It’s been an event-filled week in the world of Bitcoin, as you’ll know if you’ve been following the right Twitter accounts. If, however, you have not kept up to speed with the quick-fire social network, we’ve compiled the five most interesting links from Twitter about the world of Bitcoin.
1. EFF thanks community for 726 Bitcoin donation
Thank you, Bitcoin community, for the 726 BTC donation: eff.org/r.3bS8
— EFF (@EFF) May 31, 2013
As reported by CoinDesk, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has lifted its ban on receiving Bitcoin donations. The EFF had briefly accepted Bitcoin donations in 2011, but soon stopped accepting the digital currency. At this point, the 3,505 coins that had been given to the EFF were transferred to the Bitcoin Faucet, a non-profit organization that gave away a small amount of bitcoins to new users to learn about handling the currency. The Bitcoin Faucet recently closed, and the EFF coincidentally announced it would again start accepting donations in the form of bitcoins.
As a result, Gavin Andresen (who ran the Bitcoin Faucet) returned the remaining 765 Bitcoins to the EFF, with the following statement:
“I’m satisfied to see these Bitcoins will be used as they were intended – as a donation to support the work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Bitcoin Faucet was happy to receive the funds, but we are particularly glad to see them used as they were originally intended.”
2. Mapping Global Bitcoin Adoption
TGB’s piece on mapping bitcoin adoption featured in @zerohedge bit.ly/18witaR
— The Genesis Block (@TheGenesisBlock) May 28, 2013
The Genesis Block blog tweeted a link to its analysis of global BitCoin adoption. The research involved looking at the following factors: global wallet downloads to show interest by region, exchange volumes in different currencies, where the most mining has been done, which companies are adopting Bitcoin and other interactions between Bitcoin and the real world.
The analysis shows that, while the US is the leading Bitcoin user in terms of client downloads and trading volumes, the Nordic countries have the greatest penetration of Bitcoin use. The research also shows that, while Mt. Gox is the most-used exchange by a large margin, other exchanges such as Btce and Bitstamp are fast catching up.
3. Bitcoin ain’t the answer to saving the economy from hyperinflation
“How do you prevent hyperinflation without destroying the economy? The answer ain’t Bitcoin.” by @someben medium.com/editors-picks/…
— Medium (@Medium) May 30, 2013
A new communal blogging platform called “Medium” hosted an academic essay last week on the potential pitfalls of relying on Bitcoin as a cure for hyperinflation. The piece begins by recounting the list of security issues suffered by Mt. Gox and pointing out that the Bitcoin infrastructure lacks the liquidity to be built out into a mature currency.
The essay continues by looking at the deflationary nature of Bitcoin. As we know, Bitcoin has a set limit of 21 million coins, and the cryptographic problems required to mint new coins become increasingly harder. That means as bitcoins increase in value we’ll see a deflation as ever-decreasing amounts of bitcoin will be equivalent to a given real-world currency. If you want to read how the author (@someben) explains how the deflationary effect would be “catastrophic” for all of us, follow this link to the original article.
4. Australian WikiLeaks Party Courts Controversy over Anonymous Bitcoin Donations
WikiLeaks party flirts with Oz law by taking Bitcoin gifts? | Register theregister.co.uk/2013/05/27/bit… donate: wikileaksparty.org.au/forms/credit-c… #svpol
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 27, 2013
The Register reports that hopes that Bitcoin may be a way to give the Australian WikiLeaks party some clout in future elections could be dashed by stringent rules on anonymous donations. Bitcoin is inherently anonymous, and so potentially breaches disclosure regulations set forth by the Australian government that state:
” … furnish to the Electoral Commission a return, in an approved form, setting out the total amount or value of all gifts, the number of persons who made gifts, and the relevant details of each gift, received by the person during the disclosure period for the election” (emphasis added).”
If you want to chance a Bitcoin donation to the Australian WikiLeaks Party, follow this link.
5. TechCrunch names CoinBase as most trustworthy consumer Bitcoin brand
Techcrunch: “@coinbase is becoming the most trustworthy consumer brand in #Bitcoin.” techcrunch.com/2013/05/27/bit…
— Coinbase (@coinbase) May 28, 2013
The last of our tweets comes from TechCrunch, which points out that one of the many benefits of Bitcoin is that there is zero transaction cost. However, its disadvantages include the risk of losing one’s wallet and lack of integration with merchant tools.
CoinBase is looking to solve that problem by providing merchant tools and a cloud-stored digital wallet. It looks like those efforts are finally being taken seriously, as the company has received $5 million from investors, including Fred Wilson, who invested in Twitter. Click here to watch TechCrunch’s interview with CoinBase’s Brian Armstrong.