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.
I could have said 'an easy prediction'. The latest 'Who is Satoshi?' furore lasted about a week.
- Australian Craig Wright claims to be Bitcoin creator (bbc.com)
- Australian Ends Attempt to Prove He Founded Bitcoin (nytimes.com)
Australia also figured in the bitcoin news towards the end of the month.
- Australia to sell £8m of seized bitcoins (bbc.com); 'A collection of bitcoins worth about £8m, which had been confiscated by police in Australia, will be auctioned off in June. The 24,518 bitcoins will be sold mostly in blocks of 2,000 - each with a market value of about £680,000.'
Other sources reported the total value in dollars as a range $12m - $16m, reflecting uncertainty over the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, the dollar-to-bitcoin rate, and the auction bids. The current price of bitcoin is $573. What would I bid for 2,000 of them?
That post 'News : 2016-04' also made the not-so-startling observation that 'web "journalism" is based on lists'. The current post, 'News : 2016-05', once again confirms this.
- The 5 biggest bitcoin and blockchain announcements at Consensus (finance.yahoo.com; video); '1. Creator claim [...]'; Yes, Australia again.
- Top 10 Myths About Bitcoin (nasdaq.com) '1. Bitcoin Is Dead [...]'; Yes, myths again, as in 'News : 2016-04'.
- Six Benefits of Taking Payments in Bitcoin (ditto); '1. Near-Instant Settlement [...]'
What's 'Consensus' when you start the word with an upper-case 'C'? The Yahoo article explained, 'The big bitcoin conference Consensus descended on Manhattan this week, and a number of significant companies chose it as a venue to announce news.' Trendy names are part of the bitcoin mystique. Here's another one.
- Bitcoin Miners Follow Profit to Ethereum Blockchain (coindesk.com)
A Google search on this blog picks up scattered transient references to 'Ethereum', apparently from the embedded news feeds in the right navbar, plus a couple of real references, including News : 2016-03. Time for a separate post on this topic?
Another story interested me because long ago I made a couple of business trips to the town. It's small stories like this one that make the big picture.
- Why a Swiss Tax Haven is Embracing Bitcoin (fortune.com); 'Zug wants to be "Crypto Valley" : Municipal bosses in the Swiss town of Zug have decided to accept the bitcoin cryptocurrency for payments up to the value to 200 francs ($206), in a new pilot project.'
I'll skip this month's scandals and jump to future months' news.
- After Months of Tests, the Big Bid to Scale Bitcoin is Nearing Launch (coindesk.com); 'Since Segregated Witness was announced last December, it has been one of the most anticipated software releases across the bitcoin community.'
- China Bitcoin Mining Growth May Help Overcome Worries Over 7/11 Halving (cointelegraph.com); 'Most Bitcoin users believe that the pending halving in July will have an effect on the cryptocurrency’s value.'
Both stories will certainly appear in a follow-up news post. And let's not forget the Australian auction -- $573 times 2000 -- suppose I bid an even million? (Australian dollars, of course, because I have no idea what they're worth either. Maybe I should just place my bid in bitcoin myself : 'Bidding 2000 bitcoin for 2000 bitcoin'. Is that really so silly? Do I buy the bitcoin to pay the bitcoin before or after the auction? And how much is the auctioneer's commission?)
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