Dish Network to accept Bitcoin, becomes largest company to take the currency

By Christian Brazil Bautista May 29, 2014

how to trade bitcoin

Dish Network announced it will accept Bitcoin payments, starting on July 1, 2014. The satellite TV provider, which has tapped online index Coindesk to exchange Bitcoin payments into U.S. dollars, claims to be the biggest company to accept the cryptocurrency. It won’t be the first, however, as companies like Overstock.com, OKCupid, and Virgin America already accept Bitcoin payments.

“We always want to deliver choice and convenience for our customers and that includes the method they use to pay their bills,” Dish Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Bernie Han said in a press release. “Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals.”

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The Bitcoin payment option, available on mydish.com, will initially be for customers that choose to make one-time payments.

The move adds credibility to Bitcoin, something that the cryptocurrency has been lacking over the past few months. Bitcoin has suffered from bad PR recently, primarily due to the collapse of digital currency exchange Mt. Gox last February. Mt. Gox, which was once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, lost 850,000 Bitcoins due to a “transaction malleability” issue. It later recovered 200,000 Bitcoins, which were said to be in a “forgotten wallet.” Last April, a Tokyo court rejected the company’s rehabilitation plan and placed it in administration. Following the Mt. Gox closure, other exchanges closed and Chinese and Russian authorities restricted the accounts of Bitcoin traders.

The announcement comes after eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe said that PayPal is exploring ways to enable Bitcoin inside its service. If a deal pushes through, it would mean integration between the two competitors.

Dish Network, which posted a weak first quarter, is hoping to generate growth through the cryptocurrency, something that other companies have done. According to the Wall Street Journal, Bitcoin holders spent $1 million at Overstock in less than two months, exceeding the company’s expectations. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne also predicted that Bitcoin sales would hit $10 million to $15 million this year.

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Web

IRS rules that Bitcoin will be taxed as property, not currency

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Officially announced by the Internal Revenue Service earlier today, the government agency has ruled that all virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, should be treated as property rather than regular income. This ruling is particularly advantageous to Bitcoin investors since the virtual currency falls under the capital gains tax and only applies when Bitcoin is spent. One of the main advantages to the capital gains tax is that it tops out at 20 percent while the highest tax bracket on income earned is nearly 40 percent.
Regarding the spending rule, capital gains are specific to what's spent rather than what's earned. For instance, if you purchased $50 worth of Bitcoin, then used that same amount of Bitcoin to purchase $100 of merchandise on Overstock.com after the Bitcoin doubled in value, that constitutes $50 in capital gains. It's basically identical to stocks when value rises over time and spending the gained value would be considered a taxable event by the IRS. However, people that primarily use Bitcoin as an investment tool will likely appreciate the use of capital gains tax over traditional income tax.
Interestingly, anyone that's still actively mining Bitcoin will be be forced to report mined currency as income, thus the virtual currency is subject to the payroll tax. Miners will basically have to keep track of when each allotment of Bitcoin was mined and the value of the currency at that time.
At this time, it's somewhat unclear how the IRS plans to police and track Bitcoin collections. However, these rules offer a clear outlook to taxpayers for the future of all virtual currencies. The new rules are retroactive as well, thus the IRS is relying on Bitcoin users to amend previous returns. Bitcoin users that have already filed their taxes this year can still amend their returns as well. Any Bitcoin related income that 's not reported correctly may result in penalties on the taxpayer.

Computing

Newsweek’s Bitcoin man insists he has nothing to do with the digital currency

Bitcoin

A man claimed by Newsweek Thursday to be Bitcoin creator 'Satoshi Nakamoto' has said the cryptocurrency has nothing to do with him.
In a lengthy report published Thursday, Newsweek's Leah McGrath Goodman described how a two-month search ended on the doorstep of Nakamoto's modest home in southern California.
When confronted by the reporter, Nakamoto reportedly said he was "no longer involved" in Bitcoin, but refused to say whether he had created it. Hours later, after being chased around LA by a crowd of reporters, the 64-year-old Japanese-American strongly denied any involvement in Bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto: "I got nothing to do with it."
His denials came Thursday afternoon in an interview with the Associated Press (AP), who managed to secure a one-on-one meeting with Nakamoto after agreeing to take him out for lunch (yes, this story is growing more bizarre by the hour).
When asked about Bitcoin, he said repeatedly, "I got nothing to do with it."
Nakamoto, known to be a math whizz and model train enthusiast, said that while some parts of Newsweek's article were correct, he was most definitely not "the face behind Bitcoin."
He even told the AP that when he said to Newsweek he was "no longer involved," he was referring not to Bitcoin but to something entirely different (his career in engineering), claiming his lack of English proficiency had caused a misunderstanding with McGrath Goodman.
"It sounded like I was involved before with Bitcoin and looked like I'm not involved now," Nakamoto said. "That's not what I meant. I want to clarify that."
McGrath Goodman has since responded, claiming "there was no confusion whatsoever about the context of our conversation, and his acknowledgment of his involvement in Bitcoin."
To many it will seem just too ridiculous that someone seemingly intent on remaining a mystery to the world would choose to attach their real name to their creation. If Newsweek's Nakamoto is not the guy, then it's hard not to feel for him following the intense media scrutiny he's been subjected to in the last 24 hours. Although he did get that free lunch.
Either way, the mystery surrounding the true identity of the Bitcoin creator looks set to continue for a while longer.

Emerging Tech

Las Vegas casinos warm up to Bitcoin payments for hotel stays

las vegas casinos warm bitcoin hotel stays

Announced on the casino's site earlier today, two Las Vegas casinos, The Golden Gate and The D, will start accepting Bitcoin tomorrow as payment for hotel rooms. Located off the strip at Las Vegas' Fremont Street location, Bitcoin will be accepted at the front desk of the two hotels and The D's gift shop.
It will also be accepted as payment at two restaurant locations within The D hotel, Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse and American Coney Island. Since the digital currency is accepted at the front desk of the hotel, it's likely that guests will be able to pay for hotel services like room service and pay-per-view content utilizing Bitcoin at checkout.
According to details of the launch, all Bitcoin payments will be processed through a service called BitPay. Guests of the hotel will interact with tablets at the hotel's front desk and other locations in order to pay for services using their Bitcoin wallets.

Utilized by many businesses and charities for a flat monthly fee or a transaction-based percentage fee, BitPay is slowly becoming the PayPal of Bitcoin payment processors. At the time of each transaction, Bitcoin is converted into U.S. currency for the two hotels.
Of course, this doesn't mean that guests will be able to gamble with Bitcoin at the two casinos. It's highly unlikely that the Nevada Gaming Control Board would approve the direct use of Bitcoin in the near future. Bitcoin would have to be converted to U.S. currency first before any gambling could occur and that transaction would likely have to be regulated.
However, this small step towards further acceptance of the Bitcoin currency could be a sign that more hotels will jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon. That being said, a smattering of small travel agencies have already started to accept Bitcoin as payment. In addition, online travel site Cheapair.com started accepting Bitcoin during November 2013 as payment when booking air travel.