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Peter Thiel Gets the Bitcoin Bug
We recently described in detail what a venture capitalist might see in Bitcoin and it appears that some of that message got through...
Submitted by Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
Interesting news out today in the Bitcoin world. As you may recall, last week I highlighted how the highly respected venture capital firm Union Square Ventures (Fred Wilson, early investor in Twitter) invested in Coinbase. Today we learn that another very high profile investor has plunged into the Bitcoin pool. In this case it’s Peter Thiel, and his investment is in BTC merchant processor Bitpay, a company I have highlighted previously on several occasions. Back in March I noted that the company was putting up mind-boggling growth rate numbers. Incredibly, the tremendous growth rate continues as they added another 1,900 merchants in April and are currently signing up around 100 additional merchants a day. From Coindesk:
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is leading a group of investors into funding the merchant services firm BitPay.
BitPay, which offers corporate Bitcoin services, said it had not been looking for funding but the opportunity was too good to turn down.
BitPay founder and CEO Tony Gallippi said: “We raised seed funding in January and February and still had some left so we weren’t looking for money. They approached us, which was a nice surprise because we’d heard that they’d got as far as due diligence with another company in this space. We were really impressed with their experience and energy.”
Asked about yesterday’s action against Dwolla Gallippi said much of the coverage was wrong and once you looked at the actual warrant it was clear it was a very specific problem of non-compliance – “the shell company was not licensed to do what it was doing.”
BitPay claimed 1,900 new merchants signed up in April and it continues to sign up over 100 new customers every day. It is currently processing around $5m of Bitcoin transactions per month.
Joining Founders Fund is ‘Mad Max’ Keiser’s Heisenberg Capital – a London-based fund focussed on Bitcoin investments.
As if all this isn’t enough, there’s additional interesting news on Bitcoin recently, in this case with regard to the partnership between Bitpay and Gyft. This story is getting some mainstream media traction as CNN Money covered it today. The article notes how you can now spend Bitcoins at 50,000 merchants versus 8,000 before this deal. But yeah, BTC is the same as beanie babies…
Full Thiel Bitcoin article here.
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Fuck yeah end the fed motherfucker
Can we say Kill the Fed instead?
if bitcoin thrives so will gold
until the lights go out, oops
So sick of hearing this "no internet, no bitcoin" meme..
The elite NEED the internet and electricity more than we do, because their control depends on these structures.. that's why bitcoin is impossible to destroy unless the entire earth is driven back to the stone age. Oh btw, gold will be just as irrelevant in that scenario.
While I love gold and silver as much as the next guy (I own more than ten thousand dollars worth of each), they're just not practical as currencies. They are magnificent ways to store large sums of value long-term. But for day-to-day purchases, and moving money outside of borders (and outside the watchful eye of government agents), Bitcoin wins.
I can use Bitcoin to transfer money to anyone in the world instantly and anonymously. I can store millions of dollars in a sentence that I've memorized. Try to confiscate that, TSA.
"I can use Bitcoin to transfer money to anyone in the world instantly and anonymously."
Thank you...thats been my point all along...its a conduit, not money.
Now, I really don't give a damn if people want to place bets on the value of the conduit with their fiat money.
Thats their bag, free market and what not.
Wrong. Bitcoin is a super-currency because it is the first one to have an inbuilt payment system. It is so powerful that it can potentially replace fiat currencies AND mastercard/paypal/visa etc - at the same time!
And leaves your carpet smelling like new!
So now we have a guilt free excuse for not giving when being harrassed by panhandlers at stop lights or Salvation Army bell ringers during the holidays.
Get an account you bums! ;-)
Bitcoins are already getting the beat-down by the Feds.
http://www.planbeconomics.com/2013/05/future-of-bitcoins-us-federal-cour...
But for day-to-day purchases ... Silver dimes work damn well.
Oh btw, gold will be just as irrelevant in that scenario.
Gold was around for atleast 10 years before electricity was invented by Al Gore's grandmother.
