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Bitcoin ATM article

History

There were 456 Bitcoin ATMs worldwide as of November 2015. ATM operator Coinsource has the highest number of bitcoin ATMs (54), then it is EasyBit, which has 50 Bitcoin ATMs. Transaction fees are something that customers think about when deciding whether or not to use a Bitcoin ATM. Fees can range from 1%-8% per transaction, on top of the sub-par exchange rate. These fees have lowered but now, selling fee is at an average of 5.31%, which is lower than buying fee, which is at an average of 6.11%. However, although all Bitcoin ATMs allow users to buy Bitcoins, not all Bitcoin ATMs allow users to sell Bitcoins.

I can try to find the controversy of these ATMs machines -- that might be interesting. I can also try to find a timeline of the different Bitcoin ATM players and why the competitive landscape has changed. I think how the ATM was institutionalized is a good point. I will also look into where these ATMs are legally installed. Will also find the challenges for expansion and more legal problems.

Alternatives

An alternative to a Bitcoin ATM is a Bitcoin terminal, which do not require a physical location. Customers can buy and sell Bitcoins on the go. Some active players in this Bitcoin terminal market include Coinkite, Revel, and XBTerminal. However, the number of players is still low.

Robocoin — The First Bitcoin ATM (New Article)

Robocoin provided one of the first Bitcoin ATM machines in Vancouver in October 2013.. By 2014, Robocoin had around 45 machines globally. These Bitcoin ATMs are like regular ATMs but with different compliance features such as ID doc scan. The machines were sold in three variations ranging from $15,000 to $35,000 per machine. Robocoin closed down in 2015.

Process of Withdrawing Money Users scan hands for identification purposes, then money comes out of the Bitcoin ATM through a virtual wallet on their phones. Then, users receive a QR code and a receipt.

Campaign against Robocoin Robocoin's CEO, Harrison told one of its operators that he could continue with the Robocoin 1.0 version on his ATMs, but later enforced Robocoin 2.0 and received allegations for centralization.

I also plan to explore regulatory issues faced by Bitcoin ATM machines companies and Robocoin and who has gained market power after Robocoin closed down.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/10/31/why-are-people-so-excited-about-a-bitcoin-atm/#4a3c607b539f

The Social Wallet (New Article)

The Social Wallet is a project designed to offer users to store and exchange fund for free. The Social Wallet Organization is a non-profit. Users can access to the wallet, regardless of geographical location and access to banks, in real-time. It allows users to spend money at anytime without limitations and without fees.

Funding

Campaign

Bitfinex Hack (New Article)

Bitcoin has gained popularity among investors because of the volatility of its value and can be traded in private exchanges. The second-biggest breach of a Bitcoin exchange platform, Bitfinex, caused 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin, which is about $72 million, to be stolen. The news was announced on August 23, 2016 and the company has not decided how to address losses. The bitcoin was taken from users' segregated wallets and Bitfinex has been tracking down the hack. Significant hacker funds transactions were signed off by Bitfinex's security provider, without full security.

Law Enforcement and Loss Incurrence The U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission ordered Bitfinex to pay a $75,000 fine for offering illegal off-exchanged financed commodity transactions. The terms of Bitfinex stated that “bitcoins in your multi-signature wallets belong to and are owned by you,” and imposing losses on customers who were not hacked would breach the terms.. However, users would receive another asset called BFX tokens in exchange for the loss that customers suffered from. These BFX tokens could be redeemed by Bitfinex or by its parent company, iFinex.

In september 2016, Bitfinex announced that it had bought back over 1% of the BFX tokens to pay customers back for the losses. The USD/BTC exchange rate rebounded to over $600 from $540, the price after the hack, after the announcement in hopes of further equity conversion and redemption of BFX tokens.

I plan to dive further into how customers are paid back and any legal breaches Bitfinex has when it transferred losses to customers.

Lack of Bitcoin Governance There is no obligation for intermediaries to verify users' identity. Bitcoin does not have governance other than its software. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and there is no way for users to reverse an unwanted transaction. If traditional accounts are hacked, banks or the financial institutions will help cover some or all the losses, but with Bitcoin, users are on their own. There is no third party that can help. However, the Securities and Exchange Committee can enforce rules to virtual-currency-related securities transactions. So the SEC does review the exchange's registration so that investors will have enough information about the offering.

Governance in other countries

Because of the Mt.Gox Bitcoin exchange scandal, the Japanese government has been working on a regulatory framework similar to KYC standards, which the exchanges will have to follow. The government will treat Bitcoin as a currency.

Causeway Bay Books disappearances Article

This is not related to a particular social movement we talked in class but I found more things to add.

Under the Disappearances for Gui Minhai, the following could be added: Gui's daughter who is in the U.K., did not think that her father returned to China out of his own will.

Under Lee Bo's section: The Hong Kong police received a nine-word notification from the Chinese province of Guangdong that Lee was in China but there was no specification of what he was doing there. The Hong Kong Secretary of Security had written to request access to Lee and has not received any information on the other missing men. The Phoenix TV reported that Lee voluntarily handed himself over to the Chinese to assist in investigations but his travel document was found after the disappearance. There was no record of Lee crossing the border to mainland. The U.K. said the Lee most likely did not voluntarily hand himself to the Chinese government.

Bitcoin Article

Under Acceptance by merchants, add reasons why merchants want to accept Bitcoin as a currency:

There are a few advantages to adapting bitcoin. First, there is an additional stream of customers for the merchants . Second, the Bitcoin system will allow merchants to eliminate transaction fees and will, for the most cases, only cost merchants a monthly flat rate once installed, or a smaller transaction fee per transaction.

Although the Bitcoin currency fluctuates a lot, there are alternatives methods to change the Bitcoin currency into dollars. Bitpay is a company that specializes in this area.

Classification

Bitcoin is unlikely to fall under the definition of securities because securities are "any note, stock, … transferable share, [or] investment contract." Currencies, which bitcoin is more similar to, are excluded from securities laws. However, there is also an increasing number of people treating Bitcoins as investment opportunities. However, the SEC has shown flexibility in that regard: a federal judge in Texas qualified Bitcoins as securities in a case.

Under Legal status and regulation, could add a new sub-section Taxation:

A 2014 IRS ruling requires digital currencies, including Bitcoin, to be taxed the same way as traditional currency. In the United States, this means that customers need to identify whether he/she has experienced a gain from the goods or services through bartering. Because the value of Bitcoin fluctuates tremendously, each purchase will undergo a capital gains treatment. This taxation method puts the investors and consumers in opposition and might harm the longevity of Bitcoin.

When people choose to use Bitcoin to engage in illegal activities, Bitcoin's traits make it difficult to monitor tax reporting and compliance issues. Since the taxation policies are set, the question now is whether people are properly reporting gains in a Bitcoin transaction.