How to win converts and influence bankers: call BTC what it is, a hot commodity.



When most of us talk about Bitcoin to newcomers, the common refrain is something like this: “Bitcoin, big B is the disruptive technology, while bitcoin, little b is the technologies first app, a scarce, nationless currency ."



We take for granted that block chain technology is here to stay, and scoff at those who dismiss BTC as a poor store of value, unit of account or legal tender. We smile knowing that one day these skeptics will come around after they finally begin to accept the historical truth of fiat currencies: none are built to last. (The average fiat currency lasts 27 years, while the average global reserve lasts 100 years, on average.) We’ll argue that BTC is volatile, but at least on any given day it has a 50-50 shot of appreciating! In that sense, it may already be a better store of value than many smaller sovereign currencies.



But is it in our best interest as a community, or is it even accurate, to continue labeling BTC a currency?



This isn’t a new question, but it’s one that I’ve given considerable thought to in the past several weeks as I’ve spoken with more Wall Street suits, economists and professional investors. When I hit this crowd with the pitch of bitcoin as a true currency, I’ve recognized a subtle change in the conversation: the listener quietly begins to disqualify me as someone who knows what he is talking about when it comes to finance and economics. And I’m starting to rethink my choice of words as a result.



Indeed, there was perhaps no better case study of this than yesterday at the Sibos Conference in Boston. In an otherwise excellent panel with Barry Silbert, Jeremy Allaire and Jon Matonis, the notable reaction from the audience was a collective dismissal of this new "currency.” Yet mere hours later when the conversation shifted to the potential of alternative blockchain technologies, such as Ethereum and its “fuel” ether, the reaction was much more positive.



Say what you will about the legality of the Ethereum crowd sale or the team’s inevitable distribution issues, Vitalik and company seem to have gotten one thing right: crypto-currencies might be better packaged and sold as crypto-commodities.



For bitcoin, consider: 1) this “currency” is predictably scarce, 2) it’s price will only rise with adoption and speculation, 3) it is literally “mined” vs. printed, 4) in the US, it is taxed as property, 5) there are indications it will soon be regulated by the CFTC, and 6) perhaps its only shot at being held for any length of time by mainstream users relies on the emergence of a healthy derivatives infrastructure that allows savvy teams to create fiat-pegged bitcoins that act like more familiar currencies.



If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. And we should be much more excited about bitcoin as commodity than we currently are.



As investors and enthusiasts pitching a speculative asset class, we will be infinitely more successful peddling this block chain tech gateway drug as an insanely valuable, usable commodity than a new global reserve. I personally don’t care about replacing the dollar or the euro or the RMB this decade. I do want to replace a much more valuable and useless* commodity: gold. A collective rebranding may be in our best interest.



Bitcoin and other digital currencies are equal parts technology and commodity. Out of that combination, currencies will rise.





*Of course, BTC is much more useful than gold because it can be a vastly superior medium of exchange at any single instant in time. Then again, is that really a property of bitcoin the currency or of the Bitcoin payment rails?



Upcoming Events



Money 20/20 (November 2-5 in Las Vegas)



Money20/20 is the world’s largest event enabling payments and financial services innovation for ‘anywhere, anytime’ connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 6,500+ attendees, including more than 500 CEOs, from over 2,250 companies and 50 countries, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held on Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Las Vegas, and will be preceded by the Money20/20 Hackathon, which runs Nov. 1-2.



Inside Bitcoins Conference (October 5-7 in Las Vegas)



College Crypto has partnered with Inside Bitcoins to offer 50% discounts on conference passes to students! Just use the code COLLEGECRYPTOSTUDENTS. (You will need to provide info that you are a full-time student, so send an email to



Coins in the Kingdom (October 4-6 in Orlando, FL)



The first family-friend cryptocurrency conference! This event will take place at Disneyworld and will serve as the College Cryptocurrency Network’s “Semi-Southern Conference.” Tickets are only $60 and hotel rooms are $99, but to students to whom the tickets would present a financial hardship should email jeremy@collegecrypto.org. Money20/20 is the world’s largest event enabling payments and financial services innovation for ‘anywhere, anytime’ connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 6,500+ attendees, including more than 500 CEOs, from over 2,250 companies and 50 countries, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held on Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Las Vegas, and will be preceded by the Money20/20 Hackathon, which runs Nov. 1-2. Register here College Crypto has partnered with Inside Bitcoins to offer 50% discounts on conference passes to students! Just use the code COLLEGECRYPTOSTUDENTS. (You will need to provide info that you are a full-time student, so send an email to reg@risingmedia.com with copy of your student pass after registering.) Inside Bitcoins London and Las Vegas are the latest Media Bistro conferences on the calendar following shows this year in Berlin, Hong Kong, and New York. For more information on Vegas, you can sign up here The first family-friend cryptocurrency conference! This event will take place at Disneyworld and will serve as the College Cryptocurrency Network’s “Semi-Southern Conference.” Tickets are only $60 and hotel rooms are $99, but to students to whom the tickets would present a financial hardship should email jeremy@collegecrypto.org. Register here





Jobs, Jobs, Jobs



Have a position you’re dying to fill? You can pay to post it here, in the Bit’s new jobs section.