Get your facts right.
Yeah but you didn't have gigantic concrete ruins, tanks, laser weapons, and an entire planet of recently homeless humans. Gonna feed them gold are you?
What are you gonna feed them, bitcoins? Or do you have your entire life savings stored in MREs?
you're such a badass, i admire you
Gold / Silver fed armies for millennia and if we're honest, at that stage it'll be killbots and killsquads going block to block to clean up those cities and hungry people.
If it gets to a point where everything has collapsed then all rules are thrown out.
Gold / Silver will hold a lot of power if you can't trade skills, food, daughers or wives while your looking for a tunnel to crawl through.
Bitcoins will be a forgotten relic at that stage.
Maybe the Terminator films would of been differnt if Arnie was persuaded by a bitcoin transaction to leave Sarah Conner alone?
very certain many zh'ers here have said any unwanted advances from those types get them fed brass, not gold. Liberally & efficiently.
And that bastard Edison beat her to the patent by just 29 minutes so she couldn't be the proud owner of Gortricity.
but if you're wrong, what then?
So sick of your denial of reality. We need money that works with no power and no internet
What happens if I want to BUY stuff to build a power-grid where there is none, or go some place FOR SURE with no power and no internet BECAUSE that's my desired END-GOAL and want to still use money?
Gold can do that, silver can, PAPER CASH CAN but bitcoin can NOT. That's the deal-breaker.
Ummmmm....... I'm not so sure you can safely assume that. Having gotten into bitcoin a few months ago myself, I can say with a small amount of personal experience behind me that they are different animals in a lot of ways.
If you own both, as I do, you are likely to think of them in very different ways. Not that there aren't parallels, but they just aren't anything close to the same thing. I would recommend you not think of them as analogous. They aren't. Too many differences.
you can exchange gold for bitcoins. correct?
some have said so but I can't find any that way and I won't offer up any gold of mine for bitcoins. Ever.
Correct...plus another one.
A man that understands what money is and is not. Real money is not encumbered by anything...devices, codes, accounts, encryption, internet, power...nothing.
It just is and is easily identifiable, even to urban outdoorsmen ;-)
nmewn I don't disagree but everything - even "real money" - is susceptible to fetishization.
BTC now has a plausible path to becoming a more widely held unit of account.
Suitable as a unit of account? Signs point to yes.
Suitable as a store of value? Hell no. Not now, likely not ever.
But its suitable as a vehicle for speculation.
Certainly, agreed.
We all just need to come to terms (logically) on what the thing is. Between you and I...lol...I like the idea of its anonymity, its being apart from government oversight, the privacy.
But a Girl Scout selling cookies can't participate in commerce with it. As stated above, the drunk down on his luck, isn't going to have the devices, connection or account to accept a transaction. It takes something besides its etheral existence to make it work, so it can't be money.
if bitcoin thrives, unicorns will shit skittles.
Yea, "end the fed" in your digital imaginary world, while sitting in your underpants at home, all the while your liberties are being taken away from you.
Buttcoin clowns.
one way or another the banker monkeys will throw a bananna peel into the works, need to keep the faith in the green backs
why not peg a cryptocurrency to the dollar, not only in price but also to the money supply. Then we don't need the interferrance of the new york correspondent banks, cheaper and faster. No issues anymore about the strongly fluctuating rate and manipulation of this rate. ofcourse we keep our gold and silver as the store of wealth....
Mmmmm..... no. Free float will work better. If people agree something has value, it wil be reflected in the relative strength of that currency. "Pegging" anything to anything is a control regime. It's fiction. And the "real" world will find ways around it. Refrence: Venezuela and their official peg against the dollar vs. the real exchange rate in "blue dollars."
Why peg world's strongest currency against a watered-down shadow of a currency worth only 4% of what it was 100 years ago?Obama and the Bernank are printing the dollar to death and it is is only the deflationary effects of a monstrous credit bubble which prevents the dollar from collapsing even faster.
Isn't the goob in the process of shutting down bitcoin?
