Weekend Roundup: Bitcoin Exchange Takes Tax Authority to Court, BIT Becomes World's First Public BTC Fund

Weekend Roundup from Cointelegraph about Antiwar.com and Google adsense, Sweden, Darkcoin and Dash, Kaspersky Lab, Barry Silbert and more
Diana Ngo
Posted by Diana Ngo March 29, 2015 5 Mins Read
Weekend Roundup from Cointelegraph about Antiwar.com and Google adsense, Sweden, Darkcoin and Dash, Kaspersky Lab, Barry Silbert and more

Antiwar.com Dropped by Google Adsense, Counts on Bitcoin Support

Google Adsense dropped Antiwar.com, an alternative media organization that has been covering war crimes and American interventionism for over a decade, in reference to images of Abu Ghraib detainees being abused by US troops in Iraq dating back to 2006 defined as "too gory."

According to Eric Garris, founder of Antiwar.com:

"[The Abu Ghraib page] is the third-most-visited page in our history, getting over 2 million page views since it was posted. This page has been up for 11 years. During all that time Google Adsense has been running ads on our site – but as Washington gets ready to re-invade Iraq, and in bombing, killing, and abusing more civilians, they suddenly decide that their 'anti-violence' policy, which prohibits 'disturbing material,' prohibits any depiction of violence committed by the U.S. government and paid for with your tax dollars."

Swedish Tax Authority Taken to Court by Bitcoin Exchange over ‘Extremely Intrusive’ Data Request

Swedish bitcoin exchange BTCX, has been requested by the local Tax Authority to disclose transaction history of the company's 20,000 customers. The exchange is taking the Swedish Tax Authority to court, qualifying the demand as an "extremely intrusive" data request.

Christian Ander, CEO of Goobit, the owner and operator of BTCX, stated:

"Our customers are not at all prepared for this. It would be extremely intrusive if this kind of information came out, including bank statements on all bank accounts in perpetuity. We are wondering if this situation is exactly what the Swedish Tax Authority is looking for, or if they do not know what they are doing."

Darkcoin Rebrands to Dash

Anonymity-focused cryptocurrency darkcoin has officially changed its name to dash in order to disassociate itself from the dark web.

"Recently it became apparent that our branding was getting in the way of our mission, so we started investigating rebranding," said lead developer Evan Duffield.

"We believe Dash, which stands for digital cash, is a great representation of what we want to become."

Kaspersky Alerts Users of Malware and 'Blockchain Abuse'

Kaspersky Labs warns users of a possible exploit in cryptocurrency blockchains that would allow malicious actors to distribute malware or even images depicting child abuse.

According to the software security group:

"The design of the blockchain means there is the possibility of malware being injected and permanently hosted with no methods currently available to wipe this data. This could affect 'cyber hygiene' as well as the sharing of child sexual abuse images where the blockchain could become a safe haven for hosting such data."

The warning is the result of research of INTERPOL Cyber threat experts, a group that includes a Kaspersky employee.

Barry Silbert Confirms World's First Public Bitcoin Fund

Barry Silbert's Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT) became the world's first publicly traded bitcoin fund.

The fund received approval for listing on OTC Markets Group's OTCQX exchange on Thursday, with Silbert setting his sights on the NYSE or Nasdaq in future.

The fund is the first offering from Silbert’s sponsor company, Grayscale Investments, and will trade under the symbol GBTC.

Elsewhere

NewNote Financial has purchased CoinTrader, the second largest Canadian Bitcoin exchange by volume, for US$1.2 million in a mix of cash and stock, reported CCN.

NASDAQ OMX Group Inc., which owns and operates the NASDAQ stock market, has agreed to provide the New York-based startup Noble Markets the core technology to power a marketplace for trading bitcoins and related digital-currency assets, reported Reuters.

Italy is set to debate an amendment to its anti-terrorism laws that would make it lawful for the state to implement hidden surveillance to capture any data on personal computers. The wording specifically allows for the capture of both data being transmitted between systems, and data “existent in one computer system” granting the state powers to electronically spy on users across systems.

The Isle of Man has announced it will be introducing a new regulation from April 1, that will request bitcoin businesses to comply with the island's anti-money laundering laws, reported the International Business Times.

New Bitcoin ATMs

In light of Cointelegraph's partnership with Coin ATM Radar, we have compiled a list of the latest Bitcoin ATM devices that went live this week.

Europe

In Belgium, two General Bytes one-way bitcoin ATM were respectively installed at two Outpost Gamecenter outlets. The first store is located at Ottergemsesteenweg 13, 9000 Gent; the second one is located at Beggaardenstraat 6, 2000 Antwerpen.

Both devices are operated by Orillian BVBA and are limited to €2,000 per day for anonymous transactions. The operator charges a 7% fee per transaction.

On March 13, the 10th bitcoin ATM was installed in Italy. Located at Ottica Guerra, Corso Antonio Rosmini, 7, 38068 Rovereto TN, the device is a General Bytes one-way bitcoin ATM.

In the UK, a General Bytes two-way bitcoin ATM was installed on March 24. Located at Cafe Nisse, 11 Wind St, Swansea SA1 1DP, the device is operated by Satoshipoint and is available Monday to Saturday from 8am to 10pm.

Earlier this month, Hungary welcomed its second bitcoin ATM, a BitAccess two-way device, installed at Stop Shop Mall, 3rd district., Bécsi út 136, in Budapest.

In Spain, two new bitcoin ATMs were installed this week. The first device is a BTCPoint two-way device located at ESADE Business School, Av. d'Esplugues, 92-96, 08034 Barcelona. The machine is limited to €1,000 and charges 5% per transaction.

The second device is located at Euro Cafe, C/ Decano Higueras del Castillo 49, Torremolinos, and is a Lamassu one-way machine. The device charges 5% per transaction, and is available everyday from 10am to midnight.

The US

On March 22 and 23, ZenBox installed three bitcoin ATMs in California.

The first device is a BitAccess two-way ATM located at Coffee bar Byul, 2750 Alton Pkwy #141, Irvine. The device is limited to US$9,999 and charges a 7% fee.

The second machine is located at Dynamic Vapor, 10971 Garden Grove Boulevard, Garden Grove. The two-way BitAccess ATM is limited to US$9,999 and charges a 7% fee.

The third device is a one-way Satoshi1 Genesis Coin bitcoin ATM, located at Vapor Craze, 3837 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach.

On March 24, Red Leaf Chicago installed a Satoshi1 Genesis Coin one-way bitcoin ATM, located at Fire House Grill, 750 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL.

In New York, the Lamassu one-way bitcoin ATM formerly located at Crispins restaurant, was moved to Sonny's Groceries, 758 10th Ave. The machine charges between 8 and 15% per transaction.

On Thursday, a new General Bytes one-way bitcoin ATM was installed at Amy Joy Donuts, Cross Road Plaza, 5211 Mayfield Rd, Lyndhurst, OH. Operated by Coinnective, the device is limited to US$2,500 per person per day, and charges a 5% fee per transaction.

Market Activity

Since reaching tops on March 13 at 297 USD/BTC, the bitcoin price has gone downhill. Today marks a monthly low at 242 USD/BTC, and the price seems to be continuing on a long-term decline

Number of transactions per day continues its long-term raise while oscillating between 85,000 and 112,000 this week. 

Tags: