Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Bitcoin miners don’t have to register with the US government


30 December 2013 | By Kwame Opam | theverge.com rsz_bitcrThe US Treasury Department’s Economic Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance earlier this year outlining how virtual currencies like Bitcoin ought to be regulated. According to the suggestions as initially interpreted, each businesses and people trading in the cryptocurrency would want to register with the [...]
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Bitcoin miners don’t have to register with the US government

Bitcoin malware: India among leading targets


30 December 2013 | articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com rsz_bitcoin_1NEW DELHI: Bitcoin craze is turning into a fertile ground for cyberfraudsters as thousands of computer systems, including in India, are getting infected with malwares connected to the virtual currency. The findings of a survey, that has pegged the count of computer systems infected with bitcoin associated malware at at least [...]
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Bitcoin malware: India among leading targets

I Strip for Bitcoin


30 December 2013 | By Natalie Matthews | elle.com bitcoin-stripping-marilyn-horizConfession: When I hear “Bitcoin” pointed out in conversation at function or a celebration (and it comes up far more and much more lately) I nod knowingly and quickly shove meals in my mouth in hopes that no one calls me out on my utter ignorance: I [...]
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I Strip for Bitcoin

Bitcoin Magazine Interview: India



Blockchain.info Sponsors British Lady In Solo Row Across Pacific

In June 2014, Elsa Hammond will attempt to row across the pacific ocean, from Monterey Bay in California to Hawaii, a distance of over 2,400 miles, as element of the  Excellent Pacific Race 2014.


Hammond expects to invest about three months at sea and she will row on average for 16 hours a day. Her goal is to beat the existing record of 99 days and as element of her work she is raising cash for the Plastic Oceans Foundation.


Blockchain Sponsorship and Pizza


Hammond reached out to the Bitcoin neighborhood in November, and Blockchain.info agreed to donate to the result in. Nicolas Carey from Blockchain says of the attempt:



“I discovered about Elsa’s solo try back in London and I was instantaneously inspired to help her efforts – even more so simply because she saw the benefit of accepting Bitcoin donations. I personally appreciate pushing my physical limits but what Elsa is attempting is really historic. It will take grit, persistence, and a sense of adventure – just like creating a Bitcoin business.”



Screen Shot 2013-12-31 at 21.10.40 (2)


He continued: “There are lots of amazing stories taking place in Bitcoin each and every day but I was specifically captivated by Elsa’s. There are too couple of stories about girls and Bitcoin nowadays. Blockchain.information is critical about supporting the Bitcoin neighborhood – and we’re honored to help in any way we can”.


Hammond is also supplying to purchase a pizza with bitcoin from the middle of the Atlantic ocean by means of satellite telephone for the most significant private bitcoin donor to help her record-breaking try. Donors who wish to win the pizza even so, can’t be anonymous! To be in with a likelihood you have to submit your name and address to Elsa along with the transaction ID of the donation produced to 1HuocGmJzsSLUsYKy32ZjJT9Nux9Ko3uVG.


Record Attempt


Elsa Hammond Pacific Ocean race


Hammond will be the only female solo contestant from the UK in the race, which is the initial ocean rowing race to try the Pacific. It spans two,400 miles in total, but the actual route will mean negotiating challenging winds and weather situations, which will make the final distance considerably longer. Of the 20 boats entered only five are soloists, and only one other soloist is a female.


Hammond expects to undergo severe psychological and physiological pressures throughout the race, in which she is vanishingly unlikely to have any get in touch with with the other contestants. Currents, winds and climate, plus their choice of routes are most likely to separate all the contestants from the initial day.


In addition Elsa will have to cope with the psychological effects of isolation, self-reliance, and facing storms alone. She will have to keep herself alive by converting salt water into fresh water utilizing an electric desalination device.


The Boat


Hammond’s boat is becoming built by Justin Adkin of SeaSabre who has rowed the Atlantic Ocean himself, and she has, as of writing, paid the first instalment towards its completion.


She commented: “It’s a solo rowing boat that is about 22ft and about 6ft wide. There’s a modest cabin at each finish which can be closed off, and each cabin is about 7ft lengthy. The cabin I’ll be sleeping in is the stern cabin, that’s exactly where my living space is, exactly where I can lie down, and I will have all my electrical equipment: my GPS, battery, sat telephone, VHF radio, and AIS transponder which alerts me to other boats in the region. So at night time, if I’m asleep it will alert me if I’m in a shipping lane, for example.”


