Bitcoin in the News : 2016-08

August was not a good month for bitcoin. Even though I lost five days of Google news alerts (11-15 August; see Site Available Again), I can't imagine that the missing days would have changed the month's tone significantly. The first story of note, a continuation from July's Bitcoin in the News : 2016-07 More++: 'Bitcoin not money Miami judge rules', sounds like an unfortunately/fortunately scenario.

• 2016-07-31: Florida Judge Deals a Blow to Bitcoin's Legitimacy (financemagnates.com) • 'Another tough development for those who advocate the spread of Bitcoin as an alternative currency'
• 2016-08-02: A Victory for Bitcoin Users (cato.org) • 'Miami-Dade Florida circuit judge Teresa Pooler dismissed money-laundering charges'

There was nothing unfortunately/fortunately about the next story. It was 'unfortunately' from start to finish.

• 2016-08-03: Bitcoin Worth $72M Was Stolen in Bitfinex Exchange Hack in Hong Kong (fortune.com)
• 2016-08-08: Bitfinex users to share 36% of bitcoin losses after hack (bbc.com)
• 2016-08-17: The Wretched, Endless Cycle of Bitcoin Hacks (bloomberg.com) • Good explanation of how the theft was orchestrated.

That story says 'hack', the next says 'attack'. When all is said and done, what's the difference?

• 2016-08-18: Bitcoin 'targeted by state sponsored attackers' says Bitcoin.org (theregister.co.uk) • '"Bitcoin.org has reason to suspect that the binaries for the upcoming Bitcoin Core release will likely be targeted by state sponsored attackers," the organisation says'
• 2016-08-18: Bitcoin.org warns of potential attack by 'state-sponsored hackers' (uk.businessinsider.com) • 'Users are being warned that an upcoming release of digital currency could be targeted by "state-sponsored hackers."'

In August, the word 'attack' was frequently associated with bitcoin.

• 2016-08-22: How Bitcoin helped fuel an explosion in ransomware attacks (zdnet.com)

One of the few 'fortunately' stories harks back to Online Bitcoin Course (March 2016), which was taken down at the end of June.

• 2016-08-07: Coursera Course on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Begins Soon (themerkle.com)

Is that the same course or a new course? I'll find out in a future post.