Bitcoin – Page 2 – Bitcoin Slots.us

Bitcoin Gambling: Why Online Gamblers are Moving to Bitcoin

Posted on May 3, 2018June 5, 2018 by Aaron Decker

If you’re an active member of the online gambling community, you may have noticed an increase in the number of bitcoin gamblers and casinos offering bitcoin of late. Why is bitcoin gambling suddenly all the rage, and will it continue to grow? Should you be involved in bitcoin gaming? You may have asked yourself those very questions. Fortunately, we have answers to those questions and the future of bitcoin gambling as a whole.

While trying to answer why online gamblers are suddenly moving to bitcoin technology, we’re going to have to look at several different aspects of bitcoin gambling. We need to see how it has improved since it debuted, what makes it appealing, and where it is going. To begin with, let’s start by looking at bitcoin accessibility.

Bitcoin Accessibility

Bitcoin gambling was initially a niche field. Why? Well, bitcoins were niche themselves. Initially, people heard the words “blockchain” and “mining” and realised that they were way out of their depth. Few of us had any idea how to obtain bitcoins, and nobody we knew had access to them. That has all changed now, though.

Bitcoin exchanges are currently all the rage and present players with a simple and easy way to get hold of bitcoins. Since you no longer need to mine bitcoins to possess them, more and more of us are starting to get involved in the bitcoin craze. Buying cryptocurrencies from marketplaces has triggered a frenzy with many players now snapping up bitcoins left, right and centre. The more accessible bitcoins become via markets, the more people are going to acquire them. With more people purchasing bitcoins, they are going to need something to invest them on, and many online casinos have locked on to that idea and are now starting to offer bitcoin gaming, with some even developing in-site exchanges.

Geographical Restrictions Become Null and Void

The gambling world is not as free and liberal as you might like to think. In fact, people in many countries are still not entitled to gamble online. Because of harsh gambling laws, many gamblers must play at dodgy, often blacklisted casino sites which are not adequately regulated (if at all), as they are the only online casinos which accept them.

Bitcoin casinos provide a certain degree of anonymity, and this itself allows players to find ways around geographical restrictions and national gambling laws. Since there is that degree of anonymity, most major bitcoin casinos and betting sites will accept players irrespective of where they reside. As you can imagine, this has turned many players in countries where geographical gambling restrictions are in place to lean towards bitcoin sites.

What happens if the authorities start blacklisting bitcoin sites, so you can’t access them? A handy VPN (virtual private network) should bypass those blacklists, ensuring that you will continue to be able to play at any bitcoin site and that there is precious little any authority can do to stop you.

Changing the Way Deposits and Withdrawals Work

Online casinos offering instant deposit times is not a new concept. In fact, most deposit options at an online casino provide instantaneous deposit times. It is the withdrawal times that tend to be a pain for many players. Fortunately, bitcoin transactions have found a way around that, and that makes bitcoin betting very agreeable to players.

You can often skip verification processes (bitcoin casino gaming can be anonymous, remember) and since that pending period is not required, and KYC (know your customer) protocols are practically non-existent, your withdrawals will be instant. Allowing for a time margin of a few hours to land in your bitcoin wallet, these represent the quickest ways to get hold of your winnings, further boosting the appeal of bitcoin gambling.

Improved Security and Fair Play

When they first started, bitcoin betting sites were unlicensed and not entirely secure. The list of complaints about rigged games was seemingly endless. In a little over two years, we’ve seen a radical turnaround. Surprisingly, many bitcoin sites are not only regulated, but some carry a seal of approval. This seal of approval is known as “Provably Fair”.

This Provably Fair “organisation” for lack of a better word, keeps track on bitcoin casinos and ensures that they are adhering to a predefined set of rules and regulations. In short, they essentially promise that any bitcoin betting site bearing this seal of approval offers transparent and fair gaming. They achieve this by examining the games, and how they work in a process known as cryptography. Analysing the blockchain for transaction histories also allows experts to gauge whether anybody wins and whether betting sites process many withdrawal transactions.

