The digital currency Bitcoin has been front and center in the news recently. Following last week’s US Senate hearings on virtual currency, Bitcoin has hit all time highs exceeding even the most optimistic estimates for price versus fiat currencies. Meanwhile Bitcoin merchants have been putting together their own push aiming to make this year’s Bitcoin Black Friday the biggest yet.

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In the second hearing in as many days the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs weighed in on virtual currencies. Tuesday’s hearing featured some of the speakers we saw at Monday’s hearing as well as several new testimonies. The full video (minus the first few minutes) is available via the below youtube video. The hearing, entitled The Present And Future Impact Of Virtual Currency, covered potential issues related to use and regulation or non regulation of virtual currencies.

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Yesterday the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on virtual currencies. The hearing was largely perceived to be a positive development for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. While there was discussion of illicit use of Bitcoin there was also considerable discussion of the potential economic benefit of the currency. Additionally several officials testified to the legality of Bitcoin which has helped to solidify confidence in the growing internet based currency. The full video is available here.

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Bitcoin has been all the buzz lately leading to substantial price surges on both Chinese and US exchanges. In the wake of the FBI’s shutdown of the Silk Road and a recent surge in the price of Bitcoin the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is holding a hearing on virtual currencies. With a slew of new companies seeking governmental guidance on how to proceed with their Bitcoin oriented businesses these hearings have become not just inevitable but welcome by many. Late last night Bloomberg broke a story that suggests the hearing will be positive for Bitcoin. Here’s what to watch for at the hearing, which will take place today at 3:00 PM EST and will be available on CSPAN. (more…)

In an effort to retain a small amount of the Bitcoin network’s hashrate I’ve added two new USB miners to my collection of Bitcoin ASICs. While Bitcoin mining is probably not the best investment you could make right now, it is still a fun hobby. The newest additions to my small collection are two Blue Fury USB miners with ASIC chips by manufacturer Bitfury. Here’s an overview of the Blue Furies and a guide on setting them up. (more…)

With the recent run up in the price of Bitcoin I decided to go back and check on the profitability of Bitcoin mining. Lo and behold Bitcoin mining is still not individually profitable with current difficulties, prices, and hardware costs. However, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone somewhere turning a profit on Bitcoin mining. Chip designers, manufacturers, resellers, and pool operators have all staked a claim in the Bitcoin mines and look set for growth. (more…)

Bitcoin’s surge over the past several weeks hasn’t been without cause. More startups are being formed around the currency with record funding, ATMs are on the way, and professional investors have done more than just take notice. While the closure of silk road could have been detrimental to Bitcoin during its early days, the same is obviously not true of Bitcoin today. The same cannot be said of Litecoin, the largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. While Bitcoin weathered the passing of silk road well, Litecoin has fared poorly in the wake of the disappearance of Atlantis. With that said, I wouldn’t count Litecoin out just yet. There are a few indicators that Litecoin may still follow Bitcoin’s growth in the coming months and years, albeit at a slower pace. (more…)

Bitcoin seems to be experiencing renewed interest. On the heels of a US government shutdown and with a slew of companies old and new supporting it, Bitcoin is once again center stage. So at this point you’ve heard of Bitcoin, maybe you’ve visited weusecoins.com or read up on Bitcoin here on cryptojunky, yet still haven’t taken the dive and tried Bitcoin out. Well in order to really give it a try you’ll need to get some Bitcoin in your Bitcoin wallet, which is what this article is all about. (more…)

More news broke this week revealing the extent to which internet traffic routed through companies such as Google and Yahoo has been compromised. It is also interesting to note that this appears to have been due in part to a lack of encryption, at least in the case of Google’s internal network. As such it seems an appropriate time to cover email encryption via third party applications. You don’t have to rely on email providers to secure your data, you can do it yourself. Enter PGP. (more…)

The proliferation of Bitcoin ASICs over the last several months have brought on an incredibly rapid increase in the Bitcoin difficulty factor. If you run the numbers on the currently available Bitcoin ASICs you’ll find that you’re unlikely to make a return on your investment. In fact, purchasing one of these Bitcoin mining machines now is probably more likely to lose you money (with some possible exceptions for next-generation pre-orders). Still there are a number of hobbyists and Bitcoin enthusiasts looking to invest just a small bit in order to contribute to the Bitcoin network’s hashrate. (more…)