Digital currency Bitcoin hits new high before losing S$200 in value in one day

[CityFarmer]

Wow... 200,000 bitcoin, with each bitcoin's priced at US$556 now, the amount is approx US$111 mil

So a perfect place for treasure hunt?

Mt Gox finds almost 200,000 missing bitcoins

LONDON — Shuttered bitcoin exchange MtGox has found almost 200,000 bitcoins which it believed were lost, according to the company’s CEO Mark Karpeles.

The money was sitting in a wallet which the firm thought no longer held bitcoins. However, following the application for civil rehabilitation (a Japanese legal procedure analogous to bankruptcy), “these wallets were rescanned and their balance researched,” says Mr Karpeles, and one wallet was found to hold a balance of 199,999.99 bitcoins.

Mr Karpeles says that the money, discovered on 7 March, was moved first to online wallets, and then back to an offline wallet between 14-15 March. After the discovery, Gox now holds around 202,000 bitcoins, and still says that approximately 650,000 bitcoins have “disappeared”.

MtGox closed doors in late February, after blaming hackers for the loss of millions of pounds worth of bitcoin. Since then, the firm’s US subsidiary has applied for bankruptcy, and two class action lawsuits have been started by users.

As every bitcoin transaction is public, it is possible to double-check MtGox’s claim. The rediscovered wallet appears to be one which was noticed on 7 March, when it sprung into life after a dormant period and transferred exactly 199,999.99 bitcoins in two separate transactions.

However, there remains a minor conflict between MtGox’s public statement and the evidence in the “block chain”, the record of all transactions. While Karpeles says “an” old-format wallet was discovered, the record shows that the money was spread between five wallets. The difference is minor, but in the highly charged reaction to MtGox’s closure, it is likely to be seized upon as evidence of untrustworthiness on the company’s part. THE GUARDI

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/mt-gox-f...g-bitcoins

[CityFarmer]

An interesting idea from the VC. I am sceptical on the idea. In those countries, US$ are already the alternative to its own volatile currencies, aren't they? I doubt bitcoin will bear more "trust" than US$, which is lacking on their own currencies.

Venture capitalist wins Silk Road bitcoin auction

SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper is betting that bitcoins will bring more financial stability to countries with shaky economies, even though the digital currency faces an uncertain future itself.

The financier revealed on Wednesday that he snapped up nearly 30,000 bitcoins in a recent United States government auction and plans to trade them on a platform catering to markets looking for alternatives to their own volatile currencies.

“Using Bitcoin could benefit you more than any other currency out there,” Mr Draper said on Wednesday at a press conference.

In an effort to circulate more bitcoins in the targeted markets, Mr Draper is working with Vaurum, an exchange that is part of his investment portfolio.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/venture-...in-auction

[yourusualkid]

An interesting idea from the VC. I am sceptical on the idea. In those countries, US$ are already the alternative to its own volatile currencies, aren't they? I doubt bitcoin will bear more "trust" than US$, which is lacking on their own currencies.

There's no physical form, which means it's easier to "carry it" around. Also no issue of forgery.

This is interesting: http://www.coindesk.com/how-bitcoin-help...l-freedom/

[alchemytrader67]

Does anyone know a trusted platform to buy and sell bitcoins accessible from Singapore?

[CityFarmer]

An interesting idea from the VC. I am sceptical on the idea. In those countries, US$ are already the alternative to its own volatile currencies, aren't they? I doubt bitcoin will bear more "trust" than US$, which is lacking on their own currencies.

There's no physical form, which means it's easier to "carry it" around. Also no issue of forgery.

This is interesting: http://www.coindesk.com/how-bitcoin-help...l-freedom/

No physical form and the possibility of disappear overnight, without knowing the exact reason, might be the "concern" on bitcoin, rather than a merit, especially in those countries.

Forgery is a concern, but much less than the concern on "cease of circulation", IMO.

I reckon the bitcoin has more chance in developed countries, rather in the under-developed countries.

The link is an interesting link, and I assume it is just a propaganda of interested parties.

[sunrocker]

Hi Guys, this may be out of topic but there is currently a TVB drama 點金勝手 revolving the stock market, quite interesting and I believe the way they show how the market works are true, just that we are too small to get involved. There's also a part in the drama similar to Bitcoins as well I reckon. Have a look at it if you have time.

Cheers.

[yourusualkid]

An interesting idea from the VC. I am sceptical on the idea. In those countries, US$ are already the alternative to its own volatile currencies, aren't they? I doubt bitcoin will bear more "trust" than US$, which is lacking on their own currencies.

There's no physical form, which means it's easier to "carry it" around. Also no issue of forgery.

This is interesting: http://www.coindesk.com/how-bitcoin-help...l-freedom/

No physical form and the possibility of disappear overnight, without knowing the exact reason, might be the "concern" on bitcoin, rather than a merit, especially in those countries.

Forgery is a concern, but much less than the concern on "cease of circulation", IMO.

I reckon the bitcoin has more chance in developed countries, rather in the under-developed countries.

The link is an interesting link, and I assume it is just a propaganda of interested parties.

You are right on the uptake in developed countries than less developed countries because it is reliant on a peer to peer network (more like internet connection) , at least for the moment.

Not really propaganda, but more of the notion that the technology of bitcoin is way advanced than what we have at the moment, including gold and fiat. It's important to separate the bitcoin payment system from the actual bitcoins itself, the value of bitcoins might wind to zero compared to usd one day; but the actual network stays as long as someone has power and can connect to the network even in an event of a nuclear war.

[specuvestor]

It's been a bad year for the Russian ruble and a terrible 12 months for the Ukrainian hryvnia. But it's been a catastrophic 2014 for Bitcoin, the virtual currency.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/20...wasbitcoin

[opmi]

Hi any VB bought Bitcoin before??? I am interested to know more..and maybe TIKAM some...

Thanks.

[iewnuj]

Hi any VB bought Bitcoin before??? I am interested to know more..and maybe TIKAM some...

Thanks.

I have and I still hold/trade a small quantity for speculation. It's a very high risk "asset" and it's so volatile that you can trade without leverage, unlike FX.

Check out www.itbit.com. I believe it is one of the most liquid exchange in this region. Trading costs for bitcoins are typically lower than other traditional instruments.