It may not be the same as a bona fide license, but the Provably Fair mark reassures players that the bitcoin betting site they are choosing is safe, secure and adheres to fair play.

Licensed Bitcoin Casinos May Become a Reality

The holy grail for bitcoin betting is to find a bitcoin casino which carries a proper gambling license from a world-renowned and internationally recognised licensing jurisdiction. That is becoming closer to reality. Over the last year, the Maltese Government has been considering making digital currencies legal. As you can imagine, this potentially opens a realm of possibilities for casinos licensed by the MGA (Maltese Gaming Authority).

If this does indeed happen, it will create a whole new angle for bitcoin casino gaming from a legal perspective. We would likely see many more established online casinos with Maltese gambling licenses start to offer bitcoin currency options, provided there were no national restrictions in their operational countries to prohibit this. More importantly, we would see legitimate and well-supported bitcoin betting sites obtain one of the internet world’s most respected licenses to add to their Provably Fair mark. Such a move would undoubtedly convince many gamblers who were sitting on the fence that bitcoin betting is the real deal.

Bitcoin Gambling is More Accessible for Start-Ups

Bitcoin gambling is certainly not limited to the big boys. In the online casino world, most of the more popular betting sites are those casinos and sportsbooks which have high-street outlets, television advertisement campaigns, billboards or a long history. They are the sites which carry the best games from the most prominent names.

The bitcoin betting world doesn’t have to be that way, though. In fact, many bitcoin casino sites are small-scale operations, started by private individuals. Yes, you always run the risk that these are going to turn out to be “shifty”, but many authentic start-up casinos can appear, especially since, at present, they do not need to pay vast sums of money to obtain gambling licenses. This flurry of small-scale bitcoin betting sites has tweaked the interest of many casino enthusiasts and represents something new for the industry. Many players are growing tired of the same old games at the same sites, and the originality that small start-up bitcoin casinos (and their homebrew games) offer has proven very appealing.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

When threatened by an emerging market such as the bitcoin gambling world, many of the internet’s top software providers and casinos have panicked. We’ve already seen several online casinos ditch their conventional currency options and setup, opting to thoroughly and radically transform into bitcoin casinos instead. By becoming a bitcoin site, doing away with licenses drops their expenses, and with companies such as BetSoft offering quality bitcoin-friendly games to those sites, some of the most prominent casinos have jumped ship and made the transition rather quickly.

By doing this, these casinos have enhanced the competition, giving potential bitcoin gamblers more choice. What began as a niche concept has now spread, and the more casinos with big reputations which make the change, the quicker online casino players will follow. Don’t be surprised if this trend continues, as we see more and more casinos swayed into offering bitcoin gambling to stave off the threat of this emerging market. As the old saying goes, “if you can’t beat them, join them”.

Bitcoin Promotions are on the Rise

The very first bitcoin casinos couldn’t offer players promotions and bonuses like non-cryptocurrency casinos could. Gradually, those that did couldn’t offer players much mileage with their promos, either. That, too, has started to change.

The introduction of “faucet systems” has undoubtedly helped. These promos provide a minimal sum of cryptocurrency cash for players at bitcoin betting sites on a daily basis. More importantly, they often come free of any entanglements, such as wagering requirements and playthrough rates. That has been a significant selling point to anybody thinking of joining bitcoin sites.

If that wasn’t enough, the advent of proper welcome bonuses has pushed the bitcoin casino agenda further. Considering that sizeable new player deals are often one of the main reasons why people choose one casino over another, being able to bag a welcome bonus encourages players to join bitcoin gambling sites.

