currency bond with my branch manager :)

TL:dr, the evil banking system catered to my BTC transaction.

edit: had a couple messages. I am not getting out of crypto, I move that money right back into the market with coinbase. I pay a 1% commission to buy, and anywhere from 25-10% commission on the sale, so I work off that margin. This is more of a hobby than a job. I would rather meet a guy off the street who doesn't know anything about crypto who wants to buy $100 worth, and teach him how it works than meet a business guy in a bank for a large sale. But it's hard to pass up that commission.

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 02:14PM by eurostylin

Can we be a little nicer to newbies?

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We all started somewhere and the concept can often be difficult to grasp for newbies. Instead of saying use the search function and then downvote, provide a link or an explanation. Takes a little time but is quite helpful to them.

Newbies, read the sidebar and links, try to ask questions that you don't understand after reading.

Edit: feel free to ask any stupid questions

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 11:20AM by Nameisnotkevin

Bitcoin Paper Wallet with BIP0038 support - please vote on the issue so that it's merged into the main site

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https://github.com/cantonbecker/bitcoinpaperwallet/issues/3

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 06:54PM by artiomchi

Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, invests in BitPay

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http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1390224/peripheral-bitcoin-services-bitpay-safer-investment-bitcoin

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 01:59PM by bbry267

Bits of coin (Christmas gift from my parents)

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http://i.imgur.com/qsPr9rh.jpg

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 10:37AM by S1ic3dBr3ad

New York Property Firm Offers Steep Discount For Bitcoin Payments

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http://www.coindesk.com/new-york-property-firm-steep-discount-bitcoin-payments/

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 12:18PM by waspoza

Is Anyone Else Concerned About Ghash.io?

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Looking at the graphs on blockchain.info, ghash.io has an estimated 37% of the hashing power for the past 24 hours. They have been growing rapidly, and were at less than 25% a month ago. If they continue to grow at this rate, it's highly possible they could control 51% of the network. They show no signs of stopping, and they've been known to use their power maliciously to double spend.

I know pessimistic posts are usually frowned upon in this subreddit, but I"m just wondering what can be done about this. Ghash.io poses a threat to bitcoin, and they can potentially destroy the whole decentralization of the currency, which is exactly what Bitcoin is about. Considering their bad history of double spends and other things, I'm a bit worried.

Is there any way to stop them, besides people attempting to mine for other small pools? Mining is out of the control for most people since decent ASICs are extremely expensive and mostly unprofitable. The proof of work algorithm used for Bitcoin is unlikely to change due to how difficult it would be to get everyone to adapt and for it to go smoothly. How can this be dealt with? I'm highly afraid for the future of Bitcoin.

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 03:05AM by skilliard4

Cruising through Beverly Hills when suddenly…

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http://i.imgur.com/zihKyoA.jpg

Submitted December 26, 2013 at 02:34AM by sometimes_correct

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas...

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http://i.imgur.com/ItAcUCY.jpg

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 09:43PM by ero79

This year I'm giving the gift of bitcoin to basically everyone I know...

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http://i.imgur.com/19m42vS.jpg

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 07:26PM by dxplq876

Today my girlfriends brother gave everyone paper wallets for gifts. It was embarrassing.

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Everyone got everyone else pretty nice gifts, bout 20-30$ each gift so nothing pricy. Then a certain brother decided to walk around handing everyone paper wallets...

It's seriously embarrassing, I was the only one in the room who was familiar with bitcoin and I wish I could have recorded the disaster as everyone got annoyed at him trying to explain bitcoin and how to redeem their money. Her uncle said it best "it's like he's walking around handing bibles".

I had warned people on this subreddit that wallets on their own is NOT a good gift and it's embarrassing but I never imagined I'd have to sit thru something like this.

Lets sum up something's:

bitcoin is still a massive hassle to use, it's not easy to redeem the money and having to send my picture ID etc to an exchange to withdraw 20$ is not worth the time.

It's a selfish gift to give when you're only thinking of yourself and pushing you're beliefs about crypto currencies. Seriously, no one wants to hear that shit. It's Christmas, give me my stupid tie and I'll be happy but don't lecture me on the future of money and try to hassle me into spending a long ass time just to learn how to get my 20$.

Anyone else who did this is a huge douchebag, no seriously. You're just a dick.

Merry Christmas

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 11:10PM by Moh7

Given this morning's Christmas gifts, I think my wife has noticed my obsession.

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http://i.imgur.com/cM2J7ew.jpg

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 03:53PM by charlie702

A thank you to /u/mattmiller1973 - for 12 days, you went above and beyond what most of your peers do and actually tried to learn and understand your subject matter by asking questions and being involved. Thank you, and thanks to Bloomberg TV for airing the series.

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No text found

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 09:05PM by BrazenAmberite

For once in my life, buy MelB latest single with Bitcoin!

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http://www.melaniebrown.com/music/

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 09:04AM by goodbtc

Sean's Outpost on Bloomberg

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http://www.bloomberg.com/video/a-merry-bitcoin-christmas-doing-good-with-bitcoin-Q0owAGvlR2i2CbQXPfJ~rg.html

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 03:39PM by SeansOutpost

Arrested by the police for localbitcoins business

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Here's a little PSA: beware who you're dealing with on localbitcoins.com. Here's my story with a tldr.

In September and October, I sold 200 BTC (gradually) to some random guy on localbitcoins. Everything went fine, each time I got the money, I sent the bitcoins. 5 days after the last transaction, I get a phone call from my bank, they want to talk about the terms of my life insurance, "what's the most convenient time for me to go there", we plan a small meeting for the next day.

