World Bitcoin Network

This Papa John's pizza might look like an ordinary delivery, but it seems likely to go down in history as the most expensive food of all time. And the date it was purchased, May 22nd 2010 could well mark the first shot fired in a major revolution in the history of economics.
This is because this pizza was bought for Bitcoins, and it is likely the first ever transaction ever made with the fledgling currency, which came to life in 2009.
Further when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz ordered the pizza in Jacksonville Florida three years ago, he purchased it with 10,000 Bitcoins. At today's exchange rate of approximately 120 dollars to one bitcoin that amounts to a current day price for the pizza of 1 million 2 hundred thousand dollars.
For historians, Laszlo's initial exchange can still be seen today on the bitcoin forum. He wrote:
"I'll pay 10,000 Bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later."
It seems impossible to imagine these days, as prices for Bitcoins have multiplied in value over 50 thousand times. This was recently highlighted by the bitcoin purchase of a Porsche in Austin Texas. The price here, just 300 Bitcoins.
Clearly, this leads us to a greater question. How far will the Bitcoins value soar. An answer that no one knows. Yet some pundits suggest that Bitcoins could swarm into the $60 trillion dollar international space for transactional currency.
Indeed if bitcoin even grabs a 1% share of this market, its value can be calculated to climb to a phenomenal 100 thousand dollars per coin. At that point, the pizza would be worth exactly 1 billion dollars. Too much? Its not clear. Laszlo ate well that night, and launched the once abstract coin into the world for the first time as a currency.

World Bitcoin Network

With a tiny addition at the bottom of an obscure page on their website this week, eBay sent a swirl of excitement through the bitcoin community. By adding a section for virtual currencies, it seemed clear that eBay is making moves to embrace bitcoin. Immediately the bitcoin community went wild with activity, with many applauding eBay's move. But then, as quietly as the line was added it was removed.
Had eBay changed its mind? Was it a hack?
Its likely we will never know. But digging further reveals something even more elaborate. Around the same time, another page on eBay called DEALS released a well produced introductory bitcoin video. However, the 2 minute animation, is peculiar in its own right, almost like a two minute blurb of indecision, and it makes no comment whether eBay intends to go forward with bitcoins.
Still, eBay is no newcomer to the bitcoin world. This past May, CEO, John Donahoe made numerous comments hinting that Ebay might even begin to accept bitcoin as a form of payment, a move that many bitcoiners view as a potential windfall. Yet just by selling bitcoins on its site, eBay becomes a massive free-market exchange, and as such, an easy entry point for many into the bitcoin world. With the legal framework in place to avoid the pitfalls of startups like TradeHill and Mt. Gox, Ebay's entry into bitcoin would likely be smooth.
But, for eBay, the adoption of bitcoins presents one glaring problem. Ebay owns paypal. And bitcoin's acceptance could likely signal paypal's demise. So, if Ebay were to move forward with bitcoin, the auction giant would be sacrificing billions of dollars of paypal profits, a move they are likely not going to make any time soon.
And though, you can still buy and sell bitcoins on the site today, at enormous markups with some obvious risks, its not clear that eBay is doing anything more than just flirting with the enemy.

World Bitcoin Network

In an overly sensationalistic piece yesterday, the New York Times reveled more about the level of NSAs commitment to prying into the lives of Americans.
This time, though the Times news agency, long suspect on technical matters, fell for NSA's own leaked bragadoccio.
In an internal document leaked by Snowden, the NSA claims to have cracked a number of forms of cryptography.
But this is where anyone familiar with cryptography takes issue. Cryptographers, a very small population indeed, took to the airwaves to note the ridiculous errors of the Times piece.
One wrote:
"Nobody, not even the NSA can arbitrarily crack anything.
Even if the NSA set every computer on the planet to work on brute-forcing an encrypted message, it would take millions of years."
He goes further.
"Instead, the NSA breaks in through less magical means, like demanding that data be handed over, stealing a key from a user, even having agents who physically pilfer data"
This is confirmed in a much more nuanced piece by Wired.
Wired states that the NSA cannot crack the algorithms that protect data, instead the Government organization relies on mobster-type tactics.
They pressure vendors, steal passwords and bully.
In fact both Wired and the Guardian covered the story without the confusion and fear mongering of the New York Times, with neither one suggesting that any modern cryptographic algorithms have been cracked.
For Bitcoin users this news will come as a relief.
Indeed, Bitcoin uses one of the most famous bits of cryptography, SHA. And SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm.
It is not only still secure today, it seems likely to be secure for a few million more years.
Still, ignoring the New York Times poor journalism, these new NSA revelations do matter.
We now know that Big Brother is doing doing much more than just watching.
As a result, we'll offer two words of advice for your bitcoins.
Cold Storage.

World Bitcoin Network

In an unannounced change to HTML5, the engine that powers most major websites, there is now a tiny nod to bitcoin.
For website developers "bitcoin" like "mailto" or basic http linking, is now accepted protocol.
But this small step for bitcoin could be a major step for mankind.
This is because bitcoin, and no other current system, can handle micropayments.
So difficult has it been to send a couple pennies or less via the internet that is has often been called the holy grail of web finance.
Sending such low amounts, seems petty, but when applied to something like a hit song, news article, blog comment or a video, it could add up to big money indeed.
Micropayments not only provide content creators with important feedback but game-changing finance.
But this move by the developers of HTML will also push the near-zero transaction costs of bitcoin even deeper into PayPal's home turf.
Which could prove to be a nightmare for the financial giant, because bitcoin is adept not just at small payments, but at large.
Further bitcoin can be received freely across borders even from those without bank accounts.
And its not clear that PayPal has an answer.
So as bitcoin explodes, riding an exponential adoption curve, there are rumors that PayPal might adopt the cybercurrency.
But that's not happening any time soon.
PayPal makes billions each year off their current price scheme, grabbing 2-5 percent off of every transaction.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, offers to do a better job without charging anything.
Indeed at bitcoin there are no CEOs or shareholders to gobble up profits and bonuses.
While consumers save billions, PayPal is biting its nails and perhaps even lobbying congress.
Wouldn't you?