Briefly Bitcoin - 2/1/14: Chicago Sun-Times micropayments, China & an NBA bitcoin bounty

Your select guide of bitcoin interest since the last time I posted this

* Want a snapshot of bitcoin legality around the world? Forbes has a quick rundown for you. Wait - the French love Jerry Lewis but hate on bitcoin? Quelle bizarre!


* Looks like the Chicago Sun-Times is going to be the first major city American paywall micropayments.
newspaper to experiment with


* Can't keep a good cryptocurrency down: Hong Kong gets a bitcoin exchange, hoping to entice mainland Chinese buyers spooked by the unclear Chinese central bank anti-bitcoin stance.


* Appears that professional NBA sportsbettor Haralabos Voulgaris is fed up with former NBA player/current ESPN color commentator Jon Barry. The challenge he laid at the feet of his 38,000+ followers:

Actually, I’ll give a reward of 10k to whoever creates the best Fire Jon Barry website. Contest runs from now till April 15th.
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) February 1, 2014

Also - will be paid in bitcoin.
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) February 1, 2014

The race is on! Read his Twitter feed from 9:36 to 10:05 PM Pacific Time Friday night to get the full details; he sounds serious. Now if only I knew how to code...

Got anything cool and bitcoin-y to share? Leave it in the comments below or email me at blacksinbitcoin@gmail.com!

What Bitcoin Mining Really Looks Like

Thanks for the lulz, Redditor dustball! Keep those toes warm and beware the NSA!

Briefly Bitcoin - 1/27/14: TigerDirect, Bitcoin browser wallet app, China blocks cash & more

Your select guide of bitcoin interest since the last time I posted this

* TigerDirect now accepts bitcoin. This is a big deal because if you've ever searched for electronics on the internet, you came across one of TigerDirect's dirt-cheap deals. Shoot, even the laptop from which I'm typing this to you was bought on TigerDirect. This is kind of a big deal, you know.

* It's official because they said so: Bitcoin is now a word in the dictionary.


* Got a great idea to help improve bitcoin and/or the community? The Bitcoin Foundation wants to hear it - and fund your project.


* This will blow your socks off: A simple, in-browser app for Google Chrome that allows you to manage a bitcoin wallet! Check out the 3 minute demo below.




* Looks like you'll be able to safely and easily buy bitcoin for cash in 2014. ZipZap is starting off in the UK first, though.

* Not to sound alarmist or anything but China's prohibiting cash transfers for its three busiest days of the year. Yeah, let's just stop ATMs from spitting out cash around New Year's. Or, better yet, let's all just flock to bitcoin!


Got anything cool and bitcoin-y to share? Leave it in the comments below or email me at blacksinbitcoin@gmail.com!

If You Heard This All The Time, It Would Annoy You, Too

You want us in bitcoin, you need us in bitcoin

"Why do we need a 'Blacks In Bitcoin'?"

I would counter, we cannot afford not to have a Blacks In Bitcoin.

In announcing my presence to one of the most popular forces in the bitcoin community, Reddit's r/Bitcoin, I get the typical response that leads this post from someone whom I presume is in bitcoin but perhaps not black. While the bulk of my response can be found in the thread here, I believe the answer to that question requires more exploration.

Briefly Bitcoin - 1/22/14: Vegas (baby), Seattle Seahawks & more

Your select guide of bitcoin interest since the last time I posted this

* For whatever reason, industries like entertainment tend to be on the cutting edge of technology. So it should be no surprise that two Las Vegas casinos now accept bitcoin. While you won't be able to scan a QR code to play craps just yet, you can buy some nifty things at the gift shop or pay for you room right now. This also proves that if you ask for bitcoin, it will come!


* One day, announcements like this will be ordinary, but looks like Toronto has its first bitcoin ATM.


* For the truly paranoid, er, security conscious, ConcealBitcoin.com can show you how to hide your bitcoin wallet.dat file inside an image.


* My hometown Seattle Seahawks now accept bitcoin. As if getting to the SuperBowl weren't good enough news! #GoHawks!

Got anything cool and bitcoin-y to share? Leave it in the comments below or email me at blacksinbitcoin@gmail.com!