Ripple Labs Proposal For New Smart Contract System, Codius
https://ripple.com/blog/smart-oracles-building-business-logic-with-smart-contracts/
Ripple Labs has announced their publication of Smart Oracles, a white paper for smart contracts. Smart oracles are described by Ripple Labs as “semi-trusted entities” that execute code agreed upon by contracting parties across multiple networks. Codius, the proposed system, will allow developers to build smart contracts in any programming language using smart oracles. Ripple Labs also highlights the variety of uses for smart contracts, including escrow accounts, crypto-currency wallet controls, and voting.
Jeremy Allaire on Why Bitcoin is ‘Good Money’ For the Global Digital Era
http://www.businessinsider.com/jeremy-allaire-2014-7
Jeremy Allaire, founder of Circle, wrote an article for Business Insider discussing the potential of Bitcoin by focusing on its “policy issues.” Allaire compares Bitcoin to gold, a commodity that is rare, divisible, intrinsically valuable, and can be described as “good money.” Allaire applies the same criteria to Bitcoin. The “proof-of-work” system regulating the discovery of bitcoin anchored by the amount of computing power it takes to mine bitcoin, gives Bitcoin its intrinsic value. “Computational verifiability” makes the digital currency infinitively divisible, it can be ubiquitously distributed through the Internet, it is scarce with a predictable supply, and is politically independent. Allaire concludes by emphasizing the importance of integrating “Bitcoin into the mainstream of world trade.”
Bitcoin: The Stripe Perspective
https://stripe.com/blog/bitcoin-the-stripe-perspective
Stripe’s CTO Greg Brockman wrote a blog post examining what a widely adopted Bitcoin may look like in the mainstream. Brockman discussed bitcoin as money, noting that it does have potential in high-inflation economies and is easily transferrable. He also discusses the importance of financial services or “gateways,” which would allow bitcoin users to convert the digital currency in their local currency. Brockman compares bitcoin to other global payments networks such as PayPal and card networks. He concludes that bitcoin would improve the current financial system through the technologically open ecosystem, the allowance of independent companies to run layers of the financial system, and as a global payments network.
Fred Wilson: Security and Hoarding Are Holding Back Bitcoin
http://www.coindesk.com/investor-fred-wilson-security-hoarding-holding-back-bitcoin/
Speaking at NYU last week, venture capitalist Fred Wilson highlighted the reasons why bitcoin has not yet achieved widespread adoption. He claims, hoarding with rampant speculation lead to price volatility and create supply problems in the bitcoin economy. Wilson also mentioned the security issues surrounding bitcoin, but does provide reasons why bitcoin is an attractive payment option for merchants, charities, and other organizations.
Mt. Gox Creditors’ Meeting Delivers Few Answers and One Apology
http://www.coindesk.com/mt-gox-creditors-meeting-delivers-few-answers-one-apology/
Mt. Gox bankruptcy trustee Nobuako Kobayashi conducted a meeting with 100 Gox creditors and Mark Karpeles. Kobayashi spent 25 minutes explaining the details of the case and then conducted a 90-minute Q & A session; the entire meeting was in Japanese. Karpeles was asked by a creditor to make an apology, which he did briefly. Upon the request of the majority of the creditors, Kobayashi said he would attempt to distribute the remaining 200,000 bitcoin in bitcoin, as opposed to Japanese yen. Kobayashi also revealed his plans to meet with potential purchasers of the defunct exchanges assets, but did not mention when. The investigation in to the disappearance of the roughly 850,000 BTC has not lead been solved.
Ex-Goldman Trader’s Bitcoin Exchange to Fill Mt. Gox Void
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-22/ex-goldman-trader-opens-bitcoin-exchange-to-fill-mt-dot-gox-void
Yuzo Kano, ex-Goldman trader, has raised 160 million yen ($1.6m) from a Japanese VC to start bitFlyer. BitFlyer, a Japanese bitcoin exchange, allows anyone with a Japanese bank account to buy and sell bitcoins online. BitFlyer attempts to appeal to beginners by acting as the counter-party for either transaction allowing them to be completed instantly, as opposed to linking buyers and sellers together. Kano plans to offer the exchange’s services outsides out Japan by year-end through raising cash from an overseas fund. The exchange, which has been live since April, will attempt to fill the void left by Mt. Gox.