Boatwithkitsmall
Credit: New Ocean Wave

Specific donations to cover individual bits of kit required for the journey can be made directly at her web site in bitcoin (or by PayPal) at http://www.elsahammond.com/kit/ and basic donations can be made here.


The boat will have a small cabin at every single end, one for sleeping and communications gear and another for storing rations and will price around £50,000. The cost of the race in total, nonetheless, will be as considerably as twice that at around £100,000 to cover the price of communications, water-producing and safety equipment, plus food, transport, insurance coverage and race costs.


On her blog, Hammond notes that: “The colour of the boat will be decided by early February, so any huge business or donor hoping to achieve title sponsorship has a month to stake their claim and decide on the colour and name of the boat (as effectively as splash their branding all over it). Now is the time to sponsor.”


The Plastic Oceans Foundation:


Above and beyond the £100,000 she needs to raise for the race itself, Elsa aims to raise an added £20,000 for the Plastic Oceans Foundation whose function is to combat the effects of plastic pollution in our oceans and to raise awareness about the wonderful pacific garbage patch through which she will be rowing.


Of it Elsa says: “It’s ‘like a thick soup of plastic particles which is extremely tough to clean up. It’s not basically bottles and plastic bags, but tiny particles which attract toxins, and get eaten and go into the food chain. The Plastic Oceans Foundation is a relatively new charity which operates with companies to uncover alternative materials to disposable plastics, and lobbies governments so as to raise awareness and people’s understanding of the problem“. 


Plastic-Oceans-FINAL-CMYK-with-Shadow-150x150


According to her weblog: “The North Pacific Ocean is property to the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch,’ a concentrated area of plastic pollution the size of Texas. This is not – as is typically believed – a floating island of  large pieces of plastic, but can instead be described as a sort of plastic ‘soup’ created up of billions of plastic particles of varying size. These particles absorb toxins, and are ingested by birds, fish and other marine life – more than 250 species are identified to have ingested or turn out to be entangled in plastic. These are also frequently the identical fish that end up on our dinner plates!”


Due to the fact the North Pacific is residence to such a wide variety of wildlife and because Elsa will be moving so slowly and quietly via the water she will have the likelihood to observe whales, dolphins, sharks, albatrosses, flying fish, tuna and pelicans close up, and as a result has supplied to take component in some citizen science for institutions during her trip.


She will have to preserve up to date with her navigation, make positive every little thing on the boat is in operating order, eat sleep and tweet, all whilst blogging regularly and producing podcasts.


How to Help the Result in


brochure-200
Credit: Satyadarshin

To help Elsa and understand much more about her trip go to www.elsahammond.com exactly where you can check out the brochure, donate to the result in or order a T-Shirt. You can donate privately, fund particular products of kit, or get in touch with Elsa about PR and branding opportunities. There are also special rewards accessible for donors.


Elsa says though her boat will get lighter as she approaches the finish of her journey, she will increasingly drop her ballast and will consequently have to flood the lockers with seawater, in case it capsizes.


Elsa reassures us that whenever on deck she’ll be wearing a harness and that the boat is designed to be self-righting but “it’s unusual for boats to capsize during a voyage. In the event the boat capsizes, they’re produced to come round again, unless you‘ve left the hatches open“.


CoinDesk hopes this doesn’t occur of course, and we wish her the best of luck!


View Blockchain.info Sponsors British Lady In Solo Row Across Pacific on CoinDesk.



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Blockchain.info Sponsors British Lady In Solo Row Across Pacific

Why I Lost Faith In Bitcoin As A Money Transfer Protocol


As 2013 came to an finish, a lot of reflected on final year’s largest tech news — and Bitcoin was a severe contender. But the main question remains: why are individuals interested in Bitcoin? This entire debate reappeared when Charlie Stross stated that “Bitcoin looks like it was developed as a weapon intended to harm central banking and income issuing [...]
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Why I Lost Faith In Bitcoin As A Money Transfer Protocol

Paul Krugman Is Incorrect: Bitcoin Isn’t Evil, But Monetary ‘Stimulus’ Is


forbes.com / By Keith Weiner / December 30, 2013 ten:11AM Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the allegation against the Nobel Prize winning economist, Professor Paul Krugman, is serious. Over the next 600 words I will show you the evidence to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Let me to introduce Exhibit A, his recent New York [...]
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Paul Krugman Is Incorrect: Bitcoin Isn’t Evil, But Monetary ‘Stimulus’ Is