It was once the future of money but this week has seen Bitcoin lurch 20% lower, with other crypto-currencies suffering even more serious falls. On Tech Tent we ask whether the dream of a decentralised currency that would overturn the established financial system is over – and whether the regulators need to step in to […]

It may have been elicited reactions varying from mild amusement to death threats, but Rebecca Black’s “Friday” released in 2011 certainly got eyeballs — more than 127 million at last count. Whether it was outraged cultural commentators, 4chan jesters, or curious viewers, all views count, and a YouTuber called Finally Crypto is using the same strategy to promote […]

The value of Bitcoin has fallen below $5,000 (£3,889) for the first time since October 2017. The fall brought the total value of all Bitcoin in existence to below $87bn. On Thursday, 15 November, Bitcoin Cash – an offshoot of Bitcoin – split into two different crypto-currencies, which are now in competition with each other. […]

As the tax season approaches, Australians have more reasons to be wary of persons claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In the four months since July 1, Australians have lost nearly AU$1 million to scammers posing as the tax officials according to the ATO. During the same period where more than 28,000 scam attempts […]

  Every four years in November, about halfway into each presidential term, voters in the US head to the polls to fill 36 state governor seats, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and about one-third of the 100 US Senate offices. Widely considered a referendum on a sitting president, midterm elections often […]

A new use case is emerging for cryptocurrency: helping women who’ve suffered sexual harassment or assault gain financial independence while also protecting their privacy. Case in point, a sexual assault survivor used the crypto-powered payment processor Seeds to crowdfund $500 in September after the trauma left her unable to work for several months. Had she used a […]

A man has been jailed for sending a “potentially lethal homemade bomb” to a Bitcoin firm in London – after it refused to reset his password for him. The Met Police, which investigated the case, said detectives could “only identify one possible reason” for the Swedish national’s actions. He had emailed the company, Cryptopay, in […]

According to a French news website, France’s lower house of parliament (Assemblée Nationale) has backed a proposed plan from its finance commission which will effectively bring the taxes on bitcoin gains in line with other capital gains taxes in the country. At present, bitcoin sales are taxed about 20 percent more than traditional capital gains […]

Texas executed regulatory action recently against two cryptocurrency mining companies. The Securities Commissioner for Texas sent EXY Crypto (also known as Execrypto) and AWS Mining PTY LTD. cease and desist letters based on fraudulent activities. EXY Crypto Texas order number ENF-18-CDO-1771 against EXY Crypto specifically names Morgan Nolan, Rafael Logan, and Melissa Spring as involved in the ordeal. […]

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io was apparently the target of hackers who compromised a widely used web analytics platform this week. According to a report from internet security firm ESET on Tuesday, bad actors compromised Ireland-based web analytics site StatCounter, in an attempt to steal bitcoin from the exchange’s customers. The attackers managed to inject malicious code into the […]