Why Banks Don’t Work With Bitcoin
http://www.coindesk.com/real-reason-banks-dont-like-bitcoin/
Banks are reluctant to work with bitcoin. They have closed down account of bitcoin startups and even bitcoin accepting businesses. According to a senior banking practitioner in Australia, banks struggle with the anonymity of bitcoin. Banks have to comply with know-your-customer (KYC) requirements or even “know your customer’s customer” requirements, which with bitcoin are difficult for banks to track. Additionally, bitcoin is not legally defined as “money,” which, in Australia, disallows regulatory oversight. Meaning banks would have to regulate and monitor the digital currency on their own. Overall this leads to higher costs, more risks, and more work, something banks are not willing to do.
Israeli Bitcoin Conference Postponed Due to Gaza Crisis
http://www.coindesk.com/israeli-bitcoin-conference-postponed-due-gaza-crisis/
Due to ongoing military action in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli military and Hamas, the Inside Bitcoins conference in Tel Aviv has been postponed. The cancelation of international flights in to Israel due to rocket attacks at the airport contributed to the postponement. A new date for the Tel Aviv conference has yet to be chosen.
NSF Grants Princeton Assistant Professor $500k For Cryptocurrency Research
http://newsbtc.com/2014/07/22/nsf-grants-princeton-assistant-professor-500k-cryptocurrency-research/
Arvind Narayana, Assistant Professor at Princeton University, has received $500,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his work entitled “TWC: Small: Addressing the challenges of cryptocurrencies: Security, anonymity, stability.” According to the NSF’s abstract (and title of the project), the goal of the research is to develop a cryptocurrency that is secure, private, and stable. The grant was issued on June 30th as part of the Secure Trustworthy Cyberspace program.
WinkDex Bitcoin Price Index Launches Developer API
http://www.coindesk.com/winkdex-bitcoin-price-index-launches-developer-api/
WinDex, the bitcoin price index made by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has made its API available for developers. The goal of the WinDex is to provide up-to-date price data that will serve their proposed bitcoin ETF and other aspects of the index. Still no indications have been made as to when their ETF, which is still seeking SEC approval, may launch.
BTC China Launches USD, HKD Bitcoin Trading Accounts
http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/news/chinese-bitcoin-exchanges-btc-china-okcoin-start-accepting-usd/2014/07/21
Following OKCoin’s announcement to add USD deposits, BTC China will now offer USD and HKD deposits and withdrawals. The launch will begin with an invite only testing period where the exchange plans to collect USD deposits. The Shanghai based bitcoin and litecoin exchange, BTC China, intends to continue to adapt to Chinese regulation.
Lativa’s National Airline, airBaltic, Now Accepts Bitcoin
http://newsbtc.com/2014/07/21/latvias-national-airline-airbaltic-now-accepts-bitcoins/
airBaltic has become the first known airline to accept bitcoin payments. However, bitcoin payments for airBaltic airline tickets do require a €5.99 transaction fee, which is said to “cover the costs associates with processing and handling the booking.” The Lativan airline has 25 aircrafts and flies to 60 destinations.
The Most Expensive Bitcoin Painting Ever Sold
http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/news/expensive-bitcoin-painting-sold/2014/07/21
The Bitcoin Supper, a painting styled after the Last Supper, has been sold for 4.65 BTC ($2,900). Youl, a French artist, painted the work of art, which includes “Blockchain Jesus,” Mark Karpeles (Judas), the Core Developers, and several other common figures of the Bitcoin community. Bitcoincito, the mysterious seller of the painting, collaborated with Yoru to make the painting possible.