Bitcoin in the News : 2016-04

What a difference a month can make. The main story in the previous month's news roundup, 'Bitcoin's nightmare scenario' (aka the 'hard fork' debate; see Bitcoin in the News : 2016-03) was hardly newsworthy in April. Were we just witnessing marketing hype? Instead of sky-is-falling hysteria, there was routine evolution.

• Bitcoin Core 0.12.1 Released, Major Step Forward for Scalability (nasdaq.com)
• The Latest Bitcoin Core Version to Be Included by Miners Soon (newsbtc.com)

The most repeated stories involved a couple of products. The first product was something called 'lightning'.

• Bitcoin Lightning Network Creators: Fees Will Be Effectively Zero (bitcoinmagazine.com)
• Does the Lightning Network Threaten Bitcoin’s Censorship Resistance? (ditto)

Since neither story explained what 'lightning' is, I'll pursue that in a future post. The second product was something called 'steam', which a preliminary story helps to explain.

• Bitcoin Gambling is Exploding (cointelegraph.com)

I don't want to judge whether that is positive or negative for bitcoin, because gambling contains elements of both. What does gambling have to do with steam?

• The Most Ear-Pleasing Bitcoin Rumor is Back (newsbtc.com); 'An unconfirmed announcement circulating on Reddit has disclosed Steam’s plans to integrate Bitcoin payments into its gaming platform.'
• Computer Game Network Steam Accepting Bitcoin For Payments (fortune.com)

A couple of well known personalities from the U.S. financial scene also made the bitcoin news.

• Former Regulator Benjamin Lawsky Is Now a Bitcoin Backer (fortune.com); 'former New York state financial services chief'; see also Bitcoin in the News - June 2015
• Larry Summers joins bitcoin firm as a senior advisor (finance.yahoo.com); 'former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard University,'

What would a 'Bitcoin in the News' post be without some scandal? Like tax evasion...

• The Panama Papers-Bitcoin Connection (cryptocoinsnews.com)
• China's "Panama" Censorship & The Implications For Encryption, Bitcoin (ditto)

Or like bribery...

• This Story About a Florida Man Involves Bitcoin and J.P. Morgan (fortune.com)
• JPMorgan Hack Link To Bitcoin Bribery Case (pymnts.com)

The word 'myth' also popped up a few times during the month.

• The New Bitcoin Myth (theatlantic.com); URL: 'bitcoin-hype'; Headline: 'Can Bitcoin Be Used For Good?'; except for the page title, the word 'myth' doesn't appear in the article
• 7 myths about the Bitcoin blockchain (cio.com.au); 'Myth 1: The blockchain is a magical database in the cloud. Myth 2: The integrity of the ledger is defined by the majority of nodes [...]'

As that last link suggests (and this present post confirms), web 'journalism' is based on lists.

• Bitcoin and the Rise of the Cypherpunks (coindesk.com); 'some notable cypherpunks and their achievements: Jacob Appelbaum: Tor developer, Julian Assange: Founder of WikiLeaks, [...]'
• The Four Types of Bitcoin Users (coindesk.com); actually two lists: (1) 'oddballs, fantasists, [...]' (2) 'computer programmers, speculators, [...]'

Now I'll look into the crystal ball at 'Bitcoin in the News : 2016-05', because there's one bitcoin story that was, that is, and that ever will be.

• Craig Wright Reportedly Set To Prove He Is Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto (ibtimes.com)
• How to Prove You’re Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto (wired.com)

I could go on (and on and on), but let's give it a rest. Sap rises in the spring and bitcoin is no exception.