Newsletter #51
15 - 21 November 2014
Hi guys, this week, I'm trying out a new format for AltcoinWeekly. I'll be writing a summary for each article that I feature. Can you kindly hit the Reply button and tell me if you like this new format? Also do let me know if you think I am featuring too many, too few or just the right number of articles for each issue. Thank you very much! :)
Bobby
Not a subscriber? Subscribe at altcoinweekly.com
BITCOIN PRICE (BITSTAMP)

Latest News
|
The U.S. Marshal's Service announced a second series of auctions to sell off thousands of bitcoins related to the seizure of the online criminal bazaar known as the Silk Road. The first auction sold off bitcoins belonging to Silk Road, while the new auction will sell those belonging to Dread Pirate Roberts.
|
|
A sheriff's office in Tennessee paid a $500 bitcoin ransom this week to secure thousands of sensitive files.
|
Market
|
Vitalk Buterin discusses the various network effect of Bitcoin and the three approaches in creating a new crypto protocol (build on Bitcoin the blockchain: Counterparty, build on Bitcoin the currency: sidechains, create a completely standalone platform).
|
|
The Counterparty Team held a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session recently and this article highlighted some of the most interesting Q&A asked by participants.
|
|
Jonathan Levin, the ex-CEO of Coinometrics examines the importance of native tokens (bitcoin) with respect to the corresponding blockchain technology (Bitcoin protocol).
|
|
Bitcoin’s blockchain ledger may turn out to be more important than the currency Bitcoin’s rise to prominence over the last five years.
|
Ecosystem
|
GEMS token ("XGEM") will be open for purchase on Koinify platform on Monday, December 1st at 9:00AM PST. Extra bonus of 2,250 XGEM per BTC, totalling 17,250 XGEMS available for the first 48 hours during the public sale period.
|
|
Aron van Ammers explains his opinions on why Counterparty forking Ethereum's code is great because it makes Ethereum contracts more useful.
|
|
The basic principle behind FALCON is that banks need not trust each other for settlement and as such do not need correspondent bank accounts.
|
|
A Swedish startup called Bitrefill offers a service that lets users buy mobile phone credit in 113 countries with bitcoin.
|
Legal
|
Houman Shadab, a professor at New York Law School explores the various intricacies of cryptoequity where it may not be classified as securities.
|
Learn
|
This paper empirically examines that Bitcoin returns are driven primarily by its popularity and the transactional needs of its users. The authors also conducted a survey of merchants who have adopted this technology and model the share of sales paid for with this alternative currency.
|
|
|