IBM Bets Big On Blockchain, The Bitcoin Technology That Could Revolutionize Business. IBM will announce its plans for developing blockchain, the distributed ledger technology underpinning bitcoin, on Tuesday, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, as the company seeks to take a lead on what could become a revolutionary technology.
IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty will reportedly announce details of the company’s plans to advance blockchain technology at a conference Tuesday, including plans to test its own version of the blockchain software during 2016 and its ongoing collaboration with the Hyperledger project. IBM is among a number of companies that have contributed code to the Hyperledger project, which is run by the Linux Foundation, and seeks to build an open source repository of blockchain code that will address current gaps in technology. “The Hyperledger Project is a collaborative effort to focus on an open platform that will satisfy a variety of use cases across multiple industries to streamline business processes,” the foundation said in a statement. JP Morgan Chase Blockchain Trial: Bitcoin Server Could Streamline Loans And Settlements, Executives Say. JPMorgan Chase & Co. the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is looking to blockchain, a digital currency platform, to streamline deals, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
Blockchain is the technology behind online payment system bitcoin, and leaders from the bank said it would make many types of transactions quicker and more accurate. “Blockchain will be big in everything related to settlement, and not just loans. While it is still early days, the technology looks very good,” Daniel Pinto, head of JPMorgan’s investment bank, told the Financial Times.
Blockchain works as a public ledger, storing information on transactions without the intermediary of a central banking authority. While bitcoin and cryptography like it were at first limited to a fairly niche audience, JPMorgan has sought to lead an industry shift toward this kind of information-sharing. Goldman Sachs has also looked to adopt similar technology, citing the same possibilities for reduced costs and faster transactions. The real value of bitcoin and crypto currency technology - The Blockchain explained. Bitcoin: Is the crypto-currency doomed? Image copyright Getty Images A high-profile Bitcoin developer has said the crypto-currency has failed and he will no longer take part in its development.
Mike Hearn, a Zurich-based developer and long-time proponent of Bitcoin, surprised many this weekend when he published a blog calling Bitcoin a "failed" project. Mr Hearn, who had until recently been working on new software for the currency, says he has now sold all of his own bitcoins and will no longer take part in the crypto-currency's development. So, is Bitcoin doomed? What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin creator 'is 44-year-old Australian', claims Wired. Image copyright Getty Images You may remember Newsweek creating headlines around the world when it "outed" the creator of digital currency Bitcoin as being a 64-year-old Japanese American living near Los Angeles.
The magazine said it had found the mysterious "Satoshi Nakamoto", the man whose name has been linked with the creation of the currency. That "scoop" apparently proved false - Dorian Nakamoto (birth name Satoshi) ended up suing Newsweek after he said his life was turned completely upside down. And so it is with that rigmarole still fresh in our minds that I tentatively offer this article from Wired which says Bitcoin creator "Satoshi Nakamoto" is a pseudonym used by a 44-year-old Australian cryptologist named Craig Steven Wright.
Bitcoin scam charges made against companies in US. Image copyright Getty Images Two US Bitcoin mining firms have been charged with running a scheme that duped more than 10,000 investors.
GAW Miners and ZenMiner are accused of selling shares worth $20m (£13.3m) in mining hardware called Hashlets. Bitcoins are "mined" when computers solve equations that verify user transactions made with the currency. New York regulator grants banking charter to Winklevoss’ bitcoin exchange. U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Monday, as solid gains in European and Asian markets helped extend a rally on Wall Street begun late Friday.
The S&P 500 gained 22 points, or 1.2%, to 1,974 with all 10 main sectors trading higher. Telecommunications and industrials led the gainers, while about 95% of the stocks on the index were trading higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 184 points, or 1.1%, to 16,657, with only two stocks—Apple Inc. , off nearly 1% and Boeing Co. 0.1% lower—not in positive territory. General Electric Co. was the top gainer, surging 4.1%. Bitcoin Payment Processor BitPay Loses $1.8M in Phishing Hack. Atlanta-based bitcoin payment processor BitPay has suffered a phishing attack costing the company $1.8 million.
According to documents obtained by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a hacker posing as BitPay CFO Bryan Krohn sent emails in December from his account authorizing the transfer of 5,000 bitcoins in three separate transactions to SecondMarket — ostensibly BitPay’s one customer from whom it does not require advance payment. The email account of David Bailey, founder of Bitcoin quarterly yBitcoin, was compromised first. Krohn then received an email appearing to be from Bailey requesting he review modifications made in a Google document.
At the time they were in negotiations about the purchase of BitPay’s magazine business by yBitcoin, according to documents filed by BitPay. Krohn believes his login credentials were stolen when he entered them to access the supposed document. Nine of world's biggest banks join to form blockchain partnership. Big banks consider using Bitcoin blockchain technology. The basic technology underpinning the Bitcoin virtual currency could be used by some of the world's biggest banks.
Nine banks, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, may adopt the blockchain system that logs who spends which virtual coins in an ever-expanding computer equivalent of a ledger. The banks want to use the blockchain method because it is hard to fool - making fraud more difficult. It could also speed up trading systems and make deals more transparent. Former bitcoin exchange boss charged in Japan.