The next day I go to the bank, and 4 police officers are waiting for me! "Would you please follow us to the police station?" "Sure." I get a full body search, we go to the police station, and I get interrogated for 10 hours. "Where does this money come from?" I explain about bitcoins, localbitcoins, and the random guy, they take my phone to analyse my emails and check my story. Once they were sure that the guy contacted me and not the other way around, I was finally free to go, but all my bank accounts were frozen. Impossible to deposit or withdraw until the investigation is closed. Later they told me that the money that ended in my account was stolen and they thought I was doing money laundering.

Now after almost 3 months my bank accounts are still frozen, and after some back and forth the police is basically asking me to send back the money. I would gladly do that if the random guy would send me my bitcoins back, but of course that won't happen. If I send back the money, the innocent person who got his money stolen gets it back, but then I become the innocent person who got his money stolen, so that makes no sense to me. Anybody with a similar experience?

TLDR: I sold bitcoins on localbitcoins, the money was dirty, I got arrested and now the police wants me to give back the money.

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 09:59AM by throw_localbitcoins

Look what Santa delivered!

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http://imgur.com/YbWKsW9

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 03:25PM by Bitcoin-Canada

Btcchina starts selling BTCC Voucher (BTCC码) on paipai.com. Traditional payment methods are accepted

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http://shop.paipai.com/2106001628

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 09:30AM by realhuman

Asked my parents for BTC this Christmas, they did what they could (£50 was wrapped inside)

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http://imgur.com/8Juq3Si

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 01:22PM by hydrographene

Keiser: BTC 50 Billion in 2014

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https://twitter.com/maxkeiser/status/415513873936949249

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 01:16AM by palalab

BTCChina adds a funding/withdrawal option: BTCC Voucher (BTCC码)

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Account: http://i.imgur.com/QbZekwa.png

Recent forum posts:

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2777010209

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2777129378

http://bbs.btcman.com/thread-11718-1-1.html

May be somebody from China can explain how does this work? Where to buy them? How to change them to CNY?

Edit: BTC-E uses similar system BTC-E code which can be bought on several exchanges: https://www.alfacashier.com/ , http://24change.com/ etc who accept banking deposits and all traditional virtual money

Edit1: A bit off topic but as an example how things work in China: I remember one guy told me about money transfers from China to Hong Kong. He said it is instant, they transfer millions of dollars daily and if I want he can give me 50 different accounts to deposit to. I am saying this because in China people are moving quite freely in the grey zone, so honestly I share bobby lee's confidence that something will come up, just need to wait for final govt's stand because govt itself said that bitcoin is legal for all except financial entities.

Edit2: Btcchina starts selling BTCC Voucher (BTCC码) on paipai.com. Traditional payment methods are accepted

Can somebody confirm if the seller is legit?

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 03:20AM by realhuman

Just had someone login to my btcee acct after hacking my gmail and gvoice account, and steal 11 BTC. i have a confirmation IP and btc address. What can I do?

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https://blockchain.info/address/12AA76FgZ7C8ujL56Rzf586kCoySSby4Ck

They were able to approve the confirmation(after logging into my email) before I could deny it, and now its gone. Don't know what to do. Any advice would help.

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 08:31PM by noservice4you

Laser etched public keys on cherry

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http://imgur.com/KaZrQ5s

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 02:17AM by BitcoinBandito

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

I'm going to see if I can get any tips in BTC

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http://i.imgur.com/ticLym2.png

Submitted December 25, 2013 at 01:22AM by slavethewhales

bitcoin volatility vs price and volatility vs time

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http://imgur.com/a/WOhHp

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 09:54PM by prof7bit

Who else is making it rain bitcoins for their family tomorrow?

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http://i.imgur.com/HwAcvcf.jpg

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 09:27PM by colsatre

Is this a scam?? E-mail for Google service to check bitcoin wallet.

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http://imgur.com/zpwpKn5

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 05:11PM by Konholio

look what I ran into in Juneau, Alaska!

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http://i.imgur.com/4KiripM.jpg

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 10:04PM by bakedalaskanwalrus

Slovenia releases a statement about taxing of Cryptocurrencies, incl. mining!

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http://www.durs.gov.si/si/davki_predpisi_in_pojasnila/dohodnina_pojasnila/dohodek_iz_kapitala/dobicek_iz_kapitala/vrednostni_papirji_in_delezi_v_gospodarskih_druzbah_zadrugah_in_drugih_oblikah_organiziranja_ter_investicijski_kuponi/davcna_obravnava_poslovanja_z_virtualno_valuto_po_zdoh_2_in_zddpo_2/

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 12:55PM by aircrack

Clearly Canadian Coming Back and Taking Bictoin!

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https://coinforum.ca/discussion/806/clearly-canadian-coming-back-and-taking-bictoin

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 03:44PM by Canuckcoins

Overstock CEO: 'I don't own bitcoin, but I'm a fan' (CNN)

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http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/12/24/overstock-ceo-bitcoin/

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 04:09PM by mastermind1228

Bitcoin's popularity growth is outpacing the general public's understanding. We're making a website to educate the world on cryptocurrency.

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http://albertee.com/welcome-to-albertee/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 11:11PM by albertee_web

Blockchain.info acquires mobile app ZeroBlock

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http://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-info-acquires-bitcoin-price-app-zeroblock/

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 02:21PM by monoglot

AMA Request: Matt Miller

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This I think has more relevancy here than the main AMA sub. But in keeping with the 'rules' there here are 5 questions.

How you do you feel about bitcoin's long term potential now vs before you started the '12 days of bitcoin'

How do your co-workers seem to feel about bitcoin's long term potential now vs before you started '12 days of bitcoin'.

How has significant has 12 days of bitcoin traffic been to bloomberg videos?

What do you think will/would be the tipping point to turn skeptical major pundits into open minded, or optimistic supporters of cryptocurrencies?

