Cidersomerset
18th December 2013, 23:59
There was an item about Bit Coin on BBC 2 News night earlier, it was interesting
and Max Kieser made a brief appearance which was quite lively as usual and
culminating with him tearing up £ note to prove his point. He was on have I got
news for you the other week so he has become noticed by mainstream. The item is
not on the web yet. They were talking about the item below....
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http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.58.1/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png
18 December 2013 Last updated at 11:51
Bitcoin sinks after China restricts yuan exchangesBy Leo Kelion
Technology reporter
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71816000/jpg/_71816914_btc.jpg
BTC China's Bobby Lee BTC China's Bobby Lee says his exchange remains in business
despite new restrictions
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
China's love-hate Bitcoin relationship Watch
Five held following Bitcoin scams
Bitcoin trade ban for Chinese banks
Bitcoin has fallen to less than half the value it recently traded for, following reports
of fresh action by Beijing to restrict trade in the virtual currency.BTC China has said
that local payment companies have been blocked from providing it with clearing
services.It means that the firm - the world's biggest Bitcoin exchange in terms of
trading volumes - can no longer accept yuan-based deposits.
Prices tumbled following the news.
One bitcoin was trading for as low as 2,560 yuan ($421, £258), according to the
South China Morning Post.
That compares with an all-time high of 7,588 yuan ($1,250; £764) in late November.
Exchanges in other countries also reported drops, with Japan-based MtGox seeing
the exchange rate for one bitcoin fall from $717 to as low as $480 in Wednesday's trade.
"A lot of people put Bitcoin's rise over recent months to China where interest in it
has gone through the roof," said Emily Spaven, editor of digital currency news site
Coin Desk told the BBC.
"People are getting frightened that with the new regulations the country could now
drop out of the ecosystem. Going forward, it's certainly not the end of Bitcoin, but
people have been panic selling."
Currency controls
Virtual currency exchanges in China are not licensed by the country's central bank
to accept or pay out yuan to their customers, making them reliant on independent
clearing houses to act as middlemen.
"We essentially got notice from our third-party provider today that they will
discontinue accepting payments for us and new deposits," Bobby Lee, chief
executive of BTC China, told SCMP.
"We're still operating a Bitcoin exchange in China legally, and we're still allowing
people to deposit and withdraw Bitcoin, and withdraw renminbi [yuan]."
According to Yicai - a business news website with ties to the government - the news
followed a meeting between officials from the People's Bank of China and 10
clearing houses on Monday in Beijing, at which the firms were told they had until
the end of January to sever links to the country's Bitcoin exchanges.
This followed an earlier notice, issued by the regulators a fortnight ago, which
banned local banks from handling transactions involving bitcoins.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71816000/jpg/_71816916_yuan.jpg
Bitcoin wallet The Chinese ban will make it harder for locals to swap their yuan for
bitcoins The virtual currency is not backed by a central bank of its own, and is best
thought of as being virtual tokens, rather than real-world coins, which derive their
value from the ability to exchange them for cash or use them to buy goods.
One expert suggested the crackdown was the result of the Chinese government's
fears that locals were using it as a way to bypass currency controls in order to
move their savings out of the country.
"China is trying to grow its domestic economy and rebalance it from an export and
investment-based model to a consumer driven one over the next decade, and to do
that the authorities want to keep as much yuan within the country as possible,"
said Jinny Yan, an economist with Standard Chartered bank.
"They don't want to curtail any innovation in the financial sector. However, at the
moment any unexpected growth and development in channels that allow by-
passing of capital controls will cause anxiety."
Ms Spaven added that she believed Bitcoin would eventually bounce back.
"Underneath all the speculative trading is a robust technology that has intrinsic
value as a payment network, offering cheaper and faster money transfer than any
other options that exist currently," she said.
"If you look at our Bitcoin Price Index, you can see that prices dipped to below the
current level this time last month and soon bounced back. I believe the same will
happen this time around. It may take some time, but the price will rise again."
How Bitcoin works
Bitcoin is often referred to as a new kind of currency.
But it may be best to think of its units being virtual tokens rather than physical
coins or notes.However, like all currencies its value is determined by how much
people are willing to exchange it for.To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure
called "mining" must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult
mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.For each problem solved, one block
of bitcoins is processed. In addition the miner is rewarded with new bitcoins This
provides an incentive for people to provide computer processing power to solve the
problems.To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of
the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of about 3,600 new bitcoins a
day.
There are currently about 11 million bitcoins in existence.
To receive a bitcoin a user must have a Bitcoin address - a string of 27-34 letters
and numbers - which acts as a kind of virtual postbox to and from which the
bitcoins are sent.Since there is no registry of these addresses, people can use them
to protect their anonymity when making a transaction.
