Bitcoin

Blockchain is the underlying technology that powers bitcoin, altcoins (other cryptocurrencies), NFTs, smart contracts and DAOs. Distributed ledgers, the term of art for blockchain’s underlying technology, offer a way to transact business without relying on a central authority. Here’s a nontechnical, simplified description of the component parts. Continue Reading →

An ICO is similar to an IPO (initial public offering) in that it offers a certain amount of ownership in a company to the public. In an IPO, a share of stock represents fractional ownership of a corporation. In an ICO, a crypto coin represents a percentage of ownership in pretty much any business endeavor offered by pretty much anyone. This lack of regulation and oversight allows for quick growth, pivots, and innovation but it also comes with a brand-new risk profile – which is both exciting and terrifying! Continue Reading →

Shelly Palmer talks with Teresa Priolo and Antwan Lewis about the corrupted hub of criminal activity surrounding the dark web. Continue Reading →

PayPal said today that a subset of North American merchants that accept payments online using PayPal can now accept bitcoin as a payment method, too. Bitcoin acceptance will be limited to those merchants that use Paypal to sell digital goods, such as ringtones, games and media. These sellers will have to sign up with one Continue Reading →

Over the past year, it’s become a lot easier to buy bitcoin, thanks to services such as Coinbase. And thanks to retailers such as Overstock.com and TigerDirect, it’s now a lot easier to to spend them online. But there’s still one big pothole in bitcoin’s bumpy road to mainstream adoption: Your local coffee shop. That’s Continue Reading →

  Bill Ready, who led the company through its sale, says that mobile conversion rates are still far off from where they are on the desktop web. That’s partially because it’s a lot more tedious to enter or re-enter credit card information on mobile devices. Ready says that more than half of e-commerce shopping experiences Continue Reading →

eBay’s PayPal is in talks with Coinbase and other bitcoin transaction providers to integrate the virtual currency within its Braintree payments system, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Executives at PayPal, which owns the service that handles payments for startups from room-bookings network AirBnB to car-on-demand service Uber, have not struck any agreements, the Continue Reading →

An authoritative-looking report has appeared that suggests bitcoin‘s meteoric rise late last year — from $200 to $1,200 in one month — may have at least partly been the work of bots, possibly associated with those running the melted-down MtGox online exchange. The so-called Willy Report emerged on Sunday, claiming to demonstrate fraudulent activity at Continue Reading →

The implosion and subsequent liquidation of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox last month played to the worst fears about digital currencies. Confusing to use and volatile as a store of value, bitcoin has also been the frequent target of hackers, thieves, and incompetent businessmen. Despite bitcoin’s appeal to venture capitalists eager to profit from a new Continue Reading →

The U.S. Federal Election Committee said on Thursday that the virtual currency, bitcoin, could be used for donations to political action committees under certain conditions. In a unanimous vote, the FEC, which enforces U.S. campaign finance laws, said a political committee could accept donations in bitcoins up to an individual limit of $100 for each Continue Reading →