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Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer HashFast has avoided being forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings by signing a deal with its creditors.Under the deal, signed in a federal bankruptcy court in San Francisco, HashFast will commit to an accelerated restructuring in order to meet its obligations. Mining company Liquidbits sought court approval last week for HashFast to enter an involuntary bankruptcy in order to recoup funds lost after HashFast failed to deliver on a $6m order.Ars Techina reported that HashFast is now able to resume part of its business. However, the bankruptcy court placed restrictions on the manner in which the company can sell products in keeping with previous agreements struck during arbitration.The court order read:“Subject to the other provisions of this Paragraph 2, HashFast may operate only in the ordinary course of its business.”Permission to sell inventoryUS Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali gave HashFast the go-ahead to begin selling some of its mining chip inventory, up to 1,000 units, as a way to raise funds. As part of the agreement, the company can raise no more than $100,000 by this method.The court order also stipulated that the company’s creditors may grant future approval for more chip sales.HashFast has provided its creditors with pricing figures for the products it intends to sell, and must abide by an agreement to not sell them for any more than the agreed-upon amount. The court also said that HashFast’s creditors must keep this information in strict confidence.HashFast to hire chief restructuring officerHashFast has agreed to hire an outside counsel to serve as chief restructuring officer during the process. Any candidate is subject to approval from the company’s creditors, the court said.According to Ars, HashFast has reportedly retained the services of an attorney from the Brincko Group, a law office specializing in corporate restructuring and bankruptcies. The company’s lawyer also noted that this person has already been brought onto the team to help begin the restructuring effort immediately.The court decision represents the first hint of a turnaround for the company, which in March had its bitcoin wallets frozen.For months HashFast has been dogged by customer complaints and allegations of fraud. In early May, the company announced that it was firing 50 percent of its staff, saying the layoffs were a result of a business model restructuring rather than preparations for possible bankruptcy.Bankruptcy court image via ShutterstockbankruptcyHashFastLiquidbits
Original author: Stan Higgins

Saying that this week was a tumultuous one in the altcoin world would be an understatement, which is quite the feat considering its high volatility relative to the bitcoin marketplace.In today’s All Things Alt, we look at some of the less-than-rosy events of the week in case you missed the play-by-play on reddit, Twitter and, of course, the exchanges.Libertycoin price falls following developer exitlibertycoin ataThe libertycoin community experienced a severe price shock when a senior developer for the alternative digital currency left the project this week, though it has since recovered.The news – and alleged mass sale of his holdings – resulted in a correction that brought the coin’s price from roughly US$0.07 to an average of $0.02.Other developers for libertycoin released a statement on 28th May, clarifying their vision for how the altcoin would move forward following the exit of the developer and the ensuing price collapse.Ideas include setting up an ATM network in Mexico City, where the developer Templar77 resides, and integrating libertycoin into a separate exchange project being pursued in Mexico as well.Describing himself as a libertarian and “maybe a crypto anarchist”, Templar77 took to task those who suggested the price collapse was an act of the development team, saying:“I hate when people blame the ‘dev team’ for a given price in the market. It’s not the job of a dev to care about the price. If the price falls is not our fault or our job to make it rise.”Templar77 went on to say that “if you want a coin’s price to rise you have to work for it and not just depend on the ‘dev team’”.Darkcoin, x11coin rivalry triggers Twitter spattwitterlogoThe past two weeks have seen the meteoric rise of anonymous altcoins, digital currencies which leverage specialized network technologies to conceal both the source and identity of those conducting transactions.Darkcoin, x11coin (XC) and monero are a few altcoins that have seen big increases in attention from investors, traders and crypto-enthusiasts.Earlier in the week, a rivalry of sorts began between the communities of darkcoin and XC which unfortunately took a turn for the worse as allegations of stolen or misrepresented code elements surfaced on Twitter and the Bitcoin Talk forum. Others questioned why the developer