Bitcoin’s recent popularity has brought new rumors about the true identity of its founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. It may be time to respect his privacy and focus on his work instead. Read more »
Bitcoin is being treated as a serious currency by investors, entrepreneurs and the government. GigaOM convened experts to hear what they say about what will happen next — here’s three highlights. Read more »
Amazon’s virtual currency, Amazon Coins, launched Monday. It can be used to buy apps and games and make in-app purchases on the Kindle Fire and in Amazon’s app store. Read more »
The Bitcoin ecosystem’s over-reliance on a single currency exchange is a big problem. A new system called Ripple might overcome that problem… but it may run into issues of its own, too. Read more »
Social virtual goods revenues will grow from $2.1 billion in 2010 to $4.1 billion in 2016. Leading this growth are disruptive factors such as mobile, regulatory changes and alternatives to the traditional OS. But the most important disruption vector will be increasing the universality of virtual currencies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
An Arizona woman whose teenage son purchased virtual goods wants Facebook to give refunds to him and thousands of “minor children” who misrepresented their right to acquire the company’s online currency, Facebook Credits. Read more at paidContent »
Independent mobile app store GetJar is looking to virtual currency to get users to come and keep downloading and interacting at GetJar’s app marketplace. The company today is introducing GetJar Gold virtual currency which will be awarded to users for downloading Android apps. Read more »
There is a lot riding on Facebook Credits. But for established media companies, the mandatory use of the in-app Payments system could be less than appealing. Will the company be able to become a major distributor of paid premium content? It depends if it wants ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
CrowdMob, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup, is taking the wraps off its business: creating a next-generation deal network that combines Tapjoy with Groupon. CrowdMob will distribute local deals via mobile gaming apps, incentivizing gamers to purchase offers using virtual currency. Read more »
Facebook isn’t a true PayPal competitor, but it’s taking some steps toward becoming an online payments provider outside of its Facebook properties. The social giant has begun testing the use of Facebook Credits on Uno Boost and Collapse! Blast, both available on gaming portal GameHouse. Read more »
Social games and app developers got a bit of a shock when Facebook snuck out some Platform Policy changes. So what can an app developer do to get the most out of Facebook and insulate itself as much as possible from Facebook changes? Build its own ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Proving that virtual currency can be worth a good amount of real-life cash, social stock market Empire Avenue has landed $1.2 million in funding. Empire Avenue serves a unique and somewhat controversial purpose: It’s a stock market that puts a price on people instead of companies. Read more »
After being celebrated as the future of money, the “peer-to-peer crypto currency” known as Bitcoin has taken some serious hits recently, including being derided as a scam and targeted by senators. Now a user says he has lost $500,000 in Bitcoins in a massive theft. Read more »
Facebook has done a remarkable job of getting developers to adopt its Credits virtual currency before the program was fully fledged. Today, the company announced a partnership with PlaySpan to add 20 additional ways for users to pay for credits and plans to accelerate rollout. Read more »
Facebook’s virtual currency is making its way into the real world, in a deal announced today with Target. The retail chain will become the first brick-and-mortar retailer to carry Facebook Credits, which will be available via gift cards at the company’s 1,750 outlets starting Sept. 5. Read more »