Can you share any off-air interesting anecdotes about your co-workers sentiments or stories regarding the 12 days of bitcoin?

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 11:00PM by eof

Already convinced three (Argentina) clothing sellers to accept BTC, one more every week.

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http://fromargentinawithbitcoin.tumblr.com/post/70924198721/mario-cardigan

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 09:46PM by fromargentina

Holiday Surprise: For the next 24 hours only, all Bitcoin purchases receive 4% points back from Gyft! (Extra 1% for BTC purchases only!)

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We wanted to do something extra special for the Bitcoin community - this is an exclusive offer for BTC purchases only (Credit cards are still 1% and PayPal still at 2%).

Given the huge demand and success of Bitcoin Black Friday, we decided to repeat the promotion as a once off for the next 24 hours only (until midnight PST, Dec 25th).

Thanks to everyone on r/Bitcoin for you support - we could not have achieved what we have this year without you! Happy Holidays!

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 06:49AM by VinnyatGyft

Everything wrong with tech job-hunting in a single image

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http://imgur.com/3zRdEWm

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 01:42AM by entelechy_

Soleil Motors becomes the first car manufacturer to directly accept Bitcoin

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Soleil Motors to Accept Bitcoins (BTC) Soleil Motors becomes the first automotive manufacturer to accept Bitcoins. Milan, Italy, 12/2313: Soleil Motors is a pioneer to announce that it has become the first automotive manufacturer able to accept payment via Bitcoin. Being a pioneer in such a space enables Soleil Motors to give the greatest flexibility to its client base. Payments in Bitcoin can be made through soleilmotors.com as we have integrated the payment application into our website. Our bespoke vehicle package, for the 2014 Soleil Motors Anadi, is available for 299,995.00 USD. Those wishing to purchase our luxury supercar in BTC can do so as the rates will be converted at time of purchase. At the writing of this release the Soleil Anadi would cost roughly 479.992 BTC. Our BTC payment method does not include taxes or destination charges as those are calculated based on the client’s address of delivery. However, those can also be paid in BTC upon completion of initial sale. As a bespoke addition for those clients that make payment in BTC, Soleil Motors will integrate a Bitcoin coin within the interior. We believe that such custom treatment for the payment method highlights the forward thinking nature of our clients. The placement of the coin will be determined only after discussion with each client as to respect their personal taste. Soleil Motors will be using the services of Coinbase as the Bitcoin payment processor. Coinbase was founded in 2012 in San Francisco, CA and already has amassed over 700,000 unique users and over 17,000 merchants. Such a strong base signals Soleil Motors customers of the safety and security of transacting in Bitcoin via Coinbase. We believe that accepting Bitcoins is necessary and important as it signals the direction in which pioneers are thinking and acting. Our company size and focus on customer needs enables us to have the flexibility and dexterity to offer such a new service. Anadi embodies passion and sensuality – a true luxury sports car. A thoroughbred from Italy.

Please also visit the website at http://www.soleilmotors.com/

Please leave questions, comments, and concerns below. Thank you!

-SoleilMotors

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 06:48AM by SoleilMotors

[WARNING] I just got a pretty sophisticated looking scam email claiming to check if my wallet.dat file was compromised.

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The email claims to be from google services and blockchain.info and has a link where you can "check" to see if your wallet has been compromised.

picture of the email: http://i.imgur.com/Twn6LAT.png

The link on the email sends you to a highly accurate recreation of blockchain.info thats beeing hosted on some google drive account. On the page it asks you to upload your wallet file and enter the password for it.

pic of the website: http://i.imgur.com/Li3wpYR.png

Hopefully I shouldn't have to say this, but you should never upload your wallet.dat file and password to any website that is asking for it.

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 02:13PM by lunchb0x91

Feds stole my $33M bitcoins booty: Silk Road ‘pirate’

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http://nypost.com/2013/12/23/government-robbed-me-of-33m-in-bitcoins-silk-road-pirate/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 07:38PM by jonstern

We're on Bitcoin Christmas Day #6... Happy holidays! (Video)

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http://youtu.be/op-ruaz9bU4

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 09:30PM by merrybitcoin

I just bought 1BTC and received 2BTC...

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I bought 1BTC from an ATM, and the transaction posted TWICE. The balance has shown up in my wallet, I now have 2BTC available to spend. On Blockchain, its an identical transaction, each with 9 confirmations, occurring 8 minutes apart.

Should I roll with this good luck? Or will it get deducted some how?

UPDATE: I reached out to the ATM owner and apparently I found a "pretty serious bug" which they are looking into right now and will hopefully resolve. I'm sending back most of the free BTC, they said I could keep 20% as a tip.

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 12:36AM by setyabacksetya

Here’s what Paul Krugman doesn’t get about Bitcoin

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/12/23/heres-what-paul-krugman-doesnt-get-about-bitcoin/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 05:26PM by Guitarbits

I bought a freezing guy a warm meal with Matt Miller's "stolen" bitcoin

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https://twitter.com/SeansOutpost/status/415247770682138624

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 10:34PM by SeansOutpost

Bitcoin is truly a revolution. It is about the other 6.5 billion people on this planet. Forget about the price.

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Bitcoin is one of the most important inventions of the last 20 years. Unless you are a computer scientist, you may not know that the concept of a decentralized network that could achieve consensus (agreement) without any central controlling authority was an unresolved problem in computer science called Byzantine Generals' Problem. Bitcoin solved this problem in 2008 and that in itself is truly revolutionary.

Bitcoin developer Andreas Antonopoulos said "I discovered Bitcoin for the first time in 2011 and, since the Internet, I have not felt this feeling of being completely overwhelmed by the possibilities that I saw. I was there at the dawn of the Internet in 1991 when it was pre-commercial. And I could see that this was going to change the world but couldn't tell everyone around me because no one believed me. And I have that exact same feeling about Bitcoin."

