Category: Bitcoin
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Bitcoins, Are Cryptocoins Money? / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Michael_S_Rozeff
The bottom line is that cryptocoins are not money. The Austrian analysis rules.
Money’s key property is that it is a numeraire for goods. Wikipedia puts it this way:
“Numéraire is a basic standard by which value is computed. Acting as the numéraire is one of the functions of money, to serve as a unit of account: to measure the worth of different goods and services relative to one another, i.e. in same units.”
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Sunday, March 30, 2014
Bitcoin Scam - MTGox Finds 200,000 Behind Sofa, How Many More Hidden in old Socks, Coat, Shoes? / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Nadeem_Walayat
MtGox which stands for 'Magic the Gathering' and not 'Mount Gox' that the mainstream broadcast press still mistakenly reports it as, has apparently found 200,000 of the estimated 800,000 missing bitcoins behind what amounts to an electronic sofa, as MtGox reveals that 200,000 bitcoins worth approx $100 million were found in an old digital wallet kept off line (old hard drive) that effectively blows a hole in their whole story to date of being innocent victims of 'bitcoin transaction malleability' (causing transactions to be issued twice) as the means by which theft of the MTGox bitcoins took place that MtGox representatives have been spouting of since at least Mid Feb when the web site filed for bankruptcy.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Bitcoin Price Pause at $500. Is It Temporary? / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
If you don’t have time: we think shorts could become more profitable.
We’ve long been discussing Mt. Gox’s fall and the credibility of Mt. Gox’s claims that their Bitcoins might have been stolen via transaction malleability exploits. It now turns out that Christian Decker and Roger Wattenhofer of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich came up with a paper in which they analyze Bitcoin transactions on Mt. Gox starting with data from January 2013.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Bitcoin Price False Turnaround? / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
Keeping it short: we don’t support any short-term positions at the moment.
There is a growing market of services around Bitcoin and the world of finance seems to recognize the opportunity this presents. The Wall Street Journal reported a new Bitcoin-related derivative instrument was being developed by Tera Group Inc. The aim of the company is to provide a first Bitcoin swap.
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Saturday, March 22, 2014
Bitcoin Price Move Below $600 Continues / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
Cutting right to the chase: we don't think going short is a good idea yet.
Just when you would think the situation with Mt. Gox couldn't get any stranger, it has. Apparently, the exchange "found" almost BTC 200,000 in one of its old wallets this month. The coins would be currently worth approximately $115 million. A statement published yesterday on the exchanges website reads:
Read full article... Read full article...MtGox Co., Ltd. had certain old-format wallets which were used in the past and which, MtGox thought, no longer held any bitcoins. Following the application for commencement of a civil rehabilitation proceeding, these wallets were rescanned and their balance researched. On March 7, 2014, MtGox Co., Ltd. confirmed that an old-format wallet which was used prior to June 2011 held a balance of approximately 200,000 BTC (199,999.99 BTC). MtGox Co., Ltd. investigated the presence of these 200,000 BTC, immediately reported it to its counsels in the application for commencement of a civil rehabilitation proceedings ("counsels"). A hearing took place on March 8 where a detailed explanation of the situation was made to counsels. Immediately on Monday (March 10), counsels reported the existence of the 200,000 BTC to the Court and the Supervisor.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Bitcoin - My Two Bits / Commodities / Bitcoin
By: David_Morgan
Some have asked our view on Bitcoin, and my response is simply -- I view these things from a Free Market perspective. I have often stated that "The Market knows more than any of us". I would not want to be labeled a hypocrite by stating my conviction that the "real" free market is capable of making decisions that are in the best interest of masses, and then proceed to disparage Bitcoin through a personal bias.
However, I do have a personal bias as to the basic construct of money, or what I would prefer to think of as "real" money. Here the span of history has given us a very clear message that a fair exchange of value for value is the only ethical way for people to conduct a transaction that is mutually beneficial for both parties.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Bitcoin Market Tensions Building Up / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
To the point: we don’t support any positions in the market just now.
Mt. Gox has enabled users to log into their accounts and check their wallet balance. Before users get excited – this doesn’t mean that they will be able to access their money. For all we know, these balances are nothing more than numbers on a computer screen, or if you will in a database. Mt. Gox reminds of that using different wording:
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Monday, March 17, 2014
Why I’d Still Stay Away from Bitcoin / Commodities / Bitcoin
By: DailyGainsLetter
Mohammad Zulfiqar writes: “I think the stock market is getting into the overbought territory. Gold is due for a pullback. To be honest, I don’t see many opportunities out there other than bitcoins.” These were the words of wisdom from my good old friend Mr. Speculator. While most have forgotten about the virtual currency, Mr. Speculator thinks there’s an opportunity.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Bitcoin Trading Maybe Flat but Not Flatlined for Good / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
To the point: we don’t support having any short-term positions in the market now.
We wrote yesterday that Bitcoin’s future holds promise and that the system has the potential to revolutionize payments. In an article from its print edition, the Economist also comes to the conclusion that the characteristics of Bitcoin may as well outweigh the recent disastrous shutdown of Mt. Gox over the long term. What is more, the applications of Bitcoin or its underlying general ledger (blockchain) system might not be restricted to money transfers:
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Saturday, March 08, 2014
Alleged Bitcoin Creator Denies Any Involvement / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
To the point: we don't support having any short-term positions in the Bitcoin market.
