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Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange gets approval for US bankruptcy protection
The Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange may still be reeling from the botnet discovery that ruined its business, but it just got a big reprieve. A US court has approved Mt. Gox's Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection, preventing creditors who sued the company from seizing any American assets (including servers) or pressing for evidence. The exchange can also chase down any funds it needs to repay its debts and, if necessary, file lawsuits of its own.
Thieves beware: future ATMs will spray foam that helps track stolen cash
ATM thieves are increasingly focused on digital heists, but many of these robbers still prefer old-fashioned currency. They may want to think twice about stealing cash in the future, though, as ETH Zurich has developed a chemical defense system that both deters theft and helps track ill-gotten goods. Based loosely on bombardier beetles, which produce acid to spray attackers, the technique creates a defensive surface on an object (say, a cash box) using film layers filled with hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide. Break the surface and you trigger a reaction that covers everything nearby in hot foam -- by itself, enough to ruin the day of any would-be purloiner.
Yelp now shows the local businesses that let you pay with Bitcoin
Some online retailers are quick to say whether or not they'll accept Bitcoins, but local shops aren't always so forthcoming -- and community mapping efforts like CoinMap only reveal so much. It might not be hard to find a cryptocurrency-friendly store in the near future, though. Yelp has added a flag that lets business owners identify themselves as Bitcoin-friendly, making it easier to spot places that take virtual cash.
Having trouble spending your digital currency? Get a Bitcoin debit card
For all its advantages, Bitcoin has one major drawback: it's rather hard to spend. While the digital currency has legs in online marketplaces like Overstock and Square Market, few brick and mortar stores are equipped to trade in Bitcoin. Special ATMs help a little, but there has to be a better way. Xapo, a crypto coin storage vault, thinks it's found one: the Bitcoin debit card. Xapo's card promises to work exactly like your bank's plastic -- authorizing transactions by checking the requested charge against your account balance in real time. If the sale is approved, Xapo automatically sells a comparable amount of Bitcoin from the user's wallet to cover the purchase. Xapo says the card should be an improvement on the Bitcoin pre-paid cards that already exist, which require the user to manually refill their plastic before hitting the town.
Latest Heroes of the Storm blog post details heroes, mounts, and more
Want more information on Blizzard's upcoming MOBA Heroes of the Storm while waiting for your technical alpha invite? The latest blog post dishes details on the availability of heroes, a try-before-you-buy feature, leveling, earning in-game currency, acquiring new skins, and mounts. Every player starts with a basic horse mount. For the free-to-play crowd, five heroes will be available to play each week, with the list rotating every Tuesday. Players can buy other heroes at any time using cash or with in-game gold that is earned after reaching level 5. Various skins with tint slots can also be bought. For more info or to apply for alpha, check out the official site. We've got the video first look of the alpha after the break.
Managing expectations and the evolution of discussion
In the run-up to Warlords of Draenor, we're seeing news of a lot of class and systems changes - discussion of what's being changed or removed has been one of the things we're very concerned with over here, for obvious reasons. It's also a subject of major interest on the forums. In fact, some people are accusing Blizzard of only posting the bad news in an attempt to create negative feedback, to get people talking. Bashiok addressed this idea recently, and it got me thinking about how we interact with game news in the first place. Bashiok - Simplifying currency? That's the grand plan? Well, actually, good news doesn't really create much interest, if you want to dissect it. But that's beside the point. We're obviously not intentionally releasing bad or angering information to try to get people riled up. That'd be silly. We do want to try to manage expectations. Letting people know far in advance that currencies are being streamlined gets that into people's brain meats early, and gives it time to sink in so that when they start seeing or playing that change it ideally isn't jarring and upsetting at that moment. My point was that people discussing a change they have partial information about, debating the specifics, and questioning what it means, are not necessarily negatives. In cases where those are becoming destructive we'll generally try to provide some guidance to at least direct it back to a constructive conversation. source It's this idea of managing expectations that interests me, because over the years, I've come to see quite a few examples of people not doing it. To this day I'm convinced that much of the negative reaction to Cataclysm wasn't to the expansion's flaws (and yet, I admit it had quite a few) and more to the expectations people had for the expansion - expectations it didn't meet, because it wasn't trying to meet them.
Mt. Gox exchange faces US lawsuit over Bitcoin losses
Remember how the discovery of a botnet took much of the value out of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange, leading it to declare bankruptcy? Yeah, investors aren't happy about that -- and they're now demanding compensation. One of them, Gregory Greene, has filed a lawsuit accusing the exchange of fraud for not doing enough to protect traders from theft. He's pressing for class action status to cover all Bitcoin owners who used Mt. Gox, and he wants the exchange to pay both restitution and damages. It's not yet clear how the company will respond, but it wouldn't be surprising if there are other lawsuits to come. When customers may have lost the equivalent of $480 million in virtual currency, there's a lot more than just hurt feelings at stake.