Ignore the price. Ignore Bitcoin the money and understand Bitcoin the technology, the invention, and the network it creates. Because if we mess up the money we'll just reboot another currency. The invention of Bitcoin, the technology that makes it possible, cannot be un-invented. And it creates the possibility for decentralized organization on a scale never before seen on this planet.

Today in the world approximately 1 billion people have access to banking, credit and international finance capabilities. Primarily the upper classes and the western nations. 6 and a half billion people on this planet have no connection to the world of money. They operate in cash based societies with very little access to any international resources. They don't use banks. 2 billion of these people are already on the Internet. And with a simple application download, they can immediately become participants in an international economy using an international currency that can be transmitted anywhere with no fees and no government controls. And they can connect to a world of international finance that is completely peer to peer. So Bitcoin is the money of the people. At its core Bitcoin is simple mathematical rules that everyone agrees on with no controls. The possibility of bringing 6.5 billion into productive society by connecting them to the rest of the world is truly revolutionary.

First we're going to start affecting the payment processors; these enormous companies that make it more expensive to send money the poorer the destination country is. A situation that is exploitative and corrupt. And these organizations make enormous amounts of profit for a function that can be done in Bitcoin for free! So, as the adage of the Internet once went, "I just replaced your entire industry with 100 lines of Python code." And that is the case with Bitcoin.

One of the most important principles of the Internet is neutrality. The Internet doesn't know the difference between CNN and an Egyptian blogger. Likewise Bitcoin is neutral to sender and recipient and also to the value of the transaction. And it also gives every citizen and user of Bitcoin the same ability to innovate in terms of financial innovation, in terms of payment systems and use the currency with exactly the same facility that a bank has. YOU can become and operate on the same level as Citibank.

It takes a hierarchical system of international finance that up to now has achieved security by limiting access (since that is the main system of trust on our payment systems; you can't get in unless you're vetted) and it turns that on its head and creates a completely flat and decentralized network where every node is equal and the protocol is neutral to any and all transactions. And pushes innovation to the edge of the network. This allows the same phenomenon we saw on the Internet: Innovation without permission. You don't need to ask anyone if your application can be published on the Internet. You don't need to ask anyone to completely subvert a new industry with your information technology. With Bitcoin you don't need to ask anyone to invent a new financial instrument, a new payment system or a new service. You can just do it. You can write the code and you are now part of an international financial network that can run that code and put you in contact with millions of consumers.

It's still early days. We do not yet have the polished interfaces. It's difficult to use. It's used by criminals. It's not exactly easy to see who is using Bitcoin. We've heard all of that before. The Internet circa 1991 was a den of thieves, pirates, pornographers and criminals. Right? But it didn't matter. And it doesn't matter now. And the reason it doesn't matter is because the same power of the technology that can be used by a criminal to promote their criminal activities can be used by all of the rest of us to do good; to do incredible things all across the world. And there is more of us than them.

Bitcoin creates this environment that is ripe for innovation. Because its not just a currency. It's a technology, a network, and a currency. Yes the value has substantially increased over time but we shouldn't focus on the price. If Bitcoin crashed tomorrow morning the technology is still revolutionary. Just like if a website fails on the Internet or an application fails on the Internet, the Internet doesn't go away. So if you understand that Bitcoin is a technology and not a currency you can grasp the importance it has. Yet it should not be about us. It is about the other 6.5 billion people on this planet. It is about the ability to bring to the world a level of financial innovation it has never seen before. It's bigger than a price. Bitcoin can and will change lives.

It's not going to be easy. When you throw a disruptive technology into the middle of the most powerful institutions on the planet - they don't like it. And right now we're still in the early stages. To use the trite expression "first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win". We're still at the laughing at us stage. And that's quite alright :) Because by the time they get to fighting us they've already lost. Because this technology just went global. There are 193 currencies in the world yet there is now a new international currency; a mathematical decentralized cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. And we're going to build more. Cryptocurrencies are going to be a mainstay of our financial future. They are going to be part of the future of this planet because they have been invented and it's as simple as that. You cannot un-invent it just as you cannot turn an omelette back into eggs. There are many other alt coins out there that use the same basic technology. Bitcoin is the Internet of money and currency is only the first application. At its core Bitcoin is a revolutionary technology that will change the world forever.

A special thanks to Andreas Antonopoulos.

EDIT: Added link to video discussion that was transcribed (but not exact) which also covers other topics such as micropayments. You can also learn all about the protocol here at Khan Academy. More in-depth discussion with Andreas can be viewed here (beware of the background noise as it was recorded in a restaurant over a meal) and I also recommend this recent interview with TastyTrade covering more financial topics that also refers to the previous video ;)

Submitted December 24, 2013 at 01:18AM by JChief

Monday, December 23, 2013

Colorado marijuana dispensaries should consider Bitcoin acceptance.

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I was watching 60 minutes yesterday and while they noted that the federal government isnt cracking down on people who are following state laws even though they are violating federal laws they indicated that government is applying pressure behind the scenes by working with banking industry to make it difficult to conduct business. Seems like a prime opportunity for Bitcoin in that region of the country.

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 06:33PM by JChief

We just built TipperCoin: a "+/u/bitcointip for Twitter"

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http://www.tippercoin.com/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 04:41PM by locksley

Sent the 0.029 bitcoin I "stole" to Sean's Outpost

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EDIT: Matt Miller just tweeted this!: Anyone know how to get in touch with Jason King or @SeansOutpost? We want to run a segment tomorrow, collecting #bitcoin for the cause

Blockchain confirmation

If you haven't heard, I "stole" a bit of bitcoin from Matt Miller's gift bitcoin certificate when a co-host on the segment he was on, ironically called "Street Smart", showed the private key of his bitcoin paper wallet. I took it because I knew that if I didn't someone else would. I let Matt know that I would return the amount to a new address but he just let me keep it and congratulated me for a job well done.

