Facebook has announced Facebook’s new cryptocurrency Libra, along with Facebook’s crypto wallet Calibra, and it’s that cryptowallet that may be the bigger consumer news. Is Facebook trying to become a cryptobank?
Category: Cryptocurrency
There have been several challenges to Bitcoin’s first-to-market dominance of the cryptocurrency space, including Ethereum and Zcash. However these stand-alone cryptocash startups will be facing a new challenge from a 500 pound gorilla, namely Facebook. (Some are already referring to this stablecoin as ‘FaceCoin’.)
The newest malware ransomware making news is B0r0nt0K (similar to ‘BorontoK’ only the Os are replaced with 0s). While it has hit at least one Linux server, experts say that it also has the potential to lock up Windows servers. Unfortunately, at the moment there seems to be no B0r0nt0k antivirus defense.
If you’re wondering “What is blockchain” (also known as “block chain”), you’re not alone. Unless you’ve been following Bitcoin, you may only be hearing the term “blockchain” for the first time now, as it’s been in the news lately.
The United States now has 4 Bitcoin ATM locations: Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Denver, Colorado. Coincidentally, Colorado has also just launched its own local currency, called Colorado COjacks (pronounced “cojax”, or, if you prefer, in an homage to the Tootsie Roll popping detective, Kojacs).
As tax time looms, the IRS has set forth rules about whether they will treat (and so you should treat) Bitcoins and other virtual currency as, well, currency, or property, for tax purposes. The short answer is that the IRS will treat virtual currency such as Bitcoin as property for tax purposes. Here is a more full explanation.
Charlie Shrem, founder of Bitcoin exchange BitInstant.com, and BitCoin broker Robert Faiella (a/k/a BTCKing), have been arrested and charged with money laundering in connection with the use of Bitcoins to purchase drugs and other illegal items on the now defunct (shut down) Silk Road.
There has been a lot in the news lately about Bitcoins (known in the trade as “BTC”) and Bitcoin Mining, but to the average person it’s still very confusing. What are Bitcoins? How does Bitcoin Mining work? What is the Silk Road, which is often mentioned in the same breath as Bitcoins? And why is Congress holding hearings on Bitcoins? Here are the plain English explanations for all of these.