Ben Hunt, founder of Second Foundation Partners and lead author of the Epsilon Theory blog, is convinced institutional adoption poses an existential threat to Bitcoin's identity as an instrument of financial freedom. As investment funds, banks and tech companies continue getting involved in the space, Bitcoin's (BTC) fundamental properties — permissionless access and censorship resistance — are becoming increasingly marginalized, Hunt told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. “What we are seeing is the Facebook-ization of Bitcoin. And it becomes absolutely controlled and in service to Wall Street and the government,” said Hunt. According to Hunt, institutions have created “securitized,” “permissioned” …

Long-time cryptocurrency critic and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said in a string of tweets on Wednesday that Bitcoin (BTC) could very well survive indefinitely, but only as a fundamentally useless cult. Krugman’s harsh words were prompted in response to Wednesday’s market plunge which saw numerous coins lose close to 50% in value, and resulted in close to $1 trillion in value departing the global market cap before a recovery bounce brought some of that sum back. “I don't write much about Bitcoin because there aren't any fundamentals to discuss,” tweeted Krugman, who wrote about Bitcoin as early as 2013 …

Mark Cuban, the billionaire who once said that bananas are a better medium of exchange than Bitcoin, has doubled down on his view that the asset is more like a collectible than a reliable financial instrument. 2020 has been a big year in terms of institutional Bitcoin (BTC) adoption. Companies like MicroStrategy and Grayscale significantly increased their crypto holdings, while those associated with traditional finance (like CNBC's Jim Cramer) found themselves changing their tune when it comes to crypto ownership. Even so, the asset has its detractors. In a Forbes interview conducted on Dec. 8, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban …

The world’s first livestreaming platform dedicated to cryptocurrency is going live just in time for the 2021 bull market. Ran Neuner, host of CNBC’s Crypto Trader show, has launched the first call-in media channel devoted exclusively to cryptocurrency. Dubbed Crypto Banter, the station features a blend of news, opinions, interviews and live discussions with industry leaders. Crypto Banter aims to be the world’s first crypto-based streaming platform available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The new service is designed to provide viewers with an alternative source of “credible, live information” that can be accessed any time without having …

The Greek Bitcoin community gathered in Athens for a conference to discuss new opportunities that the virtual currency opens up, including helping deal with capital controls in the country. The aim of the conference to present the advantages and challenges of bitcoin and the blockchain technologies. The gathering took place in INNOVATHENS which is known as the Technopolis City of Athens. The services have been provided by the National Documentation Centre, with the aim of internationalization of business and its better access to finance and innovation management. The event was organized by WWTP / OSS for Open Source and the …

If you had the pleasure to watch ‘The Revenant’, you might have noticed how nature helps, as well as torments, the protagonist during his struggle to survive. And it is this protagonist who, despite facing the harshest evils, triumphs over his insufferable pains. He emerges as a hero — tormented yet alive. It might sound like an exaggerated comparison but Bitcoin has seen this same struggle. It had a wonderful year in 2015, with lots of investments and adoptions coming its way. In terms of trading, Bitcoin was named the most profitable investment of 2015 by many mainstream media outlets. …

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) yesterday released the third and final revisions to its BitLicense legislation. The updates are aimed at improving functionality within the industry and making sure businesses are compliant without stifling innovation. Two previous versions of the regulations received much criticism and the third is no different. Here are some Bitcoin community reactions to the updated NY BitLicense: Jesse Powell, co-founder and CEO, Kraken: “The heavy compliance costs on digital currency exchanges will make it much more difficult to operate a profitable exchange in the state. Many fear it will stifle innovation in …

Berlin-based production company Bitfilm released a teaser and launched a three-tiered funding campaign on May 14 for the first feature-length, Bitcoin-inspired fiction film, called Satoshi's Last Will. They made the announcement at the Bitcoin Conference Prague. Bitfilm intends to raise US$2 million to complete the movie. The film is set in a future where Bitcoin and blockchain technology are in common use. The plot follows one of the seven heirs to Satoshi Nakamoto's fortune who wants to kill the others in order to get their parts of Satoshi’s multisig-protected private key. An agent of a private law enforcement company is …

In response to a lengthy NY Times article, the Casa Rosada’s Community Manager posted on the @CasaRosadaAR Twitter account what would soon echo throughout social networks: “Apparently bitcoin is disrupting our economy now (?)” Apparently bitcoin is disrupting our economy now (?) https://t.co/8anSj29Nre — Casa Rosada (@CasaRosadaAR) April 30, 2015 Argentina’s local Bitcoin community is aflame with the tweet, and some are even pondering if BitPay’s popular Mr. Bitcoin mascot should pose with the president. Regardless of the mixed reactions towards the tweet itself, it is very clear that even in a busy election year the government has some time …

Note: The following article has been hand picked for being one of the standouts in the Ziftr article contest on the topic of what needs to happen for Bitcoin to enter the mainstream. Happy reading. According to Bitcoinobituries.com, bitcoin has already been declared dead 40 times in its short life. This can't be seen as an impressive track-record for a piece of technology that's also widely regarded as a game-changing financial tool, one capable of altering the way we handle money forever. This attitude, however, is a good demonstration of the greatest hindrance that digital currencies face today. It also …

There's nothing like this (hopefully) million-Bitcoin question to catch our experts unaware: how much will Bitcoin be worth by Christmas? The last time we served as a medium between the indusrtry's professionals who made this prediction and you, our readers, was a month and a half ago. One interesting result is that the average price prediction this time remains little changed from then – US$2218 now compared with US$2072 previously. Never mind the long-term predictions; Cointelegraph wanted to stare into the crystal ball just a few months - and the answers we got were curious. Take a peek at the …