I still wanted to send it back on live tv to show how fast Bitcoin is and to have a chance for others to send Bitcoin to a public key that Matt would then send to Seans Outpost. I don't think Matt will be doing this on national tv so I decided to just send the amount to Seans Outpost myself.

Would have been nice to show not only the speed of bitcoin transactions on live national tv but also the generosity of the Bitcoin community. Nevertheless, I do applaud Matt for explaining the need for security when dealing with bitcoin private keys and acknowledging that I said I would send the money back, even if the news articles are portraying me as a "thief", "hacker" and "mugger". Let's hope they update their articles to include the donation to Seans Outpost!

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 08:06PM by milkywaymasta

Kitties enjoy their Christmas present from CatCrib.com bought with bitcoin!

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http://imgur.com/rDS6ydB

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 04:39AM by cayspekko

The Federal Reserve is 100 years old today! Generations of people being forced to serve the banksters. Read this article for a fuller understanding of the need to abolish the Fed and celebrate and fight for the use of bitcoin.

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http://rt.com/op-edge/fed-us-dollar-manipulate-049/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 02:06PM by _hazlo

Homeless Christmas at Sean's Outpost. Thanks r/bitcoin

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http://imgur.com/VTn9JG1

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 02:59PM by SeansOutpost

Fed has no interest in stopping bitcoin

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http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000230342

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 02:37PM by waspoza

Al Jazeera flew in to shadow us (Sean's Outpost) today!

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http://imgur.com/3PZBPSp

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 03:23PM by SeansOutpost

Swiss to vote on proposals to treat bitcoin as foreign currency

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http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=25521

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 10:16AM by thunderblt

LocalBitcoins.com is now available in the Chinese language. Enjoy your effortless OTC trading!

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https://localbitcoins.com/zh-cn/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 09:57AM by jerguismi

Singapore government decides not to interfere with Bitcoin

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http://www.techinasia.com/singapore-government-decides-interfere-bitcoin/

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 09:34AM by ths1977

WARNING: A fake electrum website with malware is advertising on duckduckgo and yahoo.

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If you perform a search for electrum on duckduckgo or yahoo, an ad claiming to be electrum.org will be at the top.

In reality the ad links to:

electrum-bitcoin org

The domain was created December 21.

This site is nearly identical to electrum.org except the download links give different files. All three of the files that can be download are much smaller than the real electrum and are most likely malware.

The three files are:

electrum.exe - 91136 bytes

electrum.out - 60316 bytes

electrum.zip - 32478 bytes

EDIT: Some Advice:

When installing software, especially something as import as wallet software, it is a good idea to verify the integrity of the download with a signature using a key that was obtained from one or more seperate sources.

I made a list of the keys used to sign popular bitcoin wallets below to act as another source to verify the integrity of those keys.

Bitcoin-Qt:

Signer: Gavin Andresen gavinandresen@gmail.com

Fingerprint: 01CD F462 7A3B 88AA E4A5 71C8 7588 242F BE38 D3A8

Key ID: BE38D3A8

Key Link: bitcoin.org/gavinandresen.asc

Electrum:

Signer: ThomasV thomasv1@gmx.de

Fingerprint: 6694 D8DE 7BE8 EE56 31BE D950 2BD5 824B 7F94 70E6

Key ID: 7F9470E6

Keyserver: pool.sks-keyservers.net

Multibit:

Signer: Jim Burton (multibit.org developer) jim618@fastmail.co.uk

Fingerprint: 299C 423C 672F 47F4 756A 6BA4 C197 2AED 79F7 C572

Key ID: 79F7C572

Keyserver: pgp.mit.edu

Armory:

Signer: Alan C. Reiner (Offline Signing Key) alan@bitcoinarmory.com

Fingerprint: 821F 1229 36BD D565 366A C36A 4AB1 6AEA 9883 2223

Key ID: 98832223

Keyserver: pgp.mit.edu

The signatures provided for some of the wallets are signatures of the hash values, so be sure to verify that the hash of the downloaded file matches the hash that was signed.

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 07:45AM by dcc4e

Chinese exchange Huobi, still accepting RMB deposits, emerges as 24H world volume leader

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There's another exchange called Huobi that is allowing RMB deposits at this time. All the volume has moved to Huobi. https://www.huobi.com/ http://btckan.com/price Huobi's price is now almost equal to BTC-E's.

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 03:15PM by slowmoon

How have I never seen this here... Literally the best introduction to Bitcoin I've seen by far (Andreas Antonopoulos)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP9-lAYngi4

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 10:10PM by mattgrimes

BitQuick.in launches new simple and quick Indian Bitcoin exchange! 1% to buy, free to sell! NEFT/RTGS,IMPS and cash deposit supported.

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https://www.bitquick.in

Submitted December 23, 2013 at 01:38AM by bitquickco

The Silk Road soap opera continues

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Most recent update. Pretty much explains everything.

http://puu.sh/5Vmcg.png

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 10:47PM by Miroslave

Had the best doughnuts last night in Austin, best part was how easy it was to pay for them

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http://imgur.com/iF4VGC9

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 09:40PM by LibertarianTee

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Is this legit?

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https://www.bitcoinstore.com/intel-core-i7-i7-3770k-3-50-ghz-processor-socket-h2-lga-1155.html

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 07:34PM by 20l2

Giant whale has just moved 120k coins

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This could be pretty huge.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=381045.0

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 07:50PM by granatheus

This is what my home cinema turned into.

