A few days after Mt.Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, an obscure Twitter user named Eren Canarslan reported that he had heard from an inside source that Mt.Gox had “found” their lost coins. Canarslan later claimed that Mt.Gox CEO Mark Karpeles had confirmed this rumor. Two weeks later, Mt.Gox announced that nearly 200,000 BTC…
Mobile gift-card app provider Gyft had pulled something of a retail-store coup, officially adding retail giant Walmart to its merchant list. This slightly indirect buying method means that bitcoin-bearing shoppers can use their cryptocurrency at all Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in the U.S. (roughly 5,000 locations), although it is not clear if the cards…
In the world of bitcoin-variant cryptocurrencies, few experiments have gained as much attention as Auroracoin. The Icelandic alt-coin was designed to offer a viable alternative to the nation’s long-troubled domestic currency, the krona, which has massively devalued in recent years. One key part of the plan to launch Auroracoin is the so-called “airdrop” of half…
A new version of malware worm is causing headaches for Linux users across the internet. Last year, Symantec identified a PHP-exploiting worm called “Linux.Darlloz” which was popping up on non-PC Linux devices like routers and security cameras. The worm was a security specialist’s nightmare, but most vulnerable devices could be easily patched with a simple…
Bloomberg reports that the Tera Group Inc. is seeking approval of a legal framework to allow bitcoin swaps. The derivative device would allow investors to trade payments based on the performance of bitcoin versus that of an established fiat currency. The terms for a multimillion dollar swap between two U.S. institutions is planned to hedge…
The first generation of bitcoin exchanges had it easy. Users were so happy to have a place to buy and sell bitcoin, that they didn’t worry too much about how those businesses actually operated, whether or not they were secure, or even if the user funds were really all accounted for. The situation at Mt.Gox…
Bitcoin ATMs all share a similar problem: They require cash. Customers pay in cash to receive bitcoin (either in a QR code-based transaction or a receipt-like paper wallet), or they pay in bitcoin to withdraw cash. For a currency that was born on the internet, relying on cash and paper to do business is a…
BitTorrent client FrostWire made news late last year when it introduced a plan to enable artists to embed bitcoin payment addresses into their uploads, providing a simple means to pay the artist directly. That functionality was included in the latest FrostWire update, 5.7.1, released yesterday. The payment integration includes support for litecoin, dogecoin and PayPal…
Atlanta-based BitPay is one of the rising stars of bitcoin payment processing, but until recently it didn’t have a seat at the table of bitcoin’s best-known advocacy group, the Bitcoin Foundation. Yesterday, the BitPay formally joined the foundation with a bang, joining at the “Gold” sponsorship level. While a “Gold” membership doesn’t come with many…
Last year, German-owned cryptocurrency exchange Vircurex was hacked, losing a “significant number” of bitcoin, litecoin and other alt-coins from the site’s hot wallets. The exchange reported the loss soon after it happened, and vowed to replace lost funds from their own pockets. Owing to “large fund withdrawals in the last weeks,” however, the exchange announced…