Yet another big retailer has started accepting Bitcoin. This time it's online computer and software seller Newegg.
That means you can buy an Asus Transformer tablet on Tuesday for $375, or 0.5751 BTC. And it shows this independent digital currency thing
is actually gaining steam.
In addition to buying gadgets on Newegg.com, you can use bitcoins to book travel with Expedia, CheapAir and Virgin Galactic; subscribe to Dish Network or the Chicago Sun-Times; shop on Overstock, TigerDirect and buy tickets to the Sacramento Kings or San Jose Quakes. Or you can purchase the latest albums by metal band Mastodon and rapper 50 Cent.
But here's the caveat. These companies are immediately converting those bitcoins into cash. They accept Bitcoin payments, because they are cheaper to process than credit card and PayPal payments. But they are wary of hanging onto the volatile currency for too long.
Source: CNN Money
Showing posts with label bitcoin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bitcoin. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Bitcoin in the news again - Senate takes a close look.
It's clear Bitcoins are growing in popularity. The price of the
currency soared to a new all-time high of $675 Monday, up from only $12 a
year ago. Without meddling banks in between transactions, Bitcoins
trade seamlessly and offer nearly as much privacy as cash.
That's why the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is hearing from various sides Monday. According to prepared statements from the Justice Department, an official at the DOJ said it needs more help catching criminals who use the secretive currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin users want the government to back off and let the system blossom.
Law enforcement doesn't like the anonymity - there are legitimate uses for Bitcoins. But it's also being used to anonymously buy drugs, hire assassins, trade child porn and dodge taxes.
The nation's acting assistant attorney general, Mythili Raman, described the more notorious ways Bitcoins are being used. She mentioned the recent FBI shutdown of Silk Road, an online black market. Illicit drugs and services were sold there using the untraceable currency. The agency arrested its alleged founder and seized 170,000 BTC, valued at $101 million as of Monday afternoon.
The way Bitcoins are transacted, using coded wallets and special keys that don't need real names, enables substantial privacy. That makes it more difficult to follow the money and catch criminals.
Along those lines, there are concerns that those making money from sex trafficking and pornography involving children have started to adopt Bitcoin.
The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children noted how anonymity offered by Bitcoin has made it the currency of choice for predators. The nonprofit group's president, Ernie Allen, says he's not against the digital economy. But he wants it less private.
"If the perception of anonymity diminishes, we believe the criminal use will diminish with it," he said in prepared remarks.
Edward Lowery III, who leads the Secret Service's criminal investigative division, added that the technologically complex Bitcoin system makes it hard for everyday agents to stay on targets' tails. They need more tech-savvy investigators than the agency can currently afford.
Also chiming in was the potential regulator that could one-day ruin the unregulated Bitcoin party: The Treasury Department.
Treasury already issued guidance in March saying that groups exchanging Bitcoins must register with the government and keep records. Everyday Bitcoin users remain unregulated. Jennifer Shasky Calvery is head of the department's financial crimes unit and warned about leaving the Bitcoin community untouched.
"One of our biggest challenges is striking the right balance between the costs and benefits of regulation," she said.
The Bitcoin community doesn't want too much regulation. Fans of Bitcoin say the currency is going mainstream, and it's not just for internet weirdos. That's why they want the government to give it a chance to grow and thrive without tacking on burdensome rules.
The Bitcoin Foundation, a group that seeks to strengthen the digital system, is trying to convince politicians the currency works as is.
The group also notes that meetings with financial regulators have gone well so far, but the Treasury Department should have met with Bitcoin supporters before taking a stance earlier this year.
"The American people have been reminded this year of reasons to be concerned for their privacy," says the group's attorney, Patrick Murck, referencing the recent disclosures about unwarranted government spying on innocent citizens.
Source: CNN Money
That's why the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is hearing from various sides Monday. According to prepared statements from the Justice Department, an official at the DOJ said it needs more help catching criminals who use the secretive currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin users want the government to back off and let the system blossom.
