Bitcoin-mining company Butterfly Labs shut down by FTC

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Company marketed specialized computers designed to produce the cryptocurrency but delivered useless machines, according to an FTC complaint.

A bitcoin-related company that allegedly engaged in deceptive marketing of specialized computers designed to produce the cryptocurrency has been shut down at the request of the US Federal Trade Commission.

In a complaint filed earlier this month, the FTC alleged that the Butterfly Labs charged consumers thousands of dollars for computers that mine Bitcoins but then failed to deliver the machines "until they were practically useless, or in many cases, did not provide the computers at all," the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

"We often see that when a new and little-understood opportunity like bitcoin presents itself, scammers will find ways to capitalize on the public's excitement and interest," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "We're pleased the court granted our request to halt this operation, and we look forward to putting the company's ill-gotten gains back in the hands of consumers."

Bitcoin, which is unregulated and allows for anonymous, untraceable transactions, can be obtained by purchasing it on an exchange or accepting it as payment for goods or services. The peer-to-peer currency can also be generated, or "mined," by solving complex mathematical equations, a process that requires greater computational effort as the pool of possible solutions shrinks. The amount of bitcoins possible is capped at 21 million; there are currently 13.3 million bitcoins in existence.

To perform the arduous mining process, the company marketed what it called a cutting-edge computer for as much as $29,899, the FTC alleged. As of September 2013, more than 20,000 orders for the computer, called BitForce, had not been fulfilled, according to the FTC. The complaint also alleges that Butterfly Labs began marketing a follow-up computer called the Monarch in August 2013 for as much as $4,680 but that by last month few, if any, had been delivered.

"Even where Butterfly Labs did deliver a Bitcoin mining computer to a consumer, the complaint notes that because of the unique nature of the Bitcoin system, the outdated computers were useless for their intended purpose," the FTC said, indicating that a company representative said the passage of time had rendered some machines as effective as a "room heater."

Responding to the FTC's lawsuit, Kansas-based Butterfly Labs said Tuesday it was "disappointed in the heavy-handed actions" of the commission.

"In a rush to judgment, the FTC has acted as judge, jury and executioner, contrary to our intended system of governmental checks and balances," the company said in a statement. "Butterfly Labs is being portrayed by the FTC as a bogus and fake company. To the contrary, Butterfly Labs is very real."

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Bitcoin-mining company Butterfly Labs shut down by FTC

PayPal Testing Bitcoin Payments By Partnering With Cryptocurrency Processors

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PayPal announced Tuesday that it will partner with bitcoin payment processors BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin to allow customers to buy and sell digital products such as online games using the cryptocurrency. The announcement is not an indication that PayPal will transact in the currency, only that the three partners will handle bitcoin processing for PayPal merchants trading in specific businesses.

PayPal, which is owned by eBay, said that it will allow the third parties into its PayPal Payments Hub in part because each of them already offers its customers some level of protection when trading with the still-questionable digital currency. Tuesdays announcement comes after eBay CEO John Donahoe expressed his admiration for bitcoin on multiple occasions, saying in May that PayPal was actively considering integrating bitcoin.

The company maintained that it only sees digital products (i.e., video games and music) being sold utilizing the decentralized cryptocurrency for the foreseeable future. American and Canadian users will be able to use bitcoin first, though PayPal said it is considering expanding to other markets soon.

Merchants were asking for bitcoin integrations, Scott Ellison, senior director of corporate strategy at PayPal, told Forbes. Digital goods were an easy way to do it first.... People are comfortable paying online for those things.

PayPals announcement has already been portrayed as more of a test program than a full-fledged embrace of bitcoin. Overtstock.com started accepting bitcoin in January and began permitting international customers to use bitcoin in August. Still, questions have persisted about bitcoins volatility and governments inability to regulate it.

