The US now dominates Bitcoin mining – does price follow hash rate or hash rate follow price?
The Bitcoin mining industry has moved from China to the U.S. What are the implications for the network, and does price follow hash or does hash follow price?
Blockchain Conference D.C. tackles hype to regulation
Some of the biggest questions amongst conference goers at the second annual Blockchain D.C. conference were what is Blockchain, do I need it, and how can my company value from it?
The State of Montana funds company working on a ‘bitcoin processing center.’
In the first-ever reported case of a US State funding what looks to be a Bitcoin mining operation, Montana’s Governor recently announced that $416,000 was awarded to a “data center that provides blockchain security services for the bitcoin network.”
Nevada protects Blockchains and Smart Contracts from Government taxes, licenses, and certifications
Nevada Senate Bill 398 was recently signed by the State Governor, and officially passed into law on Monday. The bill establishes various provisions relating to the use of blockchain technology, and makes the Silver State the third in the Union to recognize the nascent industry.
Florida passes law making crimes with bitcoin money laundering
House Bill 1379 recently passed in Florida, which defines virtual currency and prohibits laundering of virtual currency. The bill introduces the illegal use of digital currencies to money laundering legislation.
Solving state corruption with technology
I try to generally avoid making political commentary on the blog as it’s not appropriate. This is a blog about technology and finance, not the economy and politics. Every now and again the two come together such as with Brexit and Donald Trump.
US Cannabis industry ripe for bitcoin
It’s hard to imagine a more unique industry than the US cannabis industry, or one that is growing and changing faster. Arcview Market Research reports a blistering 34% compound annual growth rate from 2014 to 2016, driven primarily by Colorado and Washington initiating adult-use sales. This rate of growth will subside somewhat in 2017 to 22%, as the eight states that voted to open or expand their cannabis markets on Election Day in November 2016 work to implement the new programs.
The White House, Donald Trump, Wall Street and FinTech
For those who weren’t looking, you might have missed the release of the Framework for FinTech white paper released by the White House last Friday. It’s the output of the work performed by the National Economic Council’s Adrienne Harris and her team, who I’ve been delighted to support.
Bitcoin may have friends in high places following Trump inauguration
The price of bitcoin responded very positively to the prospect of a Trump presidency in November, ticking up 3.4 percent after it became clear that he would be the next president. Analysts believe that this could be due to bitcoin acting as a hedge in times of trouble.
US election drives record bitcoin betting
The number of bitcoin bets made on the US presidential election has grown dramatically. “People were very passionate about betting during the US presidential election season,” a spokesperson for the BitBet website told BNC, “and were also very passionate during the whole Brexit affair.” Another betting site, Fairlay, told BNC that a single political bet attracted 4,356 predictions worth about $956,000 at current bitcoin exchange prices.
Marijuana now legal in eight more US States while vendors get more bitcoin options
As the world watched Tuesday night’s US election results roll in, there was more than one major surprise in store. Not only did the underdog presidential candidate win the nation’s top office, but Marijuana became legal to purchase in eight more US states, quadrupling the number of US citizens who could legally get high for recreational purposes.
IRS agrees to major cryptocurrency strategy overhaul following audit
The US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently released a scathing report detailing an audit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) strategy for addressing income produced through virtual currencies.
New decentralized ride sharing service joins the frenzy in Austin with bitcoin alternative
The social network for helpful people, Cell 411, recently announced version five of their app for iOS and Android. The application offers a decentralized ridesharing service, like Uber or Lyft, but doesn’t take a cut off driver’s fee and users can pay with Bitcoin.
Distributed ledger technology ‘at risk of being stymied by disparate and uncertain regulation,’ states CFTC Commissioner
On Tuesday, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) held its 2016 Blockchain Symposium, Blockchain: Beyond the Hype, at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York City. There were over a dozen influential speakers, including Digital Asset Holdings CEO Blythe Masters, Bloq CEO and bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik, Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, and Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne. Michael Bodson, the President and CEO of DTCC, gave two speeches, both opening and closing the one day event.
US States Continue To Attempt Bitcoin Regulation
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) recently released the final version of the much anticipated BitLicense on June 3, enacting the first regulatory framework for digital currency companies in New York.
American Bankers Association Proposes State Regulatory Framework for Virtual Currencies
The [American Bankers Association](http://www.aba.com/) (ABA) has proposed a draft model of regulatory framework for virtual currency activities such as Bitcoin to the [Conference of State Bank Supervisors](http://www.csbs.org/) (CSBS).