Senior Folks : Check out



Student Bitcoiners : Circle, the Boston-based digital currency venture, is looking for campus reps across the country to participate in a social media marketing program this fall! Each rep will receive a Circle account with $250 in Bitcoin to spend over the course of the semester. Reps are required to post at least five stories about using Circle and Bitcoin to their Facebook accounts (and/or other blogging platforms like Tumblr) and to cross promote these via Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social channels. To apply, send your resume to reps@circle.com click on





Today’s Tid Bits

Have a position you’re dying to fill? You can pay to post it here, in the Bit’s new jobs section.: Check out HoneyBadgr , which introduces top talent to early stage and venture-backed Bitcoin startups. They are a team of ex-Googlers residing at Boost VC in Silicon Valley, with a mission to help grow the Bitcoin ecosystem on a global scale.: Circle, the Boston-based digital currency venture, is looking for campus reps across the country to participate in a social media marketing program this fall! Each rep will receive a Circle account with $250 in Bitcoin to spend over the course of the semester. Reps are required to post at least five stories about using Circle and Bitcoin to their Facebook accounts (and/or other blogging platforms like Tumblr) and to cross promote these via Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social channels. To apply, send your resume to reps@circle.com click on this link to be redirected to the brief application.

Bankers Debate Bitcoin at Sibos 2014

http://www.coindesk.com/bankers-bitcoin-sibos-boston/

Sibos 2014, a banking trade show and exhibition, is taking place this week in Boston. Yesterday, the conference featured a bitcoin series, which included talks on regulation, disruption and the future of bitcoin investment. SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire, Bitcoin Foundation executive chairman Jon Matonis, and the founders of the MIT Bitcoin Project were all featured speakers at the event. Overall, it was said that bankers at the event took a reserved approach to the digital currency.



FTC: Butterfly Labs Mined Bitcoins on Customers’ Boxes Before Shipping

http://newsbtc.com/2014/09/29/ftc-butterfly-labs-mined-bitcoin-using-customer-ordered-miners/

The lawyers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have alleged that Butterfly Labs used customer-ordered bitcoin miners to mine bitcoin for their own benefit before they were shipped. The FTC also claims that the popular bitcoin manufacturer had its employees mine for personal gain on machines returned by customers. Yesterday morning, lawyers from the FTC requested the Kansas City federal courtroom to place a preliminary injunction on Butterfly Labs, as the Fed’s investigation continues.



Early Bitcoin Adopter Calls for Multi-Sig Solutions After 750 BTC Theft

http://www.coindesk.com/early-bitcoin-adopter-calls-multi-sig-solutions-750-btc-theft/

Leo Treasure, early bitcoin adopter, recently lost 750 BTC to a hacker and is now urging bitcoin users to switch to multi-signature wallets. Treasure is also promising 50% of the stolen amount as reward to whoever can help him recover his bitcoins. The bitcoins were stolen off of Treasure’s hard drive.



Chamber of Digital Commerce, Heritage Foundation to Hold Discussion Panel on Bitcoin

http://newsbtc.com/2014/09/29/chamber-digital-commerce-heritage-foundation-present-panel-bitcoin/

The Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Heritage Foundation will host a discussion surrounding bitcoin on Wednesday in Washington DC. The panel discuss what bitcoin is, how it can best be used, and its pending regulation. The discussion will feature Perianne Boring, the Chamber’s Founder, Carol Van Cleef, Partner at Manatt, Phillips and Phillips, George Gilder of the Discovery Institute, and Norbert J. Michel of the Heritage Foundation.



Coinarch Launches Maximiser Aimed at Changing the World of Bitcoin Investing

http://bitcoinmagazine.com/16879/coinarch-launches-maximiser-aimed-changing-world-bitcoin-investing/

Coinarch, a bitcoin trading solution, has launched Maximiser, a bitcoin-linked investment tool. Maximiser is a sort of call option that will allow users to either buy bitcoins at a discount or earn interest on their investment. If investor’s land above the strike price they earn a high interest rate on their initial bitcoin investment, if not they have the option to purchase bitcoins at a discount to the initial market price. The Coinarch Maximiser is available with investment terms of 14, 30 or 60 days with strikes ranging from 85% to 95% of the bitcoin price. Sibos 2014, a banking trade show and exhibition, is taking place this week in Boston. Yesterday, the conference featured a bitcoin series, which included talks on regulation, disruption and the future of bitcoin investment. SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire, Bitcoin Foundation executive chairman Jon Matonis, and the founders of the MIT Bitcoin Project were all featured speakers at the event. Overall, it was said that bankers at the event took a reserved approach to the digital currency.The lawyers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have alleged that Butterfly Labs used customer-ordered bitcoin miners to mine bitcoin for their own benefit before they were shipped. The FTC also claims that the popular bitcoin manufacturer had its employees mine for personal gain on machines returned by customers. Yesterday morning, lawyers from the FTC requested the Kansas City federal courtroom to place a preliminary injunction on Butterfly Labs, as the Fed’s investigation continues.Leo Treasure, early bitcoin adopter, recently lost 750 BTC to a hacker and is now urging bitcoin users to switch to multi-signature wallets. Treasure is also promising 50% of the stolen amount as reward to whoever can help him recover his bitcoins. The bitcoins were stolen off of Treasure’s hard drive.The Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Heritage Foundation will host a discussion surrounding bitcoin on Wednesday in Washington DC. The panel discuss what bitcoin is, how it can best be used, and its pending regulation. The discussion will feature Perianne Boring, the Chamber’s Founder, Carol Van Cleef, Partner at Manatt, Phillips and Phillips, George Gilder of the Discovery Institute, and Norbert J. Michel of the Heritage Foundation.Coinarch, a bitcoin trading solution, has launched Maximiser, a bitcoin-linked investment tool. Maximiser is a sort of call option that will allow users to either buy bitcoins at a discount or earn interest on their investment. If investor’s land above the strike price they earn a high interest rate on their initial bitcoin investment, if not they have the option to purchase bitcoins at a discount to the initial market price. The Coinarch Maximiser is available with investment terms of 14, 30 or 60 days with strikes ranging from 85% to 95% of the bitcoin price.