French Government Outlines New Regulations for Bitcoin Market Transparency

The French Ministry for the Economy and Finance has outlined regulatory measures to be put in place by the year’s end for financial institutions and users of bitcoin and other digital currencies.

CoinSummit Day Two: Mining Superpowers and the 51% Challenge

A significantly thinned out crowd reassembled for the second day of CoinSummit in London today.

Those who didn’t attend the Swam-sponsored afterparty the previous night – or possessed exceptional powers of post-party rejuvenation – dutifully filed into the glass-walled East Wintergarden. Several panelists informed CoinDesk, and in some cases posted on Twitter, that many libations were consumed the previous night.

Mystery Scavenger Hunt Gives Away Bitcoin in San Francisco

Someone is going around San Francisco and leaving small sheets of aluminium all over the city. No, they are not littering. The sheets are in fact bitcoin ‘paper’ wallets – part of an elaborate scavenger hunt that is being carried out by an anonymous and fun-loving donor.

Italian Authorities Issue Bitcoin Warnings, Urge Regulation

Three Italian institutions have issued new bitcoin warnings in recent days, calling for new legislation to eliminate loopholes and regulatory ambiguity

Argentinian Money Regulator Mandates Reporting on Bitcoin Activity

Argentina’s Unidad de Información Financiera (UIF) has ordered financial services companies within the country to report all transactions involving digital currency

CoinSummit Day One: Capital Ventures and Wall Street’s Stance

CoinSummit kicked off at the East Wintergarden in London’s financial district, Canary Wharf, today. The bitcoin confab is pitched as the place for serious players in the emerging cryptocurrency economy to talk shop.

Bitcoin Opportunity Corp Invests $250k in Swedish Exchange Safello

Swedish bitcoin exchange Safello has received $250,000 in new funding from the Bitcoin Opportunity Corp (BOC).

Safello made the announcement at the CoinSummit conference in London today. Notably, the financing is the BOC’s largest investment outside of the US yet.

Netagio Launches Exchange for Gold, Sterling and Bitcoin Traders

Bitcoin storage firm Netagio has today launched an exchange that allows users to trade bitcoin, pounds sterling and gold.

The exchange offers users three order-books, allowing trades between bitcoin and gold, bitcoin and sterling, and gold and sterling.

Government-Backed Bitcoin Industry Association to Launch in Japan

Japan has formed a new advocacy group for bitcoin businesses and, notably, it has the explicit backing of the nation’s government.

First Regulated Bitcoin Investment Fund to Launch on Island of Jersey

The island of Jersey has approved the launch of a bitcoin investment fund, which the government claims will be the first such fund to be regulated.

State of Bitcoin Q2 2014 Report Reveals Expanding Bitcoin Economy

In April we announced that CoinDesk would be publishing State of Bitcoin updates on a quarterly basis. Given the positive response we have received since 2014’s first report, we are pleased to release our latest update.

Coinfloor Boosts Team With Ex-Goldman Sachs Exec

UK-based bitcoin exchange Coinfloor has appointed a former managing director from both Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse as its executive chairman today.

Pantera Launches BitIndex to Track Bitcoin

Pantera Capital, an investment fund that focuses on bitcoin, has announced an index it says will allow investors to track the cryptocurrency over a medium-term timeframe.

Ross Ulbricht Loses Bid to Dismiss Federal Silk Road Suit

Alleged Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht has suffered a setback in his efforts to fight federal narcotics and money laundering charges after a US court rejected his bid to dismiss the suit.

Former US Mint Director: How to Save Bitcoin From the Regulators

Edmund Moy, the former director of the United States Mint under the Bush administration, first learned about bitcoin in the form of a footnote embedded in a coin demand forecast report.

BitPay Releases Beta for Open-Source, Multi-Signature Bitcoin Wallet

Bitcoin payments processor BitPay has released the beta version of an open-source, multi-signature wallet service called Copay.

New Study: Low Bitcoin Transaction Fees Unsustainable

Transaction fees have come to the fore again after core developer Gavin Andresen indicated that the next bitcoin core update would feature a new way to determine fees.

Facebook Breaks Up Cryptocurrency Mining Botnet Lecpetex

Facebook has successfully dismantled a major bitcoin botnet operated by a small team of cyber criminals based in Greece.

Bitcoin Foundation Hires Firm to Lobby Congress on Cryptocurrencies

Stan Higgins

The Bitcoin Foundation has stepped up its US lobbying efforts by hiring Washington, DC-based firm Thorsen French Advocacy.

Brock Pierce Announces Dollar-backed Cryptocurrency ‘Realcoin’

Nermin Hajdarbegovic

Bitcoin entrepreneur Brock Pierce has announced the launch of ‘realcoin’, a new cryptocurrency backed by the US dollar.