Other Cryptocurrencies Create Competition

Bitcoin is just one cryptocurrency. If you were a user of another form of cryptocurrency (and there are many), it is unlikely that you’re going to be considering shifting over to bitcoin just to bet at a particular site. Most likely, players would continue to use USD, EUR, GBP or other currencies at standard online casinos. Bitcoin gambling sites have got around this issue by starting to add other cryptocurrencies to their list of accepted payment methods. It is not uncommon to find newer bitcoin casinos and betting sites which also accept:

– Ethereum

– Bitcoin Cash

– Litecoin

– Dogecoin

– and others

There aren’t too many casinos dedicated explicitly to those other less popular cryptocurrencies. However, by not forcing players to choose one cryptocurrency method over another, it is entirely possible that bitcoin gambling sites have encouraged more players to play with them instead of regular online casino sites.

Kinks That Require Ironing Out

Bitcoin betting sites still aren’t perfect, and they don’t have everything their way right now. There are a few kinks which need ironing out if bitcoin gambling sites are to blossom.

Firstly, there is the possibility of delays with withdrawal transactions. If you want your withdrawal processed rapidly, you’ll often need to pay a fee to a miner (his cut, if you will) to get the transaction going. Cashouts which offer little or nothing for a miner will often just end up pending, possibly indefinitely. Most bitcoin casinos get around this by taking a cut of your withdrawal (a withdrawal fee) and having their team process the transaction. If they don’t, you may end up losing a sizeable chunk of your winnings to pay miners to handle your cashout.

Bitcoin is also a volatile currency. The market fluctuated substantially in the latter part of 2017. We saw bitcoin’s value soar before it dropped rapidly around Christmas. When this happens, the bitcoin betting industry suffers just like any other industry. However, with so many countries fiercely opposed to bitcoin, if the market crashes, the entire industry goes down with it. When it soars, more and more players are tempted to get involved in bitcoin betting.

Lastly, there are no player protection policies at casinos or with bitcoin in general. If your wallet becomes hijacked or you “misplace” your bitcoins, then you’ve lost the lot. No bitcoin casinos guarantee players their purse, so, errors can prove costly. At least with online casinos, the sites can safeguard your wallet.

Bitcoin Gambling Will Continue to Grow

Will the bottom fall out of the bitcoin gambling industry? That seems most unlikely. Bitcoin gambling is rapidly on the rise, as you can see from all the points mentioned above. Many are likening bitcoin gambling to the growth of the mobile gaming industry. Sure, it took ten years for mobile gaming to cement its spot, but it is now on-par with online gaming. Some even believe it has already surpassed it. Do not be surprised if bitcoin gambling continues to grow and outpace them both. Better yet, based on the growth of both bitcoin and mobile gaming, we could be faced with the prospect of mobile bitcoin gambling reigning supreme in the future. Now, wouldn’t that be something?

As you can see, cryptocurrency gambling is at an all-time high. Long gone are the days of minuscule, untrustworthy, private websites offering you nothing but a few lacklustre dice games. Major software developers, licensing jurisdictions and casinos are now looking at bitcoin gambling as their future. For all the reasons we’ve mentioned above, you might very well decide to get involved, too.

Over 600 Bitcoin Users File Lawsuit Against Bitcoin.com

Posted on April 28, 2018May 16, 2018 by Aaron Decker

Bitcoin.com is without a doubt one of the most prized domains in the cryptocurrency space especially because it is the go-to website for anyone who is interested in learning about bitcoin. The first result that people get when they google “buy bitcoin” is buy.bitcoin.com. On clicking the link, the users are then navigated to a page with two logos which at first glance are quite similar – one logo shows the user the option to buy Bitcoin Cash while the other is for Bitcoin Core. Bicoin.com is the only site that uses the Bitcoin Core moniker for bitcoin (BTC) and this is where the problem is.

In just two days, a “community movement” has amassed over 600 members in an effort to pursue legal action against Bitcoin.com and Roger Ver, its owner and CEO. The movement is accusing the website and its owner for deliberately misleading new cryptocurrency users into buying Bitcoin Cash (BCH) instead of regular bitcoin (BTC).

