2.5Mb of Wikileaks Cables Embedded in the Bitcoin Blockchain

John Robb, a writer at Resilient Communities, just tweeted that a large amount of Wikileaks cable data has been embedded in the blockchain.

There are indeed methods for embedded text in the blockchain, the most famous being Satoshi Nakamoto's entry in the first block, "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." 

Some worry that child pornography could be stored in the blockchain, thus implicating anyone who downloads it, though the illegality of that is rather questionable.

Some guy just put 2.5 Mb of Wikileaks cables into the Bitcoin blockchain.It's out there forever now.Very cool use of the tech.
— John Robb (@johnrobb) April 24, 2013

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International message and email delivery updates

Hi! My name is Andrei and I have had the pleasure to join the LocalBitcoins.com team recently as a software developer.  Now I have happy news for all of you.

We have fixed some outstanding issues related to handling email and communications between exchange transaction participants in LocalBitcoins.com system. Now email delivery is more reliable, international characters are less likely to get skewed in the process. We also enhanced anonymization of email exchange, so that all email addresses in message bodies are automatically hidden when you reply to exchange messages, so that you cannot leak out your email address accidentally. The privacy of our users is utmost important for us.

If you have any idea how we can make the service better for you please don't hesitate to contact us at support@localbitcoins.com.

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Bitcoin/Ripple Market Sets Daily Volume Record

Is Ripple riding on the coattails of Bitcoin's sudden rise to fame, or is its popularity a result of the recent press release regarding some high profile investors?

Either way, today was a big day for the Ripple (XRP) market. Over 300 Bitcoins worth of Ripples were traded on the distributed exchange, blowing the previous record of 92 out of the water, and the day isn't over yet.

Courtesy of RippleCharts.com

Total USD inside the Ripple network was hovering around $80,000 today, while total BTC was around 1300.

Ripples were trading for between 25,000 and 40,000 to the Bitcoin.

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Bitcoin Alliance of Canada Makes Debut

By gathering key industry players The Bitcoin Alliance of Canada's goal is to cultivate Bitcoin knowledge and involvement nationwide.

WireService.ca Press Release - 04/13/2013 - The concept behind the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada (BAC) was inspired by the need for accurate and professional media coverage of Bitcoin in Canada. Both on television and online, news typically doesn't properly address the dynamic aspects of Bitcoin. However, with Bitcoin use skyrocketing globally, the need for more concise and insightful information will only increase. The BAC is poised to become a reliable source of that information.

Knowledgeable Bitcoin users, those who are fluent in economics, those with a story to share, and merchants looking to start accepting Bitcoin will be key players in the development of Bitcoin in Canada. The BAC will exist to explain Bitcoin with clarity and professionalism. With more and more cryptocurrencies cropping up, businesses in Canada both interested in or already using electronic cash should keep up with news and facts surrounding these varied systems. The BAC hopes to strengthen the Bitcoin community by making all the news and facts accessible to the general public. The BAC will strive to clearly express new and foreign concepts common to emerging currencies like Bitcoin in order to avoid misconceptions and confusion, and to better appeal to a broad audience.

Support and interest is welcome in this endeavor to establish a strong, knowledgeable market in Canada that understands and accepts Bitcoin. For media requests, general inquires, or to participate please contact the BAC.

Contact:
Anthony Di Iorio
Founding Member, BAC
416-831-9593
adiiorio@bitcoinalliance.ca
www.bitcoinalliance.ca

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Feedback system overhaul

We have learned that creating a functioning marketplace is a very difficult problem. Now we have tried to improve the marketplace by creating an overhaul to the feedback system.

In the new system, feedback is always enabled when an request is finished in a way or another. However, localbitcoins.com system tries to determine "confirmed" status for feedbacks with an algorithm. A confirmed status means that we have strong confidence that the feedback is legit.

Also users can block other users with the feedback mechanism. This helps stopping escrow spammers or buyers, who try to hedge bitcoin price using the system.

Our next goal is trying to limit the advertisement spam in the system. Also fine-tuning the processes more fluid.

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News Bits - April 11th, 2013

• Winklevoss Twins own 1% of all Bitcoins;


• Fair and positive analysis of Bitcoin on Bloomberg TV today;


• Tired of staring at the ticker all day? Try BTC Track;


• A new online marketplace, BitPapa, is launching this month;


• Trading will resume on Mt.Gox at 7pm Pacific;


• Ripple is starting to make waves in the media.

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A Gorgeous Visualization of Key Bitcoin Statistics

A Bitcoin enthusiast working for Tableau Software forwarded me the code for an incredible visualization of stats regarding Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related statistics. I had to squish it a bit to fit in on my blog, but you can find it here.

Learn About Tableau

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