Law enforcement doesn't like the anonymity - there are legitimate uses for Bitcoins. But it's also being used to anonymously buy drugs, hire assassins, trade child porn and dodge taxes.
The nation's acting assistant attorney general, Mythili Raman, described the more notorious ways Bitcoins are being used. She mentioned the recent FBI shutdown of Silk Road, an online black market. Illicit drugs and services were sold there using the untraceable currency. The agency arrested its alleged founder and seized 170,000 BTC, valued at $101 million as of Monday afternoon.
The way Bitcoins are transacted, using coded wallets and special keys that don't need real names, enables substantial privacy. That makes it more difficult to follow the money and catch criminals.
Along those lines, there are concerns that those making money from sex trafficking and pornography involving children have started to adopt Bitcoin.
The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children noted how anonymity offered by Bitcoin has made it the currency of choice for predators. The nonprofit group's president, Ernie Allen, says he's not against the digital economy. But he wants it less private.
"If the perception of anonymity diminishes, we believe the criminal use will diminish with it," he said in prepared remarks.
Edward Lowery III, who leads the Secret Service's criminal investigative division, added that the technologically complex Bitcoin system makes it hard for everyday agents to stay on targets' tails. They need more tech-savvy investigators than the agency can currently afford.
Also chiming in was the potential regulator that could one-day ruin the unregulated Bitcoin party: The Treasury Department.
Treasury already issued guidance in March saying that groups exchanging Bitcoins must register with the government and keep records. Everyday Bitcoin users remain unregulated. Jennifer Shasky Calvery is head of the department's financial crimes unit and warned about leaving the Bitcoin community untouched.
"One of our biggest challenges is striking the right balance between the costs and benefits of regulation," she said.
The Bitcoin community doesn't want too much regulation. Fans of Bitcoin say the currency is going mainstream, and it's not just for internet weirdos. That's why they want the government to give it a chance to grow and thrive without tacking on burdensome rules.
The Bitcoin Foundation, a group that seeks to strengthen the digital system, is trying to convince politicians the currency works as is.
The group also notes that meetings with financial regulators have gone well so far, but the Treasury Department should have met with Bitcoin supporters before taking a stance earlier this year.
"The American people have been reminded this year of reasons to be concerned for their privacy," says the group's attorney, Patrick Murck, referencing the recent disclosures about unwarranted government spying on innocent citizens.
Source: CNN Money
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Silk Road, a drug & illegal services website, has somehow been reborn a month after being seized by the Feds.
The Feds may have taken down Silk Road, the online black market that's been coined the "Amazon of illegal drugs," but a little over a month later, it's re-emerged.
Not long after the bust, select users on the site received an email from a former active Silk Road user asking the community to help rebuild. The authenticity of the new forums was endorsed by former Silk Road user "Libertas."
Some users who wanted to be a part of the rebuilding gained access to "the Vendor Roundtable," a forum that outlined the details behind the launch of the new Silk Road. The administrator also called on users to volunteer for a "communication specialist" position in charge of organizing operations. "You will be assigned work to perform based on what needs to be done," read an email reviewed by CNNMoney.
Silk Road 2.0 emerged Wednesday alongside a number of other sites offering similar services.
The new Silk Road, like the original, offers everything from prescription medication to heroin.
"Silk Road is back up," a Twitter user who appears to be the owner of the new site tweeted. "Deja vu anyone? #weriseagain." The new Silk Road owner also took on the pseudonym of former leader Ross Ulbricht, Dread Pirate Roberts.
According to a former Silk Road user, the site was rebuilt by most of the major players who were heavily involved in day-to-day operations of the former site.
"Silk Road was something that had popularity that made it easy for people to continue down that path. As long as you can convince the bulk of the biggest buyers and sellers to move over to the new platform, it doesn't matter what it's called."
Before the original Silk Road was seized by the Feds, it had become one of the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplaces on the Internet, according to FBI Special Agent Christopher Tarbell.
But it certainly wasn't the only one. Other sites, including BlackMarket Reloaded and the Sheep Marketplace, have also been looking to attract sellers and buyers.