So far, the group has not disclosed the law firm they have contacted to help with the lawsuit but they did reveal that it is based in St. Kitts, a Caribbean island where, apparently, the Bitcoin.com is also registered. Already the movement has seen to the creation of an official website called bitcoincomlawsuit.info which launched on Friday. People who have complaints or have lost money from Bitcoin.com can submit their evidence and be part of the lawsuit in the newly launched website.

“A group of 600+ participants from influential industry leaders to community volunteers & contributors who devote to protect users from fraudulent businesses and help victims recover lost funds,” reads the website’s description.

The Takeaway

One thing that is clear as far as this lawsuit and other associated issues go is the fact that determining the digital currency that can hold the title of ‘Bitcoin’ is more challenging than expected. Experts will, of course, see it as an obvious thing but it will certainly be harder for newcomers to separate what is real and what is not.

Bitcoin Cash’s has been quite successful, to say the least – despite not being the behemoth that bitcoin is, the digital currency that was forked from bitcoin itself has had a huge impact on the cryptocurrency community as a whole. Nonetheless, there is only one bitcoin and that is the currency with the highest market cap as well as the most overall community and mainstream support. So, while it is possible, the idea that an altcoin like Bitcoin Cash will dethrone bitcoin is an over-ambitious one.

Mt. Gox Ex-CEO Mark Karpeles Lands New CTO Job

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Aaron Decker

The crypto world has had its fair share of drama in the past couple of years but one of the most significant events is the theft of 850,000 bitcoins from Mt. Gox which was once the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. As the Chief Executive of the exchange at the time, Mark Karpeles was held responsible for the loss of the bitcoins as well as the exchange’s bankruptcy. While the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange recovered 200,000 bitcoins, it did not help the situation with Karpeles facing criminal charges and being jailed for nearly a year. An ongoing investigation linked a United Kingdom-based company to the theft of the remaining 650,000 bitcoins.

Karpeles is still facing criminal charges in Japan and thus he is not allowed to leave the country. Regardless, the infamous ex-CEO has been trying to start over with a clean slate.

“I have no way to be sure that I’ll still be able to work in one year, two years. So I cannot really get a normal full-time job”, he said in March in an interview with Fortune.

He has previously confirmed that he has been juggling a number of IT-related jobs that revolve mostly around cryptocurrency and networking. However, his most recent revelation is by far the most interesting. Karpeles has been appointed to a C-level position as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for London Trust Media, the world’s leading virtual private network (VPN) service provider.

London Trust Media doubles up as an investment company, particularly in cryptocurrency – it was an early investor in Zcash, a privacy-focused digital coin, and also backs Purse, a startup that allows its users to purchase items on Amazon using bitcoin.

“Mark fought and fell. And although he fell, his skills, experience, and know-how unarguably continue to exist. And so, bringing in a seasoned warrior makes perfect sense to me. I am more than willing to give a second chance to Mark in this fight’s critical hour. I wouldn’t dare say that the person who architected the Titanic should never again architect another ship,” said London Trust Media co-founder and former head of Mt. Gox’s North American operations, Andrew Lee.

Karpeles will be working remotely from Japan since, as mentioned earlier, he is still facing criminal charges and thus he cannot legally leave the country. Also, even though his role as London Trust Media CTO will involve oversight over the companies cryptocurrency-related interests, Karpeles has made it clear that he has lost faith in bitcoin and wants very little to do with the cryptocurrency industry.

“The only thing I’m touching related to cryptocurrency is how to solve this bankruptcy – Nothing more,” Karpeles stated.
“Bitcoin right now is, I believe, doomed. Its original promise of being the future of currency is clearly out of reach.”

