Bitcoin Value Loses Its Mind As Trading Lags On The Mt.Gox Exchange. Bitcoin is acting up at the moment. Following a steep decline that saw the currency trade at prices not seen since late November, trading of Bitcoin on the Mt.Gox exchange has gone crackerdog. It has fallen into a pattern of very rapid rises and falls that end and begin in a very tight, specific trading range. The following is a chart using one-minute ticks to track the price of Bitcoin on the Mt.Gox exchange for today: Trading on Mt.Gox is also seeing massive delays, with the current lag listed as almost 40 minutes. So, I doubt that anyone has an idea about what is going on. Other Bitcoin exchanges, such as Btc-e are displaying similar prices for the currency, so the trading price on Mt.Gox isn’t itself too batty.
Instead, current trading patterns themselves are inscrutable, unless we presume some sort of algorithmic allergic reaction to current trading lag. Coinbase has Bitcoin at $848, and Btc-e at $865. Bitcoin has fallen from over $1,200 since the Chinese news cycle broke. Governments will struggle to put Bitcoin under lock and key. The hearings in the US senate last week were the most high profile public discussions that have taken place on the subject of virtual currencies. The US showed its openness by broadcasting the hearing, and it was watched by many Bitcoin enthusiasts around the world. The discussion looked at the potential risks and opportunities Bitcoin and other virtual currencies pose for society, without going into any of the technical details.
Senators made analogies with previous technologies and offered personal anecdotes, placing Bitcoin among inventions such as the internet and mobile phones. Positive comments from senators, the judiciary and US financial authorities sent the price soaring to its highest price yet, reaching US$900 at one point. At the start of this year, a single coin cost less than US$15. But the knowledge gap between legislators, law enforcement and Bitcoin developers is still vast. In coins we don’t trust If you’re not on the list…
Federal Agency Responses Reveal US Government Attitudes to Bitcoin. The US Senate committee due to begin hearings into ‘virtual currencies’ on 18 November has released the responses it received to its August 2013 requests for information on the topic from a number of federal agencies. Until the actual hearings begin, the letters provide one of the most detailed insights so far into how various US government authorities view bitcoin and its contemporaries. The requests from the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) asked five agencies about their existing policies and procedures regarding virtual currencies, their level of coordination with other federal agencies or governments at all levels on the matter, plus any strategies or ongoing initiatives they had in place. Responses to committee chair the Hon. Thomas R. “We've learned that the five agencies have a keen interest in virtual currencies, and have money laundering and terrorist financing weighing on their minds.”
DHS Response DOJ Response Federal Reserve Response. Www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/4322. Oct. 15, 2013 By Kevin Woodward Person-to-person and mobile payments company Dwolla Corp. is ending support for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies effective Oct. 28, Dwolla announced on Friday. Less than 0.1% of Dwolla’s merchants use virtual currencies, Des Moines, Iowa-based Dwolla says in a statement. “Dwolla has notified the few affected merchants and is working to ease the transition for them and the few users affected by the decision,” Dwolla says.
“Dwolla does not sell, accept, mine, value, take possession of, or hold Bitcoin or any other virtual currency product. None of Dwolla’s users transact business with Dwolla using Bitcoin or any other virtual currency product. ”Bitcoin is an electronic currency developed and maintained by a decentralized network of cryptologists and application developers. To send Bitcoins, users enter the recipient’s e-mail address and the amount to be transferred. A Dwolla spokesman would not comment beyond its statement. What Exactly Does the US Government Really Think of Bitcoin? Here’s the Story so Far. With the US Senate setting 18th November as the start date for its committee hearings into bitcoin, it’s time to take a look at some of the more significant events in bitcoin’s short but colorful legal history. The early timeline featured hacks, heists, drugs, demands for refunds and the first appeals to law enforcement, but 2013 saw official scrutiny rise almost as quickly as bitcoin’s value.