The media frenzy surrounding the supposed discovery of the Bitcoin creator continues. Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, the man Newsweek claims to be the creator of the currency, denied having any involvement with Bitcoin and claimed he hadn't heard of Bitcoin until recently.
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Friday, March 07, 2014
If Bitcoin Were Regulated and Mt. Gox Were A Bank / Politics / Bitcoin
By: Jeff_Berwick
Justin O'Connell writes: "Thus, the libertarian-minded bitcoin investors are forcefully recognizing what happens in crisis when a currency regime has no central bank as a backstop....Think of how much carnage occurred in 2008, did you lose any of your deposits? I would think bitcoin holders on mtgox are wishing the FDIC would step in and guarantee their funds." - Ben Rand
Friday, March 07, 2014
Why Bitcoin Prices Are Rising Again / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Money_Morning
The mainstream media has put out a lot of stories detailing the demise of the Mt. Gox exchange, but they haven't had nearly as much to say about why Bitcoin prices are rising again.
Maybe that's because so many of them are rooting for Bitcoin to fail, especially if they're on record having written off the digital currency as a bubble. But reality keeps interrupting that narrative - and rather rudely.
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Friday, March 07, 2014
Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Found - Worked on Secret Government Projects / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: LewRockwell
Russia Today writes: A reporter for Newsweek says she’s unmasked the mysterious Japanese-American man responsible for inventing Bitcoin, the world’s most widely used digital cryptocurrency.
In an article published on the magazine’s website Thursday morning, Leah McGrath Goodman recalled the events of a two-month investigation she undertook recently in an attempt to unearth facts about Satoshi Nakamoto, the man who invented Bitcoin in 2008 but has avoided the media entirely ever since.
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Sunday, March 02, 2014
Bitcoin the Perfect Scam, Price Does Not Reflect True Dangers of Holding Bitcoins / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The Bitcoin USD price has recovered strongly by more than doubling from the crash low of $240 of 16th February in the wake of the collapse of the worlds largest Bitcoin exchange MTGox (Magic the Gathering) that declared bankruptcy a couple of days ago, though the current Bitcoin market price of $560 is still half the $1250 high of less than 3 months ago.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Bitcoin Ponzi Scam Crash Update - MTGox Vanishing Act, Who Will be Next ? / ConsumerWatch / Bitcoin
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Holders of the Bitcoin fictional currency remain in a state of denial as MtGox, the worlds largest Bitcoin exchange has effectively gone bust after a fortnight of statements that they would soon resume allowing clients to transfer their funds and bitcoins out of 'Magic the Gathering', instead MTGox has disappeared in a puff of smoke with some estimated 750,000 of customer bitcoins that at the current average market price of $500 (illiquid price) would be worth $375 million.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Friedman and Hanke on Bitcoin / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Steve_H_Hanke
In 2008, Bitcoin was mysteriously introduced to the world in an obscure, technical paper written under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. By late 2013, the financial press was filled with reportage on Bitcoin and its dramatic price increase.
Well ahead of Satoshi Nakamoto, Nobelist Milton Friedman, champion of free market economics and noted expert on money and banking, anticipated the coming of digital currencies, and foresaw the potential impacts that they would have on finance and economics.
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Thursday, February 20, 2014
Bitcoin Craptocurrency Price Crash Accelerates to MTGox $112, Destiny with Extinction / Commodities / Bitcoin
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Magic the Gathering! The worlds largest bitcoin exchange MTGox as measured by volume remains in a state of free fall where those that followed the cue of bitcoin pumper's to buy at last weeks rock bottom prices of around $250 that followed a 2 month collapse from $1250 will now themselves be sitting on a loss of about 55% less than a week later.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Bitcoin Craptocurrency Ponzi Crash Grinds Towards ZERO, Where's Max Keiser Hiding? / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Bitcoin Craptocurrency has plunged to USD $230, down 81.6% from its USD $1250 high - Unfortunately for bitcoin holders the ponzi scam crash continues to play out as holders of bitcoins find out that as is the case with all scams that when they want to sell their holdings they CAN'T. Instead they are locked into holdings that continue collapse in value all the way towards a pittance of the price that hooked them into buying of just a few months ago.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Bitcoin Panic - Bloodbath on Mt. Gox / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
Very briefly: it is our opinion than not having any short-term positions is the way to go.
Panic. This one word sticks in the back of everybody’s mind when assessing what’s been going on in the Bitcoin market for the past couple of days. It might be hard to get one’s head around the fact that the currency was at $900 on Feb. 5, only to almost reach $300 today. The sell-off continues, today coinciding with news of another hacker attack.
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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Bitcoin Trading Alert: Bitcoin Exchanges Under Attack / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
If you don’t have time: we still don’t support having any short-term positions.
The news of the day is probably the denial of service attack carried out on major Bitcoin exchanges. Bitstamp, a Slovenian exchange, and BTC-e, a Bulgarian one, have both announced they would experience the same kind of problems that earlier hit Mt. Gox.
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