Coinsource to Deploy 20 Bitcoin ATMs in the US Capital

Posted on April 17, 2018April 17, 2018 by Abe Efe

Bitcoin ATMs have grown in popularity over recent years with a number of these digital currency outlets being deployed in various locations all around the world. This has spawned a bit of competition among cryptocurrency operators, especially in the United States. However, Coinsource, which happens to be the largest bitcoin ATM network in the world still remains a dominant player in the US. Things are about to get even better for the company with its planned expansion to US capital which will involve the deployment of 20 ATM machines across the District of Columbia and Maryland.

“We are meeting Washington D.C. at an inflection point, where regulators are looking at the value and potential of decentralized currencies and blockchain technology,” said Coinsource CEO Sheffield Clark. “All innovation over time has passed through our Nation’s Capital in one way or another, and we are happy to be now servicing Washington D.C. and the surrounding communities so that they can have easy access to buying and selling Bitcoin.”

The expansion is also a response to the huge demand by users and merchants in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Before Coinsource decided to Venture into Washington, the city already had five bitcoin ATM machines with each being serviced by a different operator. Furthermore, a number of the state’s restaurants, record shops and bookshops among many other businesses have been allowing the use of bitcoin as a mode of payment since last year.

Coin ATM Radar reports that there are currently about 2,753 bitcoin ATMs in the United States – this accounts for 75.75 percent of the global total. With the new development, Coinsource’s bitcoin ATMs will now be servicing 164 million residents in 19 states. The residents in these 19 states will also have the benefits of the lowest rates, account registration from the comfort of their homes as well as exclusive remote enrollment. This is one of the company’s ways of providing financial freedom to the unbanked and the underbanked.

“Our goal is to give everyone the equal ability to access bitcoin, particularly in times of record demand, and participate in this soaring new economy. Part of making this marketplace accessible is making sure our fees are less than half that of any other operator, and customers will be given fee-free transactions for first-time use of any new machine,” the CEO added.

Twitter Briefly Shuts Down @Bitcoin Sparking Big Schism

Posted on April 10, 2018May 16, 2018 by Abe Efe

Over the weekend, Twitter suspended the @Bitcoin Twitter account that is run by an anonymous user. The account was then briefly handed over to a user who claimed to be Turkish before it was taken over by another user who claimed to be Russian. However, the account was restored to its previous owner on Monday afternoon, but this has sparked a whole lot of conspiracy theories.

A Twitter spokesperson said that there was nothing to share as the company does not “comment on individual accounts.” Not many people are buying this excuse though:

“That’s some bullshit if you ask me,” the user behind @Bitcoin tweeted. “I’d like to know why my account was given to someone else, and then when it’s reinstated I’m missing 750,000 of my followers.”

Before its suspension, the @Bitcoin Twitter account had over 821,000 followers. Twitter is already making efforts towards restoring all the followers that disappeared even though this will not take it out of the bitcoin community’s spotlight especially considering the vast number of conspiracy theories that the suspension has spawned.

The @Bitcoin account has always been supportive of Bitcoin Cash, the bitcoin fork that was founded by a group of miners, developers and members of the bitcoin community who split off in August 2017 citing a disagreement over how the network’s growing scaling issues would be addressed. The result of this move was a duplicate of the bitcoin blockchain as well as totally new digital currency.

Twitter Has Always Been the Battleground

The relationship between Bitcoin Cash and bitcoin, which is sometimes referred to as a Bitcoin Core, has always been rather rancorous, to say the least. Both cryptocurrencies’ most fervent supporters have always gone head to head against each other with Twitter being one of their favourite battlefields. The @Bitcoin Twitter account is just the latest victim.

Many Bitcoin Cash supporters suspect that the Bitcoin Core supporters had something to do with the suspension of the @Bitcoin Twitter account – they suspect the Bitcoin Core supported falsely reported the account to Twitter for harassment or spam. In general, there has been a lot of back-and-forth online battles pertaining to the two digital currencies which implies that there is more to come.

