price volatility

2013-12-01 Crypto-Timeline

Here is a log with relevant legal, regulatory, law enforcement and business risk milestones in the crypto-currency race to maturity with links to trusted sources.

The  Key November 2013 Crypto-Events were:

• 11/1/2013 – Founder of Lliberty Reserve admits guilt and faces 75 years in prison
• 11/5/2013 – Bitcoin at risk of network attack, say Cornell researchers
• 11/5/2013 – Problem for Bitcoin in China as Hong Kong trade shuts down
• 11/6/2013 – Bitcoin is not broken (BF’s Andresen responds to selfish-attack researchers)
• 11/6/2013 – US Senate committees to hold hearings about virtual currency
• 11/6/2013 – Homeland Security Committee chairman responds to “Silk Road 2.0”
• 11/7/2013 – Hackers steal $1.2m of bitcoins from a supposedly secure wallet service
• 11/7/2013 – Bitcoin boom: virtual currency hits all-time high (1 BTC=$309)
• 11/7/2013 – Federal Reserve economist on Bitcoin: ‘Small phenomenon but growing’
• 11/8/2013 – Man arrested for selling guns on Black Market Reloaded, where only bitcoins are Continue reading →

Winklevii Warn Investors in Their ETF That Bitcoin May Become Illegal

[Reading Time: 6 minutes]

Apart from the cookie-cutter risks everyone is required by law to disclose, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust prospectus contains a series of unique risk factors that would make even Bernie Madoff cringe.  One of those risks, indicated as my favorite below, almost made this post qualify for my ‘Seriously?’ category, reserved for cases of utmost nonsense and near insanity.

All joking aside, the unique virtual currency-related risks listed in the Winklevoss twins’ new Bitcoin fund SEC filing hint at the number and complexity of roadblocks that the crypto-community will need to surmount if it aspires to take digital currencies to the mainstream.  On the positive side, this first (technically, second) Bitcoin fund marks Bitcoin’s official entry into the capital markets and could go a long way towards legitimizing it as a commodity.

Here are some of the more salient risks for your edification and enjoyment:

• The loss or destruction of a private key required to access a Bitcoin may be irreversible.  The Continue reading →