Robot arrested after attempting to buy drugs on the Darknet, Digital currency exchange platform Kraken has started to accept MtGox creditor claims, Xapo partners with leading Latin American Taringa!, Living Room of Satoshi wins two awards, Robocoin launches remittance solution, and more top stories for April 22.
Robot Arrested for Buying Drugs on the Darknet
Back in October 2014, a Swiss group by the name of !Mediengruppe Bitnik decided to create an art exhibit using items purchased by a robot programmed to buy random goods from the Darknet, illegal or otherwise, while being given each week US$100 worth of bitcoins, reported GeekSnack.
It turned out that, while the highly anticipated exhibition was being prepared, the cops got wind of the business and "arrested" the robot.
The police also confiscated all the items purchased, among which a baseball cap sporting a hidden cam, Chesterfield cigarettes, fake jeans, Nike shoes, some e-books, a Hungarian passport, and ecstasy pills.
The police eventually ended up returning the goods, with the exception of the drugs, and the artists, as well as the robot, were cleared of all charges.
Kraken Begins Accepting MtGox Creditor Claims
Digital currency exchange Kraken, announced it has started to accept MtGox creditor claims and offers up to US$1M in free trade volume per creditor as a bonus for claiming funds through Kraken, the company wrote in an announcement on April 17.
Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said:
"We see our involvement in this process as an opportunity to restore faith in the community by showing what we need more of in the Bitcoin space – trusted leadership."
In November 2014, the company was selected by the MtGox trustee to assists creditors in investigating the missing bitcoins, filing claims and distributing remaining assets.
Xapo Partners With Latin American Social Media Taringa!
Bitcoin wallet and vault service Xapo, announced a new partnership with Taringa! to power digital currency on the social media platform. Top content creators will now have the ability to earn bitcoins through Taringa!'s Revenue Sharing Program among other possibilities.
According to the announcement:
"The partnership with Taringa! is also an opportunity to introduce millions of people across the globe to the benefits of bitcoin, such as free cross-border transfers, micropayments/social tipping, and more. [...] The partnership has the potential to quadruple the current number of bitcoin transactions worldwide."
Virtual Currencies Exempted From VAT in Spain
Spain's General Directorate of Taxes (DGT) announced that virtual currencies, which are considered to be a medium of payment, will be classified as financial services and thus, will be exempted from value-added tax.
"Under article 135.1.d of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC, virtual currencies such as bitcoin, which holds the purpose of allowing the transfer of money and has the features of a means of payment, is also considered as a unique concept of' other negotiable instruments,' and is therefore exempt from VAT."
BTCJam Expands to Mexico through New Partnership
Leading P2P bitcoin lending platform BTCJam, has partnered with Mexican bitcoin exchange Volabit to "bring a superior bitcoin experience" to users from Mexico, the company announced on Tuesday. This integration allows users of Volabit to transfer funds and activate automatic payments directly from BTCJam.
Hannah Kim, Co-Founder of Volabit, said:
"BTCjam is one of the most exciting companies in Bitcoin and we're delighted for how our new partnership makes bitcoin borrowing and lending easier for our customers."
DigitalTangible Rebrands as Serica
San Francisco-based decentralized gold, precious metals and bitcoin exchange DigitalTangible has officially rebranded as Serica, and is looking to broaden its investment platform offerings to global traders, investors, and merchants.
"DigitalTangible has been a trailblazer in the gold-bitcoin space, in September last year launching the first ever gold/bitcoin online marketplace - the Crypto 2.0 Gold Trading Platform - and then expanding it to Asia the next month. [...] Now rebranded as Serica, the company will focus more widely on providing smooth trading of any valuable, physical asset and digital money in innovative ways."
BTCXIndia Joins IT Trade Association NASSCOM
India's first bitcoin exchange BTCXIndia, has become a certified member of the National Association of Software and Services (NASSCOM), a major IT trade association with over 1,500 members of 500 fortune multinational, medium and small companies.
BTCXIndia said in an announcement:
"We had to go through a laborious process to get ourselves enlisted in NASSCOM; we also have to abide by the code & conduct of the association. This association gives further assurance of service delivery you can expect at BTCXindia for financial services that we are associated with."
Robocoin Debuts Remittance Software
Bitcoin ATM manufacturer Robocoin has launched its remittance software, dubbed Romit. The new application is a low-cost fully automated cash-to-cash remittance solution that allows users to send money across the globe through 3 simple steps:
- Step 1: the sender enters the recipient’s phone number;
- Step 2: he/she selects the destination country;
- Step 3: he/she inserts cash into kiosk/ATM, or hand cash to cashier.
The recipient will then be notified with a text message mentions the amount sent, and the nearest pickup location.
The application can run on smartphones, tablets, or PC, so that any web-enabled kiosk, ATM or cashier can offer KYC-compliant money transfer services, the company said in an announcement.
Living Room of Satoshi Wins 2 Awards at National Ceremony
Living Room of Satoshi, a bitcoin bill payments startup, was rewarded "Best Startup in Australia" and "Best State Startup" in Queensland, at a national ceremony in Melbourne last week, the company said in an announcement.
Organized by StartupSmart.com.au, Australia’s leading news and advice resource for startups, the StartupSmart Awards aims to recognize the most innovative and fastest-growing new businesses in the country.
OpenBazzar Releases Beta 0.4.0 Portobello
Decentralized P2P marketplace OpenBazzar, has released its fourth beta, Portobello, for Linux and OSX users. The release includes new features and improvements, including networking changes, an internal messaging system, and avatars, along with additional features for notaries.
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