US seizes top Bitcoin exchange as crackdown begins
http://rt.com/usa/bitcoin-exchange-seized-crackdown-begins-334/
Nice to see ZH moving away from the increasingly embarresing habit of writing premature obituaries for our bouncing banker bashing baby currency bitcoin.
ZH has written bullish articles about Bitcoin since it recently discovered this new currency (or after Tyler loaded up first!)
It is only the doomsday prepper gun-hugging A-team like dinosaur commenters on ZH who have been writing Bitcoin's obituary.
pretty obvious you can't read.. this quick article explains what you are confused about.
"Asked about yesterday’s action against Dwolla Gallippi said much of the coverage was wrong and once you looked at the actual warrant it was clear it was a very specific problem of non-compliance – “the shell company was not licensed to do what it was doing.”
{tip jar for impulsive racist defense fund}
1Ki3sFg6bCasB6tkuMW41DCCpGFDgDHVgL
Help ME increment BITCHEZ !
1NJRiD4br6PdTATtFi8mUC9EyQaVzPdco6
Bitcoin bums begging for change. Go beat some buckets on the street corner.
I don't think that's begging, but the change Bitcoin brings to the table triumphs against that promised (not just delivered) by the Kenyan in the White House.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2mGHPOzheN8/SdZxt_1cdDI/AAAAAAAAAYA/ssf9YpeQMq...
Pretending to resolve the brokenness (the Real brokenness) by introducing another rogue fiat currency, neglecting the controls that broke the other one, quickly becomes a game of denial.
And if not pretending to resolve the brokenness, it becomes just another sideshow in the casino...
Attempting to skirt the real issues is... somewhat entitled, and somewhat pathetic.
Bitcoin is an ironic representation of how we got here, and how we simply don't get it.
That is what to fear the most.
Agreed. It is the ultimate deception for those most desirous of a solution.
Deceive yourself.
When the grandchildren ask you what it was like to witness Bitcoin as cheap as $100 each, and how it felt loading up, you will look at your feet and tell them to go play outside, as the memory of doing no more than scoffing at it is still very painful.
Spoken like a true penny stock wanker. It is you who are deceived, make no mistake. There is no anonymity in BTC - that is one of the biggest lies about it, and certainly the most ominous. Your freaking phone money, authenticated by a block chain makes you feel anonymous? It is to laugh and laugh. I don't much care for a large portion of Denninger's offerings, but he did convince me in no uncertain terms that the anonymity argument was pure guano.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=219284
Steps Required to Make Yourself Anonymous With Bitcoin
1. Use Tor.
Happy to be of service.
FAIL-hammer. TOR has already been busted wide open. It can't keep you secure at the end-points and it's easy to locate and watch those end-points. People aren't getting security with TOR except for CONTENT not LOCATION. Sorry to remind you (no I'm not) but with money the PHYSICAL location matters.
Look, I understand wanting to transact outside of the system, but bitcoin has some serious flaws, including lack of anonymity and vulnerability to 51% attack. Forking the Block Chain and manufacturing consensus is trivial for any entity with access to serious computing power.
You're gonna be one sorry mofo telling your grandkids you paid $100 for btc when they dropped to $3 and then when the dollar collapsed and gold took its place it took at least 10,000,000 btc to get a real ounce of real money.
Bitcoin, Bitchez!
ZeroHedge marketing geniuses. Able to be on both sides of every trade.
Where's the ZH bitcoin donation address?'
You are and have always been wrong on bitcoin.
bitcoin only works in a cat 5 lab under pristine conditions. out in the shit where things like hacking, fracking and whacking make the real world go round bitcoin is waaaaaay to weak to survive
prove me wrong
fuck shitcoin.. keep it simple buy the kind of gold that you can hold in your hand.. end of story
I for one am tired of these pussy shitcoin geeks trying to get folks to take their eyes off the ball... it's not going to work despite what the cia would like to see happen. It's over and money is being drained from the fiat system...it wont and can't be stopped.