These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets which are used to manage
savings. They operate like privately run bank accounts - with the proviso that if the
data is lost, so are the bitcoins owned.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25428866
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://rt.com/static/img/static/logo.jpg
Bitcoin takes 50% plunge after China's biggest exchange bans new deposits
Published time: December 18, 2013 13:13
Edited time: December 18, 2013 15:43
Reuters / Jim Urquhart
http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/21/8d/70/00/bitcoin-china-deposits-ban-1.si.jpg
The value of the cryptocurrency has crashed to $550, less than half the $1,200
trading level last week, after BTC China - the world’s largest bitcoin exchange -
halted deposits in Chinese yuan.The ban followed a decision by YeePay, a third-
party payment provider, that said on Wednesday it would no longer accept yuan
deposits, while it’ll keep on processing withdrawals, Bloomberg News reports.
“For reasons we all know, BTC China has had to cease renminbi-account charging
functions,” the exchange said in its message.
“We think this is due to government regulation. We have to play by the rules of the
government of China,” Bobby Lee, CEO of BTC China, told Bloomberg News. BTC
China began discussions with the People's Central Bank of China over bitcoin
legitimacy on December 2.
At the time of publication, the currency was trading at $550 on Japan’s Mt. Gox,
one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges.
The clampdown on the virtual currency was initiated by the People’s Bank of China
two weeks ago, as they saw strong links between bitcoin and money laundering.
Government ministries told financial institutions dealing with bitcoin must stop by
January 31, the beginning of Chinese New Year holiday.
Bitcoin has gained enormous popularity in China, a nation famous for its currency
pegging as well as its saving ethics. The yuan is under strict government control to
keep economic risk low and control currency flow between borders, but the
economic ministry has been taking steps towards a free-floating currency by 2015.
Though it has no intrinsic value and isn’t backed by a government or bank, Bitcoin
has become a hot commodity to trade, similar to gold as it’s a way to save and
hedge against normal FOREX currencies.
Since its inception in 2008 by a man using the alias “Satoshi Nakmoto”, Bitcoin has
gone mainstream and can be used to buy coffee, pay for online dating services, and
can even be retrieved from an ATM. There are more than 12 million Bitcoins in
circulation worldwide.
http://rt.com/business/bitcoin-plunge-china-ban-431/
and Max Kieser made a brief appearance which was quite lively as usual and
culminating with him tearing up £ note to prove his point. He was on have I got
news for you the other week so he has become noticed by mainstream. The item is
not on the web yet. They were talking about the item below....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.58.1/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png
18 December 2013 Last updated at 11:51
Bitcoin sinks after China restricts yuan exchangesBy Leo Kelion
Technology reporter
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71816000/jpg/_71816914_btc.jpg
BTC China's Bobby Lee BTC China's Bobby Lee says his exchange remains in business
despite new restrictions
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
China's love-hate Bitcoin relationship Watch
Five held following Bitcoin scams
Bitcoin trade ban for Chinese banks
Bitcoin has fallen to less than half the value it recently traded for, following reports
of fresh action by Beijing to restrict trade in the virtual currency.BTC China has said
that local payment companies have been blocked from providing it with clearing
services.It means that the firm - the world's biggest Bitcoin exchange in terms of
trading volumes - can no longer accept yuan-based deposits.
Prices tumbled following the news.
One bitcoin was trading for as low as 2,560 yuan ($421, £258), according to the
South China Morning Post.
That compares with an all-time high of 7,588 yuan ($1,250; £764) in late November.
Exchanges in other countries also reported drops, with Japan-based MtGox seeing
the exchange rate for one bitcoin fall from $717 to as low as $480 in Wednesday's trade.
"A lot of people put Bitcoin's rise over recent months to China where interest in it
has gone through the roof," said Emily Spaven, editor of digital currency news site
Coin Desk told the BBC.
"People are getting frightened that with the new regulations the country could now
drop out of the ecosystem. Going forward, it's certainly not the end of Bitcoin, but
people have been panic selling."
Currency controls
Virtual currency exchanges in China are not licensed by the country's central bank
to accept or pay out yuan to their customers, making them reliant on independent
clearing houses to act as middlemen.
"We essentially got notice from our third-party provider today that they will
discontinue accepting payments for us and new deposits," Bobby Lee, chief
executive of BTC China, told SCMP.
"We're still operating a Bitcoin exchange in China legally, and we're still allowing
people to deposit and withdraw Bitcoin, and withdraw renminbi [yuan]."