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http://imgur.com/QEGwnFA

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 04:53PM by soloFeelings

So desperate for bitcoin apps, people risk bricking their iPhones

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/12/22/ios-7-jailbreak-released-enables-tethering-alternative-apps-and-bitcoin/

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 03:07PM by TheyCMeTrolling

Bitcoin NFC Wallet Concept: Would you buy it? Let me know and I can make it happen in 30 days. Now gauging interest.

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http://imgur.com/HXXbDBE

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 07:26AM by Y0B

Bobby Lee's apology letter.

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https://vip.btcchina.com/page/notice20131220

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 10:15AM by HnzGmg-Haans

If governments are going to crush Bitcoin and other technologies that benefit mankind, then don't we need to change these governments?

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Isn't that going to be the ultimate end game? I propose a new Futurists Party for all countries. The platform could be for decentralization, dismantling of paradigms that horde wealth by an elite few, anarchist views (do what you like as long as it harms no one), stop destroying the planet, etc. Bitcoin could even fund such parties.

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 10:41AM by btctruthseeker

Major retailers to accept Bitcoin in 2014

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http://paymentmagnates.com/view_news/major-retailers-to-accept-bitcoin-in-2014-/568

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 10:54AM by iknowpayments1

Hello Bitcoin, goodbye Western Union? The future of remittance could be digital...its happening :)

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http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/hello-bitcoin-goodbye-western-union-future-remittance-could-be-digital

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 10:20AM by yeh-nah-yeh

IamA independent author. Have a free copy of my new ELI5, step-by-step Bitcoin security guide, this weekend only!

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Hello, /r/Bitcoin!

I just released an ebook that I believe serves a huge need in the Bitcoin community: Total Bitcoin Security: How to Create a Secure Bitcoin Wallet.

It starts in ELI5 mode and builds you up from there. Includes step-by-step instructions to creating & using BTC wallets, and is fully illustrated. Covers everything from creating an Ubuntu live USB drive to Electrum and BIP38 wallets. Caters to both Windows and Mac OS users.

Security always seems to be a hot topic on this subreddit, and I don't believe there's another resource as concise yet as comprehensive as this guide. I think a lot of people have been looking for exactly this guide, so I really believe in its value and hope you'll check it out. 100% free through Sunday night at 11:59 PT.

Download: http://totalbitcoinsecurity.com/TotalBitcoinSecurity.pdf

If you like it, please check out the companion website (http://www.totalbitcoinsecurity.com) and make a purchase or tip. As happy as it makes me to give something to this community, I am trying to make a living, and this book took a month of full-time work. : ) 1GA48WAYqgSeK5xebYrpmH4mgwYk45krjD

You guys are awesome. Thank you and enjoy!

Your friend,

Aaron

EDIT: QR code for fast tips as per suggestion. Many thanks! http://totalbitcoinsecurity.com/tip.jpg

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 07:44PM by zaxxon2

NAB Australia Bitcoin Comment

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http://www.scribd.com/doc/192730349/National-Australia-Bank-Bitcoin-to-replace-AUD

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 09:02AM by pogmo47

I am one of a very few trying to educate Vietnam about Bitcoin

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You guys can check out my website here

Most people in Vietnam haven't heard about Bitcoin yet, I'd say about 70%. Even worse, the mainstream media is still portraying Bitcoin as a joke; they still have not grasped the basics about Bitcoin. Rarely do I see an independent research on it, most are poorly translated articles from international mainstreams, so you get the idea.

A little bit about myself, I've been living in the States since 2002; I came here when I was 16. Right now I have a day job working in a restaurant from 10am-9pm. So I'd try to write, translate and post news, informations about Bitcoin until 1 or 2 am, I have a whole day to do that when I'm not working. Some people wonder where do I get the energy to do all this? Let me tell you man, there's only one answer, and the answer is always love. Love is always the answer, regardless the questions.

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 02:43AM by lx_production

There were an awful lot of Bitcoin Days Destroyed today.

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https://blockchain.info/charts/bitcoin-days-destroyed?timespan=30days

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 11:36PM by PotatoBadger

Do you remember this guy? He earned 1.5 BTC :)

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http://i.imgur.com/6EWErVa.png

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 08:00PM by PHPLego

ChromaWallet, the colored coins wallet, functions just like a normal Bitcoin wallet, but additionally it allows one to work with assets which are represented with colored coins, particularly to issue and trade securities/tokens of any kind.

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http://chromawallet.com/

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 03:20PM by puck2

Romania opens Bitcoin exchange, looks legit too.

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https://www.btcxchange.ro/

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 01:19AM by nophreedom

Concerned about account closures, I asked my credit union what their stance on Bitcoin was and wanted to share the conversation

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http://imgur.com/9omoti9

Submitted December 22, 2013 at 12:38AM by IamAlso_u_grahvity

Saturday, December 21, 2013

New Difficulty: 1180923195.26 (+30% INCREASE!)

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https://blockchain.info/block-index/451800/000000000000000390e14991429d55d122f0110fd3fdf2927432ca825c498d81

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 09:13AM by Kerrai

My brother makes handmade paper for his oragami so I had him make me some paper wallets!

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http://imgur.com/wAhmRRD

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 07:21PM by Buskcoin

India opens exchange: Unocoin.com

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http://www.unocoin.com

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 06:48PM by CoinWhisperer

Contractor bags paid with bitcoin!

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https://twitter.com/tonyacehardware/status/414425306129498112

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 04:05PM by CrunchyBones

The Bank of Japan is "very interested" in Bitcoin

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http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2013122000949

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 03:34AM by tamano_

Indonesia opens exchange Bitcoin.co.id

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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/bitcoin-finds-itty-bitty-market-in-indonesia/

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 02:15PM by realhuman

Warning: Current version Blockchain.info wallet is no longer Open Source

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Blockchain.info's deployed wallet app does not match the code posted on Github. This implies that the code was forked and is no longer Open Source and probably in violation of GPL.