Federal Reserve has no authority to regulate Bitcoin, according to Chairwoman
Well, it doesn't appear that the Federal Reserve will be stepping in to regulate the volatile virtual currency Bitcoin any time soon. According to the new Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, the central banking system has no authority over Bitcoin. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee she said that, "this is a payment innovation that is taking place entirely outside the banking industry." Without a central issuer or operator it's incredibly difficult to successfully regulate and supervise these types of currencies. Don't think that Bitcoin is untouchable, however. Yellen went on to say that, "it certainly would be appropriate, I think, for Congress to ask questions about what the right legal structure would be for virtual currencies that involve nontraditional players." Legal efforts to restrict Bitcoin have already taken off in other countries, and Senator Joe Manchin (a Democrat from West Virginia) has suggested banning the crypto-currency in the US. While an outright ban of Bitcoin seems unlikely given its growing acceptance, Japan's Ministry of Finance has indicated that it could work with other nations to establish a set of international regulations. If a set of rules could be agreed upon at an international level, it could prevent people from taking advantage of loopholes that only serve to encourage instability and abuse. The public posturing and legal wrangling is hardly surprising following the shutdown of Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world. The firm currently holds 744,000 Bitcoins (roughly $423 million), and the future of those funds is shaky at best. Whether or not the currency continues its ascension to legitimacy may rest on the results of the Fed's investigation into Mt. Gox. But it seems increasingly likely that the government will step in to put some restrictions on Bitcoin, sooner rather than later. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
US Senator asks for a Bitcoin ban, but don't hold your breath
Many will tell you that Bitcoin stands on shaky legal ground. Senator Joe Manchin, however, believes it's outright dangerous -- to the point that he has sent a letter to regulators asking them to ban the digital currency. There's no regulation, he says, and Bitcoin's mix of anonymity and irreversibility is appealing to a shady crowd; the Senator believes that black markets and thieves operate with relative freedom. Manchin also points out that the digital cash is prone to both deflation and surprises that risk creating chaos, such as the recent shutdown of the Mt. Gox exchange. Don't cash out any virtual savings just yet, though. The letter doesn't pay much attention to legitimate commercial uses or those countries where Bitcoin is legal. It also plays up the "disruptive" effect on the economy; as Business Insider notes, the currency's worldwide market cap has never ventured beyond a comparatively small $14.5 billion. Whether or not you believe the new currency is safe, we'd add that the letter doesn't automatically translate to new regulations. Even if officials agree to Manchin's request, it could still be a long while before any Bitcoin ban takes effect. [Image credit: Third Way Think Tank, Flickr]
World of Warcraft aims to restructure currencies in Warlords of Draenor
World of Warcraft has been running for a decade, and that means a lot of changes have taken place over the years. One of those changes was the addition of the special currencies like Justice and Valor points, designed to ensure that bad luck on raiding loot drops doesn't lock people out of getting upgrades. But according to lead encounter designer Ion Hazzikostas, this system may well be on the chopping block when Warlords of Draenor comes around. Hazzikostas explains that the bonus roll system can be expanded and refined to ensure that players wind up with appropriate loot from encounters, replacing the current currency system altogether. The developers are also hoping to simplify the game's PvP currencies, giving players fewer things to keep track of while providing a more organic system of rewards. While nothing has been finalized yet, it's a fair bet that by the time the expansion comes out, you'll have fewer currencies to track on your character sheet.
Blizzard "planning on simplifying our currency structure" in Warlords
I've talked before about the need to simplify currency going forward, and I'm far from the only one. Now it appears Blizzard agrees - Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas' made that very clear on twitter recently. @Glommerwort We'll have more info soon. We do want to streamline our currency system overall, though. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) February 25, 2014 Clearly this topic came up during this interview with PC Games N, which emphasized a bit more the idea of the complexity of current currency systems. The bonus roll system currently in play in Mists of Pandaria was mentioned as an alternative to valor. "We think we can take the bonus rolls system and make it a little bit more intelligent, so that it tries to avoid giving you duplicate loots - and allow that to be the way players counteract bad RNG. It removes a little bit of the grind and a little bit of the awkwardness of the current valor system." While no announcement has been made yet about how Blizzard will streamline its currency, it's good to know they're aware of and focused on the issue.
Guild Wars 2 phasing out Glory on March 18th
In just about a month, there will be no more glory in Guild Wars 2 PvP. We don't mean that you will no longer have the chance for glorious battles; we mean that the currency will no longer be awarded as of March 18th. Chests will be removed as well, and bonus rank points will be rolled into end-of-match rewards where relevant. So if you want some more Glory to spend, you'd better start earning it now. For players who do have a lot of Glory stocked up, the vendor introduced on December 10th will remain in-game for a bit after Glory is discontinued. That vendor will remain in place until the new reward system is implemented, and new rank rewards will also be released when Glory gets banished to the land of wind and ghosts. No word yet on exactly when players can expect new reward systems to be implemented.
Bing now shows how much your Bitcoin is worth in other currencies
While some may be opposed to the idea of Bitcoin, others are doing all they can to adjust to the recent digital currency rush. Today, Bing, in partnership with Coinbase, announced it has added support for Bitcoin within its currency-conversion tools. Simply put, you can now use Microsoft's search engine to see what the value of your new-age money is in, say, dollars, pesos, euros or any of the other 50-plus currencies Bing has indexed. And it's all done in real time, too. No Bitcoin? No problem -- there's nothing wrong with entering some random numbers for fun's sake.