"Later on, newer versions that have improved in some way will pop up and regain the trust," another former Silk Road user told CNNMoney.
A priority for the reborn Silk Road is information security. The people rebuilding it are baking security measures into the site's code.
Not long after the bust, select users on the site received an email from a former active Silk Road user asking the community to help rebuild. The authenticity of the new forums was endorsed by former Silk Road user "Libertas."
Some users who wanted to be a part of the rebuilding gained access to "the Vendor Roundtable," a forum that outlined the details behind the launch of the new Silk Road. The administrator also called on users to volunteer for a "communication specialist" position in charge of organizing operations. "You will be assigned work to perform based on what needs to be done," read an email reviewed by CNNMoney.
Silk Road 2.0 emerged Wednesday alongside a number of other sites offering similar services.
The new Silk Road, like the original, offers everything from prescription medication to heroin.
"Silk Road is back up," a Twitter user who appears to be the owner of the new site tweeted. "Deja vu anyone? #weriseagain." The new Silk Road owner also took on the pseudonym of former leader Ross Ulbricht, Dread Pirate Roberts.
According to a former Silk Road user, the site was rebuilt by most of the major players who were heavily involved in day-to-day operations of the former site.
"Silk Road was something that had popularity that made it easy for people to continue down that path. As long as you can convince the bulk of the biggest buyers and sellers to move over to the new platform, it doesn't matter what it's called."
Before the original Silk Road was seized by the Feds, it had become one of the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplaces on the Internet, according to FBI Special Agent Christopher Tarbell.
But it certainly wasn't the only one. Other sites, including BlackMarket Reloaded and the Sheep Marketplace, have also been looking to attract sellers and buyers.
"Later on, newer versions that have improved in some way will pop up and regain the trust," another former Silk Road user told CNNMoney.
A priority for the reborn Silk Road is information security. The people rebuilding it are baking security measures into the site's code.
Source: CNN Money
Thursday, October 3, 2013
You can buy anything online. Apparently that includes drugs, assassins, and firearms...
According to the sealed complaint
filed by the FBI, federal agents arrested Ross William Ulbricht on
Tuesday afternoon, charging him with narcotics trafficking, computer
hacking and money laundering.
The FBI also seized the Silk Road website, replacing its homepage with a banner noting as much.
Since its 2011 inception, Silk Road has been the go-to black market for all sorts of illegal products and services. Its draw? The online marketplace offered an easy way to find goods and services -- and transact the money in secret. The site had 957,079 registered users, according to the FBI.
The site was operated on an anonymous network known as Tor, making activity on Silk Road virtually untraceable. The only money accepted on Silk Road was the digital currency bitcoin, adding an additional layer of anonymity to buyers and sellers.
Over the past two and a half years, the FBI said the site generated revenue worth more than 9.5 million bitcoins -- valued at $1.3 billion.
The FBI said Ulbricht's net worth was essentially his value in Silk Road's commissions, which totaled more than 600,000 bitcoins ($85 million).
Silk Road wasn't restricted to illegal drugs. The FBI says it was also used to trade firearms, hire assassins and employ hackers.
The FBI also seized the Silk Road website, replacing its homepage with a banner noting as much.
Since its 2011 inception, Silk Road has been the go-to black market for all sorts of illegal products and services. Its draw? The online marketplace offered an easy way to find goods and services -- and transact the money in secret. The site had 957,079 registered users, according to the FBI.
The site was operated on an anonymous network known as Tor, making activity on Silk Road virtually untraceable. The only money accepted on Silk Road was the digital currency bitcoin, adding an additional layer of anonymity to buyers and sellers.
Over the past two and a half years, the FBI said the site generated revenue worth more than 9.5 million bitcoins -- valued at $1.3 billion.
The FBI said Ulbricht's net worth was essentially his value in Silk Road's commissions, which totaled more than 600,000 bitcoins ($85 million).
Silk Road wasn't restricted to illegal drugs. The FBI says it was also used to trade firearms, hire assassins and employ hackers.
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