A deeper conspiracy theory suggests that the @Bitcoin account was suspended because the social media site’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, is a Bitcoin Core supporter. Dorsey happens to have invested $2.5 million in startup known as Lighting Labs that builds technology for Bitcoin Core.

These are all just speculative rumours and theories but regardless of the fact that Twitter recently banned cryptocurrency-related ads, the company has confirmed that it does not have any content rules that are specific to cryptocurrencies.

Taiwan Central Bank Poses Money Laundering Rules for Bitcoin

Posted on April 3, 2018May 16, 2018 by Abe Efe

The Central Bank of Taiwan has recommended new rules that are meant to bring bitcoin under the island’s Department of Justice’s anti-money laundering regulations. In October 2017, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) openly showed support for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency, and blockchain adoption and innovation in the country.

However, the situation has since changes especially due to the concerns that have been raised about bitcoin’s recent price plunges. In response to these concerns, the central bank governor, Yang Chin-long, said in a meeting with Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan Finance Committee that some of the banks “response measures” to the “opacity” of bitcoin transactions would include reminding investors about the risks. This will be followed by anti-money laundering regulation of bitcoin.

As it stands, the central bank has been diligently monitoring the volatile movements of bitcoin prices. This move was, however, partially prompted by parliamentary enquiries pertaining to the digital currency. It is still too early to tell if the ministry will support the introduction of anti-money laundering rules for bitcoin but it is still a great milestone for Taiwanese authorities in their bitcoin regulation agenda.

The Taiwan Central Bank’s proposed regulations came just a month after Sheu Yu-jer, the island’s finance minister, expressed his opinion that cryptocurrencies should be taxed. The minister further added that the agency is currently evaluating ways to implement relevant taxation rules. A number of neighbouring Asian governments have already put in place cryptocurrency regulations under anti-money laundering rules that are primarily meant to prevent financial crimes.

South Korea, for instance, officially prohibited its domestic banks from providing virtual and anonymous accounts for cryptocurrency exchange users. It further mandated a new real-name verification process that took effect in February 2018. On a similar note, in early March, Malaysia ushered in an anti-money laundering policy that stipulated that know-your-customer processes have to be adhered to in all cryptocurrency activities.

Enjoy Two-Bitcoin Weekly Tournaments at Bitcoin Casino US

Posted on March 31, 2018May 16, 2018 by Aaron Decker

While online casino businesses have certainly grown immensely and are now more competitive than ever, customers no longer get to enjoy some of the deals, promotions, freebies and offers that were once a norm in the gambling industry. Well, there are a few of these perks but not many enough to get customers excited about joining a new casino. Predicting whether or not everything will go back to how it used to be is rather difficult and as such, the only way for online casino players to keep benefiting from the huge perks is to look in the right places.

BitcoinCasino.us is one the select few online casinos that continue to offer amplified customer benefits instead of cutting back just like most other casinos have. The online casino has rapidly risen to prominence and become one of the fastest-growing ones thanks to the multitude of features it offers. These include amazing deposit and withdrawal methods, the inherent fun players are treated to as well as lucrative money lines.

The highlights of the casino’ offerings are the 2-bitcoin weekly slots tournaments – these tournaments have resonated extremely well with its customers from all around the globe especially because it is currently the only online betting site offering something as valuable as these tournaments. In addition to being an indicator of the site’s commitment to its players, there are no hidden requirements for both weekly slot tournaments. Enrolling for the tournaments is also quite easy and anyone within the legal gambling age is allowed to do so.

At the end of every week, the tournament winner is crowned and his or her BitcoinCasino.us account is credited with the specified two bitcoins. In case there is a draw, the specified 2 bitcoins will be split among all the winners.

Generally, BitcoinCasino.us is a great place for any player that is looking for an engaging and hassle-free online gaming experience. All of the site’s customers are treated to a healthy selection of top-notch games and a variety of tournaments that offer just as many mind-boggling prizes as the two-bitcoin weekly tournament.