Version in Github (3.61) not the same as deployed app (3.63)

https://github.com/blockchain/My-Wallet-Android/issues/39

Please prove me wrong

This is one of the best wallets around, but this discrepancy cannot be taken lightly -- we have no way to verify what this software is doing without the source code.

I submitted several bugs on Github and they have been ignored:

November 25: web wallet discrepancy (after I submitted a formal bug, the "App-Resources" repository vanished, so this is a link to cached version).

December 10: chrome extension wallet.

December 14: android wallet.

Edit: fixing markdown formatting.

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 04:47PM by jonf3n

The 14 BTC Starcraft show match will be starting on this channel 3 hours from now (Noon EST)

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http://www.twitch.tv/totalbiscuit

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 02:07PM by Thzae

Overstock.com CEO Unveils More Details About Bitcoin Adoption

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http://www.coindesk.com/overstock-unveils-more-details-bitcoin-adoption/

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 09:38AM by Initscri

GREELEY CONVENIENCE STORE BECOMES FIRST GAS STATION IN NATION TO ACCEPT BITCOINS!

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The Cosmic Market located at 2730 23rd Avenue, Greeley, Colorado today becomes the first Gas Station/Convenience Store to start accepting BITCOINS as payment. Using Coinbase for a bitcoin wallet and through the use of Coinbase API, the owner was able to create a simple to use bitcoin acceptance terminal that is simple to use for cashiers.

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 11:32AM by shahzadsarwar

Thrift Store in Van Nuys...wasn't expecting this

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http://i.imgur.com/5czi1AG.jpg

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 08:59AM by kramdiw

My saturday-hackaday project: BTC ticker for iOS, with homescreen exchange display. I'm considering open-sourcing it. Thought I'd make a post to gauge interest.

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http://imgur.com/tEni5BM

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 06:42AM by Jaygreco

We just passed 2,000 physical places that accept Bitcoin according to coinmap.org!

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It was 1,000 only a month ago. That's a pretty impressive growth rate if you ask me.

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 01:21AM by matthew412

Best way to prove ownership of an address?

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What's the best way to prove you control an address? Especially linking it to your real world identity? I've tried MultiBit's "Sign message" tool, but it's clunky and I can't attach a document.

I can use PGP to digitally sign a document, such as a copy of my passport. Is there a method to prove I own a specific address AND sign a document linking it to that address?

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 05:01PM by _______ALOHA_______

Saw this in Chicago today. Made me squee a little.

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http://i.imgur.com/K1ZJFJy.jpg

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 09:59PM by matada

$10m NSA contract with security firm RSA led to encryption 'back door' | World news

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/20/nsa-internet-security-rsa-secret-10m-encryption

Submitted December 21, 2013 at 02:52AM by AccordingToHim

Friday, December 20, 2013

Bloomberg TV just showed a private key for a bitcoin gift certificate on the air.

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I was watching bloomberg where they are doing the "12 days of bitcoin". The guy that is hosting the series gave bitcoin gift certificates to the other two hosts. One of them opens up the certificate to reveal QR code of the private key. They then proceeded to show a closeup of the QR code in glorious HD for about 10 seconds. Hilarious.

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 09:28PM by NastyMan9

Forbes Article: "If Target accepted Bitcoins, 40 million individuals would have been protected"

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/12/20/target-credit-cards-are-selling-for-20-100-each/

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 08:17PM by herrshuster

The HTML interface of blockchain.info can now do QR scanning! Now iPhone users can use Bitcoin without an app!

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No text found

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 05:14PM by dillpicklechips

You can now buy an airplane with Bitcoin.

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http://www.skycraftairplanes.com/skycraft-airplanes-now-accepting-bitcoin-payments/

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 03:32PM by carleverett

Andreas Antonopoulos @ Disrupt Athens

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2CsJ2HMA2I

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 02:39PM by iWeyerd

My biggest mistake when it comes to bitcoin: Telling my friends I own "xx" amount.

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And I hate myself for doing so. I've told a few of my friends I own "XX" Bitcoins which I bought at a "XX" value to spark their interest. Now after they realized that Bitcoin is serious business I have become the to go to person not only for cryptocurrency advice or information but also financial aid...

It is always along the line of:

Bro could you lend me $xxx, I really need some help, you'll get it back within a few days

I usually respond with "No, I am sorry" and so far nobody has pushed me further than that, but there is always some tension afterwards, like them constantly mentioning how broke they are, or telling me they can't hang out anymore because they have no money to, while that normally never ever was brought up. Perhaps it is because I am from a low income region and everyone including me used to live very tightly from paycheck to paycheck. Anyways lesson learned, don't be this stupid...I've come up with this white lie where I told them I lost most of my equity in the drop a few days ago and am looking to reinvest into dogecoins.

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 11:45AM by noleaves

Victoria's Secret now available on Gyft - just in time for Xmas!

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http://www.gyft.com/merchants/victorias-secret/

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 08:14AM by VinnyatGyft

The Bitcoin-documentary Deep Web has received 74 000 USD in pledges, 1000 USD to go – 18 hours left

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http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/2013/12/20/bitcoin-documentary-deep-web-received-74-000-usd-pledges-1000-usd-go-18-hours/

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 11:30PM by WDadw23

Bitcoin is NOT 'VIRTUAL' currency, it is 'DIGITAL' currency

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Can we all bitcoin community have a general concensus on never using the term 'VIRTUAL' when referring bitcoin or any other digital currencies. Bitcoin is NOT 'VIRTUAL' currency, it is a 'DIGITAL' currency.