I was going to say the same thing on btc donations to ZH but then the swiss police kinda swayed my desire
{tip jar for impulsive racist defense fund}
1Ki3sFg6bCasB6tkuMW41DCCpGFDgDHVgL
+1 for rayciss tip jar fund :D
Tyler. How about adding a ZH donation address to your homepage?
Silver,gold and bitcoin bitchez
Peter Thiel eh.
Quelle surprise.
maybe when he returns from the upcoming Google-Bilderberg bash at "the Grove" in UK, he'll have more news to share. . .
Maybe the Googlbergs will take over bitcoins. They have the cash, computer power and oversight to do it.
If you can't beat it, join it - then beat it.
Google teams up with NASA on quantum computing labhttp://www.nbcnews.com/technology/google-teams-nasa-quantum-computing-la...
Google isn't satisfied with dominating just ordinary computers, it seems: The Internet giant is making a big investment in quantum computing with a new lab and partnership.
I don't subscribe to the Googleberg thesis - neither do I trash it - but Thiel is one connected mofo and BitPay was made an offer it couldn't refuse. I know something of how things work in venture financing. They couldn't not take his money; it would have been suicide.
The PTB seem to be pissed that too much economic activity is going dark; they need a window on it.
That, and Thiel will likely make a boatload.
At least short term this is positive for BTC. In fact this is the first news that has made me want to go get some.
Google is all over this years bilderburg meeting, they are having advanced meetings ahead of the main meeting.
Thus Googlburg is the 2013 title.
They are Saurons eyeball so it's not strange they'd be present at Bilderburg - especially as they must be sweating about things like bitcoins, alt-news, lack of internet control etc.
The "Grove"usually refers to Bohemian Grove in California.
Good find, CA!
"Coincidentally", Thiel and Schmidt have been at each Bilderberg since 2007 (though they BOTH missed 2009...busy somewhere else together?).
My guess is that GoogleBerg will bring in a "new and improved" replacement for BTC. (I still believe that BitCon was/is only a drill to iron out the kinks, while they usher in cashless infrastructure and rules elsewhere...eg. Nigeria).
Reggie will know...he's in with Google and the KKK.
oh yay, peter thiel. like we needed more evidence that bitcoin is the worst idea since the fed was created.
Thiel is a "Bilderberger"...meeting June outside London to establish the "New Currency Regime"
sorry but BTC sucks donkey, it is a currency readily stolen by rogue remote entities.
Just like the availble dollar balance on your credit card?
.
Tell me how cash offers any greater security.
Cheerleading for Bitcoin is acceptable as long as it is not presented as capable of fulfilling all of the functions of money. It can operate only as a medium of exchange, which is admittedly extremely efficient and anonymous at the micro level but dangerously centralized and totalitarian at a meta level. It cannot clear debts and its ability to store value in the long term is predicated on many unknown and impactful variables.
That is all. In order for the currency to be verifiable, a full history of all transactions associated with each coin be must stored and available, though perhaps only obtainable by those with expertise.
It's origins are largely unknown, and as a project that likely would have required significant financing and testing it is naive in my opinion to assume and trust that it was created by some rogue, solo anti-establishment figure. Not saying I know either way, but some of the enthusiasm I hear for this thing is downright scary.
There will have to a bunch of players and $$$ at stake before it gets interesting to TPTB. They won't be able to resist trying to steal it.
You're discounting the possibility that it was developed by powers that are. Again, naive, in my opinion.
The elites you speak of don't release things open-source. Open-source means we can all keep changing anything we find wrong with it and pay no one for this benefit.
I'm sure when slaves in Egypt were freed they were pretty enthusiastic too. We've been the financial system's "chattel" for too long - so when something presents itself that isn't from the same primordial ooze as the rest of the fucked banking system, people get excited.
+1 however, due to the hashing algorithm the transaction history is verified in time-forward manner only. It's exceedingly difficult to tamper with the transaction series to produce a new one but it's impossible to reverse backwards to find specific transactions.