opted to keep some elements of the XC code private during development.At the center of the argument was a tweet from the official darkcoin Twitter account, which linked users to the Bitcoin Talk post containing the allegation that XC’s developer had appropriated elements of fedoracoin.Really? #xc #x11coin? https://t.co/9IPu7V6FEJ— Darkcoin (@DarkcoinCrypto) May 29, 2014Some users quickly posted condemnations of the post, suggesting that members of the darkcoin community were intentionally sabotaging XC. Others defended the decision to use the official account to share the link, deeming it an effective method to force transparency in an ecosystem rife with fraudulent behavior.The event triggered a broad sell-off in the price of XC, which fell from from an average of $2.70 to $1.40. At press time, the price of one x11coin was approximately $0.83.The XC developer took the Bitcoin Talk forum and denied allegations that the code employed was appropriated from the fedoracoin code. There have been calls for independent reviews of the code, as well as a push for more information as to why the accusations emerged in the first place.The developer has announced that the forthcoming edition of XC’s Windows wallet demonstrates the anonymizing technology. Testing of this version is currently under way.McDogecoin Burger efforts apparently stifledmcdogecoinThe dogecoin community recently launched an effort to promote the alternative digital currency in an unusual way, by entering burger designs into a contest held by fast food giant McDonald’s UK.However, it appears the community has run afoul of the competition, with its highest-voted entry having been removed from the contest website.On 20th May, McDonald’s UK announced the MyBurger promotion, a campaign that offered users the chance to submit their own burger designs on the company’s website. People can also vote online for their favorites.After the contest ends on 29th June, McDonalds UK will take the 12 top-voted ideas and choose five that will receive a month-long trial run at participating restaurants in the UK.The dogecoin community’s entry, called The McDogecoin, included hickory smoked bacon, nacho chips, spicy salsa sauce and crispy fried onions on a cheese and herb-topped ciabatta bun. The entry reportedly received tens of thousands of votes, and at one point was the highest-trending and most popular burger in the contest.On May 29th, it emerged that McDonald’s UK had deleted the entry from its site. Dogecoin fans quickly took to the dogecoin subreddit to discuss the matter, as well call for votes for other doge-themed burgers like The WowBurger.CoinDesk reached out to McDonald’s UK, who were unavailable for immediate comment.Strange alt of the weekiaurabIn previous editions of All Things Alt, we’ve profiled alternative digital currencies that toe the line of trademark violation (in some cases, leaping right past the line). When it comes to coins modeled after celebrities, the most notable example is Coinye West, the now-defunct altcoin that utilized the likeness of rap star Kanye West, resulting in a global lawsuit.This week, a new altcoin called iaurabcoin debuted on the Bitcoin Talk forum, using the visage of a Latin American Twitter personality named Iaura B. who has nearly 500,000 followers.The alternative currency uses the X11 mining algorithm and is a proof-of-work/proof-of-stake hybrid, with an 11m coin max supply and staking interest of 15% annually.According to the developer, the goal was to leverage Iaura B.’s fame as a means to both promote the coin and cryptocurrency at large via Twitter. The developer even suggested that users tweet at Iaura B. in order to generate interest and potentially bring her aboard.Unsurprisingly, many forum users suggested that Iaura B. would most likely seek to shut down the coin. CoinDesk reached out to her PR team, who said:“We already contacted the person who created the coin. If they will be making a profit out of it with our image and reputation, then we need to discuss that.”On 28th May, the developer announced on Bitcoin Talk that the project was cancelled due to “unexpected circumstances”.Have a tip about a notable happening in the altcoin world? Email CoinDesk at [email protected]Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement. Please do your own extensive research before you consider investing in the altcoin space.altcoinsDarkcoindogecoinMcDonald's
Original author: Stan Higgins

bitex.la