Image copyright AP The former head of the collapsed bitcoin exchange MtGox has been charged in Japan with embezzlement.
Mark Karpeles was arrested in August on charges that he falsified data about how many bitcoins MtGox possessed. MtGox shut down in February 2014 after it found that more than 850,000 bitcoins worth £132m had gone missing. At the time it closed, MtGox was the world's biggest exchange of bitcoins and handled about 70% of the transactions in the virtual currency. Former Secret Service agent guilty of bitcoin theft - BBC News. A former US Secret Service agent has pleaded guilty to stealing $820,000 (£521,000) of bitcoins during the investigation of the Silk Road website.
Shaun Bridges was part of the federal task force that helped investigate and shut down the Silk Road - an underground marketplace for drugs. The Silk Road's founder, Ross Ulbricht, was sentenced to life in prison in May for running the site. Bridges is the second agent involved in the case caught stealing digital cash. He pleaded guilty to counts of money laundering and obstruction of justice while stealing the virtual cash, during a court hearing on Monday in San Francisco.
Bitcoin could split in debate over currency's future - BBC News. A row over changing the software that produces bitcoins could split the virtual currency, core developers say. Bitcoin XT, a new version, is currently being recommended by the currency's chief scientist, Gavin Andresen. And its developer, Mike Hearn, says its adoption essential to ensure the currency can cope with growing demand.
Japan court rules against Bitcoin compensation plea. A Japanese court has ruled against a man hoping to claim compensation over lost bitcoins, saying the virtual currency cannot be owned. MtGox bitcoin chief Mark Karpeles arrested in Japan. Japanese police have arrested the CEO of the failed company MtGox, which was once the world's biggest exchange of the virtual currency, bitcoin. Mark Karpeles, 30, is being held in connection with the loss of bitcoins worth $387m (£247m, €351m) last February.
For Ransom, Bitcoin Replaces the Bag of Bills. Photo. FTC Cracks Down on App That Took Over Phones, Mined for Bitcoin. The Prized app installed malicious software on people's phones and used them to mine for bitcoin. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New Jersey officials this week cracked down on a developer whose app used consumers' phones to mine for bitcoin. Equiliv Investments and Ryan Ramminger are now banned from creating apps that use malicious software and must destroy all information about consumers they collected via their app. They were also fined $50,000 for violating the FTC Act and the NJ Consumer Fraud Act, though they will only have to pay $5,200 if they comply with the judgment.
Starting in February 2014, Ramminger distributed the Prized app on the Google Play Store, Amazon App Store, and others. Users were supposed to be able to earn points for playing games and downloading sponsored apps, which they could spend on real-world rewards. New York City man robbed at gunpoint for ... bitcoin? Bitcoin's baby: Blockchain's 'tamper-proof' revolution - BBC News. Nasdaq will start using Bitcoin technology - May. 11, 2015. Most people have heard of Bitcoin (XBT) as a system of electronic money -- one that hasn't really caught on yet. But what gets less attention is blockchain, the technology that powers the Bitcoin system. It's a computer program that automatically processes transactions and creates a perfect, reliable digital record.
High-tech bankers are starting to realize this could revolutionize trading. Nasdaq (NDAQ), a favorite exchange among many technology companies, is making the first move. On Monday, the stock market announced it will start using a blockchain system to keep records for its Nasdaq Private Market, which handles trading of shares in the pre-IPO phase before a company goes public. Big dark-web drug market Evolution goes offline. 19 March 2015Last updated at 07:15 ET. Cons in Bitcoin Business. Bitcoin Guide for Newcomers. Why Bitcoin's Price Has Crashed. Bitstamp Has Suspended Its Service After A Security Breach. Microsoft to accept payments made in bitcoins. 11 December 2014Last updated at 07:31 ET.
HSBC severs links with firm behind Bitcoin fund. Hiding currency in the Dark Wallet. U.S. watchdog calls bitcoin 'Wild West' of finance. Virtual cash heist diverts net traffic. EBA warns consumers on virtual currencies - View press release - European Banking Authority. Beyond Bitcoin: Crypto-Ownership Companies Hope You're Ready To Decentralize Everything On The Internet. Bitcoin Swaps Near Reality as Tera Creates Legal Framework (2) Tera Group Inc. created a framework for buying and selling swaps linked to Bitcoin that would let investors hedge risk from trading the digital currency. The firm announced today that it drafted a bilateral agreement that provides a legal template for trading Bitcoin swaps. Tera Group, based in Summit, New Jersey, is seeking clearance from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission so it can begin trading Bitcoin contracts on its swap-execution facility.
The Doomsday Cult of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Heist Highlights Elusive Paths of Regulation. What’s Not Being Said About Bitcoin. Bitcoin money-laundering charges will test digital currency laws. MtGox gives bankruptcy details. Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts down after massive theft. Bitcoin CEO found dead in Singapore, suicide suspected — RT Business. Bitcoin's life-or-death moment. Where Bitcoin boosters are getting it wrong. Follow The Bitcoins: How We Got Busted Buying Drugs On Silk Road's Black Market. How the Bitcoin protocol actually works.