There have a few interesting Bitcoin related stories over the last couple days. These include, The Winklevoss Twins telling the Guardian that Bitcoin has the potential to be bigger than Facebook, talk of Paypal accepting Bitcoin as a payment option and a number of resignations at the Bitcoin Foundation.
Bitcoin Bigger than Facebook
William Channer did a piece on The Guardian that took a look at how the Winklevoss came to get involved with Bitcoin and what they see as the future for the most popular crypto currency on the planet.
From the article:
It was on a very hot day in July 2012 that the Winklevoss twins discovered bitcoin, while partying in Ibiza. At 32 years old, the enviably athletic pair have both Harvard and Oxford on their CVs, and seem predestined for success. They famously won a $65m settlement from Facebook after claiming Mark Zuckerberg had stolen their idea for a Harvard social network, and rowed in the 2008 Olympics.
Yet their chance encounter with bitcoin in the Mediterranean was rather more serendipitous. “We were on vacation, and happened to bump into a guy who is mutual friend and he started to tell us about bitcoin,” Tyler Winklevoss explains. “We were fascinated from day one,” he says, hinting that having just abandoned five years of chasing Facebook through the courts, the time was right to start something new. “At the time we were just re-immersing ourselves inside the tech world, getting into the trenches again.”
Facebook’s soaring value has been good news for the Winklevoss brothers and their investment business, and the pair are now two of the most influential players in a new generation of investors. Yet bitcoin, Winklevoss insists, has the potential to be even bigger than Facebook – currently riding a market value of $151bn.
“Bitcoin potentially could be more impactful because being able to donate 50 cents to someone across the world has more impact than potentially sharing a picture,” he explains. “But they’re very different. Facebook is like the internet – a large company and an application.
Read the full article here
Bitcoin integration with Paypal being considered
John Donahoe the CEO of Ebay discussed Bitcoin in the latest annual shareholder meeting. The IBTimes covered the story.
From the article:
Q&A session at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on 13 May, Donahoe said bitcoin is “a new, exciting and emerging technology” with lot of potential.
“We think bitcoin will play a very important role in the future. Exactly how that plays out, and how we can best take advantage of it and enable it with PayPal, that’s something we’re actively considering. It’s on our radar screen.”
This is not the first time Donahoe has spoken about his positive view of bitcoin.
In an interview with Bloomberg in February, he said that multiple digital currencies can be integrated into PayPal and are not posing a threat to his business.
Nothing holding us back
“There is nothing holding PayPal back from pursuing digital payments today, as part of eBay. In fact PayPal is pursuing digital payments and is the leading digital payments alternative in many different environments,” Donahoe said.
“You can use digital currencies in the PayPal digital wallet, that’s in fact what PayPal is doing – is building a digital wallet that can take multiple types of currency.”
Read the full article here
The Bitcoin Foundation rocked by a series of resignations
Leo King of Forbes covered the recent number of resignations at the Bitcoin Foundation.
From the article:
The Bitcoin Foundation, which oversees the popular virtual currency, has been rocked by a series of resignations that saw 10 members quit the organisation in a high profile protest.
The Foundation insists it will stay strong, in spite of the problems and recent questions over its relevancy. While the resignations so far number a small tally of the Foundation’s 1,500 members, they have prompted an extensive and angry web debate over the future of the organization.
The resignations follow the appointment of Brock Pierce – who has faced serious questions over his past behaviour, allegations he has vehemently denied – to the Foundation’s board. Some members publicly resigned, but a number of others have said they wish to remain in the group, defending Pierce.
Brock Pierce, a 33-year old entrepreneur who had been a child star in 90′s Disney movies The Mighty Ducks and First Kid, has faced allegations in lawsuits from three employees of his first company, Digital Entertainment Network, that as a young man he pressured them for sex when they were minors.
The allegations against Pierce and several others emerged in 2000: one was settled and the rest were dismissed, and then one claimant later resurfaced with a new suit – however, Pierce was not named in the latest suit, which continues.
Read the full story here
