No CommentsMake Sure Your Bitcoin Wallet Is Secure
Forbes recently posted up a good article highlighting the dangers of your Bitcoin wallet being hacked. Security is such an important issue and is so often overlooked that I want to take a moment to remind Bitcoin users: MAKE SURE YOUR WALLET IS SECURE. Sorry for the all-caps, but too many people still don’t take security seriously. As the Forbes article points out, a stand alone digital wallet is generally not too secure and as Bitcoins have grown in popularity, cyber attacks have increased. Anyways, sorry if I am harping on the issue, but everyone needs to take security seriously.
Canada’s Finance Department Flags Bitcoin For Crime Potential
Canada’s Finance Department has singled Bitcoin out for its potential to be used in crime. The department notes that the high level of anonymity and lack of regulation or oversight means that Bitcoin is at a high risk of being used for illegal activities. While the government officials do raise some relevant points, it should be noted that cold, hard cash is still the number one choice for criminals and money itself is hard to track.
Bitcoin Demo Day Finds (Limited) Success
Explaining Bitcoin to the uninitiated can be a bit difficult. While Bitcoin is certainly an easy concept to understand once you start working with the currency, it can be intimidating at first. This is especially true when talking with really busy people who already have a lot on their mind. America’s Congressional leaders, for example, have struggled when coming to terms with Bitcoin. That’s why several leading Bitcoin companies, such as Coinbase and BitPay, set up a demo day in D.C. to explain the fledgling currency and demonstrate how it works. Apparently, turn out was pretty good though perhaps a bit underwhelming.
Bitcoin Attracting A Small Group Of Congressional Supporters
So far, America’s political leaders have largely ignored Bitcoin, leaving responsibility for the currency to the Treasury, Fed, and other financial authorities. Regardless, as the currency gains popularity, it will attract more and more attention from the government, for better and for worse. Bitcoin is now attracting the attention and support of Libertarian leaning members of Congress who want to see the currency remain unregulated and free from government interference. Government regulation, in general, is a thorny issue for the Bitcoin community.
Bitcoin: To Regulate or Not To Regulate? That Is The Question
Whether or not Bitcoin should be regulated, and to what extent, is emerging as perhaps the largest and thorniest issue within the Bitcoin community. The issue has become quite divisive with many Bitcoin companies pushing for increased regulation and oversight in order to stabilize the currency and make it easier to use. Meanwhile, Libertarian leaning individuals want Bitcoin to remain free from government interference. These individuals were among the first supporters of Bitcoin and remain influential to this day. As Bitcoin attracts the attention of governments across the world, the issue of regulation will only become more widely discussed.