As for 'origins' it doesn't matter: if it doesn't work, don't use it. It's open-source so its origins are less important than its current abilities and limitations (that are many)
Other news that ZH hasn't mentioned yet:
Gyft has added bitcoin as a payment option - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gyft.android&hl=en - that means 200+ big-name stores and restaurants, including the ability to buy Amazon gift cards. Direct from a bitcoin wallet to the card - face value, no fees. They plan to expand service to the UK and Canada.
Not good enough for you?
Foodler - a delivery service in most urban areas, allows you to get your favorite takeout - and you can load up your account via bitcoin using purchases of their "foodler bucks" - https://www.foodler.com/
And in case you didn't think Bitcoin had the "legs" to make it anywhere else but the USA:
Webmoney - the "PayPal" of russia, just added WMX, which allows bitcoin to purchase their webmoney currency. This reaches about 11 million people, most in Russia - and some beyond that. http://blog.wmtransfer.com/en/blog/wmx-the-new-type-of-title-units
But keep on telling me Bitcoin is "dead" or "crashed". I guess you have to make yourself feel better somehow.
Bitcoin is only getting started.
Bitcoins can be moved anonomously anywhere in the world. That's true. When you transfer said bitcoins into spendable fiat eg; buy a car or house, have fun explaining the transaction to tax collectors. In the U.S. all transactions over $5K are required to be reported to IRS.
Using bitcoin for small transactions is fine, if there's a large enough pool of merchants to make it worth while.
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Selling_bitcoins
To do this anonymously you need an IP address unconnected to you and a MAC address you can burn and never to use the same physical location twice. Otherwise it's far, far from anonymous.
Although I suppose if 2 parties meet, both confirm the contents (btc count) of the wallet, and trade the data in person (usb / sd card changes hands) in trade for goods (in hand) that problem is solved.
The only trick here then is to ensure for each purchase you have an entire btc wallet to give away for the goods. In theory that's the most secure use for bitcoin and I'd support only that.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/625-000-gold-shipment-vanishes-miami-airport-article-1.1346508
Gold shipment worth $625000 vanishes from Miami International Airport New York Daily News - 3 hours ago A $625,000 shipment in gold bars has mysteriously vanished from Miami International Airport. American Airlines Flight 902 arrived in Miami early on Tuesday morning carrying the pricey products from Guayaquil, Ecuador.wow, HSBC or JPM must be really desperate to re-stock those vaults! :D
At the risk of front-running ZH (once again), and yet getting no credit for it...
The Gov has seized the US bank accounts of Mt Gox. The implications are obvious, but let's list it for those who like things spelled out for them:
1. Bitcoin is a Real and Substantial threat to the Fed, and this is a de facto admission.
2. Given 1. above the critics are clearly idiots or trolls.
And here is another of Kirk's Back-From-The-Future predictions: "Prepare for 'Fedcoin'" (term coined by me). Bitchez! Alas, when this happens, that precious Barbaric Relic won't mean 'jack'. Well, not within the Club Fed zone, anyway.
The Feudal future is being prepared by the Elite.
Bernanke and the CIA just got BitCoined--Toast M'Fr's.
Bitcoin is brilliant..It will end up making the largest gains vs dollars ever seen..I love the idea and have owned some bitcoin for a long time now..but it can go to zero, gold-silver etc CANNOT GO TO ZERO..I believe Bitcoin has a very bright future for commerence and you guys should own atleast a couple and put them in a COLD STORAGE WALLET..
I looked at bitpay to try it on a wordpress cart... they wanted a shit-ton of private info. So annonimity just went right out the door.
If I'm going to squeeze the beast, the last thing I want is bitpay handing over my transactions to the thugs at the irs when they bring the
hammer down.
Thanks but no thanks.
BINGO! It's worthless.
@Calculated_Risk
Do you mean as a merchant? I've never had to give any private information to use a Bitcoin payment processor.
Ever.
So I'm curious as to why your experience was different.