Welcome to HolyTransaction’s fourth monthly recap for the year 2015. This past month of April has tested the Bitcoin community’s resolve; during that time, the bitcoin price fell from a high of $244.24 to a low of $231, according to Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.
Rand Paul is the First Presidential Candidate to Accept Bitcoin Donations
United States Senator Rand Paul announced that he would accept Bitcoin donations to fund his 2016 presidential bid. Paul believes that his use of bitcoins and his progressive stance on technology will win over the younger generation in the presidential election. Rand Paul and his supporters believe that the government should have a more hands-off approach to money, and Bitcoin promotes just that. Federal campaigns are allowed to accept Bitcoin donations thanks to an FEC decision released earlier.
Bitcoin Summit to Be Held on Richard Branson’s Private Island
Bitcoin supporter and founder of the Virgin Galactic corporation, Richard Branson, has been associated with a new Bitcoin Summit that average Bitcoin users are considering high-brow. Back in February, Bruce Fenton, the current executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, hosted something called the Satoshi Roundtable on a Caribbean island. Though this Bitcoin Summit uses Richard Branson’s island, the event is hosted by a company, not him. The Summit will take place on Necker Island and will feature lots of people.
Ross Ulbricht Denied Retrial Despite New Charges Against Corrupt Agents
In March, Ross Ulbricht was convicted of running the underground marketplace Silk Road in court. However, weeks after his trial, new charges against agents instrumental in bringing down Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road came to light. Two federal agents stole money from the investigation, and evidence in that case even supports the theory that the FBI illegally hacked the location of the Silk Road servers. Despite the obvious corruption and potential for subterfuge in the investigation, the sentence from before still stands.
Bitcoin Core Development Funding Moves from Bitcoin Foundation to MIT
Since the hectic reshuffling of the Bitcoin Foundation and its functions, the responsibility of Bitcoin core development funding has passed to the MIT Media Lab. The MIT Media Lab supports various other open source projects in the crypto and tech space. Gavin Andresen, Wladimir Van Der Laan and Cory Fields will now take salaries from the MIT Media Lab. Andresen explained how Bitcoin development will remain un-controlled: “The Bitcoin Foundation was never the center of development; the Bitcoin core open-source software project has been the center, and like most open-source software projects, the developers who work on Bitcoin core are supported in many different ways. Some work for companies that want to see Bitcoin succeed, some for nonprofits, and many are self-funded and self-motivated.”
Bitcoin is Value Added Tax (VAT) Exempt in Spain
The General Directorate of Taxes in Spain has responded to a request for clarification regarding virtual currencies. In their decision, the DGT stated that virtual currencies work as a means of payment and can be labeled as a financial service, and not subject to a VAT. Other countries in Europe have also taken similar stances on the taxation of Bitcoin. Bitcoin startups in these countries are using the clarified regulations to move forward in innovation.
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