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PayPal Testing Bitcoin Payments By Partnering With Cryptocurrency Processors

Greenpeace accepts Bitcoin — Donate for Dark Wallet — DarkCoin Release Candidate 5 – Video

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Greenpeace accepts Bitcoin -- Donate for Dark Wallet -- DarkCoin Release Candidate 5
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Greenpeace accepts Bitcoin -- Donate for Dark Wallet -- DarkCoin Release Candidate 5 - Video

VanosEnigmA 018 Love Lets Talk Bitcoin but CreativeCommons bit dick if not OBEY InnocentCryptoKitty – Video

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BBC Click Interview Peter Todd with Dark Wallet Team in the London Bitcoin Squat FULL Unedited Audio – Video

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BBC Click Interview Peter Todd with Dark Wallet Team in the London Bitcoin Squat FULL Unedited Audio
This is the full interview with Peter Todd by the BBC Click film crew what was first aired on the 20th September 2014. Donate to this episode in Bitcoin: https://blockchain.info/address/1KPjsCUqfN...

By: World Crypto Network

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BBC Click Interview Peter Todd with Dark Wallet Team in the London Bitcoin Squat FULL Unedited Audio - Video

Apple nudges PayPal deeper into bitcoin

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AFP/Getty Images EBay CEO John Donahoe has long expressed interest in Bitcoin

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- EBay is taking a bet that digital currencies like bitcoin lead a new wave of payments in the future. And its doing this just ahead of the launch of Apples new, potentially eBay-rivaling, payments service.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company on Tuesday announced agreements with leading bitcoin payment processors BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin to enable PayPal merchants to accept the currency.

eBay EBAY, +0.36% will gradually widen its support of bitcoin, said Scott Ellison, PayPals senior director of corporate strategy, at first rolling out the capability only to merchants in North America.

The announcement comes at a critical point for PayPals merchants business as mobile payments continue to evolve.

Apple Pay, Apples AAPL, -0.87% new one-touch payment service, is set to spring to life next month in some 220,000 stores across the country.

While its unclear whether bitcoin will play a part in Apple Pay, Apple did lift its ban on bitcoin apps earlier this year, and it will eventually open up Apple Pay to developers, potentially enabling third-party interaction between bitcoin and Apple Pay.

I think PayPal recognizes they are at risk on a number of fronts and is becoming far more aggressive about meeting a wider variety of customer needs as a result than they otherwise would be, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Analysts have been bullish on Apple Pay so far, particularly how debit and credit card transactions conducted through the platform will enhance Apples bottom line and transform the mobile-payments market.

EBays shares fell as much as 2.5% to an intraday low on Sept. 9, the day Apple Pay was announced at a lavish event in Cupertino. On Tuesday, they closed up 0.51% to $52.74 after spiking as much as 1.5% earlier in the day.

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Apple nudges PayPal deeper into bitcoin

San Diego Sockers vs. Kansas City Comets MISL Soccer Regular Season 3/3/85 – Video

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San Diego Sockers vs. Kansas City Comets MISL Soccer Regular Season 3/3/85
San Diego Sockers visit the Kansas City Comets in a 3/3/85 regular season Major Indoor Soccer League match in front of 12091 at Kemper Arena. Randy Hahn calls the action live on the simulcast...

By: Tim Hanlon

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San Diego Sockers vs. Kansas City Comets MISL Soccer Regular Season 3/3/85 - Video

