Bulgaria recognizes Bitcoin as Currency

Sofia, Bulgaria – On April 2, the Bulgarian Tax Service published an assessment on crypto-currencies.

The National Revenue Agency, as the Bugarian Tax Service is officially called, has published a press release on its website under the straightforward title of “Revenue from Bitcoin Transactions are to be Declared and Taxed.”  

- See more at: http://cointelegraph.com/post/bulgaria_recognizes_bitcoin_as_currency#.U0EhW1cvkVd

Full Article by Allen Scott

Mt. Gox Disappears!

"Mt. Gox officials did not answer the telephone or respond to email requests for information. The concierge at the home of the chief executive, Mark Karpeles - an upscale apartment in the Shibuya district - said he was not answering his intercom. His mailbox was so stuffed with mail that the flap would not close."

Read More

Joint Statement about Mt.Gox

Joint Statement Regarding MtGox
Feb 24th, 2014

The purpose of this document is to summarize a joint statement to the Bitcoin community regarding Mt.Gox.

This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt.Gox was the result of one company’s actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry. There are hundreds of trustworthy and responsible companies involved in bitcoin. These companies will continue to build the future of money by making bitcoin more secure and easy to use for consumers and merchants.  As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today. 

We are confident, however, that strong Bitcoin companies, led by highly competent teams and backed by credible investors, will continue to thrive, and to fulfill the promise that bitcoin offers as the future of payment in the Internet age.

In order to re-establish the trust squandered by the failings of Mt. Gox, responsible bitcoin exchanges are working together and are committed to the future of bitcoin and the security of all customer funds. As part of the effort to re-assure customers, the following services will be coordinating efforts over the coming days to publicly reassure customers and the general public that all funds continue to be held in a safe and secure manner: Coinbase, Kraken, BitStamp, Circle, and BTC China.

We strongly believe in transparent, thoughtful, and comprehensive consumer protection measures. We pledge to lead the way.

Bitcoin operators, whether they be exchanges, wallet services or payment providers, play a critical custodial role over the bitcoin they hold as assets for their customers.  Acting as a custodian should require a high-bar, including appropriate security safeguards that are independently audited and tested on a regular basis, adequate balance sheets and reserves as commercial entities, transparent and accountable customer disclosures, and clear policies to not use customer assets for proprietary trading or for margin loans in leveraged trading.


The following industry leaders stand by this statement:


Fred Ehrsam — Co-founder of Coinbase

Jesse Powell — CEO of Kraken

Nejc Kodrič — CEO of Bitstamp.net

Bobby Lee — CEO of BTC China

Nicolas Cary — CEO of Blockchain.info

Jeremy Allaire — CEO of Circle

Get Ripples (XRP) for Free while using Computer for good.

For those that dont know Ripple is funded by google so here is a quick way to get some free xrp
First Sign up here for a ripple wallet: https://www.computingforgood.org/ then follow the directions to get a WCG login. To fund your wallet you need to "mine" using the program called boinc.


So for those of you who want more free XRP, I would direct you to DigitalOcean:


https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=66c41ef7177d
Scroll down to the bottom and put in the promocode first! 
OMGSSD10
You can sign up using your e-mail, a password, a credit card number and this promo code:
(I used a gift card, to make sure it legit)

This will get you a free $10 credit, enough to open one small "droplet" for two month. But you can make 5 droplets if you want too

If the promo code expires check this site out for more:

http://www.retailmenot.com/s/digitalocean

Setting up a server on DigitalOcean is super easy. After you have signed up, you will be asked to create a droplet.

You will first enter a hostname, this can be whatever.
Then you'll select a size. I went with the smallest 1 CPU server, it will run for two months.
Select your region. I selected the one closest to home.
Then you will select the image, I would recommend Ubuntu 13.10 x 64.
Then you will create the droplet (it will take a minute.)

Your username (root) and password will be sent to your e-mail.

Once you have your password, you can connect to your server by clicking on the Access button and then by clicking Console Access. This will open a shell in your browser. Once you are in the shell, you have two commands to enter:

sudo apt-get install boinc-client
boinccmd --project_attach http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/ <your weak account key here, no angle brackets>
The URL in the above command will not be underlined when you enter the command in the shell.

Note: nothing obvious will happen when you enter the second command.
Now type the word "TOP" you should see Boinc running now... Enjoy


As always, tips are appreciated and good luck:

Ripple:
rQaxmmRMasgt1edq8pfJKCfbkEiSp5FqXJ

EBTcoin Giveaway

This EBT giveaway is still open here.

Please post your EBTcoin addresses here, and I will send giveaways :)

CEO of BitInstant arrested for Money Laundering

January 27, 2013. The CEO of BitInstant has been arrested. More here

Sacramento Kings to accept Bitcoin

The Sacramento Kings announced Thursday that they would become the first professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency. Beginning on March 1, fans will be able to buy gear in the team store and pay for tickets with the digital money. "When I sold the NBA on keeping the team in Sacramento, my pitch included using the sports franchise as a social network to push the technology envelope," Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive told ESPN.com. "This is an example of that." [+] EnlargeBitcoin Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesSacramento Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive hopes accepting Bitcoin virtual currency is the next step in allowing fans to keep their wallets at home. Ranadive said that the acceptance of Bitcoin is one step closer to allowing fans to keep their wallets at home, thanks to what will eventually be a ticketless and cashless environment at the arena. Read more.... HERE

The Dark Horse of Cryptocurrency – Franko

The Franko motto: Non nobis solum sed omnibus! With new crypto-currencies popping up on an hourly basis, it’s no surprise that a great one could be overlooked. In the past, it was easy to be informed about Bitcoin and Altcoins, like Litecoin. We only had a few selections and the bad ones were weeded out quickly. As time progressed the standards of acceptability deteriorated. At one time the sheer thought of a premine, no matter the size, was completely absurd but today they are common place.. Today we see coins hitting million dollar market-caps overnight even if the purpose of the coin is a joke. Read more.... HERE

You can now use Bitcoin to generate tax revenue for Colorado by buying Marijuana

September 9th 2013 the Colorado Department of Revenue created the final regulations for Marijuana use and sale, implementing the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code. January 1st 2014 the first official stores has opened for Marijuana sale. The twist however is that you cannot pay for the legal Marijuana with your VISA or Mastercard. You can only use hard cash or Bitcoin. Matt Miller from Bloomberg explains that: You can only spend cold hard cash, you cant pay for your weed even for medical use with a credit or debit card. I guess the Banks are unwilling to get into this business yet. Read more at... HERE