According to Yicai - a business news website with ties to the government - the news
followed a meeting between officials from the People's Bank of China and 10
clearing houses on Monday in Beijing, at which the firms were told they had until
the end of January to sever links to the country's Bitcoin exchanges.
This followed an earlier notice, issued by the regulators a fortnight ago, which
banned local banks from handling transactions involving bitcoins.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71816000/jpg/_71816916_yuan.jpg
Bitcoin wallet The Chinese ban will make it harder for locals to swap their yuan for
bitcoins The virtual currency is not backed by a central bank of its own, and is best
thought of as being virtual tokens, rather than real-world coins, which derive their
value from the ability to exchange them for cash or use them to buy goods.
One expert suggested the crackdown was the result of the Chinese government's
fears that locals were using it as a way to bypass currency controls in order to
move their savings out of the country.
"China is trying to grow its domestic economy and rebalance it from an export and
investment-based model to a consumer driven one over the next decade, and to do
that the authorities want to keep as much yuan within the country as possible,"
said Jinny Yan, an economist with Standard Chartered bank.
"They don't want to curtail any innovation in the financial sector. However, at the
moment any unexpected growth and development in channels that allow by-
passing of capital controls will cause anxiety."
Ms Spaven added that she believed Bitcoin would eventually bounce back.
"Underneath all the speculative trading is a robust technology that has intrinsic
value as a payment network, offering cheaper and faster money transfer than any
other options that exist currently," she said.
"If you look at our Bitcoin Price Index, you can see that prices dipped to below the
current level this time last month and soon bounced back. I believe the same will
happen this time around. It may take some time, but the price will rise again."
How Bitcoin works
Bitcoin is often referred to as a new kind of currency.
But it may be best to think of its units being virtual tokens rather than physical
coins or notes.However, like all currencies its value is determined by how much
people are willing to exchange it for.To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure
called "mining" must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult
mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.For each problem solved, one block
of bitcoins is processed. In addition the miner is rewarded with new bitcoins This
provides an incentive for people to provide computer processing power to solve the
problems.To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of
the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of about 3,600 new bitcoins a
day.
There are currently about 11 million bitcoins in existence.
To receive a bitcoin a user must have a Bitcoin address - a string of 27-34 letters
and numbers - which acts as a kind of virtual postbox to and from which the
bitcoins are sent.Since there is no registry of these addresses, people can use them
to protect their anonymity when making a transaction.
These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets which are used to manage
savings. They operate like privately run bank accounts - with the proviso that if the
data is lost, so are the bitcoins owned.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25428866
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://rt.com/static/img/static/logo.jpg
Bitcoin takes 50% plunge after China's biggest exchange bans new deposits
Published time: December 18, 2013 13:13
Edited time: December 18, 2013 15:43
Reuters / Jim Urquhart
http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/21/8d/70/00/bitcoin-china-deposits-ban-1.si.jpg
The value of the cryptocurrency has crashed to $550, less than half the $1,200
trading level last week, after BTC China - the world’s largest bitcoin exchange -
halted deposits in Chinese yuan.The ban followed a decision by YeePay, a third-
party payment provider, that said on Wednesday it would no longer accept yuan
deposits, while it’ll keep on processing withdrawals, Bloomberg News reports.
“For reasons we all know, BTC China has had to cease renminbi-account charging
functions,” the exchange said in its message.
“We think this is due to government regulation. We have to play by the rules of the
government of China,” Bobby Lee, CEO of BTC China, told Bloomberg News. BTC
China began discussions with the People's Central Bank of China over bitcoin
legitimacy on December 2.
At the time of publication, the currency was trading at $550 on Japan’s Mt. Gox,
one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges.
The clampdown on the virtual currency was initiated by the People’s Bank of China
two weeks ago, as they saw strong links between bitcoin and money laundering.
Government ministries told financial institutions dealing with bitcoin must stop by
January 31, the beginning of Chinese New Year holiday.
Bitcoin has gained enormous popularity in China, a nation famous for its currency
pegging as well as its saving ethics. The yuan is under strict government control to
keep economic risk low and control currency flow between borders, but the
economic ministry has been taking steps towards a free-floating currency by 2015.
Though it has no intrinsic value and isn’t backed by a government or bank, Bitcoin
has become a hot commodity to trade, similar to gold as it’s a way to save and
hedge against normal FOREX currencies.
Since its inception in 2008 by a man using the alias “Satoshi Nakmoto”, Bitcoin has
gone mainstream and can be used to buy coffee, pay for online dating services, and
can even be retrieved from an ATM. There are more than 12 million Bitcoins in
circulation worldwide.
http://rt.com/business/bitcoin-plunge-china-ban-431/