Crypto Exchange Binance Set to Exit Japan amid New Troubles

Posted on March 27, 2018May 16, 2018 by Abe Efe

Turbulent times are becoming a norm for the world of cryptocurrency and it seems the members of this community, such as Binance, and its followers have grown resilient to the ups and downs that are witnessed on a daily basis. Regardless of the impeccable grit that members of the crypto world have portrayed in a bid to ensure its survival, sometimes it really does not pay off as expected. There are a lot of different factors that affect the crypto ecosystem one of which is state laws existing in different countries – the officials of any given country usually have more power than anyone else when it comes to digital currency. Binance’s woe in Japan is a great example of this unfortunate circumstance.

The exchange, which happens to be the largest digital currency exchange in the world has been experiencing a bit of turbulence in Japan, where it is based – not for long though. The exchange is now planning to move to Malta following a formal warning from government officials.

Binance is one of the financial entities that are under the oversight of Japan’s Financial Services Agency which serves as the country’s financial field regulator. As it turns out, the Financial Services Agency officials’ attention was attracted by Binance’s lack of an operational license. However, Binance officials clarified that is was not the company’s fault – in reality, it has been looking for ways of receiving registration in Japan, but this is yet to be issued. The Financial Services Agency, on the hand, does not seem to be buying the excuse and it even plans to partner with the law enforcement and file criminal charges if Binance refuses to cease its operations in Japan.

Moving to Malta

Binance had hoped to keep operating in Japan after acquiring licensing but once the formal warning was issued, the final decision was to move to Malta. The exchange announced that it would officially be relocating to the island of Malta, one of Europe’s most popular online gambling hubs. Malta has been quite welcoming to this new development especially because it presents a great opportunity to develop the blockchain-based businesses that operate in the country. Furthermore, the move will serve to greatly improve the already thriving iGaming industry as well as provide more opportunities for development for the licensed operators.

Dutch Court Considers Bitcoin a Licit “Transferable Value”

Posted on March 23, 2018May 16, 2018 by Abe Efe

According to a court document that was published a couple of days ago (on March 20), a Dutch court classifies bitcoin as a legitimate “transferable value”, a ruling that was made in favour of a plaintiff who was owed 0.591 BTC by a private company.

The petitioner, Mr J.W. de Vries filed the claim on February 2 this year against Koinz Trading BV which is a non-public company that had been previously ordered by a lower court of Midden-Nederland to 0.591 BTC worth of mining proceeds owed to Mr Vries, or risk a €10,000 worth of penalty payment. Since the company had already defied the initial ruling from the lower court that required it to pay the required amount in BTC, the Dutch court ordered the company to either follow the directive or be declared insolvent.

The court judgement went further to state that bitcoin exhibits all the characteristics of a property right. As such, any claim to transfer bitcoin under property rights is considered to be valid under existing laws.

“Bitcoin exists, according to the court, from a unique, digitally encrypted series of numbers and letters stored on the hard drive of the right-holder’s computer. Bitcoin is ‘delivered’ by sending bitcoins from one wallet to another wallet. Bitcoins are stand-alone value files, which are delivered directly to the payee by the payer in the event of a payment. It follows that a Bitcoin represents a value and is transferable. In the court’s view, it thus shows characteristics of a property right. A claim for payment in Bitcoin is, therefore, to be regarded as a claim that qualifies for verification,” the court judgement read.

The findings of the court included an undisputed contract between Koinz Trading BV and Mr Vries and since the initial undertaking was in bitcoin, the amount was also to be paid back in the same way. This legal relationship was qualified as a civil obligation to pay.

This particular event is one of the many milestones, most of which are yet to come, of the crypto-ecosystem that will see bitcoin through to mainstream acceptance as a standard mode of payment alongside the government-issued fiat currencies. It certainly won’t be too long until this happens but in the meantime, a number of issues, such as the recent unintended content found on the bitcoin blockchain that must be sorted out.

Category: Bitcoin