Buenos Aires-based real-time bitcoin and litecoin exchange Bitex.la has officially launched with the goal of providing what its founders call the Latin American market’s “first regional exchange”.The news follows the company’s soft launch this March, with the formal unveiling representing the company’s introduction to the wider Latin American ecosystem it aims to target. To date, Bitex.la says it has enlisted users in Colombia, Mexico, Spain and the US, though it aims to soon expand to more countries.Perhaps most importantly, however, the exchange will also service its home market of Argentina, where a volatile local currency and a high black market demand for USD have created a burgeoning bitcoin ecosystem that could prove to become an integral foothold for the industry.Francisco Buero, the company’s chief operating officer, framed Bitex.la as a company that will seek to become a trusted digital currency trading and banking alternative to the already robust local market.“We’re going to [be] launching a trading API in the following months, and we’re investigating and trying to set up better ways for people to fund their accounts, so most of the money is going to go to new markets in Latin America,” Buero said.Bitex.la is backed by a $2m investment from a UK-based investment firm that it says will provide it the capital it needs to follow through on this mission.Operational challengesOf course, given that major Latin American markets are just now beginning to react publicly to bitcoin, Bitex.la is taking steps to mitigate the potential risk it faces by being early to market. Argentina’s Central Bank, for instance, this week issued a warning to local investors.Hence, the exchange, while using Buenos Aires as its base of operations, is incorporating in the Netherlands in order to guard against this risk, said Buero, explaining:“Latin America doesn’t have a clear picture about how to regulate bitcoin. It’s not as safe or convenient to set up a [bitcoin] business in Latin America. We don’t want to be a victim to the whims of all the regulators in these countries yet.”Buero continued suggesting that, by incorporating overseas, Bitex.la hopes to negotiate with regulators in each market differently.Emphasizing user experienceBitex.la is looking to build services that outperform other available market options, which it has criticized for not working with local currencies and requiring consumers to have a “deep understanding” of bitcoin and its related technology.Buero noted that Bitex.la is currently seeking to formalize its customer relationship with payment processor AstroPay, which would allow it to streamline how users will interact with its website. It is also looking to work with major remittance providers Western Union and MoneyGram as well.However, the company still faces banking challenges:“Right now, the main funding option that people are using is international bank transfer. We are offering OKPay through AstroPay, which in turn goes through Egopay. It’s a very cumbersome process, people are not actually using that since it takes so much time to get the money to us, so they’re just using bank transfer.”By using AstroPay, Buero suggests, this three-step process will be simplified: ”We will offer you a button that says ‘Fund through AstroPay’. Then, you can set the amount and your payment method.”AstroPay had previously provided a similar service to now-defunct Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox that allowed it to take customer deposits from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, among other major Latin American markets.Building trustThe company is also taking steps to secure its customer funds in light of the recent problems at major, centralized bitcoin exchanges. The exchange says it will use technological standards such as SSL and AES-256 cryptographic encryption, and that all deposits will be kept in cold storage.In addition, Buero said that the site now allows users to enrol simply by uploading an ID to the website. The photo is then validated to meet know-your-customer (KYC) compliance standards. Customers can then fund their accounts with up to $3,000 each month.Buero, however, does acknowledge the challenge of creating awareness about bitcoin and his company’s services.For the moment, he says Bitex.la is aggressively targeting new customers through Google and Facebook outreach, but that it aims to meet with local players in each of its target markets so it can help these entities liquidate their BTC holdings.Still, Buero suggests that the company is still treading cautiously, aiming to take the right steps as it seeks to corner a coveted market, saying:“We are going after those guys one by one and that’s how we’re building most of our exchange’s volume right now.”This approach could prove wise given what’s at stake in a local market, where the high volatility of local currencies could make bitcoin a viable, everyday payment option, and $50bn in black market USD is held in Argentina alone.Buenos Aires image via ShutterstockArgentinaBitex.laexchangesLatin AmericaSouth America
Original author: Pete Rizzo

BitFury
Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer BitFury has announced $20m in new financing that it will use to further strengthen its international market presence while accelerating its production of ASIC, semiconductor and server products.Participants in the round included Binary Financial, Crypto Currency Partners, Georgian Co-Investment Fund, Queensbridge Venture Partners and ZAD Investment Company.Additional funding was provided by former Google employee, former General Catalyst managing director and Snapchat investor Jonathan Teo, and Glyde and Scribd board member Bill Tai.Valery Vavilov, CEO of the San Francisco and Amsterdam-based company, framed the funding as a validation of the company’s market position, stating:“This investment will further accelerate our growth, and we are excited to strengthen our industry leadership with next-generation hardware and services.”Binary Financial indicated that its investment in the company was made due to the strength of the company’s technology and its team, telling CoinDesk:“As a trusted broker for large bitcoin transactions, Binary Financial made a strategic investment in BitFury, and we believe BitFury will continue to lead the way for ASIC development.”The funding round is one of the largest in the bitcoin ecosystem to date, coming in below BitPay’s record-breaking $30m Series A and equalling the $20m round raised by secure storage and consumer wallet provider Xapo in March.International expansionThough allegedly housing its operations in strategic locations around the globe, BitFury says it will use the new funding to build out its facilities and develop new opportunities in other areas of the burgeoning bitcoin market.Vavilov suggested that BitFury aims to continue to seek investments, perhaps next by bring its business to the public markets, saying:“The success of this funding round validates our strategy and brings us closer to our aspiration of becoming the world’s first publicly listed bitcoin company.”Industry footprintBitFury operates one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining operations, claiming extensive mining operations and datacenters in Finland, Georgia and Iceland.However, the company’s footprint can be seen throughout the mining industry, where its products have played a key role in the development of other major mining infrastructure operations around the globe.For example, MegaBigPower, one of the North America’s largest commercial bitcoin operations, powers its warehouse with BitFury-designed rigs, while Las Vegas-based CoinSeed purchased $5m in BitFury mining gear to launch a large-scale bitcoin mining clearing house this past January.Image via CoinDeskASICBitfuryinvestorsmining
Original author: Pete Rizzo

Students
Coinbase has already handed out free bitcoin to over 20,000 students as part of its college bitcoin giveaway, the company says.The bitcoin wallet and payments provider launched the scheme on 14th May, giving students who sign up the equivalent of $10 in bitcoin.Not all students are eligible, however – only those with .edu addresses can apply and a limited number of universities can participate. CoinBase says it tried to include the top 500 universities worldwide.The promotion was inspired by a similar project launched by two MIT students last month. The MIT giveaway, or ‘airdrop’, is limited to 4,528 undergrads, who will each receive $100 worth of bitcoin later this year.Top 10 tableCoinbase recently published an updated list of the top 10 institutions in terms of signups to the scheme, revealing that the University of Michigan leads the way with 941 signups. The Californians are not far behind, though, with 939 signups coming from Berkeley. The University of Illinois ranks third with 873, followed by the University of Texas with 698 signups.NYU, UCLA and Stanford are also on the list, along with UC Davis and a couple of other colleges. MIT is no longer in the top 10.Security hurdleCoinbase is going to some lengths to ensure that the free bitcoins go to legitimate college students, and is asking applicants to verify a unique phone number before they can receive their funds.“This extra check has greatly reduced scammers trying to take advantage of this promotion. So it allows us to keep this promotion going,” says Coinbase.Coinbase is still calling on eligible college students to sign up for an account and claim their $10 freebie, on top of which they can get an extra $1 referral bonus for getting more classmates to sign up.Students image via ShutterstockCoinbasedonationseducation
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic

The big news today is that price of bitcoin is back up above $600 – the first time since March that the Bitcoin Price Index has been this high.Let’s take a look back at the week’s biggest stories and uncover the events leading up this Friday’s good news.DISH becomes world’s largest company to accept bitcoin: US satellite service provider DISH Network has announced that it will start accepting bitcoin payments later this year. This announcement means that the Colorado-based company will be the largest ever to accept digital currency payments. Overstock was previously the biggest mainstream company to accept bitcoin, but DISH can boast over 10 times as much revenue.‘Willy Report’ suggests fraudulent trading pumped bitcoin’s price: There was more speculation this week that bitcoin’s November 2013 surge was caused in part by fraudulent trading activity – specifically via a trading bot that’s being called “Willy”. A trader analyzed public records from November 2013 to determine that trading bots ran rampant through the system under various user IDs and possibly manipulated the price.Mary Meeker’s report finds ‘extraordinary interest’ in bitcoin: Venture capitalist and former Wall Street ‘rock star’ Mary Meeker released her Internet trends report, which found that there is an ‘extraordinary interest’ in bitcoin. In her presentation at re/code’s 2014 Code Conference she noted that there had been a rapid expansion in the bitcoin wallet space.Argentina warns against bitcoin: Argentina is the latest country to issue a warning on digital currencies. The country’s central bank has warned its citizens that digital currencies are not legal tender and that their price volatility poses a risk to users. However, since the Argentinian currency itself is notoriously volatile and inflation is rife in the country, many consider the warning rather ironic.Keep an eye on CoinDesk throughout the weekend for more news and analysis. And of course, to see if the price keeps going up, up and up. Have a good weekend!Bitcoin News Rounduproundupvideo
Original author: Roop Gill

The price of bitcoin has increased above $600, rising over 7% in the past 24 hours and 34% in a month.The last time the price was over $600 was 21st March, during a gradual decline that eventually saw the value reach a low of $344 on 11th April.For the majority of this month, the price has ranged between around $418 and $453, beginning to rise above this level the week after the Bitcoin2014 conference in Amsterdam. coindesk-bpi-chart (8)The price of bitcoin topped $600 today.This week’s price increase follows the news that US satellite service provider DISH Network is to start accepting bitcoin payments later this year.DISH Network Corporation, which employs more than 30,000 people, has more than 14 million customers and reported revenue of $13.9bn in 2013.This makes it the largest company, to date, to accept bitcoin. Previously, online retailer Overstock was the largest, with revenue of $1.3bn in 2013.Bernie Han, executive vice president and chief operating officer at DISH, said: “Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals.”DISH has chosen Coinbase as the company that will process its bitcoin payments. Coinbase claims to currently have around 32,000 businesses on its books, with competitor BitPay citing a similar figure.dishprices
Original author: Emily Spaven

Burger Bear Team
East London burger vendor Burger Bear reports that 25% of its revenue is now settled in cryptocurrencies, having started accepting bitcoin in November.According to Tom Reaney, Burger Bear’s founder, 60% of the cryptocurrency share taken by his pop-up burger stall is in bitcoin, while the rest is in dogecoin. And it’s the devotees of the Shiba Inu-inspired currency that have most surprised Reaney.“We have people coming from all over the world to pay with DOGE,” Reaney said.“We had a guy from Switzerland last week who told me he was in London on holiday and that he came to hunt me down to pay with DOGE.”The dogecoin community appears to have embraced Burger Bear and its brand of extra-large beef patties slathered in its homemade ‘bacon jam’.Charitable shibesIn February, the dogecoin community rallied to tip the vendor 200,000 units of the altcoin (worth about $254 at the time), so that he could provide free burgers to hungry Londoners.Ok London…. The #DogeCoin community has spoken and Doge is buying you burgers! Get to @theoldnunshead NOW! Over D200k been tipped!— Burger Bear (@burgerbeartom) February 8, 2014
Reaney said he’s been tipped 400,000 in dogecoin in total, which is enough to make a few hundred burgers at cost price.“People send me dogecoin and they’re like, feed a person, feed someone who needs it. Just tell them that it was dogecoin that fed them. We’ve done a few events where we’ve just been sending burgers out to various people,” he said.“Dogecoin is far more community focused [than bitcoin]. They kind of want to do things for the greater good.”Boxy businessReaney’s Burger Bear business is poised for expansion, having recently closed an oversubscribed Kickstarter campaign to build a diner out of shipping containers.His BearHQ raised £36,576, beating its £30,000 goal, on 16th March. The diner will be located on Shoreditch High Street, in East London (close to London’s first bitcoin ATM), and will open its doors in July.Reaney is also opening a Burger Bear restaurant in the same period on Stoke Newington High Street, a hip enclave also in East London.CoinDesk initially reported on Burger Bear when it sold its first burger for bitcoin in November.Burger BeardogecoinFoodLondonmerchantspayments
Original author: Joon Ian Wong
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