Bitcoin Tracker | Week 13
Bitcoin’s theme song is clearly “Put on a Happy Face.” In spite of what has turned out to be a humongous blow to the community with the disappearance of Mt. Gox, which has rendered some $400 million, bitcoin-untraceable enthusiasts regarded this as nothing more than a rite of passage. That prompted MPD Founder and economist David Evans to take pen to paper and examine Bitcoin’s two major defects, which should include the inability of its supporters to find anything wrong with it. Those two flaws are its “built-in bubble” defect and the “instability defect” that results from fixed coin supply. And, Janet Yellen hinted that, for the Fed to regulate Bitcoin, Congress would have to tell it to – until then, it’s the DOJ and Treasury’s baby. It’s funny though how everyone wants the Feds to get involved now that someone has made off with a lot of bitcoins. …
Hope you enjoy, and if you have any news you’d like to share, please send it our way at contactus@pymnts.com.
On the Plus Side …
It has been a tough week for Mt. Gox, but members of the Bitcoin community are doing their level best to keep their chin up. The Bitcoin Foundation actively assisted the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office with their investigation, maintaining transparency and cooperation. Five leading platforms in the Bitcoin ecosystem came together to releasea joint statement declaring Mt. Gox insolvent and that Mt. Gox’s actions don’t reflect those of other exchanges. Well, let’s hope not.
- February 27, 2014 – The Chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, said that her institution will not be regulating the currency anytime soon, and if the Senate wanted more oversight of the currency, Congress could take action to require the Fed to. All regulation is to be under the purview of the Justice Department and the Treasury Department.
- February 27, 2014 – Coinbase announced that they’ve surpassed 1M consumer wallets.
- February 27, 2014 – A Bitcoin ATM opened in Singapore, despite the fact that the country’s finance minister said Singapore doesn’t recognize bitcoins as legal tender.
- February 27, 2014 – The two largest exchanges for Bitcoin available, Bitstampp and BTC-e, both can gain a large market share in the wake of the Mt. Gox collapse, but little is known about BTC-e, and it could be just another black hole.
- February 27, 2014 – SecondMarket plans to launch a regulated exchange to facilitate trading in bitcoins. Could this be just the second chance that the cryptocurrency needed?
- February 27, 2014 – The Bitcoin Foundation reached out proactively to the Southern District of New York to offer assistance in the probe into Mt. Gox.
- February 26, 2014 – Marc Andreeseen tweeted that “Mt. Gox had to die for Bitcoin to thrive” and that Mt. Gox is “Like MF Global”. Other Bitcoin supporters took up arms to defend Bitcoin, sighting that this tragedy may result in better security, and Bitcoin may emerge stronger.
- February 24, 2014 – Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp.net, BTC China, Blockchain.info and Circle released a joint statement to address the Mt. Gox failure and reassert their confidence in the Bitcoin system.
- February 21, 2014 – New York’s superintendent of financial services still thinks that Bitcoin may have a promising future. New York State may be the first to regulate Bitcoin.
On the Dark Side …
Where to even start? Mt. Gox is now Mt. Gone. The exchange has closed, offices abandoned and its top executive has gone AWOL. The rumor mills are churning, and the U.S. and Japanese regulators are separately investigating the collapse of Mt. Gox.
- February 27, 2014 – Experts warn that Mt. Gox customers may have little chance of recovering their funds if they prove to be missing. Hey kids, that’s what we mean by “untraceable… .”
- February 27, 2014 – Bitcoin exchanges were reportedly hit with subpoenas. … Uh oh.
- February 27, 2014 – The lawyer for two Florida men who were charged in Bitcoin for money laundering argued that they did nothing illegal because the state law only covers money issued by the U.S. or another country. These guys are nothing but not clever.
- February 26, 2014 – U.S. and Japanese regulators are separately investigating the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange.
- February 26, 2014 – Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat representing West Virginal called for a complete U.S. ban on Bitcoin.
- February 26, 2014 – Forbes asks whether Bitcoin is an investment or a cult. … Pass the Kool-Aid, please.
- February 26, 2014 – If you’re sick of Bitcoin, there are alternatives: Namecoin, Litecoin, Peercoin and Quark.
- February 25, 2014 – According to a circulating copy of “Crisis Strategy Draft” that is circulating, it appears that 744,400 bitcoins are missing as a result of “malleability-related theft.”
- February 25, 2014 – A document was leaked that revealed that during an echo of the 2008 financial crisis, Mt. Gox tried to declare itself “too big to fail”.
- February 24, 2014 – Bitcoin trading fell, dropped under $500…people wondered if it was the end.
- February 24, 2014 – The Mt. Gox website vanished and then the Bitcoin’s equivalent of a Dr. John message was later loaded on the site, reading:
Dear Mt. Gox Customers,
In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on Mt. Gox’s operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly.
Best regards,
Mt. Gox Team
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