Coinbase congratulated itself this week for being insured against loss, something that nearly every business in the western world (outside the bitcoin ecosystem) considers to be the minimum standard. The bitcoin trading platform announced in a blog post that some of its customer holdings are insured against incidents of loss due to “breach of physical…
OKCoin announced last week that the China based bitcoin exchange has reserves on hand exceeding 100% of customer funds entrusted to it. The analysis, conducted by Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas, followed similar procedures completed at Kraken, Bitfinex and others that were intended to build customer trust in the assertion that funds would not be lost…
I originally wrote this post for another publication in the winter of 2014. Though the price has fallen since then (or perhaps because of this), charitable giving of bitcoin has picked up. Bitcoin offers a nearly free, secure, and simple way that small organizations on a tight budget can accept contributions from donors anywhere in…
If you are looking to start a business, consolidate debt, or handle a minor emergency, or if you want to skim a return for yourself while helping people with those problems, then bitcoin lending might be worth looking into. But beware: you’ll need a healthy appetite for risk and a portfolio that can afford to…
Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne announced this week that the company expects bitcoin sales to add $.04 per share to earnings for 2014. How significant is that? Unfortunately, not as significant as one might think. Background If you aren’t familiar with the company, Overstock is an online retailer of non-branded and excess merchandise at discount prices. …
Update: With the passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act in late 2017, IRC Section 1031 is no longer applicable to assets other than real property. For tax years 2018 and later, virtual currency users may not defer gain using the code section referenced in this post. One question that I frequently receive from…
Update 12/19/2014: This article describes costs associated with BitLicense as originally proposed. Since then, some requirements have been scaled back or eliminated in response to public comment. Among the most significant problems with New York’s proposed BitLicense requirements cited by opponents is cost. This survey lists the major requirements for licensing and ongoing compliance under…
Virtual currencies have a new advocate in Washington, D.C.: the Chamber of Digital Commerce. Founded and led by Perianne Boring, a former legislative analyst and author of the “Boring Bitcoin Report,” the organization is currently raising money to fund its operations into next year and hire a permanent full-time staff. The Chamber is business oriented…
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “Bitcoin Debit Cards May Not Be As Exciting As They Seem,” that explored some of the ways that bank-style payment cards backed by bitcoin combine the worst of both worlds. Now, it looks like bitcoiners have a high profile disappointment in Xapo to drive home the point….
Intuit announced last spring that it was in the test phase for a service that would allow users of QuickBooks Online to accept payment in bitcoin. Sometime later, I received an invitation to sign up for the service, which Intuit calls PayByCoin. I had the opportunity to test it out recently and I have to…
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