Comets stay perfect with victory over Clavet

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The MUCC Comets posted a 35-12 victory over the Clavet Cougars on Friday, September 19, but the game was a lot closer than the score indicated. It was a great football contest today against two first class teams, Comets head coach Dave Rogers said. The Clavet Cougars came here to play and they came here to win and they showed that throughout the entire game. He compared the game to a boxing match between Two heavyweight prize fighters. Everybody was swinging and the blows were landing and it was just waiting to see what or who was going to break first. Ethan Kish, the Comets defensive back who had an interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter, said with a big game comes more focus and intensity. We just had to keep it together and stay focused. Every play is a new play. We just played our hardest and it showed. Coming off a bye week Rogers said a close game that is full of intensity is a good way to develop as a team. Also, having it this early in the season helped the Comets a lot. It is great. You need to play quality opponents and Clavet was a quality opponent. The only way you get better is by playing really good football teams, he said. That is the measure it helps you get better it helps you prepare, it tells your players where they have to go in terms of execution and in terms of intensity and in terms of just being in the game. You have to have these intense games. The intensity started early as the Comets Kalen Senecal intercepted a pass which led to a15-yard touchdown run by Jomar Malaggay. The convert was good giving the Comets a 7-0 lead, which stood until the end of the fourth quarter. Early in the second quarter the comets capped of an 80-yard drive when quarterback Lee Taylor ran into the end zone from one yard out. The convert gave the Comets a 14-0 lead. The Cougars followed that up with a long drive of their own. Starting from their own 35-yard line they scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Graham Beresh to Ian Shimla just after the three-minute warning. The Cougars missed in their two-point conversion attempt leaving them behind 14-6. Another long drive to start the second half led to the Cougars Aaron Goselin catching a 13-yard touchdown pass. They again attempted a two-point conversion and missed, they now trailed 14-12. Kishs interception and 40-yard return for a touchdown came near the end of the third quarter. That was crazy. My eyes started watering up the last 10 yards. Everyone cheering and to get a pic 6 is great, he said. The conversion gave the Comets a 21-2 lead. The Comets added a pair of touchdowns and conversions in the fourth quarter. Taylor again ran from one yard out to score and with less than a minute remaining Tyler Jones caught a pass from 20 yards out for a touchdown. After the win the Comets are now preparing for a road game against the Humboldt Mohawks on Friday, September 26. Rogers said they are expecting good things from the Mohawks. We expect Humboldt to be a good football team, they defeated Nipawin 60-0 in Nipawin, Rogers said. Kish echoed that saying they need to take the game one play at a time. It will be a good match-up for sure, he said. We just had to keep it together and stay focused. Every play is a new play, he said. greg.wiseman@sunmedia.ca @melfortjournal

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Comets stay perfect with victory over Clavet

Top ten finishes for Comets volleyball

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The senior boys and senior girls MUCC Comets volleyball teams both placed in the top ten at their tournaments on September 20 and 21. The senior girls Comets were at Prince Albert St. Marys and played well despite a tenth place finish The Girls played some really good games. But consistency on serve receive needs to be improved on, Comets coach Rob Moore said. They opened round robin play by defeating the host St. Marys 25 16, 24 26 on Friday afternoons. The Comets then split with North Battleford Comprehensive 16-25, 25 15. They lost their next round robin game 23- 25, 11-25 to Saskatoon Holy Cross. Later on Saturday they lost to Meath Park 23 -25, 28 -26, 14-16. In their next round robin game they fell to Prince Albert Rivier (21- 25, 20 25. The Comets lost their final round robin game to Rosetown 25 23, 17 -25, 15 11. The senior boys Comets placed sixth at the University of Saskatchewan tournament. Every year, the U of S puts on a volleyball tournament for high schools as a way of seeing what kind of talent there is to potentially come their way, Comets coach Graham Calow said. Placing sixth out of 24 teams is considered a successful weekend for us, he added. The 24 team tournament is broken into pools of six where teams compete to see who ends up in either A, B, or C playoffs. The Comets placed second in their pool with a record of 4-1, only falling to Prince Albert Carlton and headed to the A side playoffs. The Comets played well but lost to Prince Albert St. Marys to fall to the consolation side. The Comets defeated Saskatoon Marion Graham to advance to the consolation final where they lost to Valley Christian Academy (Osler). This was our seventh match of the weekend, and the players seemed a little out of gas. It was a very well played tournament, but we just didnt have enough to pull off one more win, Calow explained. On September 26 and 27 the senior girls are at Luther in Regina, while the boys have a bye week and return to action on October 3 and 4 at Regina Winston Knoll.

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Top ten finishes for Comets volleyball