Alleged USMS Auction Winner Leaves Eldritch Message

Reuters reports that an auction for 50,000 BTC held last week by the USMS was allegedly won by three bidders who each took home 27,000, 20,000 and 3,000 BTC respectively. Spokesman for the USMS Lynzey Donahue confirmed with Reuters via email that the transfer of the coins is complete, but did not specify who the winners are. The distribution of the 50,000 BTC believed to have been purchased at auction is as follows: Continue reading

Bitcoin Mining Gains In Difficulty, Network Grows Stronger

With what is the fifth adjustment in the Bitcoin mining difficulty for 2015, the difficulty has increased to a new all time high of 47,427,554,951. Today's increase of 1.59% over February 22nd's difficulty of 46,684,376,317 represents the smallest gain for the network so far this year. The hash rate as of today's change stands at 339,499,662 GH/s.1


  1. An average over the last 504 blocks. 

14 Bidders 34 Bids In Latest USMS Bitcoin Auction

Bloomberg reports that an auction held today by the USMS1 for 50,000 BTC attracted a total of 34 bids from 14 participants including third time bidders SecondMarket. The fenced goods are expected to be transferred to the winner/s of the auction by Monday at the earliest.

Alluding to Buterin's Waterfall, Gil Luria of Wedbush Securities Inc was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: Continue reading


  1. Mirrored here as the USMS have deleted the pages for previous auctions. 

Aspiring Bitcoin Journalist Arrested For Recruiting For ISIS

A 17 year old teenager from Virginia in the United States who was arrested by the FBI last Friday for his alleged involvement in providing assistance to a man who wished to travel to Syria so as to fight alongside ISIS has been identified as Ali Shukri Amin.

Amin, who wrote for the Bitcoin news site Coin Brief on a variety of topics including Dark Wallet and Open Bazaar, is reported to have been charged as a juvenile for his as yet to be announced crimes. Attempts to charge the student as an adult are also reportedly under way. Continue reading

Leaked Emails Detail Inner Workings Of Josh Garza's Scams

Alleged emails which detail the inner workings and day to day operations of Homero Joshua Garza's fraud outfit known as GAW Miners have been leaked. The damning emails not only confirm long held suspicions about Garza's operations but also bring to light other debacles GAW Miners finds itself involved in. The emails confirm: Continue reading

Antonopoulos, AFP, AG & ATO Appear Before Australian Senate

A second public hearing held by the Australian Senate on the topic of digital currencies began earlier today with the morning session kicked off by none other than Andreas Antonopoulos. Antonopoulos' appearance as an expert witness before the committee is a puzzling choice due to Antonopoulos' history of involvement with numerous scams such as Neo&Bee and the Bitcoin Foundation. Antonopoulos is alleged to have lied to the Australian Senate by claiming that 2 billion unbanked were at Australia's doorstep. Continue reading

Europol: Bitcoin Will Intersect With Organised Crime, Political Movements, Technology & Others

Europol has published a report titled "Exploring Tomorrow's Organised Crime" in which Bitcoin and alternative coins such as Darkcoin are cited as a means for criminals to anonymously receive and send payment for their services. Europol's research looks at eight key drivers it believes will shape the future of organised crime both online and offline within the European Union. Those eight drivers include: Continue reading

Silbert's BIT To Trade On Pink Sheets

Having allegedly gained approval from FINRA, Barry Silbert's Bitcoin Investment Trust will soon be available to trade via OTC Markets. Silbert's BIT, which has been allocated the ticker code of BTCV, has been classified by OTC Markets as "OTC Pink No Information". OTC Markets, previously known as Pink Sheets, provides a description of the type of companies one might find in the OTC Pink No Information category: Continue reading