Whether or not bitcoin requires, or should seek, regulatory approval is a major source of heated debate on bitcoin discussion forums, but the regulation issue will remain prominent as long as significant amounts of wealth are at stake. CoinDesk’s ‘Is bitcoin legal? ‘ page is a good source of information on bitcoin’s current legal status and the major regulatory players. Stepping out of the shadows Though early enthusiasts had already recognized bitcoin’s world-altering potential, its rise to mainstream attention was inglorious at first. Bank robberies and legal disputes FinCEN steps in Cease! Tell us more. US Homeland Security committee to explore bitcoin's potential on 18th Nov. The US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has set 18th November as the date for its hearing into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. US Senator Tom Carper, chairman of the committee, said last week that the aim of the hearing, titled ‘Beyond Silk Road: potential risks, threats, and promises of virtual currencies’, is to “dig into what a whole-government approach to this new and unique technology may look like”.
According to a post on the Bitcoin Talk forum, several people representing bitcoin interests have been invited to testify, including members of the Bitcoin Foundation. The hearing will feature two separate panels, one representing US law enforcement agencies and another representing bitcoin, extolling the virtues of digital currencies. The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is also soon to hold a hearing about bitcoin, although the exact date of this is yet to be made public. Check back this week for further updates on this story.
The Future of Bitcoin: Three Predictions From Experts. Bitcoin is a cyber currency of growing interest to speculators, the media, and—most recently—the U.S. government. Many stories about Bitcoin, which is mined by computers and circulates without a central bank, contain sinister or science-fiction elements that make it hard to tell if the currency is for real or just an overblown gimmick. On Thursday evening, GigaOM hosted a meetup in San Jose where six Bitcoin authorities, including investors and engineers, shared their views on how the currency is evolving and who is using it. Here are three of the larger ideas to emerge from the discussion (if you want to catch up on the basics of Bitcoin, see “Yes, you should care about Bitcoin and here’s why”): Bitcoin can help ordinary people Wences Casares, a venture capitalist and chief executive officer of Lemon Wallet, grew up in Argentina, where he experienced firsthand what happens when a government mismanages its currency: inflation, capital controls, and the destruction of family savings.
Leading Economist Predicts a Bitcoin Backlash. Governments and established financial institutions are likely to launch a campaign to quash the decentralized digital currency Bitcoin, according to a leading economist and academic. Simon Johnson, a professor of entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, expects Bitcoin to face political pressure and aggressive lobbying from big banks because of its disruptive nature. “There is going to be a big political backlash,” Johnson said on stage at MIT Technology Review’s EmTech conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last Thursday. “And the question is whether the people behind those currencies are ready for that and have their own political strategy.”
The system of cryptographic software behind Bitcoin represents a significant technical advance, and the currency has inspired many cyber-libertarians (see “What Bitcoin Is and Why It Matters”). The code that supports and regulates the Bitcoin network is built into the software needed to use the currency. Bitcoin Weekly 2013 November 6: China market still going strong, another study ‘Bitcoin is broken’, US Senate seeks hearings on virtual currency. Not to be outdone from last week, Bitcoin value has continued its rise from $210 last week to exceeding $250 this week. Much of this is still speculated to be due to the introduction of China to Bitcoin exchange markets (and not without some convincing evidence.) Also this week–a new paper about how the protocol can be exploited comes out and media outlets jump on a “Bitcoin is broken” story. Hint: It’s not.
Finally, the US Senate is set to hold hearings on the impact and use of virtual currencies–including Bitcoin–this could be the start of yet another round of regulatory questions. China and Bitcoin: You’re going places, baby Over the weekend, BTC China became the world’s No. 1 exchange for bitcoins by volume–over a 24 hour period 36,104 bitcoins transferred on BTC China to 24,913 bitcoins on MtGox. Bobby Lee, CEO of BTC China, told CoinDesk: “It’s an honor to see that BTC China has been propelled ahead to number one in the worldwide rankings. New study: Bitcoin is not broken.