Russian authorities only accept real money
Now that the good people of Russia have been robbed of untold billions to fund corruption at the Sochi Olympics, their government would like to warn them of a much more serious danger: Bitcoin. The crypto-currency could easily lose its value, according to a statement from the country's central bank, and could draw citizens into unintentionally supporting illegal activity and "financing terrorism." In keeping with the tough stance adopted by China and India, but in contrast to the more laid back attitude taken in some other parts of the world, Russia's General Prosecutor's Office has also chimed in to describe Bitcoin as a prohibited "money substitute." It has reiterated that the country's only officially accepted currency is the rouble, preferably in a plain brown envelope.
Congress' new report tells you where Bitcoin is legal
Unfortunately, you can't assume that Bitcoin is legal everywhere you go -- it's safe to use the digital cash in some countries, but it's mostly verboten in others. However, you won't have to travel blind. The US' Law Library of Congress has just published a report (PDF) that outlines Bitcoin's legal status in 40 countries. In short, the currency mostly exists in a gray area. While countries like Germany and Finland have cleared Bitcoin for legal use in some conditions, most nations either haven't regulated it or see it as too risky. Don't leave your physical wallet at home on your next vacation, then.
One step closer to legitimacy: Bitcoin payment live on Overstock
While it's legal to pay with Bitcoin in the US, the digital currency hasn't been very useful for mainstream shoppers. However, that's changing today -- Overstock has just become the first major American online retailer to accept Bitcoin. You'll still see prices listed in old-fashioned dollars, but you can choose the newer payment method at checkout. CEO Patrick Byrne tells Wired that he made the move for both pragmatic and idealistic reasons: Bitcoin doesn't cost as much to accept compared to credit cards or PayPal, and its nationless nature reduces the chances that a failed bank or country will create problems. It's tough to tell whether other big e-retailers will follow suit, but we can't imagine that competing shops will want to leave that much virtual money on the table.
Bitcoin exchanges shut down after threat from India's central bank
Bitcoin is quickly beginning to attract the attention of regulators in a number of countries. After a flat-out ban in Thailand and restrictions on banks in China, now several Indian Bitcoin exchanges have suspended operations following a warning from the Reserve Bank of India concerning digital currencies. Issued December 24th, the statement outlines the risks of a purely electronic wallet, unregulated transactions and value fluctuations. It also contains what could be considered a threat, however, stating that virtual currency users could be breaking money laundering and terrorism financing laws -- one report from the subcontinent suggests the government has carried out the first raid on a Bitcoin exchange, too. Thus, some sites have decided to close for the time-being, leaving notes on their homepages expressing the need for clear legal guidelines before trading can resume. Undoubtedly we'll see more countries take steps towards regulation, especially as the price of currencies rise. Nothing decreases something's worth like outlawing it, after all.
Brazil wants to know why Apple bills its citizens in US dollars
Brazil's national currency is the real, but you wouldn't know that by looking at its iTunes storefront. Apple prices everything there in US dollars, which has led Brazil's Consumer Protection Secretariat to write a formal letter to the company requesting an explanation. We're not sure why this has taken so long, given that iTunes came to Brazil two years ago, but in any case Apple now has ten days in which to respond or face the threat of a penalty. Other countries that've tackled Apple over its pricing policies in the past have generally failed to reach a resolution, and in some cases citizens have even been urged to take matters into their own hands.
Coinbase Bitcoin app pulled from Apple's App Store
Well that was fast! Less than a month after consumer-focused bitcoin platform Coinbase hit the App Store it's been yanked by Apple. As TechCrunch reports, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is baffled by Apple's decision to pull the app and has no idea why it was axed, saying "We're not sure why it was taken down and we've reached out to Apple to request clarification." Bitcoin hasn't exactly has an easy go of things in its quest to become a go-to decentralized currency alternative. A volatile price and huge spikes has made it a tough recommendation for things like, oh, your life savings for example. Still, it's definitely a legitimate currency option and it will be interesting to hear Apple's eventual explanation for why the Coinbase app has been shut down.
New membership currency introduced to RuneScape to help fight gold farming
You don't need to pay money to enjoy RuneScape on a monthly basis, but you certainly get a bit more out of the game with a subscription. But would you prefer to use some of your vast in-game fortune to pay for that membership? You can do that now thanks to the introduction of Bonds, a new item that can be purchased for $5 a pop and then traded or sold in the game itself. When used, Bonds can be redeemed for 14 days of play time, eight Squeal of Fortune spins, or 160 RuneCoins. You can also redeem them for RuneFest tickets (although it takes more than one Bond for that). In a video from Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard, the genesis of Bonds is explained -- this is the latest step in the game's long-standing battle with gold farming accounts, offering players more control over membership costs while cutting out the need to pay money to third parties. So spend cash on improving your in-game fortune or spend your in-game fortune to save some cash, it's up to you. [Source: Jagex press release]