Virtual currency is often referred to coins offered by game companies or amazon that is not backed by mathematics. And I found people thinking bitcoin to be similar, which it is not. So, it is very important to distinguish bitcoin from these virtual currencies.

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 03:34PM by ktm_xb0w

Former Director of the US Mint gives positive assessment of Bitcoin

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http://www.moneynews.com/Ed-Moy/Bitcoin-digital-currency-sovereign/2013/12/20/id/542981

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 01:17PM by CALibertarian

Poland's Ministry of Finance: Bitcoin isn't illegal

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http://www.pb.pl/3485125,94998,minfin-bitcoin-nie-jest-nielegalny

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 01:42PM by blahbob

Milton Friedman predicted bitcoin the year 1999

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2mdYX1nF_Y&feature=youtu.be#t=2m11s

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 12:23PM by chulini

Telegraph: When Amazon accepts bitcoins is when governments and banks get nervous

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http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/jamiebartlett/100011868/one-day-amazon-will-accept-bitcoins-thats-when-central-banks-and-governments-get-nervous/

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 08:04AM by TheyCMeTrolling

BitPay Exceeds $100,000,000 in Bitcoin Transactions Processed. Also Surpasses 15,500 Merchants

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http://blog.bitpay.com/2013/12/bitpay-exceeds-100000000-in-bitcoin.html

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 10:49AM by waspoza

Sick of pictures of "physical" coins being used in news articles about bitcoin. Here's a new logo.

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http://growlersoftware.com/users/reddit/bitcoin_logo.jpg

Submitted December 20, 2013 at 06:54AM by tetondon

Wanted to generate a new wallet. Typed the adress wrong. Landed Here:

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http://bitadress.org/

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 10:00PM by Schizo-Vreni

Robocoin ATMs Soon to Hit the United States

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http://newsbtc.com/2013/12/18/robocoin-atms-soon-hit-united-states/

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 06:49PM by deepy420

NSA found to manipulate funds in bank accounts, good for bitcoin?

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http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131218/14533925607/intelligence-task-force-hints-nsa-manipulating-financial-systems-changing-amounts-bank-accounts.shtml

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 04:48PM by wserd

My day trading experience with Bitcoin, summarized in one image

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http://i.minus.com/ig83OXtzV0yfA.gif

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 07:22PM by jonesyjonesy

Thursday, December 19, 2013

I was watching Bernanke on CNBC. Bitcoin must be pretty important..

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http://i.imgur.com/O3FL6gE.jpg

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 02:47PM by mastermind1228

[Update] My 9 year old son explained Bitcoin to his math class

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About a month ago I posted about my 9 year old Andrew and how he had gotten into Bitcoin in a big way, to the point of selling his (meager) Apple shares for Bitcoin and putting his allowance into it. He also was asked by his assistant principal to give a presentation on Bitcoin in his math class which he was extremely excited to do.

Original Post: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1r80cj/my_9_year_old_son_is_preparing_to_explain_bitcoin/

Coindesk article on him: http://www.coindesk.com/kid-sells-apple-shares-buys-bitcoin/

I wanted to report back that he did his presentation and it was a huge hit! He said there were a ton of questions--kids wanted to know everything from whether you could buy video games with Bitcoin to how the QR codes worked to how private and public keys worked. He knew most of the answers and really made it fun. His teacher reported back that she learned a few things and that the presentation was really interesting.

Pictures from the presentation: http://imgur.com/a/xn6Xk

He's also been asked to do a followup presentation for his science class! We printed up 30 more paper wallets and he's doing it today.

Since that first post he also started his first business, selling rubber band bracelets for Bitcoin only through his site: http://www.diddit.net/wonderbracelets/

To date he's fulfilled 17 orders (29 bracelets) to 9 states and 4 different countries. The demand got so high when his article was published that he had to 'hire' friends to make bracelets that he could sell on the site. Even cooler, he decided to use some of the shipping overages to send to charity, donating enough to help buy Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people through /u/seansoutpost. It has given him a real sense of accomplishment and made him feel far more empowered financially and with his future.

Thanks to the generosity of several redditors and readers of his article (both buying his bracelets and giving him a bit here and there), his original 0.15 BTC is now up to 0.62. Even though the USD value is low right now, his love of Bitcoin (and desire to buy more to hold) hasn't diminished in the slightest.

tl;dr: My son is teaching tons of kids about Bitcoin and has built a small business thanks to redditors and fellow Bitcoin enthusiasts.

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 04:26PM by SiON42X

Native American Activist Wants To Swap The Dollar For Bitcoin

Click Here To Go To This Conversation On Reddit

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasperhamill/2013/12/19/native-american-activist-wants-to-swap-the-dollar-for-bitcoin/

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 02:31PM by DaddyNumberOne

Marketwatch - Overstock to accept bitcoin. CEO says "Money is too important to leave in the hands of government officials,"

Click Here To Go To This Conversation On Reddit

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/12/19/overstock-com-to-accept-bitcoins-ceo-says-money-is-too-important-to-leave-in-the-hands-of-government-officials/?mod=MW_home_latest_news

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 06:29PM by asharp45

Sky broadband has now decided Bitcoin related sites must be blocked "To prevent illegal activity"

Click Here To Go To This Conversation On Reddit

Just got off the phone with a very friendly but ultimately useless young chap at Sky who informed me that I couldn't access mining.bitcoin.cz as it and many other bitcoin-related sites have been blocked (and will be staying that way) in order "to prevent illegal activity, and comply with court orders"

I do not have the words...

Edit: I live in the UK, though possibly not for much longer if this sort of thing keeps up

DoubleEdit: Seems to be working ok now. My guess is that either they switched the filter on on our account for shits and giggles, or the site was blocked by accident and they've now fixed it.

Submitted December 19, 2013 at 05:35PM by Pernicious_Pencil