To help locate more than $160 million in missing bitcoin, a Wales man proposes using two robot dogs in the treasure hunt of a lifetime.
Bitcoin
Apple's Not Wrong to Avoid Crypto (for Now), Apple Small Business Support, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 560
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss Bryan’s thought that Apple isn’t wrong to avoid cryptocurrency, at least not for now. But, there are lots of things coming in the crypto world that will change that. They also talk about Apple’s new Small Business Essentials service that helps companies manage their employees’ devices.
Tim Cook Dismisses Idea Apple Will Accept Payment in Cryptocurrency
Tim Cook dismissed the idea that Apple will accept cryptocurrency in exchange for products, but revealed he does personally own some.
Bitcoin Adoption Takes Flight with Airline
In a move that may increase Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador, a local budget airline will begin taking payment using state-run Chivo wallet.
China's Cryptocurrency Ban Affects Bitcoin and Others
China’s recent all-out cryptocurrency ban sent prices tumbling. Bitcoin and others have already regained some lost ground, though.
Salvadorans Protest Bitcoin Law, But Don’t Know What It Is
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law goes into effect on September 7. Most Salvadorans think it should be repealed, but they don’t know what it means.
More Bitcoin-Linked Visa Cards Than We Thought
On Apple Context Machine, Bryan Chaffin and I briefly discussed credit and debit cards that are linked to cryptocurrency. It turns out, there are actually 54 such cards already, just in the Visa catalog.
These projects have gained traction — crypto-linked Visa debit cards facilitated over $1 billion worth of transactions across Visa’s 70 million merchants worldwide in the first half of 2021 alone. $1 billion is only a small fraction of the trillion-dollar payments industry, however retail interest in cryptocurrencies is picking up, suggesting the market has room to grow, especially with younger generations.
Get Free Bitcoins from 23 Faucets That Pay
Bryan Chaffin explains how Bitcoin faucets work and which faucets you can trust to pay. [Update: reformatted the guide, removed several defunct faucets, updated all descriptions, and added some new earning opportunities, too. – Bryan]
Mac Gaming, Crypto Credit Cards, iOS 15, with Jeff Butts - ACM 553
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Butts talk about the current state of Mac gaming, with Jeff focusing on improved Mac support at Steam. They also dive deeper into crypto credit cards where you can either spend your crypto and/or earn cryptocurrency rewards like Bitcoin on your purchases. And, Jeff has been deep into iOS 15 betas, and he talks about some of his favorite new features.
UK Cops Seize US$249m Worth of Bitcoin Following Money Laundering Probe
England’s Metropolitan Police Service has seized almost £180m (US$249m) worth of bitcoin. The seizure came as the result of an investigation into international money laundering, The Guardian reported.
“While cash still remains king in the criminal word, as digital platforms develop we’re increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money,” said the Metropolitan police’s deputy assistant commissioner, Graham McNulty. A 39-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of money laundering after the first haul was discovered and has been interviewed under caution over the £180m discovery. One bitcoin is worth about £23,500, having fallen from a peak in April of £47,126.48, meaning the sum confiscated may have been worth nearly double three months ago. The assets were seized by the force’s economic crime command and the investigation is continuing.
Cryptocurrency and Hardware Wallets – TMO Daily Observations 2021-06-15
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont to discuss the basics of cryptocurrency and the advantages of having a hardware wallet for storage.
Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High Price Over $63,000
Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new record on Tuesday. It’s up 5.97% at a price of US$63,322 as of this writing.
Crypto Provider BitPay Adds Support for Apple Pay
BitPay provides cryptocurrency payment services and announced on Friday that its BitPay Prepaid Mastercard can be added to Apple Wallet.
Cryptocurrency 201: Get Your Own – TMO Daily Observations 2021-02-09
Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont to discuss cryptocurrency! How to get it, and why you should/shouldn’t to get it.
What Is Bitcoin? Here’s the Bitcoin Primer You Need
We’ll explain what Bitcoin is, how Bitcoin works, how Bitcoin wallets work, and throw a mention in for getting free Bitcoins through faucets.
Cryptocurrency 101 – TMO Daily Observations 2020-12-28
Bryan Chaffin joins host Kelly Guimont to chat about cryptocurrency. Learn a little something even though it’s winter break. 🙂
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency, and CES and the Pandemic, with Jeff Butts - ACM 540
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Butts dig into the world of cryptocurrency, including some of the different cryptos, how Jeff got into it, the different kinds of “mining,” and where they think it’s headed now. They also talk about the CES tradeshow and the pandemic.
Check Your Digital Couch Cushions — Mac Geek Gab 842
How much money do you have in your digital couch cushions? John and Dave walk through a few places you can check ahead of the holiday buying frenzy! Of course, most of the show is dedicated to answering your tech questions, solving your problems, sharing quick tips and, yes, a few minutes is even carved out to review eero’s new Wi-Fi 6 systems! Press play and join your two favorite geeks in learning at least five new things!
PayPal and Bitcoin are Coming Soon to a Wallet Near You
It’s happening, just as Jeff Butts thought it might come. PayPal and bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, are getting together.
Apple Stifles Cryptocurrency Innovation, Says Coinbase CEO
According to one CEO, the lack of functionality in crypto apps is because of App Store guidelines that stifle cryptocurrency innovation.
North Korea Targets Macs with Fake Cryptocurency Trading Site and App
North Korean hacking group “Lazarus Group” has been targeting Macs with a bit of fake website used to promote an open source app that served as a trojan horse. The fake site was called JMT Trading, and was designed to look like a trading platform. To use the trading platform, you had to download an app from Github, but even though the app was open source, it contained malware for Macs, with the whole scheme being part of North Korea’s efforts to steal Bitcoin. Check out Forbes‘s report:
The hackers may then go a step further by contacting administrators and users of cryptocurrency exchanges, asking them to test and review their new app, Wardle told Forbes. If they get lucky, they get a bit of leverage in an official cryptocurrency vendor and start infecting targets.
Bitcoin Top Crypto on the Darkweb, but Privacy-Oriented Cryptos Are Gaining Steam
Bitcoin remains the cryptocurrency of choice on the dark web, according to a report from TheNextWeb. That might be mostly a matter of inertia, however, as privacy-oriented cryptos are gaining steam. Cryptos like Monero and Dash, as well as others, have features baked into their underlying blockchain that can make it much harder to trace transactions. From TheNextWeb‘s coverage:
Bitcoin is still very much the dark web‘s favorite cryptocurrency, but those looking to cover their tracks are slowly learning to use privacy-focused alternatives. […] Authorities say there has been a more “pronounced shift” towards more privacy-orientated cryptocurrencies, and expects this trend to continue as criminals become more security aware.
Tim Cook's Cryptocurrency Comments – TMO Daily Observations 2019-10-04
Andrew Orr and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Tim Cook’s comments about Libra and the IMF’s statement on cryptocurrency.
Libra: Finally, a Way for Facebook to Control More, with Andrew Orr - ACM 516
Bryan Chaffin and Andrew Orr dig deep into the possibilities—for good and ill (mostly ill)—of Facebook’s new Libra cryptocurrency. They cover how it work, why Facebook went the cryptocurrency route, and what Facebook has to gain from the project. Spoiler, the answer is everything!